When renovating your property, it’s easy to overlook the living room – in fact they often come third after kitchens and bathrooms. This is likely to be the room where you spend most of your time, at least when you’re not sleeping, so getting it right is the key to a successful renovation.

If, like most properties in London where space comes at a premium, the property you are renovating has a multi-function living room, it’s even more important to plan properly.

At EDGE2 we have a huge amount of experience renovating modern and period properties in London. Here are 5 tips we think will help you achieve the look you are after:

1) Define the space

If the living room is going to be for relaxing, watching TV, gaming as well as a formal dining space, it’s really important to define the areas. Sometimes a statement light fitting and a carpet is all it takes to create definition in a room. Other focal points, such as wallpapers or different pain tones will also help achieve the desired effect.

2) Natural light

Particularly in the UK, where we suffer from long dark winters, how you conduct natural light in the living room is key. If your property doesn’t have huge windows, try to maximise what light you do have coming in. Mirrors are a very cost effective way to not only increase the feeling of space in your living room, but they can also be used take natural light to less well light parts of the room.

3) Focal points

In period properties focal points are naturally provided by the property but in contemporary apartments is always useful to create focal points to command a design.

4) Furniture choices

This is often the most difficult point for most of our clients, particularly when the property being renovated is already fully furnished. It’s expensive to replace everything, and easy to get emotionally attached to a sofa, certain pieces of furniture, or the whole room! The key is to make sure that all the furniture, whether old or new, is proportional to the space. This is of course much easier said than done – but we can help you come up with a design that works.

5) Statement lighting

Even if your budget is tight you should ALWAYS invest in one light fitting that will become a talking point.

If you have, or are looking to buy a property in London to renovate, EDGE2 can help. We are boutique developers with over 30 years combined experience in renovating London properties. We provide a fully project managed service. We can help you get planning permission (even in conservation areas), produce 3D architect drawings and do all the work for you, using 100% in-house trades.

For more information, download our brochure here, or give Julian a call on +44(0)207 112 9081.