As much as a new year ushers in a time of reset and goal-setting, it also offers a time of reflection. While there are plenty of ins and outs and new trends to dissect, this week, we're slowing down and taking stock of some of the homes we were lucky enough to tour in 2025.
This time, we are stepping into the living room. We’ve looked back at the house designs you loved the most last year and have gathered the top living rooms of 2025 in one scrollable edit. Every space feels distinctive – shaped by the people who relax, host, and play there – yet together they offer a snapshot into the snug spaces that truly caught your attention last year.
The best part is that these are not show homes – they are real, characterful rooms with personality, and they continue to inspire well beyond the turn of the calendar.
1. A Modern Rustic Space by Studio McGee
It's no surprise to find a Shea McGee project at the top of our most loved projects from 2025. This exciting new modern rustic project from Studio McGee, 'The Oaks', takes its name and inspiration from the beautiful grove of oak trees lining the property.
Located in San Antonio, Texas, Shea described the home as 'brand new but feels like it’s been thoughtfully crafted over time.' Shea says. 'It’s a blend of modern and traditional.'
At the heart of the home sits the light and airy living room that mimics the views outdoors with an oak-clad ceiling and modern organic colors. 'The color palette was inspired by the home’s surrounding environment,' she says. 'The goal was for anyone walking into the home to feel the connection to the outdoors and see how much of the design was influenced by its natural surroundings.'
For such a lofty open-plan space, this living room still manages to feel cozy and welcoming thanks to Shea's layered yet neutral approach to texture. Think boucle, rustic wood, soft slubby linen, and plenty of throw pillows in muted prints.
2. A Pattern Heavy Open-Plan Living Room in Singapore
Starting its life as a bland and all-white new build, this now colorful apartment in Singapore by designer Elizabeth Hay is almost entirely unrecognizable. As one of the most-liked living room posts on Homes & Gardens' Instagram in 2025, it's a true attention-grabber.
'When you're in this apartment, it feels like you’re in a cozy cottage,’ says Elizabeth. A real lesson in decorating with pattern, what this living room may lack in square footage, it totally makes up for in color and print.
The wife and husband who own the home had slightly opposing ideas for this snug sitting room. The wife was very keen on a layered and patterned look, while the husband preferred the idea of a slightly more subdued scheme. The solution Elizabeth settled on was balancing the Venetian plaster backdrop with plenty of hero pieces.
Elizabeth decided on a polished Venetian plaster finish on the walls and ceiling to soften the scheme. ‘I always like to do textures in an open-plan space. It adds interest but still feels very light and fresh and not too overwhelming.’
The bespoke pale green joinery is both beautiful and practical, hiding the client’s TV while providing additional living room storage, while the uniquely proportioned coffee table is a vintage piece bought at auction.
‘We had to work out carefully all the sizes of the furniture. We masking taped it all out on site because the space was so tight,’ says Elizabeth.
3. A Luxuriously Layered Family Sitting Room & Library
Ahead of the festive period, this luxuriously layered London home designed for hosting for couple Blake and Chad Pike caught the eye of many a color-confident decorator. After enlisting the help of New York–based architect Eric J Smith, with whom the pair had previously collaborated, the team set about adding back in the Georgian character their home was missing.
‘One of the pleasures of a traditional house is the hand of the craftsman,’ Eric says. ‘We’re always looking for ways to bring that back.’
‘We’d already been here a decade,’ says homeowner Blake, whose family divides its time between London and New York. ‘But the original renovation had been so poorly done that everything was falling apart.’
Upstairs, a decorative painter spent a week building up layers of color on the sitting room walls to create a lacquered oxblood finish, rich and glossy, that nods to a vivid drawing by Sarah Graham. ‘This isn’t a room we use much in the day, so I wanted it to feel almost like a club,’ Blake adds.
Meanwhile, in the Library space, light wood paneling envelopes the room in warmth alongside built-in bookshelves, and an earthy palette of brown and greens.
4. A Bijou Cozy Modern London Apartment Lounge
When faced with reimagining the small living room of this bijou London apartment, dream team Angelica and Richard Squire of Studio Squire, who were called on to redesign this exquisite two-bedroom apartment located in a Grade-II listed Georgian building in Belgravia, astute planning was key.
Angelica tells us that the homeowners ‘had a very strong idea of the colors and palettes they liked. In addition, they also had some quite significant paintings, notably by Australian artist Bianca Smith, which became a cornerstone of certain spaces.
‘They are tonal, slightly figurative works, quite contemporary with brown and caramel hues, and they were key from the beginning.’ Although the preference was for an earthy palette, rather than eclectic and colorful, punchy pops of blue, the client’s favorite color, were interjected at significant points.
Angelica says ‘It’s a beautiful property. The minute you step in, you see those amazing Georgian proportions and beautiful windows. We were really aware of what a lovely location and building it was, so we didn’t want the interiors to be too bold.'
The challenge with this cozy modern sitting room was ensuring the space wasn't overfilled yet still had plenty of seating for both family and friends. Instead of opting for pairs of armchairs, the client selected two bespoke wool sofas that sit on either side of the room, while two dainty slipper chairs flank the fireplace, ensuring a balanced, symmetrical scheme.
5. A Designer's 'European' Living Room in Tennessee
Designer Lauren Sullivan of interior design studio Well x Design lives in Tennessee, yet, thanks to her Grandma loves European style, has a penchant for antiques, and childhood fairytales.
So when she started her modern European home project in 2020, she set about bringing her love for quirky, characterful homes to a new build. And boy, did she succeed.
Blending old and new, the finished living room is both layered and sophisticated. 'I started with pieces I truly loved back in 2021,' says Lauren, 'like the vintage rug and Schumacher Fox Hollow fabric – and built from there. The Dudouyt chairs came a year later and felt like the perfect canvas for the beloved Schumacher textile.'
The living room, dining room, and kitchen all flow through to each other; it's not quite an open plan space, but the lack of doors and a large opening from the kitchen into the lounge make all the spaces feel connected.
'The mid-century Scandinavian light fixture was actually the very first piece I purchased for the house, and it still feels just as right now. I paid close attention to how the shapes, materials, and finishes played off one another. My goal was for the space to feel grounded and inviting – but also impossible to pin to a specific time or trend.'
'I’m a big advocate for buying what you genuinely love – you’re far more likely to love it longer, and it makes the finished space feel that much more personal.'
6. A Joyful 1920s Cottage Reimagined For a Growing Family
In 2025, designer Daniella Dolman of FOR Design finally felt it was time to remodel her own family home – a 1920s cottage renovation in Hamilton, Ontario, filled with character and charm but lacking in space and practicality.
But what began as a small, charming cottage, with just one bathroom and a tiny kitchen, evolved into a three-bath, four-bedroom house filled with light and openness and soft colors.
'The greatest challenge wasn’t architectural,' begins Daniella. 'It was emotional. I was a new mother, raising daughters, designing not just a house, but a feeling. Every decision had to hold both beauty and purpose,' she explains.
'The new living room opens toward the garden,' she continues. 'It's a space rooted in feminine whimsy and English drawing-room romance. This room was designed for what matters most: reading aloud, listening to records, and telling stories that linger past bedtime.'
'I was inspired by the softness of Marie Antoinette’s private chambers, but edited through a modern lens, every detail invites tactile curiosity. Mongolian fur chairs, chosen for their couture-like playfulness and enveloping softness. Custom curved millwork with integrated pulls, an Art Deco nod that balances structure with grace. A long, low oak table, scaled like a library desk, has become a family gathering point for books, plays, and quiet moments of connection.'
The Homes & Gardens best-loved living rooms of 2025 prove that we all value spaces designed for people first. The sizes and interior design styles may vary from soft farmhouse schemes to cozy-modern retreats and a few confident bursts of pattern and color, yet every room feels designed for conversation, families, and everyday life.
Rather than austere blank soaces, your favorite living rooms embrace relaxed, welcoming layouts, comfortable fabrics, and collected details, reminding us that the most inspiring living rooms are those that feel lived in.
