skip to main content

Renovating Design Dilemma Living Room

Redesign dark living room

Barbara Collett

6 years ago

Our house has an open plan kitchen/dining/lounge which is quite small. There is a wall which separates the kitchen from part of a long narrow lounge but as there is no window on the lounge side of that wall this area is quite gloomy. We have considered removing that wall but it is a supporting wall so we will need an engineer.
Really unsure about what would look best and make our house feel more light and welcoming.
Any ideas would be appreciated

Featured Answer

Susan Clark

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

We removed one wall of our kitchen and love the effect. But it did require an expensive combination of 2 steel beams (ground floor of 2 storey house). This means we have beams encased in plasterboard now, one we made into a light box sort of thing by including down lights and centering it over the bench. We have high ceilings so the beams are not an issue for us but be aware of this possibility. Also was not cheap and required an engineer to design and sign off. But for us, well worth the effort. In your scenario I am assuming you have no option to include a window or 2 in the wall where the stairs are. The original plan seemed to include windows there (I think), suggesting it's possible??? That may be a very good option if it's possible, also allowing cross breezes to be captured; precious things indeed! I agree with others that the dark leather chairs - which look enormous - are a huge part of the problem you have. I would get those out of the room while you consider what to do, otherwise you'll be spending a lot of money just to overcome your furniture choice. A smaller, light coloured suite and a coat of paint to the walls could give an entirely different feel to the room.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (15)

oklouise
6 years ago
a floor plan including measurements and surrounding rooms, windows and doors would allow more specific suggestions and, although this is a supporting wall, there are ways to open up the space without compromising the structure
PRO
Designer Plants Aust.
6 years ago

You may want to consider the idea of some greenery - in particular along the wall near the fridge. Depending on the space you have maybe you could go a narrow style like a box hedge, or something a bit more detailed. I've included a link here too Green walls and disks

some photos and links.
Related Discussions
Any ideas for the living room?
Q
Comments (10)
Great space, love the room.. Have you ever considered painting the ceiling in a fun, vibrant color? Might be just the thing you need to brighten up the space. If you are in the market to look for new furniture pieces, be sure to check out www.bryght.com, they have stylish, modern pieces without the markup. Happy Decorating!
...See More
Ideas for redesigning this floor plan?
Q
Comments (4)
Hi pcmom, there are two of us but we would like to preserve the two bedrooms as the idea is to make this a rental property at some point. The apartment is in the middle of the city, so while proper kitchen is a must a large dining table isn't (counter seating is fine). Primarily I was wondering if there is a way to get rid of the "dead" hallway space and add some more closet space or open it up in some way to make it feel spacious. Thought about it for a while but couldn't think of anything :) so thought I'd throw it out here just to make sure I am not missing something obvious :)
...See More
Please HELP quick.......little living room with big dilemmas!
Q
Comments (13)
There is nothing worse than ceiling-mounted lights--harsh shadows, flat lighting. They are strictly for utility. I would put a large-ish, shallow cylindrical shade on them and put nothing more than a 15-watt bulb in them. Use them strictly for lighting your way as you walk through the room. I agree with Vincent; the chair in the corner doesn't fit at all, nor does the one under the A/C unit (put that one with its mate behind the love seat). And the curtains look smooshed. I think the problem with the bookcases is that they are uninteresting. Did you buy books-by-the-yard? What are all those identical books? They are visually uninteresting. I'd get rid of some of them and get some colorful ceramics/glass/photos. The room is absolutely overwhelmed with furniture. It needs one less love seat. Do you really need all of them? Pushing them against the walls/curtains so tightly just visually emphasizes the fact that there is too much furniture. I don't think a mirror above the fireplace will work. When people are sitting down (which is most of the time), all they will see is a reflection of the ceiling--the plain, white ceiling. Get some real art in there with some color.
...See More
Couch & Rug Color for Living Room with Dark Hardwood Floors
Q
Comments (0)
I'd love help picking a couch and rug color for our living room! As much as we would love white, it's a high traffic area with kids so we're leaning toward gray but I'm not sure what color rug would go with that... Also light gray or dark gray? Any help would be appreciated!
...See More
Barbara Collett
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks oklouise
This is our house plan
Hope measurements are clear enough
oklouise
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
unless you're planning an extensive renovation with a new kitchen, first consider a Solar Skylight (Arcol and Illume brands available from Bunnings) are a quick DIY light source that will brighten up that dull corner in the meantime your plans and photos are difficult to understand...what is the extra pole near the flue and is there a sliding door out to either deck??
girlguides
6 years ago
The dark leather furniture drains the light so maybe get some white throws for lounge and perhaps replace at least one leather seat with white “tub” chair
KK1000
6 years ago
If your house is a single story try solertubes or skylight
Barbara Collett
Original Author
6 years ago
The pole you can see in the lounge area is at the top of a staircase
We have a sliding door to the deck on the northern end of the house
Skylights look good but creating a more open space by taking wall away would be better
Just not sure how to redesign kitchen to work well without this wall
Thanks for all comments, the green wall idea is lovely
oklouise
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
i'm having difficulty understanding the arrangement of the rooms as the plan doesn't seem to match the photos...if i've drawn it correctly a galley kitchen could work with a supporting post at the end of an island..but please confirm the position of the heater, the top of the stairs, the length of the kitchen and the length of the long wall of the living area along the window wall
siriuskey
6 years ago
I agree with Oklouise that the photos don't seem to line up with what is shown on your plan, could you measure the kitchen & lounge/passage with a rough drawing.

The post at the top of the stairs could be part of the load bearing?, are you doing extensions. I would open up the space for better light and function.

Just adding a couple of photos showing kitchens with support for load bearing walls
Barbara Collett
Original Author
6 years ago
I have done a very rough sketch of the layout
Hope it’s ok. Yes our house plan and actual layout don’t marry too well we were told it was built in the early 80s at a time when the local authorities were less than thorough
Thanks again for your help
Barbara Collett
Original Author
6 years ago
Hope this is legible
oklouise
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
consider removing the wall around the kitchen (shown as a dotted line) and have a support post that allows for an open plan area with kitchen open towards the lounge with kitchen cabinets arranged as a L shape with island and optional extra base cabinets extended across the dining area would provide substantial extra multipurpose storage
Barbara Collett
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks for your suggestions oklouise
These ideas look so much better than our current layout and I think they would work well
PRO
Made In Italy Kitchens
6 years ago
Integrated Kitchen & Living cabinets unifies the space increasing aesthetics and functionality.

Sponsored

More Discussions

Kitchen Redesign

3

Help with kitchen layout

1

Did you know that e-design exists and would you ever consider it?

0

mid century ceiling

0

Pergola company recommendations

0