10 cream living room ideas that show that neutral doesn't have to mean boring

Far from being boring or old-fashioned, cream living rooms are a warmer alternative to stark white – and can look really stylish with the right accessories and finishes. These beige shades makes a great base for a room that you can then build on with texture, color and finishes, whether that's plants or plenty of colorful cushions, so you can showcase your style and switch things up regularly.

Take a look at our top cream living room ideas below, then find more living room ideas in our gallery.

1. Use texture and earthy accents for boho style

A bohemian-inspired space always looks great against a plain backdrop, so use cream as your foundation to build up a scheme that's heavy on earthy colors, tufted textures and a houseplant or two. This setup uses a woven wall hanging and super soft rug to bring the neutral scheme into a contemporary setting.

2. Keep it classic, light and bright with a tonal approach

Cream is the perfect shade for bright and airy living rooms in period homes, especially if you're lucky enough to have windows big enough to enhance natural light. For a more traditional scheme, opt for a tonal approach, with lighter and darker shades of cream to add depth. 

For more traditional living room ideas head over to our gorgeous gallery. 

3. Opt for a colour pop to pep up your scheme

If you can't imagine your home without color, there's no reason why you can't add a splash of your favorite shade to a cream backdrop. Copy this cream living room idea how to brighten up a neutral scheme – we love how this muted mustard yellow sofa works in the beige space – it's a classic country feel mixed with a nod to contemporary brights.

If you are on the hunt for the best sofa, check out our buying guide.

4. Add drama to your room with black accents

If you're still having flashbacks to the early noughties iteration of black and cream, we invite you to reconsider. The modern version of this color combo is sharp, contemporary and downright cool, as this room set from Ikea shows. The key? Opt for industrial touches, bring in natural textures through wood, and inject some greenery to keep the scheme from feeling flat.

5. Keep it interesting with mix-and-match woods

Gone are the days of matching furniture sets: we're all about mix-and-match these days, and a cream living room is the perfect opportunity to bring all your favorite pieces together. Combining different shades and styles of wooden furniture adds textural interest to a plain foundation and looks surprisingly pulled-together. Finish with a contrasting neutral, like the grey introduced in this scheme  – it feels so wrong but looks surprisingly pulled-together.

6. Warm up a room with beige tones

This gorgeous warming beige shade feels like it visually encompasses this modern living room. This space could be ‘cold’ as it’s big with a huge window, but this beige tone has the opposite effect. Team it with patterned cushions in similar colors and look out for a large printed lampshade and wooden lamp base to add character. The dark grey sofa creates contrast and acts as a focal point, and the pale cream textured rug adds a tactile quality that gives the space a cozier aspect.

7. Pick greige for a more contemporary look

Beiges and creams can be uber pale and this sofa is the starting point for this scheme. Its low profile gives it a modern feel and the light upholstery means you can accessorize with any colors. Here, the navy and gold patterned cushions give carte blanche for you to add in metallics to match. The brass pieces warm up the space visually and the navy rug anchors the look. You could pop in some darker beige throws for colder evenings to add a new element. 

If you prefer these more cool tones beiges, check out all our grey living room ideas too. 

8. Build pattern into a cream living room

Choosing a beige base for your living room doesn’t mean you can’t use color in other areas. Beige acts as a warm ground so to speak, a bit like a blank canvas for you to work your magic with! The splash of ruby and indigo blue print cushions adds life to this beige sofa and they complement the navy trim of the arms and seat cushions. The electric blue patterned rug ramps up the look and gives it a zingy edge, the turmeric trimmed throw has the same effect. Be bold with your choices and have fun with adding colour to the beige base. 

9. Layer up different neutral textures 

The idea of all beige may seem a tad dull, yes, we said it! However, it’s about how you apply it and what you add to the scheme that will make it successful. The textured beige wall adds depth and ties in well with the stripe beige sofa. What’s key with this beige living room is the use of rattan. The wall unit, console and armchair each give character to the room, and the textures offer a warming color too. They also contrast against the smooth dark grey floor and plain colored rug. 

10. Go for a two tone look in a cream living room 

Beige can be a tad boring on its own, so why not team it with another color? Here you can see how well it works with pale green, it lifts the beige and the combo of the two together gives a fresh spring-like feel. When you have two shades working harmoniously it makes your job of choosing accessories much easier - a pale green vase, lamp and cushions will look great and look out for a throw or rug that combines the two colors together. 

If you are a lover of green, you might want to check out our green living rooms feature too.