Living Room Makeover
Contemporary Living Room Makeover
Can you believe the difference?
Interior design and decorating creates major changes to people’s homes and the way they use them. Living rooms should be a place to relax, unwind and converse or watch some TV or listen to music and read a book. They need to be warm and comfortable, as well as versatile to facilitate so many pass times.
There are still many homes where the living room has not had a makeover for twenty years or more, so it is time to make some changes and renovate those tired and out of date living rooms. This project here is a fine example of how changes to a living room can completely alter the feeling of the entire home. This house now has a stylish contemporary feel that is relaxing and enticing to the inhabitant and especially the guests, who now find it home away from home.
The Design Brief:
This was a very rewarding renovation project. The makeover of a 1970’s exposed brown timber beamed, brick feature walls, orange and brown swirly Axminster carpet that was just never going to die but had to go to stop any future headaches. Dralon covered sofas that were in perfect condition and also refused to die. The combination had been great for kids and cats, but the time for change had arrived.
So out with the old and in with the new! A new entrance was the main reason for the renovations as you simply walked off the street into the living room, no privacy and the weather was welcomed each time the door opened.
They also wanted a dining area, large enough for the family to all sit together, and a simple spruce up of the kitchen as the existing layout worked really well.
To make the story short, they ended up with a stunning new entry, extensive open plan living area with dining space, a brand new kitchen and fabulous new bifolding doors to bring the outside in, and a new courtyard with landscaping.
Then of course new furniture to finish off. After living with the heavy browns and oranges for some time, the clients wanted something fresh and easy to live with. They wanted a timber floor and a neutral carpet, something that wouldn’t show up the Birman cat hair. They were planning on purchasing new leather furniture with a warm red/brown tone.
So we decided on Antique Oak colored carpet and PVC Imitation Stripwood, Rimu for the floor in ajacent areas, and Resene Navarone for the walls, skirting and doors. The existing windows were white, so we decided to simply freshen them with a new coat of the same.
Design Conclusion:
The carpet selection was made to keep the space as light as possible, but still have enough colour to ground the scheme and not show up any cat hair. The imitation timber floor color provided a strong contrast to the carpet color defining separate spaces within the open plan area as well as being more practical for children under the dining table.
A new plasterboard ceiling was installed to hide the timber beams and allow for new halogen lighting and was painted white, to keep the space open and highlight the stunning new lines created with the new coved ceiling.
The addition of large timber bifolding doors made the living room more versatile as it could be opened up to the outdoors creating a wonderful indoor outdoor space.
The clients are thrilled with their “new home” and can’t believe it emerged from their old living room. They are in love with the colors and they provide them with great pleasure every day.
A successful living room makeover, achieved by keeping it simple.
See the kitchen makeover
