Cosy & Stylish Living Room

This blog post details a project in my portfolio click here to see the finished project – a cosy & stylish living room.

My client bought the house as it was being built, so the flooring was provided by the developer and my client had the wood burner and surround fitted before they moved in. She’d opted for some fairly neutral curtains and blinds, which I knew could work if the room had more interest.  However, on their own they weren’t really contributing to the space. The client had also bought some furniture that I had to incorporate, but as the sofas and armchairs were a warm neutral and good quality, that didn’t phase me too much!

"Before shot of Lounge Three Interiors"

One of the main issues was furniture placement because the room was so large. The clients had made the common mistake of situating furniture against walls which isn’t at all sociable. Therefore, you couldn’t pop a drink down if you were sat away from the lonely old coffee table, plonked in the middle of the room!

"How not to place furniture in a room"

Also, there was a lack of storage and other occasional furniture to bring in a more cosy feel and to provide somewhere to pop a drink, or a book by the side of the sofas. There was also nowhere to display family mementos or photos, which also helps to make a place feel more like home.

I made the slightly radical decision to install the TV above the fireplace, because I needed the fireplace to become the focus in the room. The family still used this room for TV watching, playing Wii etc. so it had to stay. Now, I really REALLY wanted to cover this with some artwork that slid across the TV when not in use. In the end, budget dictated that it wasn’t going to be an option. This was a shame but it didn’t compromise the overall scheme too much and the client was really happy, which is all that really matters.

"Stylish and cosy Living room by Three Interiors"

I needed storage for the Sky box, Wii controls etc. given the TV was mounted on the wall and not on a stand anymore. Also, storage was a general requirement of the room as it had none at all. Two sideboards took care of this and provided some nice symmetry either side of the fireplace. I had these sprayed up in the same colour as the walls, the walnut tops providing a nice co-ordination with the floor.

"Stylish and cosy Living room by Three Interiors"

Warmth and texture were sorely needed. I knew that the walls would probably need to stay fairly neutral as the curtains and blinds were quite light and the client had indicated a preference for this. I chose a cork wallpaper with a gold background. Sounds hideous – looked amazing! There was just the right amount of gold and the cork had a light grey/beige colour which went with the soft furnishings beautifully. Image Wallpaper and Image Wallpaper in room

One of the areas to bring in a bit of colour was the rug. The client had said she’d like to keep her cushions if possible so I sourced a rug that was in keeping with the more ethnic style of the paisley cushions, and brought the lovely blue through into the room more.

 

Overall, I was really happy with how the room turned out. Most importantly, so was my client and I’ve since done more work for her. Here’s her lovely testimonial she sent me:

“Angela, from Three Interiors, is an exceptional interior designer who is passionate and extremely knowledgeable about her work.  I invited Angela to our newly built house that I was struggling to make cosy and homely.  Immediately I liked her professionalism and I was very happy with the suggestions she made which completely transformed our lounge from a room that was barely used to a room that all the family love spending time in.  She used the furniture and the soft furnishings that I had already purchased and added key pieces of furniture, lighting and artwork to pull the room together.

My family and I were so pleased with her work, we asked Angela to work her magic on the rest of the house.  Her projects consisted of choosing new wall colours and/or wall paper, artwork, lights/lightshades and new pieces of furniture in all the rooms.  In every room she had to work with items that I had already purchased which in my opinion is far more difficult than starting from scratch.

Angela’s strengths lie in her ability to really get to know her client and to help encourage them to consider ideas that may fall slightly outside their comfort zone in a way that is not forceful.

Thanks Angela for transforming our house into a home perfect for me and my family.”

If you’d like to discuss your project, feel free to get in touch 🙂

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A neutral living room with a curved grey sofa and cream curved chair

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