Our DIY Living Room Renovation almost broke us but was by far the most rewarding. As a family it is the room we use the most. However, the decor had been neglected for many years and it badly needed a facelift! My only must for this room was that it looked bright, clean and cosy. I had visions of us cozied up watching t.v. with the stove lighting.
DIY Living Room Renovation Before….
We are lucky to have quite a large space with two big windows that let in lots of light. The walls needed repairs and the floor needed to be replaced or varnished. Our old sofa was black leather and always felt cold. Little details like the wallpaper on the chimney breast and wall hangings looked dated. The pine doors and furniture worn and had a darkening effect on the room.
Our first step was choosing a sofa..
The most important element for us in this makeover was choosing the right sofa for us. We knew from the beginning we wanted a corner piece to divide the room and create a cozy living space. Researching the different materials and colours took hours as we needed something that would withstand the puppies and busy family life. My Mother recently bought a sofa from DFS so we had a look on their website. I fell in love with this beautiful deep blue piece on the DFS website and I immediately knew what I wanted the room to look like.
The fabric is so soft and warm under the skin while the cushions are the right mix of firm and fluffy. We have had it for 3 months now and it is withstanding our dogs, cat and daily use really well. I chose cushions from Primark to dress the sofa and I love the finished result. The charcoal rug is from The Range and the coffee table is from Argos. It had silver accents when I bought it but used gold spray paint to have it match our decor.
To finish off our seating options we also chose an accent chair. We used DFS again and I thought the deep mustard tone of this one would work really well with the navy. I styled this chair with a footstool from Homefront and cushions from Brandmax in Blackpool. The side tables are from The Range and still available online here! The plants are from a selection at Woodies.
Our TV unit was upgraded to this beautiful piece from Harvey Norman. W also got the matching dining table and tall book case. I wanted a darker wood but not too dark!The Hamburg Collection was perfect.
The Dining Area and Storage
As the corner sofa set a defined living area we could then create a dining area. We chose the extendable dining table from the Hamburg Collection and four Texas Dining Chairs which match it perfectly.
During our kitchen renovation (blog post coming!!) we had to remove units to make space for appliances. As a result we lacked storage for cutlery and miscellaneous items. The tall bookcase from the Hamburg collection finished off the room perfectly.
Walls and Floors
We painted the walls ourselves but there was a lot of prep work on cracks and damage that the dog created to the wall under the window. We spent hours polyfilling and sanding the walls then applied a coat of Polycell 3 in 1 Base Coat from Woodies. The paint we used was Dulux Pure Brillaint White which really brightened the room.
Our floor badly needed a facelift but as it was solid maple wood we didn’t want to rip it up and replace it. We were also renovating on a budget so we decided to do it ourselves! A friend of Padraig knew about flooring so helped us out. It took two full days to sand the floors back, stain them and then apply the varnish. We hired the the sanders from Carey’s Tool Hire and bought the stain and varnish from Pat McDonnell Paint. If you’ve never done the floors before then I would suggest getting someone who knows what they are doing. It was a lot more work and more expensive than we thought but worth it in the end!
Finishing Touches…
Our stove is the most used item in the house. We installed it last year and replaced our fire place. All we had to do was wall paper the chimney breast. I wanted it all white but also wanted a little detail. I found brick textured wall paper in Woodies and I think it worked perfectly. The round mirror is from The Range and I love how it all came together.
We had a corner of the room we designated to the pet beds and food bowls but also wanted it to look aesthetically pleasing. I found a floor lamp in the Helen Steele Considered range for Dunnes Stores. Next i placed a Frida Bookcase from Harvey Norman and decorated it with our favourite bits like the record player and records we had at our wedding reception.
Trawling through Pinterest (follow me) for inspiration I saw some bedroom photo’s with ceiling fans as the light fixture. Imagine my delight when I found this one in Argos!!! I love it. Not only is it a light source but it is a working fan that will be so handy in summer. We installed it ourselves (Podge did) and I think it finishes everything. My one is no longer on the website but they still have a good selection HERE.
Finally we have my little bar cart which I was delighted to find in Penneys! And they are back in stock this week.
So my friends, I hope you enjoyed our little DIY Living Room Renovation as much I us. It could have led to divorce but thank god we came through the other side!! Let me know what you think under an Instagram photo HERE and don’t forget to check out previous blog posts HERE and HERE.
Louise xx