While space is a luxury in itself, a large, open living room is at risk of feeling cold and uninviting if it hasn't been thoughtfully planned out. Ellen DeGeneres' Montecito home achieves this in a really clever way, through sectioning out clearly defined spaces with the use of furniture, lighting and rugs to ensure that the large space feels cozy and intentional.
There are plenty of ways you can make a large living room feel cozy. Patti Wilbourne, the founder of Charleston-based design firm, PWD Studio explains: 'Many open floor plans today feature basic white walls, minimal trim, and linear wood flooring, which can leave large living areas feeling undefined. The key to making these expansive spaces more usable and inviting is creating both actual and perceived delineation between different functional zones.' I'll reveal more expert advice about how to acheive this, below.
Plus, I've rounded up a selection of pieces from statement lighting inspired by Ellen DeGeneres' LUCCA Studio Sebastian Chandeliers (see Target's Wagon Wheel Chandelier) to a dining table (CB2's black ebonized oak table has a similar look to the TV star's), which acts as a visual divide between a formal and less formal zone.
Buys Inspired by Ellen DeGeneres' Sectional Living Room
This large chandelier has a similarly bold look to the pair that Ellen DeGeneres uses in her home to create clear 'zones' in her living room. In a farmhouse, wagon wheel style it feels traditional, yet striking.
Beautiful materials play a big part in Ellen DeGeneres' living room and there's nothing that says luxe more than a marble coffee table for lazy morning lounging and effortless hosting.
Whilst it might be a surprise to see a dining table in a living room, it serves more as visual divider than a place to serve a meal. In Ellen DeGeneres' home she's set hers up ottomans rather than dining chairs for a more casual arrangement.
The sloping rattan frame and wooden legs of this chair mimic the silhouette of Ellen DeGeneres' living room chairs and create a visually separate coffee area to the more formal seating on the opposite side of the room.
The color and shape of this sofa echo the clean lines and cool marble of the coffee table and offer a more relaxed and comfortable seating option to the more formal, boxy sofas across the room.
A boxy ottoman is an alternative to a small table or formal seat – Ellen DeGeneres places hers around the table. This one comes with a tray and has internal storage for stowing away magazines, TV remotes and so on.
The key, as Patti says, to achieving this look is zoning - the concept of creating smaller 'rooms' within a large room, by grouping furniture and adding area rugs,'Furniture placement plays a critical role in shaping these zones,' Patti adds. 'Arranging seating to create natural conversation areas and area rugs sized appropriately for each zone help to visually anchor furniture groupings, and define rooms within the larger space, without disrupting flow. Ultimately, the goal is to create distinct, comfortable zones that still feel connected as part of one harmonious, thoughtfully designed room.'
So, how can you ensure that the zones in a large living room like Ellen DeGeneres' feels harmonious? The answer is two-fold: choose a cohesive color scheme and repeat materials and finishes throughout the space. Kathryn Nelson, Principal and Interior Designer at Dallas-based design studio, KND explains: 'we should think of large living rooms as a collection of intentional moments rather than one oversized space. Area rugs help ground each zone, whether for conversation, lounging, or reading, while a cohesive palette and material story ensure the room feels unified. By repeating tones, finishes, and forms throughout, the space remains visually connected, polished, and effortlessly livable.'
And whilst it can be tempting to make use of a vast space, and spread out your furniture, an important tip is to keep it away from the walls. Laura Williams, Founder and Principal Designer at Living Oak Interior Design in Texas, explains: 'The biggest mistake I see in large living rooms is pushing all the furniture to the walls. Floating a sofa or a pair of chairs away from the wall immediately creates a sense of intimacy and signals that a space has a purpose. I like to think of a large room as having conversations within it. One grouping might be your main seating area anchored by a fireplace, while a second grouping near a window becomes a reading nook with a comfortable chair.'
As for area rugs, Ellen DeGeneres has used hers to subtly define her two main seating areas – a clever visual trick. If you're wondering about the best area rug sizes for a living room, Brittany Rediger, Founder & Principal Designer of Oregon-based Rediger Design, explains: 'In the main seating zone, make sure the front legs of each piece sit roughly 12 inches onto the rug. It’s okay if the backs of those anchor pieces hang off. That actually helps create a connection with surrounding zones rather than isolating the seating area on what I call “rug island.”'
Finally, consider lighting. You can't miss those statement chandeliers in Ellen DeGeneres' living room, but as well as being a design statement they're also another way to define the separate spaces. Brittany explains: 'When I’m defining a zone with lighting, I think about it vertically. Your ceiling fixture acts as the apex. It centers and anchors the zone from above, just as the rug grounds it from below,' she adds 'The ceiling light defines the center, while table and floor lamps create ambient glow around the edges, and sconces can act as subtle boundary markers that visually frame the space. That layered approach creates a light canopy over the zone.'
So the trick to creating intentional zones in a large room lies in furniture groupings, a consistent and cohesive scheme, and the use of area rugs and lighting to further delineate those areas. For more ideas, check out this zoning trick designers use for conversational living rooms.
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