What would you do with this lounge?

[Horizonhopper2021]

This is my lounge, and I hate it, it was quite nice when it was first done, it had pictures on that back wall but my daughter knocked them all down. And now it's just a white box with no personality and it's totally neglected. We are going to update it in the next few weeks and we want to panel and paint sage green or emerald green on the back wall, with a nice picture of each of our three children on top. So that wall is accounted for, but then what would I do with the chimney breast? There's an alcove on the far end you can't see where I'm planning on putting a floor lamp. But I'm curious on what other people would do because nothings set in stone yet. About £500 budget

I think it looks a bit soul less because there is no fire as a focal point. You are just staring at an oddly placed sideboard and a tv stuck on the wall.
What do you have in that unit & does it need to be there? It gives a corridor effect to that area really.
A large rug would break up that big expanse of carpet and add some texture/colour.

The unit only really holds nappies and wipes and junk tbh, the issue is that there is no fireplace behind it it's just a hole, that my partner boarded and we used to have a basket with wood in but it looked odd and the holes too small to even put a fake fire. I'll try find a picture from before

This is what's behind it, both options aren't great

Here's what you do.

Get rid of the sideboard.

Billy bookcases in the alcoves and potentially along the far wall.

Turn your modular sofa round and put the chair at the far end to make a sociable looking seating group. Put a lamp in the corner by the window, not in an alcove

Get rugs and a coffee table.

Potentially create another space at the near end with a desk/chair.

Use shades of the same colour, so lighter greens through darker with an accent colour like a grey that is darker than your sofa and chairs, then have a touch of an unexpected red or terracotta somewhere.

Rooms need layers, texture and depth.

Your TV is too high. I would lower it or take it off the wall altogether and have it on a much lower and real wood TV stand.

In the far corner a nice tall plant on the floor. At the other end of the couch a floor standing lamp.

I would pick a colour you like and get a few lovely patterned scatter cushions with that colour. A throw that tones on the end of the sofa.

Again inject a bit more colour or warmth by changing the curtains for a proper blind. I would go with a real wood Venetian blind or a patterned Roman blind.

If you can squeeze it in a real wood coffee table in front of the sofa with another plant on it.

I appreciate the above might stretch the budget but I would buy all the furniture second hand.

I would paint whole thing not just one wall. Replace curtains with a pattern print, move/bin tv unit and replace with rug, tall lamp for far left hand corner.

Oh and cushions, throws

Everything @Alchemistress said. The desk and chair could also be a zoned kids section. Small table for arts and crafts /lego,maybe a toy kitchen.
Flow is a big part of your problem

Plus new curtains with SOME colour and cushions again colour...

Argos do surprisingly good curtains quite cheaply.

If the wall with the tv on it not a proper chimney breast then I would take the bit that sticks out away altogether to make your room wider. Then move the sofa to that wall or the side wall. It feels strange having the sofa facing away from the window and gives a corridor feel. You could then get a nice wooden tv stand in the corner and a coffee table and rug. Then introduce some colour as the previous post have mentioned.

I don’t think you could remove the chimney breast without structural support and a high cost.

I wouldn’t go for a feature wall or panelling in a room this size with such a large corner couch.

I’d paint all the walls soft sage and put two simple white bookcases, or cupboards with shelves above, in each alcove. I’d lower the TV if that wasn’t going to make too much mess and put a large mirror on the back wall at the same height. Lastly I’d choose some patterned full length curtains and matching or complementary cushions. Get feather cushion pads as they always look and feel much better. If you don’t have full length curtains go for sill length. You might go for voile as you also have blinds, they’d be cheaper. If you don’t change the curtains, shorten them or add a contrasting piece below to the floor.

Look at places like Dunelm for good value.

I’d rather see nice framed photos of children on the shelves, as opposed to main decor for the room, but that’s because I’m not a fan of big personal photos on the wall, which I appreciate is personal preference. They’re also easier to add to and update that way.

Hope there’s some food for thought there.

Alchemistress has it. Maybe without the table and chair as I assume you need that space for toys. Billy bookcases will give you so much storage and display space.
If you go for a definite colour on one wall make sure you bring the colour out through accents. A bit of colour in the curtains, cushions, a large plant pot with a glossy green plant.
And yes. Thick textured rug. IKEA and Dunelm should sort everything you need for good prices.

Update! Almost done in here! Blocked the pictures as they're of my children, just need to finish wallpaper on the chimney breast, and fix the coving. Also I've got 2 lush green cushions as a gift that will be added but I'll have to wait a few weeks untill my birthday for those. The mirror wall was where I was sitting in my armchair in the before pic so I moved it around a little too

Much nicer!

Wow fab job!

Much improved! I’d still move the tv lower, though.

Is lovely. Mine is similar to your original area and I don’t like it. Can I ask how wide area is?

I did ask DP if we could lower the tv and he said it's too big of a job atm because he's actually build the tv into the wall, its on like a bendy arm bracket (whatever you'd call that) and it's fits perfectly into the gap

That looks so much better. You must be really pleased.

It looks much better.

I would suggest a bookcase or something next to the pouffe to help draw the eye down and bix it in like a room. And plants to carry the green through the rest of the room. X

Looks great OP

Thankyou, next to the pouffe is a radiator so sadly can't do that, and I'd love some plants but I have a 3 year old and and an 18month old 🫣

Apart from everything else, don’t paint if you. Cant do it neatly. And wtf chooses purple without knowing that the recipient would welcome it.

It’s as if it’s designed to piss the OP off

Are you on the wrong thread??

Get rid of ghastly ceiling light.

Put a slim console table behind the sofa on the plain wall. Put small lamps on it. Add some plants. Get a rug. What are those curtains doing? They’re neither long nor short. Short curtains are an abomination. Replace with floor touching ones. We have long white curtains that can’t be drawn, they just frame windows.

Add prints to plain wall. Not too high. But no photos of the kids. That’s not good.

Sorry, didn’t see your update. Looks much better but you need to lose the ceiling light.

I’d infill the side of the chimney breast with shelving.

UPDATE - this is a zombie 🧟‍♀️