AD: How much does it cost to redesign a living room? Where to spend + save | Habitat

In collaboration with Habitat

If you’re renovating a house, you’ll be well aware already that there are two types of costs…

😷 The “boring costs” Things like insulation, remedial damp work, getting a roof replaced, all the labour. Basically, the stuff you don’t ‘see’. But they certainly matter.

😍 The “fun costs” that’s things like new furniture, flooring, paints, wallpaper, accessories… the things you ‘see’ that determine the overall look.

If only we could put our entire budget towards the latter, right? 😂

The constant battle for us renovators is leaving enough budget for the finishing touches once all the build work is complete. Deciding how best to distribute the leftover spend to get an amazing result raises its own challenges…

• “Which items should I buy for the biggest transformation? Can I justify it?”

• “How can I decorate the room in a way that’s easy to change in later years if I get bored of it?”

• “Which items should I buy now vs later?”

Sound familiar?

I’ve teamed up with Habitat to answer these very questions and give you some ideas to prioritise your budget. You’ll see I’ve chosen some fab pieces from Habitat’s furniture, lighting and home accessory collection to demonstrate how you can approach your living room overhaul.

Revamping a living room, where to spend vs where to save

Q: “Which items should I buy first for the biggest transformation? Can I justify it?”

As an interior designer, when a client comes to me looking for help to transform their home, the first thing I ask myself when I see pics of their place is… “what do they need to change for maximum wow?” If you’re revamping your living room, ask yourself the same question. When you’re starting from scratch with zero furniture, prioritising your living room budget is easy. You order which item you need most. A sofa and a TV unit first, then maybe a coffee table and an armchair later. But when you’re moving into your renovation, often taking with you preloved furniture, you need to invest in items that will suit the other furniture you’re keeping. What do I end up advising clients?…

A: Invest in stylish, high-quality furniture first to create your ‘canvas’

Imagine your dream living room. Imagine stepping inside the door and having a look around it. Which items catch your eye? Is it a gorgeous, quality sofa you can sink into? Is it a stylish, organised TV unit? Or an inviting, trendy armchair?

You’ll notice it’s the larger items that collectively define how a living room looks and feels. A sofa alone makes up 40% of the overall visual look of any living area, that’s a lot of visual space that needs to look amazing and age well over time. So if the large items in your living room (like your sofa or armchair) are looking tired, and due an upgrade, make these the first priority to replace in your home first for high impact results.

before THIS DEMO – NOT A ‘RENOVATION’ BY ANY MEANS ANYMORE. LOOK BACK THROUGH OUR ARCHIVES FOR THE REAL BEFORE SHOTS!

AFTER – IT’S AMAZING WHAT A DIFFERENCE SOFAS BRING TO A ROOM

In this demo you can see how swapping the sofa has completely changed the look of the room. This Habitat sofa is their silky soft Askem sofa in Navy Blue velvet – it’s a classic shape in a striking colour, and it’s comfortable too – all the qualities you need to look for when ordering a new sofa. Habitat’s sofa range is contemporary, good quality and easy for everyday living.

Costs:

• Sofas range from £750–£2,000 depending on size and material

• TV units range from £250–£1500 for a freestanding unit depending on size, and from £500+ if it’s built bespoke for your room (such as within alcoves)

• Armchairs range from £150–£500 for an average sized high street armchair

Q: “How can I decorate the room in a way that’s easy to change in later years if I get bored of it?”

I love this question because I know anyone who’s asking it understands the concept of designing with the future in mind, as well as ‘the now’. If you’re the sort of person who loves buying “little bits” for your living room (cushions, blankets, trinkets, artwork etc), if your taste changes a lot, and you can easily get bored of looking at the same styling day in day out, then designing the room to factor in cohesion and versatility is a must. Whether you’re decorating a family home or a home for you and your partner, you don’t need me to remind you that Habitat offers some of the most stylish home accessories to suit all interior styles from contemporary, eclectic or mid-century. My biggest design tip to bring cohesion and versatility to a living room is…

A: Invest in good quality frames that are timeless and will suit all wall colours, then swap the artwork to create completely different styles whenever you fancy

To illustrate what I mean, I’ve chosen Habitat’s White Birch photo frame range to create a gallery wall above the sofa and photographed it 2 ways. You can see the frames bring a sense of cohesion no matter what artwork is placed inside. They all match, they provide a clean white contrast to the existing (and any future) wall colour, plus the interchangeable white mounts I’ve put inside them means I can add more ‘white space’ to the look if the artwork ever feels a little too busy or if I were to change the colour of the walls.

I love how the White Birch photo frames are standard sizes meaning I can easily print Neil’s photographs from places we’ve travelled or pick up artwork on a whim knowing the frames will fit. Easy design = good design! See how I’ve created 2 completely different styles just by changing the artwork inside and adding in one of Habitat’s beautiful cushions for a little extra personality?

Gallery walls take a lot of planning and are fiddly to DIY but once they’re hung, they’re up for a long time and create an incredible way to display your memories and personality. They look especially effective when placed above a sofa to bring balance to the room, and contrary to what you might think they are easy to change.

Costs:

• 4 x White Birch frames cost £142

• Artwork + mounts to fill each frame cost approximately £80 per look (I bought 2 different styles to show you 2 different looks and spent £153 in total)

• Wall plugs + screws cost £5

Q: “Which items should I buy now vs later?”

This question is hard to answer when all you want is a finished living room and wish money grew on trees to get it complete. The answer really depends on what is important to you and the people you live with, what the overall look of the space is currently and what your vision is for the room. For example, if you’ve inherited window dressing from the previous owner that isn’t to your taste but is inoffensive and practical – it might not be worth budgeting for replacements right now (window dressing can be ££!) To establish what is not worth investing in my advice is to…

A: Create a list of what you need to buy/replace in the living room, and rank it

Prioritising items for your decoration project will help you understand what is a must, what is a nice to have, what’s worth investing in now, and what can wait until later.

So grab a pen and paper and list everything you think you need to buy and replace in your living room to achieve the results you’re working towards. Then rank each one in order of priority. Think about what you need on a practical level as well as aesthetically. Then work your way through the list gradually over time. Save up and spend on items you truly love, don’t buy something you’re not happy with and regret it - or have to replace it - later.

Your list might look like, getting a new sofa (priority), getting a new TV unit (priority), getting a new coffee table (priority), getting a new rug (low priority), getting a new lamp (low priority). The low priority items aren’t going to make or break your design, and are easily added to the scheme over time.

Habitat’s lighting range is one to look at for lighting ideas that can be retrofitted to living rooms in later phases. If you’ve plastered already or you aren’t planning any electrical updates, bring in ambience and detail by adding table lamps, floor lamps or plug-in-design wall lights. I’ve chosen the Hadley Brushed Brass and Matt Black floor lamp for this look as it’s slim and easy to tuck behind a sofa or sit neatly near an armchair. It doesn’t take up a huge amount of space and brings in a simple finishing touch.

Costs:

• Living room lights can range from £25-£300 depending on the style you choose and where you’re fitting it

• For ceiling lights I recommend spending more as it’s a permanent fixture (say between £100-£300)

• For finishing touches, I recommend searching for styles that are low to mid-range pricing but are still stylish/good quality (such as the Habitat lamp we chose for £150)

Conclusion

So how much does it cost to revamp a living room? Well, as we’ve discussed, the price varies depending on what you already own and what you want to invest in. But as with all other room renovations, if you spend your design budget wisely, prioritising the items that give you more wow for your buck, you’ll work towards creating a look that’s comfortable, stylish and adaptable over time. By far the best way to revamp a living room, is to create a vision and save up for the items that matter. You’ll end up adoring your home!

Thank you to Habitat who provided all the items photographed in this content and collaborated with us on this post.

I hope I’ve given you some food for thought as you revamp your living room!

Fi xoxo