ORC Week 3 | Living Room: Creating More Light & Space

It’s Week Three of the One Room Challenge, where I’m giving the living room in my rented Edwardian house in East Sheen, London, a spruce up. Catch up on the interior design plan for this room in Week One, and progress on the fireplace wall makeover in Week Two.

More Painting

I’ve done as much painting as needed for now – that is, all the walls have a full three coats, bar the window bay. I’m still in love with the colour (Farrow & Ball Wevet, colour matched to Johnstones in a soft sheen), and how much more light there is in the room.

Rehanging the Door

The door to this room is a lovely old wooden one. It’s been stripped of paint at some point, but there are still little remnants of the previous paint finish, and it adds beautiful character.

Originally, it opened into the room in a direction that clashed with the sofa, which was functionally irritating. It also visually cut off the corner of the room, although I didn’t appreciate how much of an impact that had until we changed it. Rehanging it to open towards the wall was a no brainer.

I got landlord permission and had my builder do it. It took him an hour and a half, and it’s made a huge difference. Before, you can see how it eats into the room and blocks the sofa.

Now, it’s much more open.

The whole living room is bigger, all of a sudden. And the benefits extend to the hallway too, because it lets way more light into that area too.

The plan was to hang new abstract art above the sofa, but a wall hanging I already owned works well.

The holes from the old door hinges need making good, but it’s already a tick off the list.

Decluttering

I’ve held off on ordering new furniture so far, because I want the existing pieces that we’re replacing gone first. There’s nowhere to store extra pieces and I don’t want to fill the house, even for a couple of weeks. Mess = stress, especially while the world is on lockdown. It’ll also give me a slightly bigger budget to play with once those bits are sold.

The Living Room To Do List

1. Make it Lighter & Brighter

• Strip the wallpaper ✔
• Repaint – just the bay left to do
• Replace curtains with blinds
• Add mirrors

2. Make It Tidier & More Functional

• Hang the TV ✔
• Rehang the door ✔
• Get rid of/replace some of the furniture – in progress
• Organise storage for electronics & guest bedding
• Lighting plan/execution

3. Make It Happy

• Add colour with art & textiles
• Style the built ins with pretty things

What’s Next?

The TV and all the electronics need sorting, but in the meantime, I’m rethinking a few of the design choices. I still want the same overall vibe and colour palette, but I might splurge on a more comfortable chair. That means I’ll have to shave the budget in other areas.

Head to the One Room Challenge to check out the featured designers‘ progress this week, as well as all the guest participants.

Catch Up On Other ORC 2020 Posts

Mood Board & Plans (Week One)
Stripping & Painting (Week Two)
Creating More Light & Space (This Week)
New Design Plans (Week Four)
Week Five (No Post)
Shelf Styling (Week Six)
Design Updates (Week Seven)
The Reveal (Week Eight)