The previous time, we discussed in this blog 5 DIY upgrades for your kitchen. Now we will discuss how to improve another part of your home sweet home. Without further ad, we will discuss 5 DIY Upgrades to your Living Room, get ready!
1. Make your own laptop stand.
Due to COVID-19, millions of people have been forced to work remotely from their homes, therefore, the need for a place to place your laptop is crucial. Also, many people do not have space in their living rooms and they live
with other people in their household, so someone will have to go to work in the living room. Therefore, once you are in the living room and need a laptop stand, you can build it from scratch or use other existent objects which you never imagined to be used in a different way for sure. With that goal in mind, you can grab some wooden boards, some PVC pipes, a couple of ring binders or a paper towel holder with a plexiglass board. All of these options have different costs depending on the customization and the raw material, nevertheless, all of them plus adding to the shopping basket some other items such as a saw, glue, tape or joints will not exceed the 10€ for sure. Buying a new one from the store will have an average price of 20€ the majority of the time and for sure, using it will not be so fulfilling and fun as using a DIY one, right?
2. Paint the baseboards.
We assume we don’t need to tell you that if you have been living for a while in your place, the baseboards of your living room will certainly look a little bit worn and torn. Thus, we strongly recommend you to repaint them with the colour of your choice or perhaps paint them for the first time since the baseboard finish lacked a personal touch, which can only be made by yourself. Proceeding in this DIY upgrade will absolutely give your living room a fresh and new look which your guests and yourself will later appreciate and you will forget your house age. Also, this DIY is really cheap, it will cost less than 40€ including all the materials and tools needed, and it will only take you up to one hour. It is worth noting these figures will also depend on the size of your living room, of course, if you live in Buckingham Palace, you will perhaps need a lot of painters tape and time to paint all the baseboards, get your wallet ready if the latest is your case!
3. Place/replace socket covers and light switch plates.
Have you checked your sockets lately? How do they look? Maybe a little bit rusty and after a couple of seconds staring at them start to become unbearable? Do not worry, you can change this using some ceramic brushed
metal switch plates and socket covers so your living room looks brighter and fancier. The cost of this DIY is also really cheap and fast to do, it depends of course on the number of light switches and sockets you have in your living room, but on average it could take you one hour to get this upgrade done and 80€. We also need to take into account that perhaps you will not need to improve all of these items. Meaning, the socket behind the TV or the fridge perhaps is not indispensable to be changed, I don’t believe your guests or neither yourself check those spots in the living room right? Saving time so you can engage in our other 4 DIY upgrades is much more important than changing the socket cover behind your fridge, right?4. Get some crown molding.
Looking at the sky during the night and seeing all the stars is an amazing view but, what do you find when you look up into
the ceiling of your living room? You might consider installing some crown moldings in your living room ceiling. Doing it so, your living room will have a luxurious appearance It is true we should mention that implementing this feature can be pricey, around 350€ with the help of a professional. However, as the article title says we suggest you to DIY, it will take you more time and it will also be more arduous. However, hard work always pays off. For this purpose, go to a hardware store and buy some wood molding cut, 3€ average price/per foot, afterwards, get them up there by yourself with a ladder, a nail gun, some paint and caulk. You will see the difference, perhaps not as nice as a sky full of lighting stars, but for sure a more pleasant view than that old dull ceiling you used to have, isn’t it? 5. Create your own photo shelf.
Pictures or photos, those items which can tell so many things of the people portrayed on them and to the people who look at them as mere spectators. Many people have hundreds or thousands of them with their loved ones and being displayed in a relaxing room of your house such as the living room, will need a prominent place to be seen and make you feel joy every time you enter the room and look at them. Therefore, you can create a
wonderful ledge where you can display all those important pictures which mean so much to you. Installing this ledge will have a really affordable price, less than 12€. You will need a wood board to be used as the self, some triangle pieces of wood to be used as the self-support and some wood glue, nails and paint. For cutting the wood in case you don’t have it already cut, we recommend you to get a mitre saw. This tool will make your life much easier to make cuts from different angles. In this concrete project, it can be really handy to cut the wood in a triangle shape for the ledge support. Also, some orbital sanders can be useful to sand yourself and the supports in a nice and neat way, leaving them perfect to be afterwards painted as you pleased. In conclusion, we believe the DIY Activities will make you spend your time in an entertaining way and at the same time will make you feel cosier once you get to your home after a long day of work or when you turn off your laptop in case you are working from home and enjoy hanging out in your living room. There are some of these upgrades which will be easier to get done than others, but, think that the price is worth it, which is to be in a living room where you can feel calm and relaxed. Plus, it will transmit an organized vibe which indubitably will create a great impression on your guests, who they’ll know without any doubt they are in your living room and that you worked hard to get it that way.