Room by Room Design Ideas
Kelly Walsh of Santa Fe, New Mexico offers great ideas for living room redesign and discusses the kitchen design trends to pay attention to.
Living Room Redesign and Kitchen Design Trends by Kelly Walsh of Santa Fe, New Mexico
Much like a bedroom redesign, a living room redesign instantly updates the look of the room giving it a better sense of being. In other words, it reflects you and the lifestyle you want. Moreover, your living room, apart from a large functional kitchen, is probably used most often for entertaining. Furniture stores make it easy by selling entire furniture “suites,” or living room furniture sets whose pieces complement each other while providing you with functional seating. This is especially helpful if you’re having a hard time making redesign decisions for your living room. Eclecticism, mixing and matching different pieces of furniture in different upholstery fabrics, beautifully expresses your casual but elegant sense of style. Buying pieces for an eclectic style takes time to put together, so it may not be the best choice for a quick living room redesign.
Refresh Your Living Room with an Inexpensive Redesign
Redesigning your living room is a pretty big undertaking. It’s often easiest, and a lot less expensive, to start by updating living room design accents like pillows, side tables and lamps before you tackle the big pieces of furniture. Painting your living room instantly refreshes the look of the space, and a dramatic change in wall color- from eggshell to red, for example, can give all of your old furniture new life.
Consider using beautiful vintage or vintage-inspired upholstered fabrics to instantly update the seats on your wooden accent chairs. You only need a staple gun- and a steady hand- to completely change the look of your seating. Fabric slipcovers made of beautiful upholstery are more readily available today, and you can find inexpensive slipcovers online or in discount department stores. Slipcovers for sofas, loveseats and chairs are easy to remove and clean and instantly redesign your living room for very little expense.
Some popular living room design ideas to consider:
- Functional and family-friendly: if the dining room is larger than the living room, switch them! More space, less chaos. Consider two-tone colors on the walls. If painted horizontally, use the darkest color on the bottom to ground the living space. Add a storage cabinet or ottoman to bring daily order;
- Merging styles – comfort vs. sophisticated: Neutral color palettes, bring furniture closer in toward the middle of the room for more cozy feel. Remove TV from being focal point upon entering room. Dark furniture, brown neutral paints makes for soft, inviting conversation away from pressures of the day.
Dr. Brett Ferdinand Makes the Most of Kitchen Design Trends
Over the years, kitchen design trends have adapted to the changing needs of working families. Dining rooms are less and less evident in new homes and have been replaced with larger functional kitchens and entertainment rooms, comments Dr. Ferdinand. A kitchen design trend that seems to be sticking is the return of the kitchen dining table and the breakfast nook. Building seating into a nook or creating an area in the kitchen for a table has become a desirable floor plan for families on the go which allows for the transformation of the real dining room into an entertainment room.
An enduring and practical kitchen design trend, antique butcher blocks and new kitchen islands provide additional counter and storage space, too. In recent years, the trend has been to design built-in kitchen islands to complement counters and cabinets, instead of matching them. A dark wood kitchen island in the middle of a kitchen with all-white cabinets really pops! Whatever you decide to do, don’t be a slave to kitchen design trends; read about them, soak in everything you can, and then choose what’s right for you and your family.
Some popular kitchen design ideas to consider:
- Stuck in the 70’s and can’t get out: Replace funky colored cabinets with natural wood cabinets (maple wood?), stainless steel appliances (modern). If home is small, consider eliminating the wall between the kitchen and living room to create more visual space. A custom island with a breakfast bar creates warmth and invitation;
- Cramped kitchens: Think function and fashion but how to do it? Natural wood cabinetry, neutral colored countertops (limestone?) stainless steel appliances, tile floors and a breakfast bar that connects the kitchen with the living room (consolidates space).
We thank our contributors:
- Kelly Walsh of Santa Fe, New Mexico
- Dr. Brett Ferdinand of Montreal, Canada
