So, what’s a transitional living room? Just like the name implied, a transitional style wants to bridge the old styles with the new contemporary styles.
The old styles here are any of pre modern styles, like the Victorian, Neo Romantic, Edwardian, Baroque, even down to Gothic styles. But, you should go down that far. As regular transitional are only blend those of 18-19 century with contemporary styles.
In transitional style, you update those styles with contemporary characters. So, in transitional, you probably still feel the old traits but also with the more contemporary characters, mainly in the color pallets.
Transitional styles are also best known for the use of contemporary patterning schemes top add depth and dynamics to the (often) calming and subdued air of traditional styles.
Now if you need some awesome transitional living room idea, we offer you here some of the most impressive.
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Color Ideas for transitional living room
So, how to pick the right transitional colors for your living room? As you’re not supposed to use old world colors (though look elegant) or too vibrant colors of the contemporary world.
So, you have the alternative to use the blending of both of worlds’ colors. You need something soothing (like traditional colors) yet with certain vibrant look on them.
Take a look on this living room, for an example. You put starker colors in deep brown chairs, throw pillows, wall decor, and chandelier on a traditional white color of the background.
Soft gray living room in transitional setting
Your living room will be only big and soulless without any furniture and decor in it. The case is the same with your transitional-style living room.
With the right furniture, you have the right living room of your taste, the transitional one –be sure to find the right colors.
In this example you find a paneled living room, which remind you of traditional style, enclosing an eclectic setup of dark-gray modern-contemporary furniture setup.
Cute tufted sofa for your transitional-themed living room
Talking about transitional furniture, you have various options –as the traditional eras span for so several centuries.
Here’ you have one of the most iconic traditional furniture which, now, also often being used as transitional stuff, the tufted sofas (or couches).
Unlike the subdued and neutral-colored of the traditional sofas, the transitional sofa present themselves in the more vibrant covering materials, like this one in the example.
Traditional rug for transitional style living room
Blending the traditional and contemporary characters is a main trait of transitional themes. To have the right blend, you need to have the right balance of both main characters.
When you don’t want to have your living room too modern, with all their simplistic lines and textures play, then you need to balance it with the calmer traditional touches.
This contemporary Nordic living room is cute in itself, but with the classic-traditional rug, it transforms into a cute and balanced transitional room.
Old and new features in transitional rooms
Transitional living room almost always has woody elements. This because the traditional interior designs use wood element in all their furniture.
For the reason, you may need to put wood elements in any transitional room. It might be in the furniture, floor, or decor.
Only then you may out some other contemporary features as you live. This living room offer you a glimpse of the example.
Bay window living room in transitional style
A combination of classic living room area with contemporary furniture also is worth considering, if you’re into a transitional style.
In this idea, you have heritage of English Renaissance home’s feature, the bay window. Here you use the bay window area for your contemporary living room with all the old-new furniture blend of lounge chairs and sofa –and the rustic furniture.
The result is this chic and light living room, where you can enjoy the seamless theme transitions enfold before your eyes.
A Transitional modern living room
If I remind you of modern living room, you might remember of plush chairs with tapered legs and simple plywood-cladded living room and simple decor.
You probably also remember of open layout living rooms which inspire of spacious and free atmosphere.
If you have a transitional mind, you probably will add something traditional without having to sacrifice its modern tones, perhaps by putting a traditional dresser like this example.
Transitional living room with glass table
Bridging the traditional and modern themes are, at least, two themes. You have the Art Nouveau and Art Deco themes.
Both of the themes are vowed to get rid of Neoclassic and Romantic themes so ubiquitous in the early 20 centuries where the themes was born.
This example is transitional room with element of Nouveau decor on the reading lamp (on a traditional dresser) and mirror, facing modern glass table in the center of the room.
Transitional modern living room
Traditional country house has so many features that should be awesome to be incorporated to your transitional living room.
It probably the naked and massive wooden roofing structures, its raw open shelves, benches, or else.
In this modern living room, you have some transitional elements in the form of rafters, wooden benches, shelves, and cabinets. Even you have here the big early Industrial windows.
Neo Gothic lighting for living room
Before the Romantic and Neo Classic, long way down into the time line, we can see the Baroque architecture styles, complete with their interior stuff.
To our today’s standard, they look heavy and dark. But, after all, there’re grandeur in them –perhaps from their massive and elaborate structures.
One of their features which we still cherish up to these days is their lighting features. A neo Gothic chandelier is a chic exotic partner of contemporary interior designs, making a cute transitional theme out of it.
Old and new in this transitional traditional living room
So far we redo our contemporary or modern rooms into transitional living room by adding traditional elements on them.
This time we do the opposite by complementing the traditional elements with modern touch.
This living room is traditional with all the heavy fabric patterns but, at the same time, looks young with simple modern lines on the furniture’ legs, light curtain, glass table, a set of side tables.
Color themes for transitional rooms
A transitional theme wants you to feel comfortable without being too absorbed by the darker tones of the traditional or by the vibrant colors of the contemporary themes.
They want you to enjoy your time in a calming and clean atmosphere with all the subtle and soft background colors like tans, white, or grays.
The darker traditional colors (like soft green, shades of blue or brown) are for the depth. They also serve as accent colors, so the living room won’t look bland. See the picture for an example.
Transitional rustic living room
A combination of traditional country styles and contemporary themes are also worth trying, mainly if you want to an elegant transitional style living room.
Now an open layout living room is popular among the urban folks, coupled with country touches it offers you a cottage-like comfort much enjoyable in evening sit or others.
Open rafter, old fireplace blend nicely with the industrial minimalist metal glass doors and contemporary curtains –making them a cool living room in rustic style.
Vibrant and elegant transitional style living room
Large or small, a transitional room always brings the balanced atmosphere. You can enjoy the time in without being too distracted by the contemporary colors and also won’t be too deep in your thought by the lure of slumbering traditional living room settings.
In a transitional, you may enjoy the vibrant colors which won’t present in any traditional living room schemes.
Here you have an example of it. A subdued traditional living room area full of fluffy and colorful throw pillows. It’s elegant and vibrant at the same time.
Blue sofa for a vibrant transitional style living room
A key aspect of transitional style is the use of comfortable stuff and its love of soft lines. It loves traditional lines, but without any ‘heaviness’ or the fuss of the themes.
In term of the color schemes, transitional likes to use the contemporary color themes, though not overly using them.
If you need an idea of how to use transitional color schemes, here’s an example to inspire: a classic living room with deep blue couch as its center of interest.
Gray transitional living room
Transitional is style for one who loves to the timeless features of traditional and contemporary styles, and blend them into an elegant and eclectic transitional style.
And, don’t forget, they should look fresh and updated. That’s why we need the timeless aspects of both of the styles.
In this example, you meet the simple and softened version both of the styles. The classic sofas, flowing rustic curtains, are all in one with the modern themes of the other furniture, decor, and color themes.
Furniture for transitional living room
How to find the right furniture for your transitional room? That depends on your personal preference. But, the transitional lovers mostly use classic traditional furniture to furnish their living rooms.
But with exceptions. They like furniture with the simpler and, as said before, has the timeless characters.
To complete the setup, they also use modern fabric patterns but, as also we said before, with not-too-loud color themes.
Material often found in Transitional rooms
Still with the transitional fabrics, you might find some particular textiles are more often being of being used than the others.
You might find that textiles like suede, cotton, chenille, or corduroy are often seen in transitional style living room. And don’t forget leather.
They inspire the cozy feeling to the hosts. Of the rugs, you might find that the materials are more various, from the natural up to the industrial materials.
Now what sofa designs suitable for Transitional style?
Almost any traditional sofa can sit well in a transitional room. But, then you may say these four types of them are the most common: the Lawson sofa, camelback, tuxedo, and English Roll Arm.
But, that’s not a rigid rule. You can always fill your transitional room with any furnishings you like, even with daybed like this one in the example.
You also may put some classic Ottoman with the daybed. Up overhead, put something chic from romantic era for the lighting.
Chairs for the transitional room?
Along with sofas, are the chairs and table –and sometimes Ottoman table. If previously we want to find out the right sofas for the transitional room, now it’s time to find out the right chairs.
In fact, almost any traditional types of chairs are suitable for transitional. So you don’t have to worry on putting, for examples, Wingback, Occasional, Lawson, Slipper, Tub, or other chair types for your transitional rooms.
This example fives you a pair of wingback chairs in an eclectic transitional style living room.
Mirrors for transitional decor
Mirrors are easily most often used functional decor for transitional room. You may use it as mirrors as they are, or just as decor elements, that’s up to your likings.
Along with mirrors, glasses are also known to be used for transitional decor. Metallic furnishings are also ubiquitous in transitional rooms.
As for mirrors, you may put them on the wall or just prop it on the wall like some of what the contemporary interior designers love to do.
Transitional living room with sectional
Again, in a transitional, you play with contemporary texture without overly doing so, as you need to consider the soft aspects of traditional styles embedded on the styles.
In this transitional living room the wood play on the wall and ceiling play important roles in injecting the traditional air into the room.
The contemporary coffee table is a good companion for the sectional sofa and the Lawson chair in the room.
Modern traditional transitional room
Nothing too complex in a transitional room. All are set in simple layout, both of the room’s layout or the furnishings’ lines.
Though so, there’s one characters that won’t ever be excluded from the transitional style, the wow factor.
You need the wow factor to turn your already charming transitional room into the more impressive one.
Simple sisal blue rug for impressive transitional-themed living room
Another way to add a wow factor to your transitional style living room is by giving it the right rug. You might use the traditional rugs to balance contemporary furnishings on it.
On the other hands, you probably want to use contemporary rug themes for your retro furniture.
You also may use alternative rug, with the more natural and exotic rugs, like this blue sisal rug for transitional style living room.
Coffee table sets for transitional style living room
Finding suitable table sets for the transitional room might present challenge for some of us. Here we have general rules for you to pick the right table for your transitional themes.
If you already have contemporary sets of furniture, then you might need to find some retro or traditional table –see the picture for examples.
You’ll do the opposite when you have traditional sofas or chairs. You might need to find tables with contemporary traits.
Light and airy transitional living room with a pair of Club chairs
Translational rooms, any translational rooms, like to combine furniture of different eras and still look charming and elegant.
This airy living room has two different tables, but still looks gorgeous. The elegant coffee table on the picture works well with the round table flanked by the pair of Club chairs.
You also see that in transitional theme, you wooden floor also a good option. Here, a clear-finished floor also serves as balancing color for the overall whitish living room.
Cozy living room in transitional style
Along with the wow factors, you need to make sure that your transitional room are always cozy for your daily activities.
For this, the traditional and contemporary fluffy couch or chairs should enough to comfort you. To add the cozy atmosphere, find one with the right fabrics or leathers.
This image show you a simple yet cozy transitional room, which would help you through harsh winter in comfort.
Large rustic transitional style living room
Still like an airy living room? This large open living room is worth your consideration. It’s spacious and won’t make you feel depressed.
This country style living room has the arsenal of a comfortable living room with the plush sectional and open layout room.
Rustic old grandpa clock, dresser, and floor reading lamp, turn the white-washed living room feels transitional and charming.
Wingback chair with metal coffee table for transitional elegant living room
A transitional style living room always offer a balanced masculine and feminine atmosphere. You won’t find it too feminine or, otherwise, too masculine.
All the traditional (often masculine) living room styles are all subdued and then spiced up with fresh color pallets of contemporary styles.
So, you may often meet a traditional wingback chair blends nicely with metal and glass coffee table of the contemporary style, like this one in the example.
Bold decor for transitional living room
When updating the living room into a transitional theme, don’t forget to inject it with pops of color. It’ll be your point of interest, as well as be the fresh factors for the living room.
Along with that, you also need to consider the patterning of the room. This will help you to put depth and updated characters to the living room.
In this example the designer use floral colorful wallpaper as the living rooms’ color statement. It’s bold, but won’t overwhelm the existing furnishings.
Read More: 27+ Awesome brown living room ideas to try this year
All the transitional living room ideas aside, now you might probably agree that the style has certain characters which should easily blend the old traditional styles with the contemporary styles –and making them look modern, elegant and timeless.
That’s it. We hope this not-to-long listicles can spark your love of transitional styles even further. Keep healthy and stay safe.
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