Our Living Room Makeover Big Reveal

When I was approached by B&Q to work with their new spring/summer collection at first I thought I could use a few accents to freshen up a room but then it occurred to me that this would be a great opportunity to do a complete room overhaul! We've moved into our "forever home" but yet to decorate - it's different when children are involved - it takes a lot of careful planning, you can't just delve in and go for it!

Our living room started off magnolia, but dirty and scuffed with lots of small holes in the walls from the previous owner and lighting that was very much not my taste or style - complete with gold switch covers and frilly curtain pelmets - a long way from a cosy relaxing space. 

After we had decided to absolutely go for it with a complete room overhaul (on a budget of £250) we needed to talk colour! 
I really fell for the Lars Contzen Colour Courage collection of premium mat emulsion paints, 60 shades all exclusive to B&Q - I fancied a strong blue or period green but hubby didn't so it took a while to agree on one! This is the selection stocked in the Siducp branch, it isn't the full collection but its enough to give you a glimpse of these beautiful shades - each one has a story behind it. 

Work in progress meant we needed to do this room in stages around the children and the inevitable hiccups (school half term, one child with an ear infection needing antibiotics and an unexpected gas leak to name a few!)

We settled on COZY ATMOSPHERE  a pastel, warm shade of mauve brown that creates a homely feeling. Lars Contzen tells the story of how the atmosphere of cafes and bars inspired this shade, and its name is exactly what we wanted to create! The colour takes on a whole different look and feel depending on how much light and shadow there is. I've showcased the look in both daylight and fire lit evening. 

We rearranged the furniture and it felt great adding in our own items, it felt like we were actually moving in! The room feels completely different. 

Our elephants look at home next to the fireplace, My angle poise sits neatly on the bookcase, I love the mid century bureau that belong to my husband's grandfather sitting in the alcove and we hung Louis Armstrong painted by our talented artist friend Melissa O'Brien above the sofa!

We fitted two shelves in one of the alcoves - we chose Form floating shelves in Oak veneer from B&Q which were the perfect fit for the space. 

We mounted a photograph underneath two Melody side lights from B&Q

We used oak wood finish photo frames from B&Q's colours collection to showcase A4 size black and white prints of the children, We mounted 2 underneath the Melody side lights and a gallery of 4 above the TV - with a single spitfire image taken by my husband housed on the shelves. These frames are on a 2 or £10 offer. 

I added a decorative LED filament bulb to Bulyon dome light pendant in the centre of the room. 

The black lantern is from the new Kasbar collection

The butterfly and dragonfly candles are a part of the Meadow rage.

I selected 2 woven stripe cushions and 2 Elephant cushions from the Kasbar collection to finish the sofas.

The wicker basket will become the home to a house plant. 

I just love the metal "Life is a great adventure" sign. 

Do you think our living room has a cozy atmosphere? 

There's more on my dedicated pinboard!

Emma xx

Little House Lovely 





Disclaimer - This post is in collaboration with B&Q, this is a genuine room makeover in my own home, all thoughts, link choices and images are my own.