So you want to setup a tropical living room but don’t know where to start? You might think the living room should include palms, coconut, or tropical fern trees. Perhaps you think that for the room you should fill it with rattan stuff.
All those thoughts may partially true. But in essence, a tropical design always highlights the use of home elements to optimize the thermal comfort of its host. In other words, a tropical home is always cool and comfortable no matter how hot it is the day outside.
Tropical designs use all the home elements to cool down the interior, like using big windows, open layouts, high ceilings, up to use natural elements known for their cooling characteristics.
Now if you want to find inspiration for a tropical living room, here we offer you some 25+ tropical living room ideas and design for you.
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Open and fresh tropical living room
Living in tropical areas give you an excellent edge: you won’t get those chilly and lethal conditions in four season’s regions. The downsides, probably, it gets too hot sometimes during the summer.
That’s why all the tropical home looks open and light. They need to keep the air circulated freely all the day and night.
And that rules apply in any ‘standard’ tropical interior, including the living rooms –resulting the typical open and always fresh-looking living rooms.
Bamboo chairs for tropical minimalist living room
Tropical designs use natural materials extensively, as the regions often rich with variety of building materials. You just pick the right one for your purposes, and that’s it. You have a home, a living room, decor and more.
The versatile materials often used in a living room are bamboos. There’re types of bamboos you can have, they are also have various colors.
As a furniture materials, bamboos are flexible enough to keep up with any styles. In this example, you find bamboos as rustic minimalist chairs for this tropical Nordic style living room.
Rattan furniture for your charming living room
Along with bamboos, you might find rattan furniture in most of tropical homes. This vine-plant is one of the toughest furniture materials you might find in tropical forest, mainly in Indonesia (you get around 70% of them from this country).
These fast growing vines also are flexible to shape. So you can find the end up to become artistic furniture. Or, if split, to become impressive wicker stuff.
The durability, toughness, pliability, and lightness of the materials make rattan seems to be timeless part of tropical-styled living room.
Blue surfboard for a tropical beach living room
Talking about tropical living room, you cannot forget of the sunny beaches full of swaying coconut fronds, full of sun bathers and surfers.
No wonder now you might see tropical living rooms are often full of beach-related stuff as the decor.
In this blue living room, for example, you have a surf board as the wall decor, giving a transitional balance to the stronger blue of the living area and the lighter one on the ceiling.
Solid woods for tropical luxurious living rooms
Some of finest quality woods can be found in tropical forests. Teak, mahogany, ipe, merbau, bangkirai, meranti, are some of the most often seen on tropical modern living rooms.
They are durable and often so tough that you can use it for outdoor uses. They have gorgeous grains and textures, so you often see them in naked finishes.
In this luxurious living room, you find both woods in painted and naked finishes combination. A good idea to try if you want it to have the natural color and modern color blend in an elegant way.
Bamboo blinds for living room in tropical design
To shield too much sunlight into the living rooms, light curtains are suitable for your living rooms. Be sure they are made of light and airy materials so the air flow won’t be interrupted.
As the traditional alternative, you can always find wooden or bamboo blinds. These blinds are practically staple stuff in tropical themes, mainly in the traditional themes.
Here is a charming traditional combination of wood-dominated living room with bamboo blinds. The stuffy comfortable modern couches makes the living room also feels transitionally warm.
Sets of wicker chairs in a tropical Balinese style living room
Almost all features of tropical traditional living rooms can complement any modern (even contemporary) living rooms’ overall look.
In this example you find how traditional elements of tropical homes are being used extensively to build this charming modern Balinese-style living room.
You can see it from the thatched roof, exotic doors, up to batik tapestry on the wall. All are balanced by sets of wicker chairs in the middle of the living room.
Tropical modern with jute rugs
If you want to dress the floor of your tropical-themed living rooms and still want to retain its tropical atmosphere, you need to try jute rugs.
Far more pliable than rattans, but softer, jute are also tough enough to handle rough handlings or traffic in the living room.
The warm neutral colors enable jute rugs to work with any living room styles, not only of the tropical one.
Tropical wallpaper Decorating ideas for living room
Need a fast way to make your living room looks tropical? Hang a tropical wallpaper on the wall, and you’ll have the result right away.
New printing technologies enable us to have any designs and colors we like, including some rustic lush green tropical themes like this example.
This affordable approach works well for small or large living room. For the larger rooms, you might use the wallpaper as the room’s point of interest.
Bamboo-framed mirror for tropical décor
Traditional tropical living rooms love to use natural stuff as their decor stuff. They use decor from woods, bamboos, earth, and more.
The material are also often being used as additional elements for the existing decor, to amplify the tropical atmosphere in the living room.
For an example, here thin bamboo poles are used artistically to frame a beveled mirrors, adding exotic tones to the elegance mirror.
Vibrant background colors for tropical transitional living rooms
There’re no rigid rules when it comes to color your living room. You might find the traditional living room might often use natural and neutral colors.
For the more modern living room, you have wider color pallets now with bright and vibrant colors to choose.
Also can experiment with the wall colors, to use them as background colors for your chairs and furnishings, for an impressive tropical transitional living room like the following example.
White woven furniture for tropical shabby chic living rooms
Tropical living rooms are full of natural fibers. All the way down here you have met rattan and jute stuff. But you still have more pliable materials like pandan or cane.
They sometimes dominate the overall living rooms on the furniture, rugs, cabinets, and the decor with their rustic and warm colors.
But sometimes you want them in muted neutral colors, mainly if you want some shabby chic living rooms, where all the woven furniture often painted white to balance the other soft neutral colors in the living rooms.
Marine blue couches for a fresh and open living room
A key of tropical design is the air flow. You let the air move freely into or out of the rooms, so they always stay cool without any additional cooling systems.
For the reason, tropical designs often has generous window sizes, high ceilings, and light color pallets for their walls and furniture.
To remind you of a breezy beach, some living rooms or their features are painted in blue. You can see an example of them in this following photo.
Modern contemporary living room in tropical setting
A most coveted aspect of tropical designs is its love of sun light. They let the sun light to pour in from any available spots.
So, along with the free-flowing air, sunlight also plays important roles in your living room designs. You might enable it to come in from big windows or glass walls like this contemporary living room’s design.
To balance the minimalist approach of the living rooms’ design, some natural features are employed. Here you have them in the cane chairs, rattan hanging chairs, and the L-shaped solid wood sofa.
Retro modern TV cabinet for a tropical rustic living room
The versatility of a tropical style give you enough room to experiment with any furnishings’ styles. You might use classic up to contemporary themes and your room still looks tropical and fresh.
In this example, you have a modern TV cabinet design which, apart from its functional purposes, also serves as visual point of interest.
The retro modern cabinet looks elegant in the fluffy atmosphere of this living room. It also offer warmth with all the woody furnishing with it.
Pouf set to charm this vibrant tropical Caribbean living room
Talking about tropical designs, you cannot forget Caribbean style living rooms. Home designs from these islands are full of lovely tropical ideas.
Being the melting pots of different people from different parts of this world, the islands has so many hidden gems when it comes to tropical interior designs
Along with the colonial style, you also have the more contemporary living room setups –like this one with cute red metal Poufs.
Mediterranean tropical living room with Colonial vibes
From Caribbean islands now we move to another warm and special spots, the Mediterranean regions.
Just like the Caribbean counterpart, these regions are also rich of tropical stuff to inspire you, from its iconic architectural structures up to its warm interior.
In this example, you have classic Mediterranean living room with sweet curvy glass windows and doors. To complete the setup, some elegant Colonial furnishings are included.
Decorating ideas with green elements for tropical outdoor living room
Without greenery or natural elements, your tropical-themed living room won’t complete. So, don forget to put those element in your living room.
As an alternative, you may set your living room amidst the green elements themselves, as an outdoor living room.
This rustic outdoor living room is an example. A set of rattan chairs and coffee table are set in the middle of lush tropical greenery, inviting you to sit and enjoy the green atmosphere there.
Décor for traditional modern tropical-styled living room
Now we turn to woods to decor our living room. Almost all tropical materials work well for your decor, even sea shells, pebbles, or indoor plants.
You also can experiment with wood textures or woven vines or fibers. In tropical traditional living rooms, woven bamboos also serves as roof covers –like the one in the example.
Another way to decor your rooms is by adding sculpted woods. In this example, you can see the elements on the doors on the background.
Fiddle-leaf to fill the negative spaces in your tropical retro living room
One or two (or more) right indoor plants turn your living room into a tropical haven. You have several plant to choose for the purposes.
You’ve seen palm and coconut trees along this lists. If you prefer a more modern touches for the living rooms, you also can find the right trees for them.
Here we offer you fiddle-leaf as your indoor plant for living room. Their lush and large leaves are good choices to fill the negative spaces in your living room, like the one inn this retro modern living room.
Classic-contemporary tropical furniture for living room
If you want to have a fusion style in your tropical living rooms, you can combine classic tropical features with contemporary themes.
As implicitly hinted previously, you may combine (for example) traditional styles with contemporary styles. Or you may combine modern styles with classic styles, into transitional styles.
In this example. A charming tropical small living room looks cute and comfortable with classic rattan chairs and contemporary solid wood coffee desk.
Tropical dark living room
So far, you meet all living rooms with vibrant and lush green or blue atmosphere. You might wonder, “Are all tropical living room should have those characters?”
There’re always rooms for experiments, including in this matter. Here we present you dark tropical-themed living room.
With charcoal black and dark grey colors dominating the room, you still can retain the warm and freshness of tropical regions with the natural color of furnishings plus green elements of banana leaves on its corner.
Green mosaic wallpaper Idea for your living room
Need another affordable visual focus point for the living room? Here we have another awesome wallpaper theme to hang on your living room’s wall.
This time you need to try this mosaic on your wall. Unlike the previous wallpaper with all the flowing vines and lustful green foliage, this time you have it in fuzzy green mosaics.
If you love minimalist contemporary interior designs, this wallpaper patterns is worth considering. It’s simple yet impressive enough to be your living room’s showstopper.
Hairpin table for a cottage tropical living room design
Table with hairpin legs are popular again these last years. Along with other ‘floating’ furniture of 50s now seems to get new souls and get along well with the urban 21 century folks.
Here you also find the furniture also works so well with tropical designs. They inspire the lightness and airiness of all tropical themes.
In this example, an iconic 50s hairpin table serves as an impressive visual point –along with its functional purpose as coffee table.
Indoor plants for your tropical-styled living room
You have several types of plants suitable for indoor, including in your living room. You have known three of them so far: parlor palm, coconut, and fiddle-leaf.
There’re other tress that work well for your living room, for example umbrella tree, corn plant, dragon tree, tree fern, and bird of paradise.
What would you want to choose? That’s up to you preferences. You even can fuse them all in a room like this example.
Modern tropical beach living room
This time we go to our lovely beach house again and sitting on its lovely and gorgeous living room. This time we like to inject a little luxury to our tropical-theme living room.
Here you have a spacious living room set in semi outdoor area, where you can enjoy the beach and still safe from the scorching sun or naughty wind.
Stone walls and solid woods materials dominate the living room, complete with its calm and natural finishes, and making the living room looks handsome and comfortable.
Cozy traditional Hawaiian outdoor living room
For you who want to go to the most essential of tropical designs, you need to consider this humble but terribly cozy wood outdoor living room.
Some said this living room is a typical outdoor traditional Hawaiian living room, some other would say that this room is ubiquitous in any tropical regions east of India
Whatever the truth, this Tropical living room always lure you to sit still and enjoy the day with some friend or family.
Primitive décor for contemporary living room in tropical surroundings
If you want an open living room, but not that outdoor types, you need to consider this idea. Here you have the open feels of outdoor living room.
But, here, you also still can retain the privacy and comfort of a regular indoor living room, as this living room is enclosed with glass walls.
A combination of modern amenities and primitive wooden decors (and the superb scenery) makes this living room truly an impressive haven.
Primitive open living room to connect with nature
A blend of primitive materials and modern tastes often resulting stunning results. This one is a perfect of example of it.
This living room sits in an awesome setting. The modern living room sit snugly under thatched room and raw wood structures unique to the area, the Kenya rural area.
All the setup resulting an impressive living area, where you can be so close to the nature with all the primitive elements. But, at the same time, can feel the neatness and comfort of modern conveniences.
Lanai structure for tropical living room
To let the sun and air circulate freely in the room, you need to consider a lanai in your tropical home.
A lanai is designed so to optimize air and sun to come into your home, mainly into your tropical living room.
This Florida lanai is an example of how you can use part of your home to become a fresh and sunny haven for your family –with a lanai.
You’ve seen some of awesome tropical living room ideas and designs in this short list. Some are of contemporary and modern themes, some other of classic styles. Still some other, you can even find a fusion of primitive and modern designs.
You also find the decor and furniture types commonly found in a tropical-styled living room. We do hope you enjoy this listicle. Have a good day.
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