Living Room Revamp – How to Update Your Lounge

Is your living room looking a bit tired, are you fed up with the old furniture, colour scheme, lack of storage…has it stopped making you smile when you enter? Then it’s the perfect time for a revamp!

The first step is look at what space you have. Does the space have enough room for all your requirements? Make a paper template of the sofa or joinery to give you an idea. If space is an issue first look at decluttering, you’ll be surprised how much space you can free up when you empty the cupboard full of DVS’, alternatively look at versatile furniture, you’ll need some occasional furniture such as a coffee or side tables. Think about an ottoman that doubles up as a coffee table, a pouffe that acts as extra seating and storage in one or a side table that has a drawer or shelves that can be used to store books or a basket full of remotes. 

Comfort is king in a lounge; you need seating for the whole family to chill out whilst binge-watching the latest’s hit show plus occasional seating for entertaining. Think about the size of the room and proportions, you don’t want a sofa that overpowers the room with little room for anything else.  An L-shaped sofa is great for maximising space and with a couple of occasional chairs will make the room work for all social situations. Try not to place furniture all around the walls but leave some space for a consul table behind the sofa or place two sofas facing each other with a coffee table in between, if space allows, this will make the room appear larger and have some character.  Already have a comfortable sofa but are tired of the colour then consider reupholstering it with a great fresh fabric design in a new colour.

Storage is always a key element of any living room, you want it to be a tranquil relaxing space so consider a bespoke piece of joinery that can house all the family’s media needs (TV, DVD, music centre, games consul etc.) but also keep all the kid’s toys, board games etc. out of sight but comprises open shelving that can show off your collections, family photos or special ornaments.

Don’t forget lighting, it’s often forgotten or value-engineered out of the project. Any scheme that isn’t well-lit is no longer a good scheme; so, make sure that you have a layered lighting plan, ambient, task and accent; basically, a mixture of table lamps for day-to-day illumination and floor lamps for when you want to read, sew or other task-related activities.  You might want to show off a picture or ornament so think of directional lighting, like spots or a downlighter. To avoid trailing cables there are clever USB lamps that don’t need to be anywhere near a socket.

Finally, the colour scheme -think about the colours you like, are they muted neutrals or bold ‘in your face’ shades? Don’t know where to start? Then open the wardrobe doors and you’ll be surprised to see the colours you love staring back at you, be it monochrome, pastels, bold, patterns, stripes or plain…these will give you a steer in the right direction. Remember not everything has to match, inject some personality into the room, so don’t go for the same colour on the walls as the sofa. We’d suggest a different tone of colour in the scheme. Textures are great for adding interest to a room, you can do this inexpensively with soft furnishings. Cushions and throws can be fun and add pops of colour, think woollen, velvets, knitted and satin textures in different patterns but the same colour palette – they can really bring some life into a room. Artwork doesn’t have to be expensive and not every wall has to have something on it, but a large picture or a picture wall will add a focal point taking the eye away from the TV!

Now the revamp is complete, sit back, put your feet up and relax!