I’ve been on a bit of a mission recently for a quick living room update. In February I wrote a blog post about painting a fireplace, but since then I’ve been looking to add some finishing touches. But as a working single Mum, my time and budget is always quite low so I’ve been looking for some affordable pieces that will create the most impact in my living room. And be child-friendly of course! The previous off-white woolen rug did really well lasting for 5 years, but I was constantly cleaning it and wanted something lower maintenance (and not white!).
One great way of getting a quick living room update is through your soft furnishings such as cushions, rugs and throws. But the issue I was having is that all the rugs I liked were seriously expensive and way over my budget of £100. So I put my quick living room update project on the back-burner until one of the rugs that I liked went on sale (a 90% sale…)
And then last month I popped into Homebase to pick up some paint for my hallway and actually doubled-back because I’d spotted the perfect rug in the corner of my eye in the Habitat section! The label said it was a small rug – but so is my living room and so it was the perfect size and 100% cotton too. The blue even matched the colour of my living room walls so I didn’t hesitate… I even had enough left over from my budget to get a new lamp shade too!
I love the colours and pattern in this Habitat Agnes rug (reduced from £65 to £50) and I feel that they really complement Jenni Sparx’s hand-drawn map of Paris too. The detail of the pattern means that it won’t show up every little mark from my toddler and the weave style means it’ll be easy to clean.
The Mini Grande lampshade (£20) from Habitat gives a little nod to the copper trend which is so hot right now. I paired it with an antique lamp base that was a gift from my Mum – it really needs a clean though! It adds a sophisticated touch and won’t show up the tiny finger print marks that I got on my previous white lampshade… and it has a beautiful copper glow when the light is turned on in the evenings. It’s more of a statement lamp now and looks great on the table nest that was also gifted by my Mum!
So what do you think of my quick living room update with Habitat? If I had more in the budget, I would have bought the larger light shade for the ceiling light too! If anyone has any ideas about what I can do to hide those cables, let me know in the comments box below : )
Natalia xo
