Bright And Airy Living Room: With Zero Reno Or Built-In, Only Styling!
6583
- Scandinavian
- Others
- ~1,000 sqft
- 4 br
- Couple Living
Hello and welcome to our next post!🤭 In this post, we’ll be talking about how we changed our living room, as well as styling tips and tricks. All our furniture are loose and we took so many years to finally come to this configuration that you see here. Having zero built-ins meant that we could change things around whenever we wanted which was good for us as we liked to change things around frequently to change up the vibe of the place. 
This wall was actually meant to house our tv console as our house came with the internet/tv cable wiring attached to this wall. But after living a few years with that layout, we felt that having our sofa on this wall was better aesthetically. Plus our smart TV can connect to WiFi which is all we need to watch Netflix and other shows so not connecting our TV to the live tv cable was not a concern. Who watches live tv anymore anyway right?😆 The only issue with this configuration was our WiFi router. To combat this, we hid our router behind one of the cushions against the wall. Hidden from view, hidden from mind.😌👍🏻 The only thing we couldn’t remove was the light switch for our balcony light but small issue la so it’s ok. 
Shifted our tv set up to this wall instead so it blends seamlessly with our other furniture along this wall. Because we’ve been living here for years, we didn’t want to do any big reno or change since we would still be living here. So we did not have the option to do a false wall or built in tv console as those take time and are usually done when the house is not occupied yet. We had to get creative and tried to achieve that look by getting a minimal looking tv console and also tried our best to hide the unsightly wire with the cable hiding thingy. Good enough for us!🤩 
Measured this wall and got this sofa from Ikea that fits this wall exactly. So satisfying for my OCD.🥹 Now let’s look at some before photos and see how our living room has changed over the years. 
We started off with this hideous sofa bed that my aunt got for us. Couldn’t complain because it was such a sweet and nice gesture, plus we couldn’t afford to buy so many furnitures then so we lived with it for years.🥲 
Tried to make it cosy for movie nights. Gave us back pain because it’s not the most comfortable sofa bed, so we wouldn’t recommend hahaha. 
Alas, we sold off the ugly sofa bed and got a new sofa!!!🙌🏻 Back then, we didn’t have any clue what kind of look we wanted our house to have so we got this sofa in grey. After living with it for a few months, I decided that I did not like the grey look at all. Felt that it made the house look smaller and gloomy. 
Thank god for ikea because we changed the cover of the sofa to another colour and it looks like a brand new sofa!🤩 Super wallet friendly! Luckily the husband was supportive of all the changes around the house. In his words, “Aiya I cannot visualise one so you just do what you gotta do.” And so I did! Felt that the whole living room got bigger and fresher. But…. I still felt like something was missing and I wanted more. Tip: Colours make a huge difference! Look into changing the colour of your sofa if you want a new look without breaking the bank. 
… so we changed the sofa cover to another colour again as the previous one was too yellow beige for my liking. Removed the photo ledge above the sofa and replaced it with a wall art to make it look more minimal and classy. Sold off the old black coffee table set and went for this clear acrylic coffee table to give the illusion of a bigger space. Also shifted the footstool away to open up the space to the balcony. Finally was satisfied with this layout.😌 
Now time for the other side of the wall.😂 Old TV console was a hand me down bench with zero storage. Got some ikea baskets for storage space to hide things and reduce clutter. Again, this felt too dark and gloomy for our liking. Changed some things around to see what we liked or didn’t. Also painted the ledge and wall shelves white as we were going for a bright and airy aesthetic. Tip: Making your house into a home takes time. Don’t rush the process and also don’t be afraid to change things when it doesn’t serve you anymore. 
Painted the black TV console into white to see if it would blend in better. It did for a while but found the baskets to be an eyesore. My eyes would always get distracted by the clutter in the baskets. Decided then that I had enough and we threw the console out! It was the only furniture that we didn’t sell off on carousell.😆 
Got a new TV bench and immediately the whole feel of this wall changed!😍 
Up next is our billy shelves that’s on the same wall, next to our tv console and my piano. Love how cosy it becomes when I light up all the scented candles.✨ 
Always loved those recessed wall shelves that I saw on Pinterest but those are super expensive and we couldn’t do any big major reno so this Billy ikea shelves were the next best thing! It took years of collecting things from our overseas trip (would always buy something whenever I saw Zara home or H&M home 🤣) and styled up these shelves bit by bit. Even now, the shelf still goes through a change every now and then. It’s always a work in progress!😝 Everyone also questions the dust accumulation and the cleaning. Luckily for the husband, I love cleaning as I find it therapeutic so it isn’t an issue for us. Styling tip: Add different textures and try to have a colour theme. Grouping items of different heights also adds visual depth. Don’t be afraid to try different combinations until you find one that you love. It’s all really just trial and error for me hahaha!🙈 Dust actually isn’t the issue, our cats are (especially Cai Png)!🥲 So we try to prevent any thing from breaking by moving certain items higher up where they can’t reach them or by supervision. Still they managed to break quite a few items so we’ve learnt our lesson and placed the more precious and expensive ones higher up.😂 Thankfully they’re not as naughty as they used to be and they’ve lost interest in the shelves other than this corner so they haven’t broken much things lately. Fingers crossed it stays that way.🤞🏻 
View when you come out from the corridor. 
Now everything blends seamlessly based on colour and theme.😌 Replaced our footstool, which used to be in this spot, with this swivel chair that was hiding in the cat room. Now everyone in the household fights for this spot (yes even our cats)!😂 
Some styling details on the TV console. We have a rule in the house which is that we don’t ever use the “big lights” as we find it too harsh and stale looking.😂 Prefer layering our lights with warm lighting from lamps and candles to create a cosy feel. For those confused, “big lights” are ceiling lights or main lights.🤭 Another lamp in this corner to add warmth.😌 
Coffee table deets. And yes these are real books!🤩 
Another angle of the living room from our dining area mirror. 
View of the living room with the balcony door opened. We’ve been thinking of installing automated blinds so we can leave the balcony door open while turning on the air con. Might be our next home improvement project.🤭 What are some things you’ve changed in your homes or want to change in your homes? Let us know and we might get some inspiration too!🤩🫶🏻 Thanks for scrolling through!❤️ Bonus photo of fur children in costume as reward for scrolling to the end hehe! 🌚🌝
- 9 August 2024
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