Home Improvement Blog

Posts Tagged ‘living room’

The main activities of the household usually take place in the living room, where members of the family meet, work, read, pursue hobbies, listen to music, watch television or entertain friends. If it is going to accommodate all these comfortably, it must be efficient and adaptable, so choose the room you want to use and all its components with great care.

Creating space
First look closely at the existing living area and decide whether this could be allocated to a more suitable room in the house. Up to the time of our grandparents, sitting rooms were often on an upper floor and work areas were consigned to the lower level where there was less light and more noise and fumes. If your ground floor comprises a kitchen, living room and dining room, it might be possible for the living room to change places with the first floor master bedroom where daylight is not so necessary. You can contact a surveyor or architect if you want to knocking two rooms into one room for living room.

Using color
Color can make a great difference to the feeling of any room, but the important thing with the living room is to decorate with shades and patterns that are relaxing and easy to live with. This is not the the place to indulge your fantasy for dark brown or bright pink walls, the immediate effect might be dazzling, but it is unlikely you will comfortable with it for several hours each day and over a long period of time.

Choosing furniture
The particular pieces of furniture needed for this room will differ widely with the age, interests and number of people who will be using it; the needs of a young couple in their first home will be very different from those of a large family plus, possibly, an elderly relative. The basic requirements are seating, storage, occasional tables and any equipment needed for entertaining. Read the rest of this entry »

Your living room probably takes more wear and tear than any other room in the home, so never skimp on the basic coverings; any defects will soon become obvious and will lead to more expense if your furnishings need replacing prematurely.

Most types of wall covering are suitable for the living area, as long as they will stand up to direct sunlight, the occasional knock and even concentrated heat if you have an open fire or spot heating system. Above all, whatever material you choose should retain its looks over a long period of time. The living room is generally the largest room in the home and therefore one of the most costly and time-consuming to redecorate, as well as causing major disruption to normal activities.

A paper chosen for a room which will be used by adults only need not be particularly strong; but if there are young children around, it should be tough enough to take a few knocks, marks, and scratches – and preferably vinyl coated to enable any marks to be wiped off.

Wallpaper comes in a huge range of styles and colors, some with other material covering such as vinyl, textile, hand-screened, paper, foil and flocked. This type of specialized covering is, naturally, more expensive than paint or ordinary paper, so take into account the type and amount of wear it is likely to endure before making a final choice.

If your budget is limited, but you want a more decorative effect than plain paint can give, stick on a wallpaper frieze or cut-outs from a roll of paper whose design you like, but whose price prevents you from using it everywhere.