The start of a new year is arguably the best time to set goals for your personal and professional life, so why not reflect positive change in your home as well? It turns out that your home surroundings have a significant impact on your mental state. A well-styled home that aligns with your personal tastes will be a more relaxing, happy environment for you to enjoy.

The hub of many households is the living room, making it the perfect spot to freshen up. Not only will you appreciate the fruits of your labours, but your guests and loved ones will be able to as well. Thankfully, revamping your living room décor doesn’t have to involve serious renovations or a background in interior design.

Here are 5 tips for refreshing your living room space effectively and without any intrusive remodelling.

Give your living room a beautiful foundation

When you think about giving your living room a new look it is easy to forget one of the biggest statements in this space – the floor. Your choice of flooring can make an otherwise beautiful living room feel drab, aged or even visually cluttered. Rather than fight with your floor, consider the option of having it removed and replaced with a material that will serve as a beautiful foundation to the rest of the space’s style.

A wonderful choice of flooring that is growing in popularity is modified wood. Modified wood is a real wood product that is sustainably manufactured and free of questionable chemicals so common in residential wood flooring. Modified wood is incredibly smooth and available in clear or high character boards, depending on whether you like the look of natural knots or prefer a plain look. Modified wood is about as durable of a wood floor as you can get.

Finish your walls with personal photographs and art

Wall art can make or break a room. Many pro interior decorators are well-aware of how important wall art is, especially when it comes to putting personalized finishing touches in a space. Since the living room is an area often used for entertainment and gathering, placing personal photographs or unique art here is ideal.

Rather than dealing with printing photographs yourself and then trying to find frames, opt for custom canvas prints instead. Custom printed canvas is attractively chic and casual, adapting to essentially any type of home design style you can think of. They are also lightweight and fairly easy to hang.

Invest in matching furniture that showcases your tastes

Certain design styles like bohemian and shabby chic may look mismatched, but even these very flowing aesthetics still need to have some sort of cohesive look when it comes to furniture. Furniture is often the biggest statement piece in a room when it comes to personal fixtures. Not only is the style of furniture important, but also the quality.

Forget about trying to get by with boring or cheap-looking particle board furniture pieces and invest in a matching set. Real wood furniture is always a good option and if you select attractively simple designs, like those you’d find in an Amish living room furniture set, you’ll be surprised at how versatile it can be. A Mission couch, coffee table and a couple of chairs can fit in essentially any living room, whether you’re going for an industrial or an urban modern effect.

Capture the warmth and texture of weathered wood

Weathered, aged wood is highly sought after for its warm appearance and texture that faux products often fail to replicate. While you can find this type of wood used for many interior design projects, consider the idea of using reclaimed wood wall panels in your living room.

Rather than going the usual route of painting an accent wall, cover that wall in reclaimed wood instead. Ideally this will serve as a backdrop to your main seating area, such as behind your sofa, though you really can get as imaginative with this product as you’d like. A huge advantage of this type of panelling is that you can have it installed over your existing walls.

Add sleek minimalist touches with bamboo

Another natural material that offers a bit of a different vibe is bamboo. If you like the idea of wood panelling but want a very sleek, modern look, try bamboo panels instead. Bamboo doesn’t just offer a cleaner look than most wood, but even just as a material, it’s very versatile.

You can use bamboo panels as wall art or a ‘tropical-esque’ backdrop to a built-in. You can even use bamboo veneer to cover tables, entertainment centres or floating shelves. If you’re striving for a green home and are concerned over organic material sustainability, you’ll also appreciate the fact that bamboo is a more responsible material than new wood.

With a little creativity and enthusiasm, you can easily make your living room feel like a whole new space.

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