How We’re Updating our Living Room Without Renovating

The simple changes we’re planning to make to update our dated living room space without any major renovations.

Honestly, there are a million things I’d love to do to update this dated living room space. Layout changes, maybe adding some wall treatments, THOSE FLOORS (I really hate, hate, hate those floors). But, until I have a clearer picture of just where I want to take this space in the long run, I’m hesitant to sink too much time and money into things that might not be staying. Luckily, there’s a lot I can do in the mean time to tone down the dated feel of this space and make it function better for our family. I can wait to tell you what I’m thinking.

We’ve only been in this new/old house of ours for a year, but we’ve already managed to do quite a bit of work in here. I’ve painted out the walls, ceiling and trim in my favourite warm white (Cloud White from Benjamin Moore if you’re wondering). I also took my paintbrush to the built-in cabinets in the corner (you can read more about our painted living room cabinets here) and took the opportunity to swap out the hardware for some gorgeous unlacquered brass knobs and pulls while I was at it. I added this cozy rug in the biggest size I could get my hands on to help cover those awful floors. And finally, I swapped out the ceiling light for something with a bit more warmth and personality. It’s already come such a long way, don’t you think?

I’ve also started to purchase some new furniture for this space. This coffee table and the matching end table have been such a huge upgrade for our family in terms of style and functionality. We used to use a big ottoman with a tray on top as our coffee table, but it was SO limiting in the surface area we could actually make use of to say set down a drink and I could say the same about our tiny old side table. These new pieces function so much better for us and they look so beautiful doing it too.

I have to say, the more we update, the more I want to continue on in here. I’ve had all sorts of ideas about simple changes we could make in here that would have a really big impact on the way this space looks, feels and most importantly, functions for our family. Let me show you what I’m thinking…

The first big change we’ve got planned for our living room space is a brand new sofa. Our current sofa is only about five years old, but it’s definitely looking pretty worn and tired. After learning that the company making the custom sofa for our study was having a %25off sale, we quickly took advantage of the timing and decided to order up a new sofa for our living room as well (if you’re curious, we went with this style in this fabric). Not only will our new sofa be infinitely comfier than our current one, but I’m so excited to bring a darker fabric into our main living space as well. I really think it will help cozy up all the white and black we’ve got going on in here.

To add to that, I also ordered up this cozy little armchair. I fell head-over-heels in love with it when I started planning out our study, but in the end, I decided the fabric wasn’t going to work so well as the design for that space evolved (you can catch up with our study design plans here). I’m SO happy that I’ve found somewhere else that I can put it to work instead though!

While we’re swapping things out, I’d love to change out those can lights over the fireplace for something with a bit more style – likely something like this in an unlacquered brass finish to tie in the brass hardware on that built-in. And, speaking of lighting, I’ve also ordered up this table lamp to bring some contrast and texture to the opposite corner of our living room too.

Finally, I cannot wait to retile that fireplace surround. While I know that bold marble is working its way back into design, I’d love to see something a bit more neutral here. We’ve already ordered up this subway tile in the Grigio colourway to replace it with – I really think the contrast it brings will go such a long way to updating the honey oak around it. Of course, I’ll paint out the brass while we’re at it too.

A few new decor pieces such as a mirror for the mantel, some new art for the walls, and a few new toss pillows will help to round things off. I am still thinking about whether I should layer in a new rug with a bit more colour just to help ground the space and tie it all together, maybe something like this. What do you think?

Wishing you SUCH a lovely day my friends! 

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