Boring 'cold' lounge
Sally Medd
6 years ago
We moved into our house just over a year ago and have transformed the kitchen area and bedrooms, but the lounge I'm struggling to know what to do with.
We know we want to change the sofa for a corner one and the other furniture but the decor I'm not sure on. We want to create a cosy warm feeling as the rest of the house is quite minimalistic.
We saw in ikea a navy lounge with dark walls and ceiling, which we hadn't considered but it gave a luxurious warm feeling.
Open to suggestions on decor and furniture and what we all ink of dark ceilings and coving?
Many thanks
We know we want to change the sofa for a corner one and the other furniture but the decor I'm not sure on. We want to create a cosy warm feeling as the rest of the house is quite minimalistic.
We saw in ikea a navy lounge with dark walls and ceiling, which we hadn't considered but it gave a luxurious warm feeling.
Open to suggestions on decor and furniture and what we all ink of dark ceilings and coving?
Many thanks
Featured Answer
Comments (10)
Oriolus Oriolus
6 years agoI would start by painting the short ends dark blue to see how you like it. Dark blue can definitely look lovely and cosy, think F&B drawing room blue. Pair with whites, creams, golds and browns depending on how warm/rich you want to go.
For layout, have you considered something like this? It would get the TV closer to the corner sofa for viewing but also open up the room to non-TV socialising and potentially more storage and display space.
Sorry the scale and proportions are probably way off!
Sally Medd
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Most boring launge ever - SOS!!
Comments (168)Looks great - nice to see your igonred most of the anne twacky ideas ! But would suggest get way bigger pictures. I get mine from charity shops, car boot sales etc and paint the frames or replace the picture. You can knock up an abstract in two mins. Use any left over emulsion paint or buy matchpots to paint out the existing picture which gives you your background and paint a blob of colour anywhere on the canvas ( or whatever it's made of. ). If you are going to paint the frame matt is nice and I use clay based paint. I KNOW its expensive but it goes a looooong way and looks and feels mega. You may find some nice abstract stuff as well. For example I got a unframed canvas ( feels like canvas ) with nine squares on it all a different colour with contrasting, lit, light bulbs in each square. It was It was about 90 cm x 120 cm and I turned it around the wrong way. i.e so the bulbs looked to be sticking out rather than standing up. Very loud and brrrrright. Cost £12.00. I also go to local auctions. I cannot tell you the amount of things I have obtained from them for next to nothing. General household sales are the best for bargains. e.g. cabin trunk for £12.00, metal top hat box £8.00 both now painted. Few years back, I furnished a two bed flat with two receptions, kitchen and bathroom for £200. I like old furniture and I can also paint ! Therefore, it is my suggestion that you go for really nice wood or nice shape. Unfortunately, you don't usually get both together. I got a demi lune table really solid from a car boot sale for £4.00 also painted and looks good under the window. Mirrors car boots, auctions, charity shops and although there are not so many these days, jummies ! ( jumble sales ). Strange. I sense a big yawn coming on so I hope I did not bore you too much but your place has so much scope and did I mention Brick Lane Market, Portobello Market ? and every other London market. Also in Spain I got large white with blue roses on massive curtain for 10 euros way before the big rose thing became trendy. France is good for street markets. Good luck. Goodbye....See MoreFreezing Lounge - ideas needed
Comments (21)As an experienced architectural designer my answer deals with your specific problems, but also contains general advice which could be useful to other readers, so please don't be offended or take what I write personally... I'm just trying to help people. I notice your house has a massive external surface area with which to lose heat, plus lots of windows so it will not be an easy house to keep warm! It would be very sensible to check out your whole house internally and externally with an infra-red thermometer as this will show up the worst heat loss spots. They could be around window frames, doors, skirting, ceilings and these are the places to target your heat loss fighting energy and finance. Your problem could be caused by a whole range of issues. Do you have a suspended timber floor which is ventilated? Just like your open chimney, the wind will rob any heat from the room unless you stop it doing so. This would involve insulating the floor in some way, and if you were taking up the floorboards you would be wise to treat the joists (especially the ends) and check for evidence of mice, which can play havoc in cavity wall insulation. Taking up the floor is a very disruptive job, which is why it has not been done in my house. Untreated timber could rot if ventilation is restricted by close-fitting insulation. If you have an unventilated floor, it may not have any or enough insulation. Also, beware of internal insulation as a solution, as this makes your outside walls colder/damper and usually leads to later problems with damp/mould/rot and expensive remedial work, even structural failure. Make sure you follow the advice of a competent person who understands how complex building physics can be. (Building services engineer). Bay windows are usually really poor bits of construction... If your double glazing has a large gap between the panes of around 20mm, it may not be the real problem. If the spacers (between the glass) are shiny aluminium, this is not good, so if you ever replace the glazing, don't settle for anything less than Edgetech Superspacer or Truplas, the very best warm edge spacers available. I live in a 1930's ex council house and I have blocked the only remaining chimney with a massive bag of loft insulation. The floor was already overlaid with a cheap laminate floor, so the floor gets cold when the winter winds roar. Reflective blinds (checkout Reflex Rol) can be used, but with a bay window, fitting will be complex and heat will still escape around the edges of the blind. Reflective foil is able to bounce radiant energy away from itself, but there should always be an airspace on each side of the foil or the energy just conducts through to the cold side. If the window faces south, then blinds could make the room even colder, unless you always remember to raise them early each morning - the same goes for thermal shutters. My house in Somerset has a gas combi boiler which has hardly needed to come on at all so far this winter. My gas and electricity comes from EBICO, as they have no standing charges. I have insulated the house externally with 50mm of Celotex, covered with treated battens and Marley Cedral weatherboard (which does not rot) and only adds around 80mm to the wall thickness, plus Cedral is perfect for eaves boards and soffits. (You can paint it whatever colour you like). This, plus a porch outside the front door has made a massive difference to my warmth as I am 70 and now live on my own. The attic has been properly insulated and boarded to become an unofficial room. I am lucky to have two unshaded windows that face south and they bring in lots of free energy. I am not stupid and I'm often in and out to my garden, so in winter I wear a vest under my T shirt, as well as a fleece and longjohns under my trousers (get them at Lidl) which is also a good place to buy LED lights. Always start with energy conservation and insulation rather than things that burn timber or fossils fuels and ignore the real problem. I would avoid burning wood, given the state our atmosphere and lungs are in. We are not cave men anymore and should be evolving. New energy efficient houses sometimes feature large south-facing PV roofs which directly heat a central water tank or can feed electric underfloor heated zones - and just like my 1970's experimental solar house, these super-insulated dwellings do not have a 'normal heating system'. I can't stand curtains, they look a mess, often block out solar radiation / light and have to be washed. I like close-fitting wooden floors which you can simply sweep with a brush and run over with an upright vac-cleaner. Tiles are a pain to keep clean and can break your hip as well as things you drop. We can save lots of money and energy by not buying things that need to be washed and dried, as well as things we really don't need!...See MoreBoring floor plan
Comments (5)Its generally advisable to keep a hallway where possible because it helps prevent all the heat from downstairs going straight up the stairwell. Also because of where the cloak room is most people would prefer to have a space separating it from the kitchen/living space....See MoreWoad blue lounge, need help with decor
Comments (5)Hi. It looks a lovely room, all of the colours in your ideabook or shades of would work or a mint green with coral. I'd add a mustard chair (this one is nearly chartreuse). You could use a shade of purple as an accent colour for cushions etc. Add a gold/brass mirror over the fire and I'd go for glass coffee table/s so you can still see the floor beneath. I'd add a floor lamp over the sofa (I keep posting this plug in from westelm as can only find this one or one from made!) alternatively if you move the plant you could add a swing arm or arc lamp where the plant is. I would actually go for a grey patterned rug if the floor has grey tones as it won't make the room feel smaller. Again this is westelm and it has a yellow thread running through it but they have a number of grey patterned rugs. I'd go for Roman blinds on the windows. I might just actually go for shelves in the alcove to make the room feeling smaller, alternatively a hanging cabinet beneath shelves can work, will see I find I can find pictures....See More
PROFifteenFifteen
6 years agoSally Medd
6 years agoSally Medd
6 years ago
PROWorld of Wallpaper
6 years agoHey Sally,
I've just attached a few suggestions which I think would work to create a bold but luxurious blue lounge, whether you go for a feature wall or for an entire room.
Astoria Deco Wallpaper Dark Blue and Gold Rasch 30534
Crown Archives Woodland Wallpaper Dark Blue M1169
Apex Geometric Trellis Wallpaper Slate Grey and Blue Fine Decor FD41996
If they tempt you at all, we're currently celebrating our launch and are offering a 20% off discount for your first order if you enter 'LAUNCH20' at checkout. Not to mention that the Geometric Trellis Wallpaper is only £7.99 while we are still giddy about our launch!Hope this inspires you :)
E D
6 years ago
PROFeature Radiators
6 years agoI wouldn't recommend concealing the radiator with full length curtains, as this will just funnel all the heat out of the window and prevent it from being radiated into the room. Instead I would opt for a luxurious roman blind or look at changing the radiator to something nicer (not that I'm biased ;)). But there are so many nice "feature radiators" to choose from now, that you don't need to cover them up.
Have a skim through our website for ideas www.featureradiators.co.uk
Radiators for hallways - restricted depth · More Info
Radiators for hallways - restricted depth · More Info
Radiators in industrial spaces · More Info
Radiators in rural settings · More Info
Mel Mo
6 years ago
Sally MeddOriginal Author