Dec 1, 2010
By New England Design and Construction

The last thing you want to come home to from long day at work is a house disorganized and everything is chaotic. So How does one go from that…. to something beautiful like this ….?

I’ve mentioned this before in my other article Bedroom makeover with little cash.  Always remove any clutter in your spaces. Literally remove anything unnecessary, basically anything “extra” such as extra chairs and multiple tables. If you have kids buy some kind of box to store away toys that could be laying around and put it in some kind of corner where it can’t be visible. Try and keep your coffee table or w.e in front of the couch down to the bare minimum. So try and only keep your remotes and magazines on the table.

You could also consider buying storage ottoman, they can blend in very nicely and provide great storage without seeing your mess all over the place. They are also inexpensive.

Here’s a link to a great ottoman deal

Think of the colors of the walls, I personally believe all living rooms should be as bright as possible. You want the room feel open and clean. I would try some colors such as blues, green, and skin toned color like beige. Or you can go for the spa like feeling like the picture above and simply just do white. In the after picture above, the room just looks so relaxing and soothing.

Besides replacing old sofas and chairs which can be very expensive you could simply buy a sofa slip-cover. Typical ones you find are made of suede material and can bring back the comfort in your ratty old sofa and make it look brand new.

For lighting, try using smaller floor or table lamps. You don’t want to overkill it with artificial lighting, If you have more money on the side considering installing accented lighting in your house solely to illuminate your walls or furniture. That way, you have even less clutter in your house. But, try and obtain as much of natural lighting as possible.

NEDESIGNS- project custom cabinetry

An great example of accented lighting

Lastly, consider the smell of the room and scents and sounds. Maybe if you live in the city you don’t want to leave the window open all day with all the city life about.

Check out our article about Christmas smells so you can get some sort of idea how powerful smell can be in your house.

If you have any questions you can always find us on our website nedb.jasonridesabike.com.