Redoing the lounge - where would you start?

Speaking from experience of just having completed our bedroom. I would recommend sorting lights & power points first as the electrician may have to put several holes into your walls. We used local firms and tradespeople who were willing to hold onto our carpet etc free of charge until we were ready to fit. Decide what YOU really really want and get it, there are lots of genuine bargains on offer at the moment.

Fine to start by choosing curtains, then you can choose new sofa covers or new sofa to match.

Take into account the size of the room and which way it faces.

Smaller rooms tend to need lighter colours, as will a room that faces north.

Darker colours are really necessary in a south facing room, which gets more sun, so colours fade easily.

If you have cats, or small sticky fingered children who visit, you might just decide on darker washable fabrics on your sofas and chairs. Ikea do a good range of furniture with loose covers that you can pop in the washing machine when necessary.

You say you have acquired more chairs over the years, do you need them all? We have opted for less clutter, which makes hoovering and dusting easier.

I would choose the fabric for the sofas first, they are the biggest item in the room then take a swatch of that material and decide on curtains and carpets and then lastly a wall colour to tie the whole colour scheme together. Once you have these basics in place you can set about searching for bits and bobs (cushions, vases, pictures etc) to make the room a home. It's always worked for me. Good luck!

We have a style guru DD like that. I’d be inclined to leave it all to her.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Maybe think how you want to feel in the room. Ie warm and cosy, evening look? Cool clean lines? Pared back Scandi? Country house hotel?
Lots of designers on Instagram with great ideas. Enjoy.

I think I am going barmy, I did mean paint last. Too much tequila over Christmas!

I would start with where the TV had to go because of window light etc and then purchase the sofa - the sofa dominates the room so it has to be a thing of beauty. - then add the rest ensuring that every piece is needed or gorgeous so that you don’t clutter.
I live my front room but the kids have Xmas trashed it - once it’s clean I’ll post a pic.

Sorry should say first

Choose your paint colour last. You can get paint in any colour you like these days. You can easily match carpets and curtains to the paint, not so easy to do it the other way round.

We did lounge and dining room together this year oh the work but worth it. Have always had mahogany furniture but went much lighter and even painted some much loved pieces. I love our new look so different. Whatever you do hope you love your new look as much as we do ours.

Agreed look at magazines, websites like Pinterest for ideas. We did our whole sitting room a couple of years back and wanted to use some mid century modern pieces to go with the period of the house. Ercol has some lovely contemporary sofas and are ( mostly) made in the U.K., but be careful which range you choose as some ranges they have just sold the design and they are made in China. I bought an Ercol studio couch which was designed in 1949, but are still made in the U.K. to order. I love it. I also got an original 1960s Ercol coffee table and pebble tables from EBay which blend in brilliantly. Had the original oak floors stripped and a funky rug. It has transformed the room. I loved doing it - Have fun!

Keep flooring and sofas as neutral as possible as they are big spends. Eventual changes can be made with cushions, curtains and wall colours up the road if you want another change.

I agree with your reasoning kitty. We enjoy being at home so we made it as comfortable and as attractive as possible.

Sofas first. A couple of tips I was given..
Sofas on display tend to be in the colour that suits the design the best (not always but usually)
Use colours the way they are in nature - lighter colours at the top, darker colours lower.
And a preference from me - arrange the seating so that when visitors are seated the TV isn't the focal point of the room.
Enjoy. Very envious. ?

A lovely new project for the new year for you! How about looking for inspiration from Pinterest - try 'lounge styling' to kickstart a search.

I would start with a colour scheme and broadly the style you are looking for. Glad top help especially with the shopping!!!

Kittylester I'm excited for you. A lovely idea as I believe our living environment really matters. I love being at home

HettyMaud I love Houzz too, and Pinterest, lots more, plus registered for emails from various websites, eg Trouva, Rose and Grey, Not on the High St.
I also treated myself to two mag subs Country Living and Elke Decoration.

I'm hopeless myself but try to take inspiration.

CaroleAnne

To answer your questions

1 No, we are not doing it because DD says so - why would we do that!

2 No, the sofas are due to be recovered as they were last done 15 tears ago

3 Baffled by this - a distraction from what?

It is our Gokden Wedding anniversary in 2020 and we have debated going on a big expensive holiday but we like being at home (despite the roof) so decided that we would do this.

I think we are old enough to be able to decide to update our lounge but definitely not too old.

If we get it wrong we can do it all over again- eeeekkk!!

Ive always started with the sofas...because once brought you’ve got them for at least 20 years ( well that’s how long we keep em) ... always a neutral colour ...and go from there. Curtains next and scatter cushions all fall into place ....enjoy yourself!

Dear Kitty.
I would like you to ask yourself 3 questions before you even start to have a make over of your sitting room
1. Are you doing this because your daughter says that your current lounge needs to be changed.
2. Are you comfortable with what you have or are you thinking of changing it anyway?
3. Is this what you really wish to do or is it a distraction?²
If the answer is yes to all three then I would have a sit down and rethink.
Non of my business of course but I have observed people over the years doing just this only to regret it afterwards.
Hope that this is food for thought and may help with decisions.

I always start with a colour scheme as this makes buying bigger items so much easier. I would go neutral colour for carpet, sofas and walls and bring in the colour in the cushions curtains and bits and bobs

Get Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen in for a full Gothic or Rococco(sp?) makeover

We're doing the same thing and decided to start with the sofa's as they will be the most expensive part we can choose the colour then match the carpet another big expense, we will then go for a plain colour on the walls, curtains, lights etc can easily be bought afterward to add fininshing touches