Extending your home for additional family room or entertainment area space is quite a common building trend. And even if your Melbourne home extension isn’t aimed specifically towards a living room extension, it would still likely need some adjustments simply because you are moving other functional areas in your home. So, since your living room would likely need a bit of makeover anyways, let us look at all of the trendiest and most useful adjustments that you can make.

1. Let the Sun In

No matter how much trends change or how many new sources of illumination we come up with, natural light remains the best mood-setter and quite possibly the main feature of any interior. Maximising your use of sunlight is what makes your home look and feel welcoming and comfortable and it’s one of the best methods of increasing the value of your property. Incidentally, another good way to do that is bringing your house and garden closer, making the transition from one area to another seamless and natural.

Floor-to-ceiling glazed doors, whether bi-fold, sliding or simple french windows, are the go-to solutions for creating bright and welcoming spaces and integrating your garden with your home. In addition to being one of the most sought-after features of a modern Melbourne home, according to realhomes.com, glazed doors also ensure that your house is energy- and thermally-efficient, protected from the elements and secure from entry, thanks to constantly evolving technologies and new materials being made available to consumers.

Other Living room extension ideas for integrating the inside and the outside of your Melbourne home include adding an alfresco extension or a deck or using different landscaping tricks that let you bring your estate together.

2. Open Up The Space

One of the most popular building trends in Melbourne of the past few years are open plan kitchen living room extensions, combining together kitchen, living room, dining area and sometimes other zones into one large space. Open plan homes feel a lot more spacious than traditional closed off rooms and offer you a lot more freedom to organise your rooms however you want. Plus, a combination of long uninterrupted lines of an open plan house extension with simple minimalistic design and reserved colour scheme is guaranteed to create a chic interior.

Emphasise different areas within your open plan with clever furniture placement and subtle cues like distinctive colours, shades and textures or different light sources. Mixing differently sized furniture adds depth to your space while adding some harmonising details here and there makes for a flowing and cohesive environment.

3. Increase Functionality

On a similar note, get the most of your living room extension design by adding and combining extra functions. Extra space means you can add all sorts of useful features that can dramatically transform your home. For example, if you entertain guests often, consider adding a bar between the kitchen area and the rest of the room or along the windows to enjoy the view while relaxing with friends. If sipping beer and gazing at the sunset doesn’t sound like your idea of fun, make sure to organise a proper entertainment zone – with a large flat-screen telly, good sound system, gaming console and whatever else you may want. With a bit of ingenuity and a big enough space you can even organise a home gym that won’t disrupt the overall flow of your living room.

4. Don’t Forget the Storage

Ever notice how in design mags even the simplest interiors look stylish and cosy? Well, their secret, at least in part, is lack of clutter. Every random detail and casually placed object is precise and meaningful, with everything extra taken out of the picture. There is something about clean, perfectly organised environments that draws the eye and captures your attention.

While real Melbourne homes may never be quite as pristine as magazine photos, as any well lived-in space tends to get more or less messy, you can still dramatically reduce the clutter and make your home more comfortable by bringing in additional storage units. The market offers a wide range of options – from shelves and drawers to cosy armchairs with hidden storage compartments – but the best solutions are still built-ins. Built-in furniture is custom-tailored for your house, comfortably filling its nooks and crannies or creating secluded corners where you need them. Unlike other storage pieces that can get in the way or crowd your room too much, built-ins don’t take much space visually and give you full creative freedom to arrange your interior to your liking.

5. Mix Up the Styles

Combining and contrasting styles is one of the hottest home design trends in Melbourne right now! This is especially true for mixing together different eras in your interior since another big trend of recent years is ‘boomerang styles’, bringing back iconic looks from 20, 50 or even 100 years ago!

To avoid going overboard with your combos, pick two distinct but complimentary styles – for example art-deco from 1920’s and 1930’s and futurism from the 60’s or even modern style. If your styles fit well together, make sure to use distinctive patterns to give your space unique flair; if you are brave enough to pick contrasting styles, bring them together by using similar colour schemes and textures.

Here’s another interesting technique for mixing up styles and creating a lively, constantly evolving interior. First build your living room as a “clean slate”: use neutral colours and plain natural materials with only the most essential furniture and accessories. Choose materials with clear and distinctive textures and different shades of the same colour to make even the simple interiors interesting and cosy. From here you can fill your room with life bit by bit, finding unusual furniture in antique stores and flea markets, bringing in decorations from your travels or making cool DIY projects with your family is a great way of saving some money on your living room extension cost. A room like this will change with you over time and always feel homely and welcoming.

A comfy living room is, in many ways, the gravitational centre of a house. It’s the place that draws together all of the family members on quiet evenings and gathers all of your friends for parties. Watching TV together, reading books by the fireplace or just hiding away from the midday heat – a nicely put together living room extension is just what you need. We hope these tips will help you with your living room extension plans and will get you on your way to your perfect home.

 

 

Bonus: Design ideas for a timeless looking Living Room Extension

Home design trends come and go. Some of them stay popular for decades, others go out of style almost as quickly as last season’s fashion choices. Unlike your wardrobe, changing your home to keep up with the latest fads is usually not an option. If you’re planning a renovation or extension for your dream home, your want to choose a design that would last for many years to come. Today we’re looking at classic home design ideas that would let your home age gracefully.

Bringing Back the Classics

Classic architectural styles have lasted centuries and even now they remain popular due to their timeless elegance. Building an eighteenth century style mansion might not be a viable solution at this day and age, however adding some classical elements to modern homes serves as a great way to bring class and distinction to your environment. Incorporating historical elements like arched windows, columns or retro bathroom fixtures in contemporary design takes skill and imagination, but the end result will stay tasteful and chic for many decades to come.

Alternatively, you can style your home entirely around period-themed design making it a nostalgic callback to mid-century modern or shabby chic of the eighties. This solution requires a lot more market research as you would need to fill your interiors with thematically appropriate furniture and decorations. It also makes it difficult to replace old furniture over time as you’ll have to look for something equally fitting. And, as a final challenge, most modern household appliances are rarely available in retro designs, so you’ll need a creative way of incorporating them in your home. However, if you like wondering around flea markets and antique shops to carefully craft your perfect home, the payoff would be unique interiors that stay visually interesting throughout the years.

Clean and Simple

“A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away,” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Minimalistic designs give you a lot of freedom and because of that can keep pace with changing times very efficiently. Replacing outdated elements and brining in new influences can be done without overhauling the rest of your interior, plus, to add your space a little flavour, you can add stylish details that would stand out all the more in a minimalistic space.

Open views and clean lines make your home feel more organised and orderly, brining much needed calm into hectic modern living. Go for broad free surfaces and distinctive textures without ornaments and complicated patterns that add visual noise. Also, to rid your life of clutter, don’t forget to include ample storage space with built-in cabinets and neatly organised shelves.

Focus on Function

Another good way to make sure your home doesn’t need regular updates over the years is to prioritise the functionality of your space over surface-level aesthetics. Center your house around your way of life emphasising the practicalities of every room. For example, using a lot of white in your interiors may look crisp and attractive but can prove difficult to maintain if you have pets. Stylish trinkets and custom-made light fixtures can be disastrous with kids in the house. Chasing after eye candy for your home may lead you to miss some opportunities to accommodate your daily routines in your design.

Your environment can also be a good motivator to bring positive changes in your life. Building a home gym or exercise corner is a good way to stay in shape, while a study goes a long way towards keeping you focused if you’re working from home.

Supreme Neutrality

There are new trendy colours every season, coming and going faster than highway traffic. Chasing after popular colours is almost guaranteed to make your space look dated before you’re even finished with your construction project or home renovation. Neutral shades of grey, beige and white, on the other hand, remain relevant no matter what. They also offer endless hold-tones and variations that would help add depth and interest to your interiors.

Conversely, neutral colours can be a bit drab, especially if there isn’t enough light to bring them out. A versatile solution that lets you keep up with the trends without re-doing your paint job every season is to use neutral colours on your walls, floor and ceiling while swapping colourful elements and bright slip-covers all year round.

Material Side

Nowadays, the market offers many different materials that let you save money without compromising the visuals. Vinyl, plastic and weatherboard come in many different colours and variations. However cheap materials usually require more maintenance and would have to be replaced semi-regularly. There is a reason why old-fashioned terracotta, stone, brick and hardwood are just as chic today as they were a hundred years ago. High-quality traditional materials are more durable than their modern counterparts and are known for ageing gracefully. They also significantly increase the value of your property making spending extra during construction a good long-term investment.