How to Remodel Your Living Room
The living room is a great place to start remodeling a house. I like to put more windows in to add more natural lighting. Maybe you want to do just the opposite. Maybe you are looking at expanding it out into the backyard, and to add a deck onto it outside. That sounds great. Let us take a look at some basics on remodeling a living room in order to sell a house.
How big is the living area? Is it big enough for you? Can you make it bigger to suit your needs? Let us take a simple layout. The living room will have an entry from a foyer’s hallway, another close by on a different wall leading into the kitchen, and at the other end of that same wall is a sliding glass door going outside to a patio. The not so great part is that the only other window is opposite of the glass door across the room, and it is only three feet wide. More natural lighting would be nice.
Let us also say that the wall with the window backs up to the master bathroom, which is not so big. The living room measures 16 feet wide by 15 feet long. This would mean that the wall between the window and the sliding glass door is 16 feet. With the so called master bathroom being only five feet deep up to the living room, this would mean you may have to move the bathroom as well. Let us check this out.
Okay, you want the living room to become 20′ x 25′ with the longer dimension going further out into the backyard. The longer dimension will not be an issue, but the other will consume the bathroom. Here is a trick. With the master bedroom and bath lacking six to seven feet matching the length of the living room, you can flip the bathroom around to be at the other end of the bedroom. This means adding more plumbing, uprooting the bath and shower, vanity moves, commode has to go, and anything else in there.
There is still another issue. What about that other foot of empty space? Here are some ideas. Use it as built in shelving for either the bedroom or living room. You could also extend the wall on over from either room, but if you do that you will have a jut in the wall. That is up to you. Since it will be at the end of the bedroom, go ahead and use it as built in shelving with a cabinet below.
Shop around for floor to ceiling windows to place at the end of the living room. You can always install blinds or drapes to keep the sun out. Maybe you would rather move the sliding glass door over to that wall for better placement of your current furniture. That would be a great idea, and a quicker way to your new deck you plan to build.
Finish up that wall where the bathroom is and build out the bathroom with tile now instead of that worn out linoleum or carpet. You could even put in one of those toilets that mounts to the wall, which would make it easier to sweep and mop in there. Put in that Jacuzzi you always wanted, and maybe have the shower stall at the other end. This will be rewarding one it is done.
Let us get back to the living room. Okay, so you have extended the walls, put up blinds, and not certain about what to do with the empty space where the sliding door was. Your kitchen is between where you are and the garage.
Option A is to extend the kitchen on out adding space to it. Option B is to shape your living room on out into an L fashion. Option C…hmm….leave it as is, and continue around with the glass wall or not. Close it off if you like.
That part is finished and now you are ready to finish out the room. Do you want wainscot along the walls? Maybe. At least paint the walls and put some alcove trim up around the ceiling. If you panel the wall, use a light paneling, as this will make the room appear larger. Should you use dark paneling, trim it out well. Personally, I would just paint it and be done with the walls. Stain the trim if the rest of the house has stained trim. Otherwise, just paint it a glossy color either matching the walls or with a contrasting color. Any doors leading to the room should be treated the same way.
Well, we are not completely done. There is the matter of the floor. Your house will sell better if there is new carpet in there. This is easy to do, and any place you buy the carpet from will deliver for free, at least most of them do. Your base trim only needs to be half an inch from the top floor. Nail down the carpet trim tack board within a 1/6th to an 1//8th of an inch from the outside of the trim. Lay your padding down between these boards, while trimming it out to fit. Remember, before securing the carpet over the padding to make certain it will scoot underneath the trim. Make sure you allow for this length when you cut the carpet.
A ceiling fan is a nice touch, but isn’t a must. Give your buyer a choice for lighting. Have a main type of light, and some dimming lights on a different switch. One of the nicest jobs I ever did is using the alcove trim, large size, to hide the fluorescent lighting behind it, which are all on a dimmer switch. This made for excellent “movie” lighting for when the family wanted to relax from a hard day at work.
Maybe sconce lighting around the room is something you might want. Check them out at Lowe’s or Home Depot.
It may take some money to redo the living room you want. In the long run it will be worth all the hard work you put in. Choosing the right colors may take some time, but not having to repeat the process will save you even more time. Remodeling a living room can get tiresome, but it will pay off. Good luck on your project.
