How to Breathe New Life into your Living Room
We all have rooms in our homes that we prefer more than others. Mine is the kitchen as I love to create new recipes for family and friends. I also love my bedroom as my love of cooking is rivalled by my love for unwinding in bed and getting a good nights sleep. The living room is next on my list where we spend a lot of time with family and friends. Sometimes we neglect to give one or all of these rooms the care and attention they deserve when we first refurbish/redecorate. The intention is to revisit it at a later date when funds have been recuperated but this often gets demoted on our list of priorities.
If you are guilty of doing this then first on your list should probably be the living room. The living room tends to get the most use so ideally should be first on the list when we revisit which rooms to finish styling. Think practically, make the room functional, give it a minimalist look to keep the mind feeling relaxed when there and also consider the following:
(Photo credit: Melanie’s Fab Finds)
Use of Colour
You can breathe life into a room with the addition of a little colour. My husband likes to do this when refurbishing and redecorating properties. If you are unsure of which colour scheme to opt for then look at colour palette for inspiration and test colours on the intended wall to help you choose. A little injection of colour is a good way to create a different feel to a room and to freshen a room up if you simply fancy a change.
(Photo credit: Melanie’s Fab Finds)
Introduce A Feature
The simple addition of artwork, mirrors or even shelving can complete the look of a room. We bought a mirror and also a picture with a mirrored frame for our living room from Furniture Village. The walls looked boring and bare before their addition. Both pieces enhance the look and feel of the room and finish it well.
Adding a feature to a room can add a beautiful focal point/conversation piece. I’ve visited houses where they have the most stunning fish tanks with either freshwater or saltwater fish. These look amazing and are also extremely calming to watch. I used to have tropical fish myself and have considered introducing them back into our home. I know the children would welcome this addition. I’m not quite sure what to opt for just yet but am looking at various choices including the BiOrb, various freestanding clear tanks and also the various aquarium and cabinet sets that if found over at Swell UK. Any of these would look amazing with some plants and pretty coloured fish like the guppies and tetra I used to have. I remember watching them swim around the tank and found it very therapeutic.
Focus On Comfort
You expect a living room to be comfortable and its appearance to have a relaxed feel. Avoid cramming in too much furniture, although, on the flip side make sure you have enough to accommodate all those living there and where possible a few extra guests. Cushions and throws can add to the relaxed feel a room has and can also change the appearance and mood of a room. If possible it’s nice to have spares that are different so you can mix it up once in a while.
Creating an Inviting Atmosphere
An important factor not to be overlooked is the atmosphere of the room. You can make a room far more inviting with the addition of a fireplace. A gas fire can look stunning and be ideal to cosy around during the cold winter months. I don’t recall where we bought our fireplace from but there are plenty on the Direct Fireplaces site to give you some inspiration.
Other home accessories that can lift the atmosphere of a room include candles, diffusers, even the right sound system for a little mood music.
I hope this has given you some inspiration for your living room. Don’t forget the most important thing is to style your home to your taste and to suit your requirements.
I hope you enjoyed reading my post How to Breathe New Life into your Living Room. What’s your favourite room in your home?
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Great ideas! My favourite room is our bedroom, I’ve recently decorated it and I love coming into it and relaxing!
It’s a great room and so it goes without saying that we need to make sure it is geared up towards helping us relax and sleep.
I agree colour makes all the difference and we have plenty of colour in our living room – it makes it feel so vibrant. Great tips!
Thanks Tayla, for your comment x
Some great ideas here. I can not wait to get some home improvement jobs finished this Spring so I can redecorate the house again 🙂
It is nice when the home has been redecorated. It can really freshen the home up.
Great tips here! We are decorating our lounge at the minute so fab advice!
Perfect timing. I hope this has helped inspire you Laura x
Ours is the kitchen. It’s the centre of the house and the reason we brought it. In fact we are looking to move and it’s still all about the kitchen when we see a property!
A good looking kitchen can really add to the appeal of a property.
My favourite room is our kitchen as it’s the most recently renovated. I like the space, and colours (grey and yellow) and an industrial feel we’ve incorporated.
It sounds nice. It’s always a good room for those that like to cook.
My favourite room is our lounge room/living room. I LOVE it there.
It can be a great room when decorated nicely 🙂
I don’t have a favourite room at the moment as we’re in a temporary home. But we’re hoping to move later this year and if we do I can see my bedroom and the kitchen becoming my favourites followed by the living room. A bit like you I suppose. And I’m hoping to be able to put our stamp on it more than this current home.
I hope all goes well with the move Cath. Those are the best rooms aren’t they!!!
I love my open concept living/dining/kitchen area of my home. I love adding color to a room and I tend to decorate with the same colors I dress in – colors that look good on me and makes me feel good.
I need to do this. Our living room is rather blah at the moment. I would love to give it a pop of color for sure.
I tend to stay mostly in the kitchen or in my office when I am home. It is important to have a comfortable space to work and relax and i feel good that we have a nice house.
It is important to have a comfy place to relax. We are all overly stressed these days so creating an area in the home we can relax makes sense.
Love this post! It’s amazing how reshuffling furniture can really open up a room. I found this out recently when doing a removals job. Keep the good work up! Luke.
Thanks Luke. The positioning of furniture etc can really change the look of a room.
oh my gosh YS to all of this- my living room def needs a bit of a face list and i love incorporating all aspects of COZY into every room ha- we use a lot of basic tones and then pops of color depending on the season! great tips here!
Thanks Cait. Hope you use some of the ideas in your home x
The kitchen is the favorite room in the house. Where everyone gathers to talk and help out. My living room is second favorite for just relaxing.
Oh I love this! I really want to get a lighter couch. Ours is a super dark gray color
It’ll make the room look brighter. I hope to get a lighter one too. Let’s hope it’s on the books for both of us.
My lounge is my favourite room, it’s cosy and comfy with our big corner sofa. But second and very close second is my bedroom!!
Sounds like a great living room!!!
Great post and great tips! My favourite room in our current home is probably our living room because here we spend most time and our kids play here.
It is a room where most families get together. It makes sense to decorate it accordingly.
These are such great ways to update a room. We did a LOT of painting when we moved into our house. It was easiest to do it when there was no furniture in here! My favorite rooms are the office and the boy’s playroom.
That’s true. We normally do this first before moving in too.
We are in the process of painting our living room. It’s a beautiful light blue/gray color.
My favorite room is the front room. That’s where my computer is. (it’s the only place where I have internet connection) Thus, I spend the majority of my time here. Added bonus, when i have friends over, it’s also the place where we hang out.
We repainted out living room two years ago and it was AMAZING how the new color brightened the room, making it look completely different. A little change can certainly go a long way!
I agree a little can go a long way and doesn’t have to be expensive either.
We are about to repaint our house and I am not looking forward to it. Getting the hubby to agree on a color is not easy.
Oh dear. I hope you can decide on one soon!!!
We are about to repaint our house and I am not looking forward to it. Getting the hubby to agree on a color is not easy.
It can be hard to decide on a colour sometimes.
Yes, color is so important! Picking the wrong shade of blue will either have you sitting in the sun on a beach or in the middle of a rainstorm!
Ha, yes that’s very true!
I really don’t have talent when it comes to decorating the room. Thanks for the tips though. I will try this.
Good luck Wendy. Glad you found the post useful.
My favorite room in the house is my living room. It’s comfortable, has a feature, and is the only finished room in my house. Once I finish the dining room that will probably be my favorite!
Great ideas! I updated our living room’s color palette a couple of years ago and it made a huge difference. The clean neutrals I chose really brighten up the space, however it could use a few more accent pieces.
It does make a difference. Sounds like you did a great job 🙂
Creating an inviting atmosphere is important to me just like the one in the picture. And I love how light and bright it is.
An inviting atmosphere in a room can add to its appeal.. It is important to decorate them well to make them look as good as possible. It makes a big difference when you live there.
I should add more life to my living space. I never put things up because if I do, I am scared that I am going to have to leave my apartment by being kicked out. It is a superstition but has happened to me before. Plus I live in an apartment and they have strict rules about what not to do to the walls.
I’m hoping to repaint my room and one of our guest rooms this winter. I think I decided on the guest room color today, and I’m excited about it.
Hope the repainting goes well x
Right now my favorite room is my bedroom. My son recently moved out so I am very excited to get an office. I am doing the entire room over so hopefully that will become my favorite room. I have to say that paint makes such a big difference. A few months ago we finally painted our living room a beautiful shade of gray. It was dark green before so it looks very different.
Sounds like a plan. I’d like to have a proper office at home to separate home and work. Painting a room can make a big difference to the feel of a room.
Love all these tips! My favorite is our living room. It’s the most comfortable place in our house.
These are great ideas. I love the idea of pops of color and focusing on comfort. I have 2 little ones so comfort is super important.
I agree. It is very important in all homes.
Over the last two years or so, I’ve done some major changes in my home. I love the way it looks now but there is always room for more new ideas to percolate.
It’s great to refresh rooms in your home every so often and incorporate different looks and styles 🙂
Oh wow what a fab and lovely living room in the first piccy. I could not agree more a good lick of paint with a change of colour can do wonders to a room xx
It’s amazing how much of an improvement a little paint can do.
I probably have to admit that I have to say my bedroom is my favorite room in the house. I do enjoy being in there for some reason. Although I enjoy it more when it is clean and it’s gotten a bit chaotic of late unfortunately.
I know what you mean. It can get hard to keep on top of tidying and cleaning sometimes.
I really need to work on updating my living room. We have been moving toys and clutter out of our main living areas and it is nice to refresh the space.
It sure is. I love to change rooms around it makes it so much nicer.
I love changing up my living room! I have a neutral couch and curtains, so I can make a huge difference with a new rug and throw pillows.
These can make a big difference. I want to get hold of some new pillows and throws too!!!
I am currently renovating my house – so all of these tips are welcome and useful right now for me x
Glad to hear it. I hope that they help you with your living room 🙂
Ooooo fantastic tips!!!! It’s crazy how tweaking something like a little color can totally transform a room
I know!!!! Glad you liked the post x
Love these tips and yes to changing up the colour – can make such a big difference and on a budget too
Laura x
It sure can. It’s great you can be budget friendly when refreshing a room.
I love using color to transform the mood and feeling of a room. It is definitely a great way to breathe new life into your space.
I agree and it’s easy to do.
What a great idea to renovate a space! I am currently looking for ways to refresh my house and my living spaces. I can’t wait to see more options like this one!
It helps to have suggestions and pictures to inspire you.