Home Inspirations

Does your living room have more dust mites than actual carpet? Are its walls yellow when they used to be white? Is there a faint smell of, bleurgh, something undefinably awful hanging around your settees? Then it’s time for a change.

After all, your living room is probably where you’ll hang out most in your home. It’s where you’ll enjoy gatherings with friends, binge-watch seasons of Game of Thrones and read the latest paperback chillers. Do you really want it to look like the remnants of a landfill?

With that in mind, we’ve come up with a few ways you can give your front room some pizzazz – without breaking the bank.

Relax and recline

Your smelly settees might be cheap and cheerful – but they won’t do your back any good.

For the first few years of owning them, you won’t quite notice you spinal restructuring when you slump in these poorly constructed cushions. Then the pain in your back will grow more severe, snaking down your spine in intermittent spasms.

It’s a dangerous game to play in the long term, which is why you should buy quality the first time round. Invest in a few fully-adjustable fabric recliners and pick a colour that will match the overall tone of your room.

As you lounge in this world of comfort, you’ll enjoy great design AND great posture.

A touch of class

We all have our guilty pleasures. But as great as it is to catch up on TOWIE, a touch of highbrow culture could be the perfect counterpoint to your widescreen telly.

Buy a smart-looking bookshelf and cram it full of classical works of literature, from Shakespeare to Mary Shelley to Bret Easton Ellis. For bookends, use candlesticks and ornaments to give you that decadent vibe.

Your bookshelf will cover a wall full of points of interest. Just imagine the conversations you’ll start on culture. And who knows – you might even enjoy what you read.

Now featuring…

Sometimes you simply can’t afford to doll up an entire room with expensive new furnishings and major refurbishments. But if you can pool all your spending at one wall, you could make it the eye-catching focal point for your room.

A feature wall should have a distinctive personality all of its own, with colourful wallpaper and perhaps a few provocative pictures.

You’re walking a fine line with a feature wall. The trick is to pack it with colour while not descending into garishness. If you can manage that, you’ll have a wall that’s stylish – even if the rest of your room has gone to the dogs.