**Collaborative post**
Thinking of giving your living room a makeover? Beyond choosing the right sofa style and choosing which colour to paint the wall, there are a few other important details that you mustn’t overlook. Below are just some examples.
Adding additional lighting
Lighting can often get overlooked in a living room. Beyond overhead lighting, it can often be worth adding other lamps to a living room to provide ambient lighting and task lighting when you need it. Adding lighting beside sofas and armchairs can be useful for reading in the evening when you don’t want to have strong overhead lighting bearing down on you. Floor standing lamps can meanwhile be used to light up corners to provide a less intense glow to the room in the evening or early in the morning. You can also explore ambient lighting for when you want to create a more relaxing or romantic glow such as candles, fairy lights or wall lighting.
Repainting your ceiling
When redecorating a living room, many of us repaint the walls. But the ceiling can often end up getting forgotten. This ‘fifth wall’ can be just as important as helping to set the tone of the room. Certain colours could help to match colours used on the walls better than others. Ceiling colours can even have an impact on how tall a room feels – darker colours will make a ceiling feel lower, while lighter colours will make a ceiling feel taller. This guide explains more about ceiling colours.
Removing old furniture
When replacing sofas and armchairs, it’s important to consider how you plan to dispose of your old furniture. You may not be able to dispose of these yourself if you don’t have the right vehicle and manoeuvring them out of your home could be a challenge too. Consider whether it’s worth hiring removals experts such as these interstate furniture removalists to help carry your old furniture out and dispose of it.
Choosing the right curtains
Curtains need to be the right size to fit your windows and the right style to fit the decor of the room. It can even be worth considering the time of year when selecting curtains – some curtains are better for providing insulation in winter, while others can provide ventilation in summer. All in all, don’t just choose any curtains. Instead, put as much consideration into curtains as you would your furniture and the colour of the walls. Obviously, you don’t have to opt for curtains and could choose blinds or shutters instead, which also need to be styled correctly.
Choosing the right rug size
Many people make the mistake of choosing a living room rug that is too small. Such rugs can sometimes look out of place among big furniture. In most cases, it’s better to choose a rug that is just wider than your sofa (ideally, you should be able to sink your toes into the rug wherever you are sitting). Rugs can also be useful if you have kids as they can help to catch food and other spillages. In these cases, try to choose a short pile rug that is fairly easy to clean.
