Our First Living Room
Before we moved in to our home, I had a vision of what our living room would look like. We had looked around various show homes and I had all my ideas pinned to my Pinterest. In hindsight, living in the space a while would have been a better idea; seeing the light it gets throughout the day and how we would use the space. I am by no means saying I don't like the design or decor, I love this space... I would just like to tweak a few things!
Tweak number one: The sofa.
We bought this (from DFS) based on comfort, which was number one on my OH's checklist. (Actually, that was the sum of his checklist!) I cared about the colour and how it fit into this 'vision' I had planned for the room. Colour- check. Comfort- check. Size.... didn't even cross our minds. The room is narrow so this is quite an imposing piece of furniture. If I could change one thing it would be the size, but then I suppose my OH wouldn't be so comfortable! (And we couldn't have that!)
Tweak number two: The floors.
I love dark floors and they fit the colour scheme really nicely, but the room is quite dark as it is long and deep and it only gets sun in the early morning. I have always wondered if a light wood or carpet would help lift the room. We ended up buying the large rug from Ikea to add a bit of comfort under foot as well as brightening up the space. The rug is discontinued as we have had it a few years but you can find a similar one here.
Rug Sizing
I found a really clever diagram online that shows you the difference the positioning of a rug can have on a space. When choosing a rug for our living room I knew I wanted it large enough to go under the sofa and not just a runner in front of it. Our living room is the route from the front door to our kitchen so I felt a long narrow rug in front of the sofa would look more like a walkway. With all this in mind, I bought the largest size and placed it halfway under the sofa to create a greater feeling of space in the room.
The cushions, made by Helen Turkington Interiors, are the second set I have had for the room since we moved in. I love having the pop of colour in the cushions rather than the sofa, walls or curtains. That way if you feel you would like a change you can easily do so by picking up some new cushions and accessories. Dusky pink is a running theme throughout the house and I also have this shade of pink as an accent colour in the kitchen. I feel it gives a nice flow between the rooms.
The pictures above the sofa were three prints I found in a small shop in the Grassmarket area of Edinburgh. I wanted to include some of my OH's Scottish heritage in our home without having to introduce tartan! I brought them to a local framer that I use quite a bit when I have unusual shaped pictures (or something special that warrants more than my usual Ikea Ribba frame!) He added a lovely touch by framing them in a mount with a black bevel.
Helen Turkington Interiors also worked their magic on our curtains. We gave them a bit of a challenge as our window is off centre in the wall. As there is more wall space on the left than the right, she added extra fabric to the left side which gives the illusion of perfect balance. We were also unable to add finials to the end of the curtain pole as the window was too close to the adjacent wall on the right side. To solve this problem, we ran the pole wall to wall. For a difficult window to dress, I think it turned out beautifully.
The chairs were a lucky find online from Flanagans in County Donegal. It is always a risk buying something without seeing it in person but we were so lucky and the chairs arrived in perfect condition and looked the part in the window. They still allow plenty of light from the windows to enter the space and are a lovely place to sit and watch the world go by. The small tray table was another TKMaxx buy. I am hoping Emilia allows this to stay in place and not become one of the many pieces that I'm sure we will have to 'put away for safe keeping' once she really gets moving!
The sideboard is a recent addition to the room. After months of looking for a suitable T.V. unit for the space I was contemplating up-cycling a second hand piece of furniture. While looking at built in shelving units for my mother's house, I spotted a design that had of four doors with pull handles in the centre. I went back to the carpenter who made our radiator cover for our hall and showed him the design and I must say, he did a fantastic job. We did however, find it difficult to source handles that were the right metal and size in local shops so I searched online. I came across these ones on eBay and I am so happy with them. Like the radiator cover, I painted it in the same colour as the walls; Farrow and Ball's Skimming Stone.
There is one area of the living room that I will be leaving out in this post and that's Emilia's 'Play Corner'. I say, 'Play Corner', it's actually a small area under the stairs that has been designated her's as neither I nor my OH can fit under there. I will be doing a separate post on that area in the coming weeks. As always, thank you loyal followers for taking the time to read some of my ramblings about my home.
It is very much appreciated!
Love, Lorna x