Creating a Cosy Lounge: An Update

We are six weeks into the new year and we have already made some big changes to our lounge – creating a comfortable and cosy space that we can share as a family.

Firstly, we had our decorator in and he changed the colour of the walls from icy blue to a classic grey using Valspar paint. He also glossed our skirtings and fireplace and the result is stunning.

We have had Kahrs flooring – an eco friendly and stylish wooden flooring throughout the house since we moved in, and although we will be keeping this in the dining room, we decided the lounge would better suit a carpet.

Choosing a carpet can feel like a minefield, but we settled on a soft, light grey that provided comfort without being too expensive as the lounge area is a thoroughfare to the kitchen and will naturally over time get worn down and we couldn’t be happier with the result. The room immediately felt more cosy and homely and the boys now love playing in it.

Next, we purchased a couple of items from The Cotswold Company – a corner TV stand and a large white mirror to go above the fireplace. The TV stand takes up much less space than our previous black IKEA unit leaving more room for the boys to play and the mirror opens up the room crating the illusion that the space is even bigger than it is in reality. We also got a tripod floor lamp from Iconic Lights which softens the room more than the ‘big light’ which is also from Iconic Lights.

We still have more things we want to get to finish off the room:

• A new TV (ours is nearly 12 years old!)
• An ottoman to use as a footrest / coffee table. We have found a wonderful Manchester based company who make these to order.
• A side table
• Frames and prints for the walls
• Maybe some shelving above one of the sofas (inspired by Colette from Going on an Adventure blog), although my husband isn’t yet convinced this will work!
• Curtains and a curtain pole – we are still yet to decide on what colour and length to go for.

I am really pleased with everything we have achieved so far this year and hope to have this room boxed off by the end of March when our decorator is back to make a start on the master bedroom. That room is in need of a lot of work and I am excited to show you the difference on here once we start the work over there.

You can see what we did to Dexter’s room here and Felix’s room here.