Out of all the different rooms within your flat or house, the living room is the space in which you are likely to spend the majority of your time (aside from sleeping, of course), and as such, when you have a spare pot of money dedicated to home renovation, it is an excellent room upon which to concentrate.
With this in mind, continue reading to discover seven fabulous ideas to transform your living room.
Completely Change the Color Scheme
Firstly, perhaps the most affordable yet dramatic way to transform any room within your property is to entirely change the color scheme. There may well be a temptation to head straight to your nearest DIY shop and invest in a handful of different bright and bold paints, but it is much more advisable to first design a mood board or at least take a look at both the internet and interior design magazines for inspiration first.
Additionally, even though they do tend to be slightly pricey, value for money is to be found in hard-wearing paints, especially in the living room, where the walls are more likely to suffer knocks and bangs.
Update the Couch
If you had to pick one element in your living room that is the most important, regardless of the size, shape, or layout of the space, it would have to be the couch. Choose contrasting styles and designs in both pieces and moreover, look for chairs that provide support yet still exude style and sophistication.
Now, you may well be looking for ways to transform your living room on a budget, and if so, then you will not be looking to replace your entire couch. Instead, invest in brand-new, comfortable, and eye-catching throws and cushions to inject new life into your old sofa. This works just as well as getting a new couch.
Upgrade Your Radiators
Another exceedingly effective yet relatively simple way of modernizing your home and living room and simultaneously enhancing the ambiance and atmosphere of the space is to upgrade your radiator to a newer, more stylish, and energy efficient one.
Take a look at the impressive and diverse selection at warmrooms.co.uk for everything from vertical standing units to more traditional and ornate designs, and do not hesitate to ask the expert staff any questions you may have.
Other ways to make your living room look and feel considerably warmer include:
- Picking colors in neutral tones
- Making a fireplace the focal point rather than the television
- Introducing metallic elements within the room
- Use free-standing floor lamps rather than overhead ceiling lights
Go Super-Size with the Floor Rug
A rug makes any room warmer and more inviting, but more than that, it can entirely change the focal point and overall design aesthetic of a room. If your living room has wooden flooring or even laminate, then an oversized rug will be the ideal addition to make walking more comfortable underfoot. Alternatively, for living rooms with a more traditional carpeted floor covering, you could layer an entirely contrasting rug over the top in the center of the room.
Consider a Shabby Chic Style
Shabby chic, often intermingled with bohemian style, is a design aesthetic that lends itself to a more varied and arguably more interesting room than one that sticks to a more rigid structure. If you reside in a period property, then shabby chic style is the natural option. When upcycling and repurposing older pieces of furniture, be sure to accentuate the quirks and ornate details of the building design.
Let the Light In!
Obviously, some people simply do not benefit from a large amount of natural light in their living room, either due to the space being smaller than average or simply due to the positioning of the room to the sun.
However, you will be genuinely surprised at the difference in maximizing what volume of natural light the room is afforded, so try not to cover the windows too much with curtains or blinds, leave doors open throughout the day, and strategically place mirrors to reflect and exemplify the daylight too.
Change the Layout
Finally, and especially if you subscribe to the Japanese concept of Feng Shui, once you have decluttered and cleaned your living room ahead of the transformation, you could consider changing the basic layout of the area entirely.
For example, if the focal point has always been the television mounted on the wall, choose to position the screen on a side table in the corner instead and hang a beautiful piece of art on the wall in its place. It might be that you would benefit from moving the chairs and sofa around to ensure they aren’t blocking the radiator or the windows to improve the light and heating. You could even consider creating a window seat should there be room for one.