A Small Lounge Makeover

I always thought interior design was something of a finite process. You had a room to decorate, picked a colour scheme, painted, bought cushions and BOOM – done.

But apparently that’s not how it works in my world.

I moved into this house two years ago as a ‘stopgap’. I’d been living in a Buckinghamshire village which I really enjoyed, and to be frank I thought to move into Milton Keynes proper would be a bit of a step down. I couldn’t fathom why anyone would want to live in this concrete city of roundabouts and redways and saw my move here as a time to reflect on where I ‘really’ wanted to live.

As such our stopgap home is smaller than what we were used to. We had a four bedroom/three bathroom place in the old village and, while gorgeous, it was a pain in the arse to heat and clean. This place felt tiny in comparison with only two bedrooms and the whole downstairs area open-plan.

But I’ve loved this house. It’s been the house I’ve enjoyed living in the most, made even more special by the fact it’s been my first on my own, the first I’ve been able to decorate with as much pink crap and fairy lights as I like. It’s warm, homey, safe and ours. I see us being here for a long time to come.  

This summer I decided it was about time we knuckled down to making this stopgap home of ours more to our (my) tastes. I’ve been on a mission to live minimally, with less stuff to leave us feeling cluttered and tied down, and I wanted to introduce solutions to our home that would reflect that. This meant streamlining, looking at storage options and thinking closely about how we used each area of our home.

The first was the living space.

Our living space is an L-shape through to the kitchen, with defined areas for lounging, eating and cooking. The lounge area is probably where we spend most time as a family: reading, cuddling, watching TV. Here’s what it looked like before:

small lounge makeover small lounge makeover small lounge makeover

The sofa was an old faithful Karlstad that had seen me through two newborn babies and, to be honest, desperately needed replacing. It dominated the room:

small lounge makeover small lounge makeover

I always felt the room was so busy that it looked untidy even when it wasn’t. Though stored neatly all our stuff seemed to be on display all the time and I hated having to look at it. Stuff was piled upon stuff and the whole room just had far too much going on.

First I swapped out the old chevron rug in the spring to this one (from IKEA but now discontinued) and then I had a few priority areas. One, was to swap out the old armchair bought for the old nursery and create a reading nook for me to curl up in of an evening. Two, I wanted to find a new television unit that would hide much of the clutter that was on show and three, I needed a sideboard for crafting materials and toy storage.

Mission one; my chair.

I searched and searched and searched. My very first chair crush was on a now discontinued ‘Mr Bright’ from John Lewis but at around £1000 that was always a no-go. These can now be found second hand on eBay for around £700 but still I thought this was a bit out of reach.

small lounge makeover

The chair of dreams was found on MADE. I’d never bought such an important piece of furniture online before and was terrified it would look different in person. I worried to death in the 12 weeks it took to arrive but was over the moon when it finally did. I love it and this is where I can be found in the hour after the kids go to bed, book and glass of red wine in hand. .

small lounge makeover

Kubrick Wingback Chair in Scuba Blue, £379, MADE.

In the name of minimalism I decanted toys from an old wicker basket that now lives next to my new chair and in that you’ll find books, magazines and a cosy blanket for when it gets nippy. Perfect.

Next up was the TV unit. Again I searched high and low for what I wanted: white, with clean lines, draws or cupboards and some cubby space. I found this in IKEA and, though it was one hell of a mission to get the thing in and out the car and then finally build it (it’s HEAVY), build it I did and it hasn’t fallen apart since so I must have done something right!

small lounge makeover small lounge makeover small lounge makeover

RAMSATRA TV Bench, £160, IKEA. I also liked the MOSTORP and BESTA.

I’m still coming up with a storage solution for the hundreds of kids books we have – some of which are underneath the TV. I’ll let you know ;)

Next up was a sideboard. I toyed with the idea of keeping the space empty but I still thought we needed the storage. Once the TV bench was up I was on a roll and again searched my favourite spots for inspiration but this steel cabinet from IKEA came up trumps. It’s lockable so I keep my important paperwork and messy craft equipment in here far away from little hands. There’s also space underneath for baskets which I picked up from IKEA too, Elfie and Hux have one each for their own toys as well as one for toys they share. This way of storing toys is great for speedy end-of-the-day pick-ups.

small lounge makeover small lounge makeover

I still have a box of paperwork that I couldn’t bear to throw out at the side of the sideboard – my minimalism is a work in progress!

IKEA PS Cabinet, £70. KNARRA baskets, £7 each.

Finally, it was time to look at a sofa. Habitat contacted me to ask if I fancied taking a look at their range of slimline couches, and as a long-term fan of theirs of course I blimmin did…

I loved the addition of the deep blue from my wing chair which originally came from the blue accents in the rug and so tentatively decided to stay with the same colour scheme. As I was going off online photos again I was worried the two pieces of furniture might be completely different shades but it was a risk I was happy to take. Though I have to admit I wondered how the room would have looked had I gone for the bright pink Kubrick chair: the ultimate in girly decor. Maybe next time?

The sofa I chose was a good 5cm slimmer than my old Karlstad and, with no footstool, I knew it would open up the room and give us more space to play and enjoy the room.

small lounge makeover small lounge makeover

Habitat Hyde three seater sofa, £600. 

I love how modern the sofa makes the room feel. It very much has a Scandinavian aesthetic and its beautiful lines and deep colour really compliment the rest of the room. I have to admit, I kept my old IKEA sofa in the garage because I was kind of emotionally attached to it, but that’s where it’ll be staying. I really love the cosy transformation of the deep blue.

small lounge makeover

small lounge makeover

It’s amazing just how different a few key pieces of furniture can make a room look. There was no painting, no messy changes: just storage, a couple of pot plans, the re-positioning of an old rug (the pink one, from Greece) and re-arranging my beloved books.

It’s still a moveable feast, though. I’m not quite happy with the cushion situation (sidenote: why are all the best cushions fifty quid?), there will be a new reading lamp arriving to my nook in January, the gallery wall will be added to and I’m toying with an antique mirror going above the sofa… stay tuned.

Thank you so much for Habitat for collaborating with More Than Toast. 

 

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

23 Comments

  1. Adele wrote:

    Gorgeous, simple makeover! I really want to re-do ours and we’re hoping to manage it next year. It’s amazing what a difference you’ve made to your space.

    Posted 12.11.15 Reply
    • alice wrote:

      Thank you so much Adele!

      Posted 12.12.15 Reply
  2. Alison wrote:

    I just spent far too long absolutely pouring over these photos, comparing them, working out what has changed etc. Love what you’ve done. The new sofa makes it look so much bigger! Got my eye on similar sideboard/units but my interiors shopping list is so long I’ll never get through it all ;)

    Posted 12.11.15 Reply
    • alice wrote:

      I spent yesterday evening doing the same – I love the way you can see such a difference when you work so hard on a room!

      Posted 12.12.15 Reply
  3. Candy Pop wrote:

    It looks amazing, you must be so pleased! I love the sofa, chair, white cabinet, I could go on and on….

    Posted 12.11.15 Reply
    • alice wrote:

      Thank you so much!

      Posted 12.12.15 Reply
  4. Carie @ Space for the Butterflies wrote:

    Oh that deep blue is amazing, like properly dark night skies and it looks like a very cosy spot to curl up in. It’s a very grown up sort of makeover if that makes sense!

    Posted 12.12.15 Reply
    • alice wrote:

      Thank you Carie! I love it and yes, it really does feel quite grown up :)

      Posted 12.12.15 Reply
  5. Kerry wrote:

    Love the furniture! I also love your rug :) x

    Posted 12.12.15 Reply
    • alice wrote:

      Thank you Kerry! x

      Posted 12.12.15 Reply
  6. Jess @ Along Came Cherry wrote:

    It looks great! So much more space, we have a corner sofa and would have so much more room without the corner on it but I love to sit with my legs up in the evening. I absolutely love that pink chair too, I would have had to have gone for that one! It looks like such a cosy room, lived in but not messy. A look I haven’t quite managed ;) x

    Posted 12.13.15 Reply
  7. laura redburn wrote:

    really loving the sofa and chair! i especially want to get comfy in the chair with a good book.

    Posted 12.13.15 Reply
  8. Kathryn wrote:

    Wow, both that chair and sofa are heavenly – love the deep blue colour! I do love habitat but am yet to pop my Made cherry but I love the concept. We’ve just given our lounge a bit of a makeover too (mainly Ikea!) and it’s nice to have a refresh before the xmas break! xx

    Posted 12.13.15 Reply
  9. Molly wrote:

    The deep blue works so well in the room and those pops of colour really help to make it feel bigger (along with your new storage too, obviously!). What a lovely room to kick back of an evening. x

    Posted 12.13.15 Reply
  10. Jo wrote:

    Girls do indeed run the world – I am very envious of your house at the moment, looks lovely.

    Posted 12.14.15 Reply
  11. Rosie Parsons wrote:

    Loving your style! :) the blue looks incredible!

    Posted 12.17.15 Reply
    • alice wrote:

      Thank you very much Rosie :)

      Posted 12.18.15 Reply
  12. Claire wrote:

    The chair in the corner looks so lovely and cosy definitely a place to unwind with a good book :-)

    Posted 12.28.15 Reply
  13. Claire wrote:

    I think it looks amazing. Could I just ask what colour you have used for the walls as I would like something similar in my living room? Thanks

    Posted 1.14.16 Reply
    • alice wrote:

      Thanks Claire! I really love the colour, too. It’s a Wickes own brand colour called Duck Egg.

      Posted 1.14.16 Reply
      • Claire wrote:

        Thank you for this I will go and see if I can find a tester pot. Thanks again

        Posted 1.21.16 Reply
  14. Claire wrote:

    I think it looks amazing. Could I just ask what colour you have used on the walls as I would like something similar in my living room? Thanks

    Posted 1.14.16 Reply