How can I (cheaply) make this large, bland space more cosy?

[Bloomp]

Its a new build, rented house. I cant decorate the walls but am allowed to put up pictures. I'm also pretty skint

I love the size of this kitchen and we use this as our living room so are always in it but it feels very studenty or something. It doesnt feel cosy at all. I suspect it will require buying some large furniture tbh but i just cant afford to right now. Is there anything i can do cheaply that will bring the space together to be more like a cosy living room?

Even more cheaply than fabric, you can frame wallpaper samples (free!) to add pattern to plain walls. Again cheaper than buying one big picture.

Ooh good idea about wall paper samples.

I think the rug is growing on me like this

Pics on the wall

Soft furnishings - rugs, cushions, throws

Lamps / some armer lighting

Sorted

Ebay is also good for cheap 'pops' of colour e.g. rugs, cushions etc. I bought an enormous throw from there that would cover a whole sofa last year for (I think) no more than 20 quid or so. When I was really broke I bought cheap scarves off amazon to use as curtain tiebacks which added colour.

How about hanging a nice rug on the wall?

I like your last photo. It looks more cosy and you will feel more cosy putting you feet down onto a rug, at least I would. Lovely space BTW I'm rather jealous oh and very cute pets

I think the pets make the picture

I think a large rug on the wall behind the sofa would be nice.

You've had several mentions of a large picture to give you some colour, and I agree that wallpaper samples etc would work, but also very cheap and more personalized, is to look up artists such as Mark Rothko and Piet Mondrian (or Jackson Pollock if you could work in the garden ) and recreate one of their ideas for yourself.
Get hardboard off cuts from DIY shop, some cheap paint tester pots, work on the rough side of the board, and off you go. If you can't get a cheap frame, bind in black or silver tape to finish.

Large clocks or mirrors can be expensive, but you could use smaller items and fix them or surround them with a false frame to make them more dramatic.

And just to back track a little, to when I mentioned wild flowers in a jug, you could of course use any jam jar, or a cluster of say old Nutella jars.

If you decide on a collection of photos/samples or whatever, putting them all in the same type and size of frame and within an imaginary square or oblong will give a more formal look than a variety of styles/colours/sizes, more haphazardly positioned to give an organic look.

Agree with PP re moving sofa out - can it go in the middle of the 'living' space facing the TV/radiator wall? Get a fun family pic blown up really big on a canvas - if you can get one on a deal they're not expensive and create great atmosphere I think

I don't think the coffee table is doing much, tbh. It's too big, too far from the sofa.
Can you put it to the left of the sofa, as a side table, see if that works? If not, the cup was resting just fine on the sofa arm, leave it like that?

i would get some nice oilcloth for the coffee table

Asda sell really nice microplush fleece throws for £5-6 which last really well , are really soft and snuggly , wash really easily and come in loads of colours.

We have end up with loads several over the years as they've migrated into the dc's rooms and the playroom, so I make sure we have enough in the lounge.

They also do blankets and throws that are a bit more expensive that have the microplush on one side and a cream thick fleece to look a bit like the cream side of sheepskin on the other. I got a massive one to have in my bedroom (kingsize ) in soft grey and cream that was about £15-18 - and it's now been co-opted by the dc down in the lounge so I'll buy another one as I want one for me

TKMaxx/Homesense sell nice throws cheaply too.

I bought a massive world map for £3 in a bargain book shop (The Works I think, they are also online and have regular xx% off sales).

I used cheap colourful £2 fleeces from Ikea as curtains when I moved house and suddenly needed lots of curtains. and if you already have curtains could you pin cheap fabric onto them as a panel to help make them more colourful - loads of gorgeous fabrics on eBay cheaply especially if you want a relatively small amount.

The scratch maps are lovely but can be quite expensive if you get them from John Lewis or dotcom giftshop type places - they're loads cheaper on eBay.

If you're looking for furniture or mirrors etc on eBay, check out the moneysavingexpert.com article on cheap eBay finds - searching on tweaked spellings, doing searches on pick it up yourself items within a 10 mile radius of where you are (or how far you want to go!), and more, all worth knowing.

Sainsburys and asda both have nice home ranges - and if you hit Sainsburys right they often will reduce old stuff as a new range comes in - especially the bigger stores who have say 3 or 4 collections, they'll be changing one of them to bring something new in every 2-3 weeks.

The

I would say some big plants!

Some ikea cubes to separate ythe space between kitchen/diner and sitting area.

Maybe a separate arm char / funky chair to make it into more of a 'sitting area' than just a sofa and TV.

Big rug.

Floor lamp.

Something colurful on the wall.

Plants as PP said. We got some big plants from Ikea a few years ago for about £15 each and they have done amazingly well and make flat look so much nicer.