Oh yes! It’s One Room Challenge time again and this round I’m focusing on our living room! I’m pretty sure my mum has wanted me to take on this space as soon as we moved in.
It’s a great space, partially open to the kitchen with one large window. Our living room is probably one of the most used rooms in the house, especially when we have guests over, so it needs to be comfortable, organized AND attractive.
For the first five years we were here our living room looked like this and stayed essentially the same:
Last year when we took on our kitchen renovation we replaced all the flooring and baseboards on the first floor and I took the opportunity to paint the living room a beautiful deep navy colour at the same time.
We also purged a lot of our DVDs and when we put everything back in we ended up with this interesting corner storage solution. I especially love the collection of random stuff on top of the bookcases and the decorative router cables draped lovingly behind the tv.
The whole feel of this room right now is mismatched. And not in a “I’m bohemian and cool” way, but in a “I don’t know, just stick it in the living room” way.
It’s time for a change.
So, what’s on the agenda? I’m so glad you asked!
Proper lighting. Fun fact: our living room has no wiring for lighting, just a switch connected to an outlet (in the worst possible corner btw). I think I’ve come up with a great solution though which I’ll be digging into more in an upcoming week.
A legit media unit. No more leftover bookcases next to a too-small TV stand for us! We’re upgrading to an intentionally designed media unit with lots of storage for electronics, board games and puzzles with open shelves to display photos and special items.
Shopping the House. While our living room has becoming a bit of a dumping ground for random things I do want to take the opportunity to move things into the space that will actually work. I’ve held onto some things from our renovation last year that will find a new home here – like our old kitchen table!
Matching chairs. Speaking of shopping the house, the armchairs in our house never seem to stay in one place for long. We’re switching things up again and the vintage teak chair recently featured in my office makeover is moving back here and getting a sister. Both will be refinished and I’ll be attempting to sew some matching box cushions for them.
“Smart” Technology. As I mentioned in my smart home technology blog post, we’re not quite ready for full home automation – but we do love the idea of adding smart technology where it makes sense. This room is no exception and I’m excited to add some technology upgrades.
What’s not changing?
Our sofa. While our large sectional is not the style I would choose if I was going out shopping today (aka chunky and beige) it is still in really good shape and is incredibly comfortable. Sure, I would love to have a more modern sectional, for now this one is staying put.
Thanks so much for visiting, make sure to check out all the featured designers and guest participants over on the One Room Challenge site! See you next week as I (probably) make a giant mess!