The living room is the one place in any home where a family gathers, to spend some quality time, converse about their day, entertain guests, have a movie night. Being the most focal room of a house, naturally, it should also be a comfort zone for all as well. Having a large LED TV and a sound system to go with it, or comfortable seating with an ample amount of leg space is always a plus point of course. But from time to time even the living room needs an upgrade, and there are many ways to get that done.
Here are two quick and relatively easier ways to instantly give your living room the makeover it really needs.
Change the Furniture and Fixtures
Switch up the look of your living room by swapping out your furniture with something a little more contemporary. Neutral colored sofas, an indoor plant by the window, a simplistic rug and maybe a marble top coffee table – basically anything that gives a minimalist look to your living room. And if your budget doesn’t allow for throwing out the old and bringing in something new, then you can always make changes to what you already have. There’s always room for improvement!
Other than furniture, one can also change the color of the walls – maybe add a color to one and whitewash the rest for a brighter look to the whole room; or a wallpaper that goes with the overall look of everything else present. Changing the fixtures can help as well. Swap the antique-looking chandelier with something a little more minimalistic, preferably with LED lights or that can make use of Smart Bulbs. Instead of having a rack, add shelves to place all the decorative pieces or books you need. In this day and age, a clean look is a good look.
Install Smart Devices
Smart home devices are a great addition to any household. With their energy-efficient and automation features, they can change up the whole feel of a room. Here are a few that would be ideal for any living room.
- Smart Lights
Smart lights connect to the home Wi-Fi network and in turn, can be controlled from our mobile devices via mobile applications. Imagine sitting back on the couch and turning off the lights from your smartphone as the movie begins – cool stuff right? Set schedules for the lights to come on in the evening past 7 p.m. or automatically switch off when everyone goes to bed around 11 p.m. Smart lights can also be controlled remotely – and that means whether you’re at work, the mall or across the country, control your lights from wherever you are.
Another great feature of smart lights is that each bulb usually has thousands of color selections or warm shades for you to choose from. So if you’re throwing your kid an ‘Under the Sea’ themed birthday switch the lights to a blue shade to set the room.
- Smart Thermostat
A device that would benefit the entire home, but most importantly would keep your living room quite cozy. Smart Thermostats just like Smart Lights connect to the Wi-Fi and can be controlled from our mobile devices, like smartphones and tablets. That means if you’re feeling cold, you can turn up the temperature from your smartphone without having to walk over to the thermostat to do it yourself. Or on a cold winter night turn on the heater as you drive back, so you can walk into a warm home.
Certain Smart Thermostats even feature motion sensor technology and location tracking, which allows them to turn down or switch to an eco-friendly mode while you’re away.
- Voice Assistants
Whether you have any other smart devices at home or not, a Voice Assistant can do wonders. Sync all other smart devices with a voice assistant and control them with simple voice commands. That’s even better than being able to control them from your smartphones.
Other than that Voice Assistants are inherently Smart Speakers, which means you can play music off of You Tube, Spotify or your Apple Music playlists. Set schedules and reminders for them to be reminded to you by your little virtual assistant. Check for the weather forecast or traffic situation while you wait for your family to get ready for dinner plans. There’s a lot that Voice Assistants are useful for other than controlling other compatible devices, and having one in the living room would be a great idea.
One thing we must keep in mind, however, smart devices are quite expensive and power surges can damage them. Repair or replacement of such devices can be quite heavy on the pocket so maybe add Surge Protection Coverage to your home repair protection plans next time to protect your smart devices.
