Before & After: Lounge Makeover

From our first viewing, the lounge in our home was somewhere I was desperate to get my hands on, and you can probably tell why looking at the 'before' picture below! However, it's been more of a challenge than anticipated, taking over a year to get it just right, and has undergone quite the transformation. 

The main challenge has been the fact that it's a fairly small L-shaped room. Coupled with the deep shade of red it was painted when we moved in, the room felt quite small and dingy - not helped by the fact that there's a conservatory off this room, meaning natural light is already a problem. So the morning after we'd moved in the very first thing we did was attack it with paintbrushes (I literally couldn't wait any longer!) After two coats of primer, four coats of Dulux White Cotton, and blood, sweat and a few tears, we were FINALLY finished. 

To brighten up the space even more, neutral coloured decor was always going to play a big part in the design of this room, however I decided to go with blue as an accent shade to break it up a bit. We replaced the dingy office style blinds with curtains from Dunelm, and some cushions from Homebase, Next Home and Laura Ashley added some colour to the sofas from Harvey's. I searched for months for a footstool which would compliment the sofas whilst not breaking the bank, eventually coming across a seller on eBay who handmade this one using Laura Ashley fabric for a fraction of shop prices. 

The main focus area of the room is definitely our TV stand from Ikea's good old Hemnes range, and is particularly handy as the baskets hide away lots of DVDs/CDs/general junk. I've decorated it with some candlesticks, also from Ikea, lanterns from The Range and Hobbycraft, and filled a bird cage (originally used as a post box at my wedding) with pot pourri. Above the TV I've arranged some black and white photographs from our wedding. 

Our coffee table and side table were from Dunelm, and I upcycled them using Rust-Oleum furniture paint to tie in with the rest of the furniture in the room. Above the coffee table in pride of place sits a tapestry my very clever mum made for us, whilst on the coffee table stands a vase from Next Home filled with some artificial peonies I found in The Range, tealight holders from Laura Ashley, and a gigantic vanilla candle I picked up for an absolute steal in Home Bargains. 

An Ikea Hemnes bookcase to match the TV stand is in the corner of the room, (although as you can see, I don't really use it to store books - much to my husband's annoyance!), and I've added a couple of picture rails which I've decorated with various bits and bobs to fill the blank space beside it. 

After searching for a while for a nice basket to hide magazines in I found a bargain one for £13 in The Range, which sits beside the sofa covered with a Laura Ashley throw. 

Finally we finished off the room with a rug from Next Home, and a Laura Ashley lamp picks up the hint of blue nicely. 

The light colours have made the room feel so much more spacious, don't you think?! 

Thanks for reading, 

Sam Xx

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