Styling Advice - Light fitting, mirror, cushions, inexpensive piece of furniture to put a lamp on etc

[ToothFairy2023]

Apologies for another post. We have just decorated (pale green) another larger same coloured sofa and angled lamp out of view, cream blinds due to be dry cleaned freshened up. We have two large framed family photos to go back up one in a bronze frame. We would like to give the room a makeover without spending a fortune and don’t want too much clutter (TV housing staying).

So in summary want advice and suggestions for;
Budget piece of furniture for alcove sideboard/cupboard/shelf unit (but would like to put lamp on)
Light fitting (budget)
Mirror budget (like round Ikea or Dunelm one)
Suggestions for do we need something above in alcove areas.
Shall we stay neutral or what colours to introduce (if colours quite like purple, orange, coral, greens, teals etc).

Get yourself to fb marketplace! My living room is similarly proportioned to yours, with recesses and fireplace. It's also green, but darker than yours (grey green linen from valspar - highly recommend!) I bought a large curved over mantle mirror from marketplace for £30 and a beautiful vintage chest of drawers (£40)for the empty side. Then just added some ornaments (my Gran's wedding pic in a brass frame, a pretty gin bottle and a couple coloured glasses on a tray) and some pink glass candlesticks from the charity shop to the mantle. Cheaply done but I'm pleased with how it looks and have had compliments.

Thanks for the suggestions @Mmmkaay this green is actually a lovely shade the photo doesn’t do it justice (it was still dark outside and the current lighting isn’t brilliant). Whilst our kids are teens and no longer little we have a large big hairy dog with big waggy tail so glasses out on a tray wouldn’t work for us.

Sorry, yes it is a pretty colour, I think I was just remembering how much I like the shade I did! 😂 Rather than glasses a heavy bottomed decanter would be a better option (difficult for the dog to dislodge.) Some nice styling ideas in the attached pic.

Beautiful room. Agree that some vintage furniture would do well. It's very easy to update with chalk paint.

Lovely photo @Mmmkaay and some inspiration our room if definitely more green than grey. Unfortunately we won’t be having any bespoke shelving.

What do think about the colour of this oversized mirror on the green above the newly painted black fire surround. Or would a bronze or wood effect be better?

Still undecided so haven’t hung it up yet.

What about this £275 in Next nothing on FB Marketplace anywhere near here. Although it doesn’t really go with mirror as one modern one more traditional?

The green paint is good. The cabinet is a No. The round mirror is a Yes.
I'd put shelves and cabinets in the alcoves like in the photo upthread.

Flooring and sofas are a bit too brown for the walls. Fireplace surround would look better in a lighter colour.

I'd get an area rug, Bring the sofas away from the walls. Throws on the sofas.
You need a coffee table or side tables.

I'd also get some curtains.

@FayCarew thanks really appreciate you taking the time to comment. Sorry we have just had the green walls and our old dated scratched pine fire surround painted black!?!

Agree with most of your comments thank you. About to put the mirror up think it goes with fireplace style thanks. Just want to get the room put back together.

Would love shelving like in the picture but can’t afford it, DH isn’t well enough to tackle it and I certainly couldn’t. Blinds currently about to be cleaned. Sofas will be staying could perhaps soften them a bit with some cushions and a rug at a later date once other decisions made. Sideboard cupboard thing has a 6-12 week wait so DH has gone off that. So still looking for a piece of furniture for the alcove that will go with the mirror and black fireplace and also a light fitting other than made to measure bespoke shelving unit. I love this light fitting from JL (on insta) but can’t afford it.

As I said, the wall colour is good.
A rug would tone down the brownness of the carpet and the throws would soften the sofas.

I wasn't sure if you had already painted the fireplace or were going to.
The Next cabinet is horrible. Get a 'vintage' one from Freecycle instead and get a paintbrush out.

The sofas are fine but just need cosying up a little.

The alcove shelving would be a fairly cheap and easy job. The cabinets would be trickier. You could cheat by having cabinets that are a close fit to the alcove. or by putting doors on the shelves.

DIY Alcove Storage | Renovating the Broadway

Thanks @FayCarew would really like it put back together before Christmas as have a busy week next week, things all over the house and people over next weekend.

I have put a standard lamp in the corner near the alcove for now, decided to keep the mirror, have hung it and it looks really good, put the Christmas tree up and put a few little things back in the room and its made an enormous difference already.

Thank you

It's starting to sound a lot like Christmas. It's a lovely room and the green paint is a good choice. What make and colour is it?

Thanks its a dupe of Farrow & Ball Cromarty. A grey green but definitely only looks green in our north facing room which is what we wanted but can look grey in some rooms.

Thanks.

I like the mirror you have and would put that above the fireplace.
The TV plus unit and fireplace are quite stark in contrast to your walls, could you paint the TV unit so its not so heavy looking? That would give the space a lift.
Perhaps just find a side table on Gumtree or FBM for now and decide on the other alcove later?
There are lot of nice glass ceiling fittings, do you have a budget for that?
A soft rug and cushions would soften the contrast too. Again FBM is good for rugs, but it does take a bit of time.

Thanks @trickyex the mirror was from The Range and just under £60. We think it looks more expensive than it was and we put that above the fireplace last night and are quite pleased with it and as its oversized its made a massive difference to the room. We are trying existing bits and pieces in the room bit by bit so its looking better (or I hope it is).
We found what we think is a fab sideboard/unit on FB last night it is new, a good brand, but had slight defects, but it is less than half price, very unusual and outing. I imagine it is quite marmite so I won’t post a picture of that here but we can’t wait for it to arrive. Light fitting under £100 ideally. As said I absolutely love this one but its ££££’s from JL and nothing else compares. Or would something more modern like the last photo go or can you suggest anything else.
Do you think something above the black Tv unit might help with the dark/stark contrast. Maybe either a picture, shelf unit or port hole mirrors as the black unit has built in speakers in it so I imagine it would be difficult to do a good job of. Any suggestions (we have a couple of pictures from the back room that we could try).

Will wait till the sideboard/unit arrives then decide on a rug, cushions and throw. Although rug would definitely need to be washable in our house and think I would prefer new for these items.

@trickyex and anyone else able to offer advice. Whilst the room looks better and a little less stark with the dark fire place next to the dark TV unit with the mirror up
and some existing bits of ours and some Christmas bits now you have pointed out about two black dark stark things or colours next to each other I can’t help focusing on that. Would it help draw the eye if I had something above the TV (if so what and if a picture what sort of frame and back ground level work best or both if so would say a bushy faux plant or something help with this? Thanks

Still need a ceiling light recommendation ideally under £100. Unsure what sort of light to get. Thanks

OP can you post a pic of the TV unit? AM wondering if you could change part of it?
And yes maybe adding a print above and a plant might well soften it all.
I did see a light fitting you might like, will come back with a link.

This is the light I was thinking of which gets good reviews and is similar ish to the one you posted

https://www.dunelm.com/product/seraphina-1-light-mercury-glass-pendant-ceiling-fitting-1000119791?defaultSkuId=30576104&ds_c=Lighting_Ceiling+Lights-PMax_%5BGOO-PLA-LIGHTING-WALLCEILING%5D&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiApuCrBhAuEiwA8VJ6JgXTY_FI3dOHbsvaZjFwzXCdk7npV8Dm3KE4yo1jQNA5feK6SGrbkRoCSnYQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Maybe you could lighten your fire surround as that would make the space feel much lighter, a neutral stone colour would look good and its not a difficult or pricey thing to do.

@trickyex thanks for the link I really like that shade will investigate further they didn’t have it in stock at our Dunelm. It’s slightly over budget but still a 1/3 of the price of the JL one and it is really nice.

The decorator has only just finished less than a week ago and he has made such a good job of the edges so it would be a crying shame to repaint it so soon after him finishing. If I tried the end result would look absolutely awful no clean lines. Hence why we paid for a decorator.