Living Room Refresh the Game Plan
This fall I decided to refresh our living room. I’ve always loved the design, but it lacked seating; especially since COVID has had the family mostly at home this year.
The constraint was our rug. When I first designed the space I was sure that any rug would prevent the adjacent French doors from opening. I also feared that extending the rug in front of the doors would look awkward. After years of living with a smaller rug, I finally realized how much it was impacting the space. In the photos below, you can see how much space between the living area and kitchen was not being utilized. After triple checking the measurements, I was confident that a larger rug would enable us to increase our living space by 6’ in width, plenty of room for additional seating that would border the kitchen. So, the hunt for lower profile rug options commenced!
Annie Selke is one of my favorite sources for beautiful and durable rugs (this will be our third from them), so when I discovered their new Panthera rug, a natural-hued take on a panther print, I crossed my fingers that it would work as the foundation for the room refresh. After ordering a sample, I was thrilled to see that it was just thin enough (even with its built-in rug pad!) to fit under the doors upon opening. Always order a rug sample, or the smallest size available, to review before purchasing the larger size you need. Then, if it doesn’t work out, you aren’t tasked with returning a massive, bulky package.
With the rug solution at hand, I delved into finding a larger sofa that would more comfortably fit three.
Another item on my design “wish-list” has been a curved sofa, I love how they soften up any space. There are many options out there these days, but I always opt for performance fabrics (that’s why our other white sofa has stayed white for 10+ years)! Low and behold, Frontgate recently launched two curved sofa options and they have one of the best selections of performance fabrics in the game! Usually the Milly sofa would have been my pick, but I decided to go with the sectional option, because I knew it would serve for family lounging better. Great design needs to be functional and beautiful.
My design approach is to start with beautiful, neutral hero pieces, then to layer on the color and pattern with exciting art and accents. I’ll be “shopping” our home for the remaining pieces to punch up the space, here’s a round-up of a few items that I know will be making the cut!
Artwork / Lamp / Coffee Table (similar) / Side Table / Fabric / Pillow