If you’re still sitting around waiting for the future to happen, then here’s a heads up. The future’s here. And whether you know it or not, that means one big thing. Your living room needs a refresh. If you thought your millennial pink accessories and your tub-shaped sofa meant you were part of the hip crowd, prepare to be disappointed. What was bang up to date yesterday is about as relevant today as last week’s newspaper. It’s time to embrace the latest trend of the day – futuristic design. And what does that mean exactly? It means ergonomic lines, functional spaces, concise details. It means a palette of gray, black, white, silver, red, light green, and yellow. It means metal, plastic, glass, and leather. Still confused? Then prepare to get unconfused with the help of our ‘10 Essentials For the Perfect Futuristic Living Room’.
1. The Right Paint
Getting the futuristic look right starts by being picky about the colors you splash on your walls. Forget soft sages and whimsical blues, the future is all about neutrals. Neutrals plus a few little splashes of bright, primary colors, that is. Ultimately, you’re not trying to make things look cozy and comfy; you’re trying to make things look directional. This doesn’t mean you have to re-create the Starship Enterprise, but thinking “What would Captain Kirk do” when you’re at the paint store isn’t a bad approach. As davidrayhomes.com suggests, keep the background to a palette of greys, whites, and even blacks, before adding a hit of color with some primary accents.
2. An Aquarium
Housessive.com recommends introducing an aquarium into your bedroom to add some futuristic appeal. We recommend doing the same for your living room. But when we say an aquarium, we mean a full scale, wall covering extravaganza. A goldfish in a glass bowl isn’t going to cut it. As well as being the perfect complement to the rest of your futuristic accessories, the combination of slowly rising air bubbles and silently moving fish will also add an incredible sense of calm to the room.
3. A Gadget (or two)
Technology is the future. And no futuristic interior can get away with not having at least a couple of gadgets. A huge smart TV is a no-brainer, but don’t feel it begins and ends there. Smart lighting, smart sound systems, smart drapes – there’s basically nothing you can put in your living room these days that can’t be enhanced with a little bit of smart technology.
4. A Discreet Storage Unit
Futuristic design and clutter are about as compatible as chalk and cheese. Piles of paper, magazines, homework, stationery… whatever it is that’s languishing on your coffee table, it needs to find a new home, pronto. Incorporating a built-in storage unit into your living room will keep your clutter safely out of sight, leaving you free to enjoy your space-age room in all its glory. If you want the unit to blend in as seamlessly as possible with the rest of the décor, look for one with concealed handles.
5. A Statement Chair
Every living room needs a chair, and every futuristic space needs a bold statement piece. Why not combine the two and invest in the kind of chair that get’s everyone talking? Just how ‘far out’ you take things is up to you, but with no shortage of innovative pieces on the market, you’ll not find yourself short on options. Whatever you decide on, remember the buzzwords of ‘sculptural’, ‘clean’, and ‘functional’.
6. A Stylish Bar
No futuristic living room is complete without a bar. But forget fusty wooden tables holding up a couple of tired-looking decanters. The bar of the future is clean-cut, it’s stylish, it’s got more personality than any bar deserves to have. If you’re looking for some inspiration as to what to buy, hongkiat.com has some great suggestions, starting with the Fiesta Lighted Bar from Vondom, a spectacular creation that doubles up as a very fancy light.
7. A Space Age Sofa
Sofas are meant to be big. Cozy. Squishy. Suitable for the kids to curl up on and the dog to recline on. Right? Wrong. At least in the futuristic living room. Forget about pillows and throws, deep-seated cushions, and ‘practical’ fabrics. The sofas of the future are sleek, sexy, and minimalistic. Sometimes, they’re downright weird…check out David Koo and Zheng Yawei’s Cloud sofa for an idea of the kind of thing you should be aiming for.
8. A Glass Fireplace
Fireplaces have been around since man came down from the trees and realized roasted mammoth made a tastier meal than raw rat. Which begs the question of why a futuristic living room would have something so traditional at its center. But anyone who asks this question has clearly never seen one of the achingly modern glass fireplaces that have started to creep onto the market in the last few years. With their sleek, minimalistic lines, remote technology, and fabulous use of one of the futuristic design school’s favorite materials (glass), they’ll add some space-age flair to any living room.
9. A Concept Coffee Table
The futuristic look is about function as much as it is about aesthetics. Which means you don’t have to sacrifice the furniture you’re used to, providing it serves a purpose. You do, however, have to re-think what that furniture looks like. A nicely polished wooden coffee table with four legs and rounded edges might suit a more traditional space, but it’s got no place in the living room of the future. Whether you choose a floating metal piece, a plastic extravaganza, or a sleek little glass number, make sure you fulfill the brief of all futuristic furniture: keep in clean, keep it ergonomic, and keep it extraordinary.
10. Serious lighting
Living rooms styled in a traditional fashion can take some dim corners and discreet lighting. A soft glow, after all, is usually a cozier option than strobe illumination. But we aren’t talking about traditional living rooms today. We’re talking about futuristic ones. And futuristic living rooms need light. Lots and lots of light. As well as maximizing your natural light sources as much as possible, plan on introducing a first-rate lighting system. Suspended lights that give the illusion of defying gravity are a great way to go, while shapely chandeliers and cube lightening make excellent alternatives.
