cosy living room help

2 years ago

Evening

We’ve recently rejigged our downstairs to put the kitchen/diner at the back of the house. This has left us with a small living room. We don’t mind that, as it’ll be cosy and mainly for us.

As you can see in the photos we haven’t started on design yet but after some help and ideas.

The sofa and love seat are chunky, but we also only purchased them about 2 years ago so we are going to stick with it for a bit.

So we are after some help with a few areas.

the flooring is real wood. The colour doesn’t work with the sofas. Any suggestions? Can you sand down and paint? Would like a lot lighter colour.
the door. This leads to the front door/hallway. It’s wide at 33” + the glass. Should we maybe go more glass and smaller door? Remove glass and go smaller door in the corner?
under the stairs. The sofa is right up to the stairs to make room for the door to open (the love seat will move further along. Is it worth getting a few shelves or some kind of storage? Any ideas? Maybe a folding door even??
tv - possibly the most obvious, but fake wall with built in fire underneath? The wallpapered wall is where the sun goes over during the day, so would windows either side be good?( the view isn’t great in fairness as it’s the side of the house

Thank you all so much in advance. Really totally clueless and 100% not a DIY person

Featured Answer

Mary Krause

2 years ago

I would measure up and see if you could swap the large sofa position to the TV position. The main entrance is the door with the glass? If so that sofa blocks the flow into the room. Consider placing the TV/storage and some shelves some underneath the stairs, all painted white to tie in with the stairs (the dark wood of the TV clashes more with the floor than the sofas). This will free up floor space. Put a large rug in the centre, cream with pastels to tie in with the sofas, cushions to match. Given that the sofas are recent this would be relatively inexpensive and would also cover the floor if it is not to your taste. With a pale warm colour on the walls and a rug that floor may surprise you and look quite cosy as it has a warm hue. Just my thoughts

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Comments (18)

PRO
Rodrigues Interiors
2 years ago
Just want to make sure I understand. What is the door by the stairs? Where does it go? You are not changing the furniture? It is sooo bulky, would make a massive difference with different seating. What do you mean by windows either side? Either side of what? Also is the TV wall a false wall? Thanks
Chris Blowers
Original Author
2 years ago
Evening
Sorry, I’m never very good at descriptions haha.
So door by the stairs leads to the kitchen diner. This will be changed to a glass door with wooden trim.
We agree furniture is bulky, it use to be a bigger room, but a lot of budget has gone to other rooms, so we will stick by it for a year or so more.

The thinking with the TV is to build a false wall. It’s not there yet. I was thinking if windows either side of the TV for more light.

Does that all make a bit more sense? :-)

Thank you
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tab darcy
2 years ago
Hi Chris, it will be lovely and cozy. Will your long couch fit under the window? If so and if you'd be willing to move the door down towards the stairs a bit, the single couch could go at the stairs (Better flow). I wonder if a false wall would close the room in a bit too much? There wouldn't be much point of adding extra window light if it's mostly a TV room.
Chris Blowers
Original Author
2 years ago
Sadly we can’t move the door as we’ve just had the wall the other side all decorated with radiator and lights in a recess so that’s a non starter :-(
Sarah U-S
2 years ago
I realise a lot of money has been spent on the sofa and chair - but I think they’re the main issues. Would you consider selling them on eBay etc? The money could then be used to buy a smaller second hand replacement? There are lots of people who have fab pieces like yours where they are virtually new but they simply don’t fit - so they sell them.
Vicky Pow
2 years ago
I guess this room has been used to store stuff while you remodel or to retreat from the chaos. I’d start by sorting out the clutter so furniture can go in the right place and stripping the wallpaper. Then live in it as a blank canvas for a while. That will help you decide what to do with the sofas and get a feel for what you want.

From your comments so far, I like the floor and don’t think it clashes with the sofas- although agree with comments that they are too big. I think the space is too small for tv over fire, you’ll get a sore neck!
88wj88
2 years ago
What are the actual dimensions of the room ? It appears that if you swopped the sofa to the tv wall as Mary Krause suggested you would then block the stairs. Perhaps sell the sofa and keep the love seat and get a smaller armchair?
C Wilson
2 years ago
If it's just for two of you, get rid of the love seat, perhaps wall mount the tv so you can get rid of the stand, have a large pale fluffy rug as someone suggested, a less busy wallpaper and some cupboard storage built in under the stairs.
Chris Blowers
Original Author
2 years ago
Hi all.

Sadly the sofa is just a little big we believe to go on that wall without blocking the stairs.

The wallpaper and light fitting is all coming down. We might lose the love seat and go with an arm chair as a short term compromise.

The wall the sofa is currently against is partly a stud wall as we blocked it up. Wonder if we could sink the TV into it?

The whole room will be more tidy soon (washing machine already gone and doors will go in the garage)

Just curious of peoples rooms and any clever ideas. 100% some to take from what you’ve all said which is very much appreciated x
Margian
2 years ago
You mention the door to the room is wide and has a window to the side - be careful not to make that door smaller or you may not get the big sofa out when the time comes! Is replacing that door with a glass one an option? it would make the room seem more spacious. I'd try to get the TV under the stairs to give you more options for furniture. let us see the finished project. HTH
P Robinson
2 years ago
I wouldn't try sanding/painting the wooden floor. The suggestion of a light coloured rug instead is a good one.
PRO
Gazelle Interiors
2 years ago
Hi!

This room looks like it's part hallway too, is it possible to have the TV under the stairs? And if the room is just a snug for adults do you really need both sofas? Consider removing one if possible and if you move the TV under the stairs it gives most distance and Will really help the room look bigger. I'd paint it a white colour and really brighten it up. Get a nice big mirror on the wall where you said the sun shines to help bounce the light around the space. I think if you go light on the walls your flooring is fine, invest in a comfortable rug to go just slightly under your sofa where you prefer to sit. Add some greenery to breath life into the space and really freshen and brighten it up. And since its a cosey snug type room consider some cushions of a nice accent colour and adding a chunky knit throw. You can always stick to neutrals. Consider some ambient lighting in the form of a nice floor lamp too.

Good luck and have fun with it!
Chris Blowers
Original Author
2 years ago
Thank you gazelle interiors.

A couple of things we do intend to do -

We are going to sell the love seat and when we have the money we will also sell the sofa for something less chunky. One sofa will make it less cluttered.

The wallpaper is going 100%

The future plan is we will extend out, maybe a bay window, maybe more depending on funds.

A TV under the stairs could work well actually. Would make the room feel longer than the configuration we had in mind
PRO
Gazelle Interiors
2 years ago
You're welcome!

Sounds like you've got some great ideas. One chunky sofa in the wouldn't look too bad and would be nice and inviting.

The thing with the bay window is, other then make the space look a bit bigger will it come in hand? Are you planning on adding a nice accent chair their with a side table or moving the TV there with a nice TV cabinet. I'd deffo think about those things before adding it. If it's possible, consider removing your hallway wall and creating a opening to this space it would make the house look so open and big! But of course not if you just want this to be a TV snug
Chris Blowers
Original Author
2 years ago
Thank you.
Funnily enough, we never had a hallway, so this is a new addition. Lol.
Originally you opened the door to a wall. The snug use to be a dining room with a kitchen off of it (now part of the hallway and utility)
The idea hopefully would be to fully extend the front of the house. It will add a proper porch and extend the snug onto a better sized living room.
I’ll send a couple of photos of what the room was, and what we have now done with the old living room. Hopefully it explains what we’ve done :-)
We need to declutter and decorate this “snug” now.
My wife wanted something essentially just for “us” and not for guests, as that will be the kitchen
Chris Blowers
Original Author
2 years ago
Before
Chris Blowers
Original Author
2 years ago
New hallway(utility on the right) and new kitchen/diner

cosy living room help

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