A living room should include a few items that are a special treat, decor that makes the entire room feel complete and a bit luxurious. Whether you are renewing a dull room or starting a new space from scratch, these are the refined additions that are worthy of your investment. These are the living room decor items that every woman should own.
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There is way too much home decor content for women in their 20s but practically none for women over 60 who are finally getting to decorate their homes the way they want after years of compromising due to husbands, children, family pets, etc. This is YOUR era, and I think we should be celebrating it more!
This list is especially for that woman. The one who has, without a doubt, earned the right to a tasteful living room that reflects HER style, HER comfort, and HER way of being in the world. Here are the 15 things that every woman over 60 deserves. Not “needs to update because her old stuff is bad” (not doing that), and not “needs to keep up with trends” (please, no). Just the 15 pieces that turned a living room into the true adult sanctuary you’ve been quietly wishing for. Some are a bit of a splurge, while others are super affordable. It’s all worth it. We promise.
1. A Real, Properly-Sized Area Rug
Most living room rugs are the wrong size, but especially the ones in American living rooms. They look postage sized next to the coffee table. They are doing your room (and your nice furniture, hardwood floors, and general taste) a complete disservice. After 60, you have lived through enough wrong-sized rugs. You deserve a rug that fits the room.
An area rug that is big enough (for most living rooms that would be 8×10, 9×12 for larger spaces) should have all the front legs of every piece of furniture sitting on it, Should also help the room feel more together, Plus, it absorbs sound, makes the space feel cozier and has the potential to hide the path a dog has worn into the carpet (patterned rugs are great for hiding sins)
The RELEANY 8×10 Vintage Floral Washable Rug is genuinely lovely for this. It has a soft, slightly distressed medallion pattern that reads as elegant and timeless, not trendy and weird. The colors are neutral enough to work with anything, the pile is low (which means no tripping, please, we are over 60 and we are not interested in tripping), and the whole thing is machine washable. (Yes, the WHOLE thing. You can roll it up, throw it in your washing machine, and put it back. Living in the future.)
2. A Reading Chair That’s Actually Comfortable
This isn’t the chair that came with the matching set. It’s not that 20 year old chair that still works “fine.” It’s not just any chair. This chair was picked out for you. It cradles your back perfectly, the seat depth is just right, and the arms are at the perfect height for your tea cup. THIS is the chair. This is the chair with your name on it. The one you sink into and never want to leave.
There is no debate on this. At a certain age, your relationship with your reading chair becomes sacred. You will be spending HOURS in this chair. It deserves to be excellent. Spend the money. Choose the one with the lumbar support that’s good for your back. Choose the one in the upholstery you actually love, not the one that “would go with the couch.”
It is not a product fix because the right chair is based on YOUR body and YOUR preference. But the rule is, if you’ve been making do with a chair that’s “okay”, you’ve been making do for too long.
3. A Beautiful Lamp With a Warm Bulb
Please get rid of your daylight bulbs. They are terrible. The blue-white ‘daylight’ bulbs are sold as an act of aggression towards you, your skin color, and the respectability of your living room. Use warm white (2700K is the best), or even better, a warm dimmable bulb. Along with a nice lamp (not a plastic torchiere from 1996), like an actual ceramic or brass one with a real shade, and your room will look amazing.
For most of the emotional labor of a room, it’s lighting doing 60%. A warm, glowing lamp that’s in the corner on a side table behind a chair, tells the room occupant “this is a place to relax.” A harsh overhead bulb tells people “this is a place to be inspected by a dermatologist.” Choose your lighting carefully.
This is a quick and easy fix that will cost about as much as a new bulb ($4). If you want to go on another lovely adventure and upgrade the actual lamp, that’s a separate thing, but just swapping the bulb will transform the lamp!
4. Curtains That Actually Reach the Floor
Ahhh, hovering curtains. These curtains that skirt the floor, stand as a constant reminder that they didn’t read the assignment, and My God, they are out. And once they’re out, they trod the floor as puddle-and-kiss level curtains should. Once you hit 60, we don’t do high-water curtains anymore, and we don’t do low-water curtains ever.
Floor length curtains can create the illusion of higher ceilings, larger windows, and can improve the overall look of a room. Adding long curtains is an affordable way to improve the look of a room to make it appear more expensive. All it takes is the investment in a curtain rod and a set of panels.
The H.VERSAILTEX Linen-Look Blackout Curtains are a really lovely choice for this because they look like real linen (which is what you want, expensive looking, slightly textured, very calming) but they’re machine washable and they have blackout lining, which means they’re great for the room you actually want to nap in. They come in long lengths (96 inches and up), which is what you actually need to get them to the floor in most rooms.
5. A Throw Blanket Made of Something Real
We’re talking about a real throw blanket. Not one of those cheap, pilling fleece blankets from a chain store. Wool, cashmere, alpaca, merino, or something with weight, texture, and dignity like a cotton waffle weave. The sort of blanket that sits over the arm of a couch and looks expensive and inviting by itself. The sort of blanket you reach for when you are cold instead of the one you begrudgingly sit in because it’s the closest thing.
A nice throw blanket is one of those “small things that changes everything” type of purchases. It shows impressive quality and will last almost forever, so the cost-per-cuddle is great. Your couch deserves to be dressed up with something nice after 60.
This is a technique fix since the right blanket is so personal. Search for natural fibers (wool, cashmere, merino, cotton). Steer clear of synthetic fleece. And get one in a color you actually love, not just a “neutral” you’re settling for.
6. An Original Piece of Art (Even a Small One)
Mass-produced canvas prints from the 2000s need to go. You know the types: black-and-white Eiffel Towers, abstract art, and “live laugh love” sayings. After 60 years, your walls deserve at least one original piece of art that is meaningful to you. It could be small, and doesn’t have to be expensive. It just has to be real.
What you consider original art does not need to be a $5,000 piece from a gallery. What you consider original art could be a print from your favorite Etsy artist or a signed print from a local artist. It could be a watercolor that your grandkid created, an awesome textile or embroidery piece, or a photo. The point is original art is not mass-produced. It is specific, intentional, and yours.
This is a no-product link because it’s personal. Start with Etsy, local craft fairs, and Society6. The first piece is always the hardest. After that, you’ll catch the bug.
7. A Statement Plant (Real, or So-Convincing-Nobody-Knows)
Plants change a room! A good fake or real plant communicates that “a person lives here who is taking care of things.” A large, striking, sculptural plant is one of the best decor pieces you can have in the living room, and that goes for size! The taller and more leafy, the better.
I am fully in favor of fake plants. Not everyone can keep a real plant alive *coughs at myself*, and it’s not worth the guilt of a dead fern. The secret with fake plants is to buy ONE good one instead of three sad plastic ones. Good indicators of quality are matte leaves (not shiny), convincing soil (or remove the pot’s soil and replace it with moss or pebbles), and a sculptural form.
The Artificial Dracaena Tree is a really beautiful pick for this. It’s tall (statement!), the leaves have that real-plant matte quality (not shiny plastic vibes), and it comes in a planter that already looks finished, so you don’t have to scramble for a pot. It fills a corner, it lifts the whole room, and it’s a one-time decision instead of a weekly watering commitment.
8. A Coffee Table That Holds a Tray
Your coffee table works hard, and it can be both beautiful and functional. The secret to making your coffee table look like an adult coffee table and not like a place where remote controls and old magazines accumulate is a tray. It could be a wooden tray, a brass tray, or a ceramic catchall. Any of these will help you corral the clutter that life throws at you and transform it from a mess to a display.
On the tray, put a small stack of books that you would want to be seen with. You can also add a little decorative item, a candle, and a small vase with flowers (real or dried). Remotes, coasters, reading glasses, and anything else that isn’t decor should be stored in a small basket or a drawer. The tray is the hero. The tray gets the spotlight.
This is a technique. The right tray will depend on your coffee table size and your taste. Look for solid wood, brass, marble or rattan. Avoid plastic. You deserve a real material.
9. Real, Quality Picture Frames
Those grandkid photos, wedding photos, and travel photos (like that trip to Tuscany in 2007 you never shut up about). All of those photos deserve to be IN GOOD FRAMES. Not some plastic frame from the Walgreens. Not the promotional frame that came with the wallet-sized photos. REAL, NICE frames. Coordinated material (all wood, all brass, all white, or all black).
A great way to make your home look more expensive is to have matching picture frames. Choose a color, remove the mismatched picture frames, and either buy new ones or spray paint them until they match. You’ll notice that your shelf, mantle, or hallway will go from looking cluttered to looking styled.
This is technique. Choose a frame style and color that you love, and then work on gradually replacing them. You don’t need to do everything at the same time.
10. A Beautiful Catchall Bowl Near the Door
This may be small, but it’s still mighty. It makes for a great decorative bowl by the front entrance. Or dining table. Or anywhere you place it to collect your keys, sunglasses, mail, etc. The Catchall Bowl is the perfect balance between a space looking chaotic and intentional, even if it’s holding the same random items.
It can be ceramic, or made of brass, vintage silver, or even a brass dish from a trip. As long as it is pretty and serves a purpose, that is what counts. (Vintage shops, Etsy, and brave estate sales are your friends.)
Technique fix. Focus on the bowl. Consider it like the first gorgeous item your guests notice when entering.
11. A Ceramic Vase You Genuinely Love
It’s not the vase you received as a wedding gift in 1981, nor is it the vase that came filled with flowers and you’ve been meaning to do something with. This is a vase that you *actively* selected because it is gorgeous and you love how it looks both empty AND full. It looks like a sculptural piece, making you think, “hmm, I should put something in that vase” instead of “ugh, I should hide that vase before company comes.”
A ceramic vase enhances its entire environment. Whether it’s on the console table, coffee table, mantel or bookshelf, it’s a statement piece. You can add some branches from outside, flowers from the grocery store, or you could even leave it empty. Regardless, it’s doing its job.
The Modern Ceramic Vase Set in neutral colors is a beautiful answer for this because you don’t have to commit to just one. The set gives you a few different shapes that look great grouped together (a tall one, a medium one, a smaller one) for that effortless, curated, “I have taste” look. Neutral tones mean they go with everything you’ll ever put in your home, forever.
12. A Bookshelf That’s Styled, Not Stuffed
You have, no doubt, collected many books during your decades of living and collecting. You’re a real person, a woman over 60, of course, you have books. But here’s the trick: a beautifully styled bookshelf is not just every book you’ve owned, standing up like soldiers. It is a curated collection of books, objects, and space.
The style guideline is called the ”third, third, third” approach. For every shelf, about a third is books (some standing up, others horizontally stacked with a little thing on top), about a third is decor (like a vase, a small framed picture, a sculpture, a candle), and about a third should be empty space so that your eyes can rest. If you are feeling fancy, you can group books by color. Or just organize them by topic. Either way, leave room to breathe.
No purchase necessary! All you need is a few hours (and the willingness to relocate some books into storage so that the remaining ones can shine).
13. A Soft Material Mix (Not Just Smooth Everything)
Here’s an elusive design principle no one discusses: texture. Consider why some living rooms seem flat and unremarkable while others are magazine worthy. The difference is the latter incorporate a variety of textures. Smooth, nubby, soft, hard, woven, and polished. Your eye is subconsciously cataloging each of these textures and saying, “Yes, this is a rich, layered space.”
The solution is simple. Look around your living room. Do you have the same texture everywhere? Smooth leather and wood? Velvet and silk? You need some contrast. How about a chunky knit throw on that smooth leather sofa? A woven basket next to that polished side table? A rough linen pillow next to a smooth velvet one? Just one textural shift makes the room feel more designed!
This is a technique and an observation. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. (You are welcome. Also, sorry.)
14. A Real, Grown-Up Candle
The candle situation deserves a section of its own. Step away from the cookie-scented mall candle. It is time. After 60, you have earned a candle that smells like a real, complex, grown-up scent. Tobacco. Cedar. Fig. Sandalwood. Tea. Something layered. Something that makes a guest walk in and quietly go “oh, what’s that smell, it’s amazing.”
A good candle does a lot of things at once. It makes the room smell nice, adds a gentle flame, and the container becomes part of the decor. It also shows people you value the experience of being at your home. Check out Boy Smells, P.F. Candle Co., Diptyque (worth every penny), Nest, or even Anthropologie’s house brand. Malls candles are a no go.
I won’t recommend any particular candle because “the right candle” is very personal. But if you’ve never spent over $15 on a candle, you should at least try one that is really nice. You’ll see what I mean.
15. A Conversation Area That Actually Encourages Conversation
This is the final task- and it’s quite crucial. Please scan your living room.\ Is your seating organized to allow two people to actually have a conversation? Do the couch and chairs face each other? Is there a coffee table in between that is within arms reach? Or is everything pointed at the TV like a cinema?
Many living rooms feel cold and unwelcoming. Most living rooms are designed for screen watching instead of designed for *being* with people. After 60, your living room will hopefully be used for entertaining. Your living room should invite your guests to sit and stay for a while. Move the couch out from the wall a few feet. Angle a chair toward it. Add another chair across the way. Now you have a full conversation pit, and people are going to linger for hours.
The next time you have a friend over for tea, this technique could be free, fix, and possibly life-changing.
So, Where Do You Start?
You might be feeling overwhelmed after reading all 15, and I totally get that. My real advice here is to break it up a bit. Focus on one or maybe two that impacted you the most. (For example, most of the women I am acquainted with choose the rug, then the curtains, and then the lamp.)
The essence of this list does not intend to construct a 15-item spree for you, but instead permission. Giving you the freedom to elevate the items you’ve had to settle for. Giving you the freedom to spend the money on that great lamp you’ve been eyeing. Giving you the freedom to replace the 1981 wedding gift vase with something you actually love. Giving you the freedom to make this living room, finally, fully, gorgeously, yours.
You deserve it! That’s the point. Welcome to the era of getting what you want.
