Many people have been spending a lot more time at home recently, for one reason or another. If you have been spending more time at home, you have probably spotted a few places to make some improvements and breathe some new life into your living spaces. We have five simple, inexpensive and fun ways to customise your living room right here!
See Your Living Room in a Whole New Light
One of the quickest, simplest, and cheapest ways to change the look of your living room is by making some lighting upgrades to your space.
Without light we wouldn’t see anything, so light has a huge impact on how we see spaces and what we see within them. Changing nothing more than the lightbulbs in your lamps can have a big impact on how you see your space, but going a step or two further than that can completely change the look of a room.
Buy some simple table lamps to change how your room is lit, and consider quirky shades or coloured bulbs to give your room a different appearance when the lamps are on. Changing the overhead light in a space can make the biggest change, but it also comes at the biggest cost, so see what you can achieve by changing your lamps, shades, and bulbs first.
Natural Light is as Important as Artificial Light
Your windows and how natural light comes through them – or in some cases doesn’t – has a big role to play in how your room looks and feels to be in.
Consider swapping out old curtains and switching to blinds, or vice versa. You want to give yourself more control over how much light comes into your space in the daytime and be able to completely blackout the outside world at night if you want to.
You can even use coloured plastic sheeting to really change to look of the daylight in your living room. Similar to the effect you get from stained glass windows, you can use coloured plastic to change the shade of sunlight that comes into your room for some stunning effects. Some people apply UV filtering sheets to reduce the number of harmful UV rays entering their living spaces if they are particularly sensitive to sunlight.
Use Fresh Fabric to Upscale Old Furniture
If your living room is looking a little drab or dire, you can give it and your furniture a whole new look with some fresh and bright fabrics.
Many of us will have some old and well-used furniture that is structurally sound but in need of freshening up with a style makeover. Furniture often lasts longer than the style of its fabric, but don’t let that make you throw out a perfectly usable chair or sofa when you could have it reupholstered for less than the cost of a replacement. This way you get the best of both worlds; you favourite chair with a fresh, new look.
You can even use excess fabric in other areas of the living room, or the home, as custom cushions, pillows, or even curtains. You can get your perfect fabric here at yorkshirefabricshop.com, which has a wide range of fantastic upholstery fabrics at great prices. You are bound to find a number of great styles, and deals, with their fabric finder. You’ll be spoilt for choice!
Get a New Floor for Less with an Area Rug
Changing the flooring is probably one of the costliest changes you can make to any space in the home. Replacing worn carpets, or any floor covering, can be time-consuming and cause a lot of upheaval to an otherwise peaceful home.
You can make the change for less by adding a large area rug and strategically placing it to hide the most worn or ‘high-traffic’ areas of your room. For an extra saving, check out second-hand websites like eBay and Gumtree to look for good quality, large area rugs that have barely been used. These are often listed after house clearances and home moves and are often really high quality.
Make a New Feature for Your Room with Just a Pot of Paint
Change the look of your living room with just a lick of paint. Repainting or redecorating a whole room is quite a big task that takes a lot of time, but you can make a feature wall quickly and easily in an afternoon.
If you have a chimney breast or an alcove, then you have the perfect candidate for a feature wall. If you don’t have these in your room, no problem. Think about adding subtle stripes or a simple pattern to your ceiling to give your space a new dimension. Existing features like fireplaces or doors can also benefit from a quick paint, and give your room a wonderful new feature.
Giving your living room a new decor doesn’t have to cost you the earth or break the bank. With these quick and simple ideas, you can make some big changes to your space without having to spend too much money.
I have done so much DIY this last couple of months and have loved adding little touches. I really want a large rug but I am unsure as to whether our dog would just claw it and it would eventually just smell of dog!
Yes, I hear you on the rug vs dog front but we have a rug in our lounge and I vacuum it almost daily and have always used Shake n Vac or Bicarb of Soda which has helped to keep it smelling fresh.