DIY Living Room Makeover - Modern Style

Transforming a living room into a modern, comfortable and stylish space can be a challenging but rewarding task. In this blog post, I will share with you my experience of how I transformed our living room into a cozy and modern space. From the inspiration behind my design choices to the challenges I faced and the final result, you’ll get an inside look at the process of creating a beautiful and functional living room that suits our family’s lifestyle. DIY Living Room Makeover – Modern Style

BEFORE

Here is how our living room was when we bought this home. It looked like a Rustic cabin. Seriously! It will make an amazing backdrop for taking pictures or video. It’s definitely one of a kind! Sadly, not my taste. It had rusted metal sheets on the ceiling. Stone cladding, cement textured wall surface and vintage wood. Dried flowers mixed with fake ones and fern were hanging from a rusted metal gutter and also had a metal drain pipe on one corner! Seemed like lot of effort were put into making this space to their liking. If you set aside the changes done by the previous owner and look at the room itself, its very spacious and has tall cathedral ceiling. In fact, its one of the reason we fell in love with the home as soon as we walked in. Additionally, the room receives plenty of natural sunlight during the day, which is a feature that I appreciate.

This room is in desperate need of a makeover. We wanted our living space to be bright and modern with comfortable seating arrangements. So, I created a moodboard and Naveen approved it!

As a first step, we dived into removing all the stuff from the wall and ceiling.

TRANSITION

Check out below video to see the step by step process and challenges we faced to transform this space into our own living room.

The walls had a rough, cement-textured coating that I attempted to smooth out by wet sanding. However, the results were not satisfactory. Consequently, I opted to use mudding to conceal the texture. It took me four layers of mudding to restore the wall to its original smoothness.

TOOLS & MATERIALS USED FOR MUDDING:

Drywall compound : https://amzn.to/3ACHENv

12” & 8 inch taping knife – https://amzn.to/40zch0t

Paint / Mud mixer – https://amzn.to/3KYKi4C

10” mud pan : https://amzn.to/43Ws2Sn

Paint roller : https://amzn.to/3H479up

Tacking ceiling was an another challenge. ! We had to deal with lots of screw holes, plastered pattern, and spray paint after removing the metal sheets. To remove the texture, we used a popcorn ceiling scraper and then I applied drywall compound and sanded it down. Again, lot of debris, lot of dust and neck breaking pain to finish this area. We had this room sealed off from the rest of the house for a few months. . My initial plan to install 12 feet long shiplap boards on the cathedral ceiling didn’t work out because of the unevenness of the ceiling. So, I had to come up with a plan B and went with plastering the ceiling and adding a large designer chandelier to make a statement. Despite the challenges, I love the final output.

I painted the walls and ceiling with Whisper White by Behr. Matte finish for the ceiling and Satin for the walls. trims and baseboards were painted with ultra pure white in semigloss. Finally, it was coming together!

DIY Living Room Makeover – Modern Style

ABOUT THE DESIGN & THEME:

I wanted to keep the furnishing really simple, clean and modern that serves as a comfortable hangout space with lots of natural lighting. It began with a pure white base across the walls, and also in the drapes. This look creates a sense of openness and airiness that blends itself equally well to a modern chic style. Layered over the white are muted, soft tones of whites, creams and greys, as well as pale natural colors and materials. The pops of color in this interiors are wood tones, blacks, gold, and the lush green of live tropical plants across the décor.

Joining the color schemes are beautiful items, from wood trays, white velvet seats and lamp, to woven basket, popping artworks, and pattern rug. The overall look is deeply relaxing and calming.

My favorite addition to this project is the huge 5 and a half ft wide vertigo chandelier, also known as the hat chandelier, designed by French designer Constance Guisset. It was the perfect replacement for the previous failed shiplap install. With my 12ft tall sloped ceiling, it adds a stunning design element to complete the room’s interior design. Even though there’s no power source on the ceiling, I hung it as a statement piece. If necessary, we could add a battery-operated bulb with a remote control.

BEFORE

AFTER

I’m really happy with how this room turned out. It’s now a bright and inviting space that’s perfect for relaxing, entertaining, and spending time with loved ones.

BEFORE

AFTER

FURNITURE & DECOR USED IN THIS MAKEOVER:

I incorporated lot of décor and furnishing that I built for our home. From Epoxy coffee table, serving tray, blanket ladder, basket side table to napkin holder, canvas wall art and candle holder.

To address the lack of ceiling or wall power sources for lighting, I designed a blanket ladder that doubled as a lamp. The bookstand was an upcycled vinyl recorder stand that I painted black with a gold frame to use as a bookshelf/stand. The basket side table near the couch was a DIY solution using a laundry basket with an epoxy finished wood top for storing extra throws and pillows. This also helps as a storage for a quick cleanup.

I also have my first DIY project – a coffee table. It has simple framed legs and epoxy white and gold marble top.

On the other side of our living room, we had a large blank wall that I covered with a giant art canvas made from scratch. It’s an excellent way to add a statement piece to a large wall while keeping the cost low.

Additionally, DIY decors included in the room are a wood tray, Napkin holder, test tube vase, canvas art above couch and a Pampas sun boho décor.