katie.lacy@letsgetcoffee.co.uk, Author at Modish Living

How to declutter the living room

Chelwood Reclaimed Wood Coffee Table and Brown Leather Sofa

Surprisingly, decluttering is not just about getting rid of stuff from the living room but about creating storage solutions that work for you. We take a look at how to declutter, without going so minimal that your living room looks and feels sparse.

1 De-clutter – reassign or recycle

The first step is to spend some time sorting through everything you have in the living room. De-cluttering can be cathartic for some, especially after the busy festive holiday period but for others, it can be an emotional journey.

Effective decluttering consists of making three ‘piles’ of items – stuff that is staying in the living room, stuff that needs to be reassigned, stuff for recycling.

Don’t bother with a ‘maybe’ pile – be brave!

2 Storage solutions

Now you have decided what items are staying, what are to be reassigned and which items are being recycled, this is what you need to do (in order!):

Recycle the items immediately so you have more space to work
Reassign items to other rooms and locations
Decide the best storage solutions for items remaining

3 Getting storage right

For storage to work, it needs to be easily accessible – the quicker and easier it is to reach for something and put away again, the more likely you are to take this full range of actions.

However, before you rush out and buy ‘storage solutions’, as well as considering what you have to store, you need to consider the space you have to fit it in and whether you want it on display or not.

ABOVE HEAD HEIGHT

Store things about head height that you will only need to reach for on rare occasions. For example, books and pretty accessories work well on the higher levels of a ladder bookshelf, for example.

FLOOR LEVEL

Be careful storing things on the floor as this contributes to the ‘full and cluttered’ look that can befall a room. If the living room is small, keep the floor space as clear as possible, choosing furniture that has a gap between its underside and the floor – in other words on legs! A coffee table with storage could be a great option here.

Things stored at a lower level, for example in a large sideboard, should be items you need to get at occasionally. Closed storage such as a sideboard is also great for ‘hiding’ things away.

THE MIDDLE GROUND

The things you reach for most often should be ‘in the middle’ or hand height for a better description.

Again, it is your own personal preference as to what you want on show or not.

4 Dual purpose furniture

Making the most of the space you have is important when it comes to enjoying a decluttered look and feel to the living room.

There are all kinds of options and many people looking to declutter choose Scandinavian furniture that offers clean lines and a fresh look. A coffee table with storage wouldn’t look out of place against the beautiful brown leather sofa or perfect for framing the leather armchair in your reading nook.

Decluttering is about creating storage solutions for a room, as much as it is about getting rid of things. Are you planning on decluttering the living room after the festive holiday?

Great ways to make your home look bigger

The modern home is getting smaller. Since the 1970s, the average size of the UK home has shrunk by 32%, according to The Guardian. The living room is 7m² smaller today, compared to 24m² back in the decade of flares. Bedrooms are smaller too.

Bijou homes are not sub-standard, because, with clever styling, your compact pad can feel as palatial.

Minimal colour

Paint it all white, opt for Magnolia or even a beautiful grey but the less colour you have splashed across the walls of your home, the bigger it will feel. We know that lighter colours make the most of light – natural and ambient – and so it pays to stay at the lighter end of the colour spectrum.

Lighter shades are not boring – far from it, the beauty achieved in the Scandinavian styled home proves the point – but minimising the number of changes in the shades and colour hues helps to bring cohesion across the home from the front door to the loft.

Consider this when choosing furniture. For example, a light grey sofa would suit any room with a light colour on the wall. Keep furniture light too, such as in the Scandinavian bedroom style with light oak beds, for example.

Minimise shadows

Small windows, furniture blocking the flow of light, walls in the way… you name it, there are many dense obstacles that stop the flow of light through a space. And when that happens, shadows are cast.

Make the most of the natural light that you have. Changing the style of the windows will make a difference and if you have the budget, knocking a wall down to open the space making the downstairs living room and other rooms open plan transforms a space.

Minimising shadows when it comes to ambient light too. A table lamp on a nest of tables in the ‘dark’ corner of a room changes the feel of the space.

Maximise storage

Whether you are working with a bijou bedroom or a compact living room, what instantly closes the space down is when you don’t have enough storage – and that means it becomes cluttered both physically and to the eye.

Choose clever storage solutions such as a wood coffee table with drawers or use a wooden blanket box as a coffee-table-cum-handy-storage unit.

In the bedroom, don’t be tempted to store things of tops of wardrobes as this clutters the eyeline, bringing the ceiling close. Add height to storage such as a tall chest of drawers and again, a wooden blanket box makes a handy seat as well as great for storing linens.

Minimise ‘clutter’

From those cluster of ornaments to huge vases, consider carefully the detailing you add to a room. there is a certain sense of practicality needed about living in a smaller space and that means ditching the idea that you can show horn everything in.

By maximising clever storage in the living room and the bedroom, you can store away things not currently being used but with the change of seasons, you can bring out stored items and put away others.

Maximise small prints

It’s the oldest trick in the book but any print you use in a small space needs to be minimal in size. So ditzy flower prints or barely-there geometric detailing on cushions and throws will work. Keep textures ‘flat’ too, such as a flat weave rug over a deep pile sheepskin rug.

A smaller home is a fact of life and can still be beautifully stylish.

A beautiful console table isn’t just for the hallway

The console table is a piece of furniture that can ‘fit’ any room or space. Its slender dimensions make it the perfect piece for any room, large or small. But it isn’t just for the hallway…

1 Hallway

… although when it comes to a stylish piece of furniture in the entryway of your home, there is no better choice. Make a stylish splash with this dazzling hallway console table because no one said that it has to be an understated piece of reclaimed wood furniture in the hallway. The industrial edge of stainless steel and reclaimed wood meets glam with the high polished finished of the legs offsetting the beautifully rustic table top. Frame it with a suitably rustic industrial mirror or use a larger, oversized wall clock to bring harmony and symmetry to the hallway.

2 Dressing table

Whether you are short on space in the bedroom or not, a slim console table brings more than a stylish note of two to the bedchamber. Effortlessly simple, the appeal of a console table with drawers is obvious. Keep smaller items in order in the two drawers, bringing symmetry and detailing with items on the console top. How about a beautiful lamp alongside a beautifully framed mirror, chosen to be in keeping with the beautifully rustic console table, with a hint of the industrial style with its black, metal legs.

3 TV stand

If ever a narrow console table comes into its own, it is in the living room as a TV stand. You may not want to attach this piece of tech to the wall and make it a centre point of the room, preferring instead a more subtle approach with a stylish TV stand. TVs have, in recent years, undergone a huge design change with the large ‘telly box’ with an equally large, cumbersome TV unit no longer needed in the living room. A lightweight, slimline TV nestling on a narrow console table is the perfect solution, more so if you want your living room to revolve around life and not the TV.

4 Home bar

Many of us these days are enjoying dinner parties and get-togethers, rather than visiting bars and restaurants, as well as hosting a soiree or two ourselves. Serving drinks can be problematic, especially if you have limited space. You could always use a drinks cabinet or sideboard but being larger pieces of furniture, moving them to a new spot can be problematic.

A console table, on the other, is the perfect solution. Relatively lightweight and easy to move, the console table makes for a very glam home bar. And frankly, if you ever needed an excuse to really glam it up with your choice of a console table, then this is the excuse you need.

Say hello to the beautiful combination of black wood and gold-effect framed console table with shelves, ideal as a home bar addition. Perfect for the party season, this is also a console table that continues to remain in big demand throughout the year.

Where do you use your console table?

The most popular dining tables of 2018

Luxe Kensington Reclaimed Wood Dining table

As 2018 starts to near its end, we thought we would take a nostalgic look back at some of the year’s best sellers. The dining table is an essential piece of furniture but that doesn’t mean it can’t be stylish. But what tables from our collections proved to be the best sellers? Was it the oak dining table, or the reclaimed dining table that came out on top?

The Mitcham dining table

We haven’t long launched the Mitcham Collection but so far, the sales of both the rectangular and square dining table from this range have flown out the door. If we are honest, we are not surprised. The beautiful spider legs of the rectangular industrial dining table from the collection are staggeringly beautiful and the square dining table has made for a pleasant note change in terms of shape. Both these dining tables are ideal for the industrial style homes.

The Beam dining table

Another fantastic dining table proving popular with customers throughout the year is the Beam dining table in a medium colour finish; a perfect example of the perfect rustic style furniture you are sure to love. In many ways, the medium finish of this reclaimed wood furniture allows the best of both world when it comes to styling out the dining room. Not too dark to become oppressive but not too light to jar against the rustic styling of the room, we expect the Beam dining table to remain a firm favourite for a while yet.

The Standford dining table

This year, we’ve made a big effort to bring the finish and styling that customers ask for and we’ve kept a close eye on the functionalities that customer asks for too. An industrial extending dining table is clearly a hot favourite at the moment and so it’s no wonder to see the Standford industrial extending dining table on the bestselling list.

Popular with customers who either have a family and/or entertain regularly, an extendable dining table ticks so many boxes that they often tell us they wondered how they managed without! This extending table has a central extending area, and with the reclaimed wood top complete with metal legs, the table is perfect for the industrial style as well as sitting well in a contemporary dining room.

The Kensington dining table

Fourth on our list is a dining table that has a slight edge over the others in that we have moved from the ever-popular industrial look and slid into the realm of glamour. The Kensington reclaimed wood dining table with stainless steel legs hints at a style that we think will become increasingly popular in the coming year. There is a hint of understated glamour to this dining table that we were under no illusion when we added it to the Kensington Collection that it would be a popular choice.

Match the decadence of the high-shine stainless steel legs with the sumptuousness of velvet upholstered dining chairs. Ideal for the more formal dining room, there is a certain something about this table that we loved as soon as we saw it – and you have proven the point by making it one of our best selling dining table this year.

Which is your favourite?

Enjoy a laidback New Year

You don’t have to get dressed up. You don’t have to stay up past midnight. You don’t have to start the New Year with a thumping headache. If you have always wanted to kick back at New Year, resting your feet on the rustic coffee table as you look at the fireworks on TV, we have some great ideas for celebrating the arrival of yet another year.

Small & informal

If you do want to ‘party’ then it doesn’t have to be a raucous, huge get-together. There are many of your friends and family who would enjoy a small and informal gathering. Is there anything better than enjoying the company of others, a roaring fire whilst snuggled on a delightful brown leather sofa? Or chatting at the rustic dining table? Ask guests to bring a few drinks and snacks and just let the evening unfold.

Pamper yourself

Want to stay home? Not a problem – there is no rulebook that says you have to party into the wee small hours. Enjoy your evening with a pamper session – take a nap, run a hot bath, soak in luscious bubbles and enjoy a drink or two with a loved one. Or drink tea, read a book or enjoy a film.

Potter in the kitchen

If you enjoy cooking or baking, then why not enjoy a few hours in your kitchen making the dishes that you love. From creating tasty tapas dishes to baking a delicious cake or tart, when it comes to enjoying the last few hours of this year, there is nothing better than good food and a drink of your choice. Enjoy with a fruity, punchy non-alcoholic cocktail is also a pleasant treat which you can enjoy with close family or with a gathering of friends. Your choice!

Night time walk

We spend winter dodging rain showers, being buffeted by wind and wrapping up against the cold. We rush from one place to another, not always enjoying winter. Talking a walk at night time in the inky-blackness of winter is certainly not on top of many to-do lists. However, why not drive to a well-known beauty spot and enjoy a twilight walk? Take a torch and a companion and enjoy the winter sky and the biting cold. Your choice whether you walk in rain or not but it can be invigorating! Return home to the comforting folds of your leather armchair, a great movie and snacks.

Movie marathon

Most main TV channels will have some kind of movie on during the afternoon or you could subscribe to one of the movie channels and enjoy back-to-back movies of your choice. Again, plenty of pre-made snacks scattered across the reclaimed wood sideboard for everyone to nibble at when they want and a drink in hand of your choice is one of the best ways to enjoy any winter afternoon, but perfect for New Year’s Eve.

Ditch the resolutions

New Year comes with many traditions including making resolutions to change things. But do we really need to? It may seem obvious to start something new at a New Year but the failure rate of resolutions tells us otherwise. Ditch the resolutions, dim the lights, enjoy a drink or two (if you want), read a book or go to bed. Either way, a laidback New Year is a great way to see off one year and welcome the new one, in our book at least.

Interior Design Trends for 2019, which will you try?

There are many exciting trends, styles and colours coming our way in the new year. With the grey of winter upon us and a chill in the air, it is always warming to look forward to seeing what designers have come up with. And there are plenty of trends that will work with every one of our collections.

1 THE must-have colour – Dulux’s soothing ‘Spiced Honey’

Let’s be honest, the majority of us need a space in our home that is soothing on all our sense, a chance to escape the worries and chaos of modern life. Dulux have come up with the goods in terms of the must-have colour for 2019 in the hues of a warm, soothing deep caramel beige. Even the name is soothing, ‘spiced honey’.

It’s a colour that can be used in any room, from the living room to the hallway and beyond. Great for all styles, including traditional and rustic, we think ‘spiced honey’ is the perfect partner to the reclaimed wood furniture of the Chelwood Collection – match with a cream rug and you’ll have a beautiful, warm but cosy feel to any room.

2 Want colour? You have it!

If you are not overly keen on neutral shades then you will love what the Pantone Colour Institute has in store for 2019. Their choice is ‘Living Coral’.

Deep, jewelled colours have long been our favourite and so if you want to add a pop of colour but not on the walls, why not opt for our jewel-coloured velvet armchairs? Mix them with a metallic finish – we are still in love with the gold-colour metals and brass – to bring more than a dash of glamour to your dining room landscape.

In the living room, opt for velvet too, with a deeply coloured velvet armchair and velvet sofa too!

3 Reclaimed, recycled, sustainable

2018 was the year that more and more of us started to make bigger but more consistent changes to the materials we used and how we used them. Whilst some people love the upcycled look, for others sustainability comes in the beautiful shape of a reclaimed wood dining table.

Interior designers are pointing to the fact that this will happen more in the coming year and may even become the staple of how we shop for furniture in the future.

As well as reclaimed wood, materials from sustainable sources, such as the mango wood used in the Chalfont Collection, could also be a contender for a top interior design trend in 2019.

4 Dark wood is making a comeback

In fact, the beautiful depths of dark shades of wood, fabrics and wall colour is a possibility for any room in the home this coming year. From an incredibly inky blue in the kitchen to black in the bathroom, there will be plenty to shake us up this year.

We’ve also seen nods towards darker wood too. Sturdy in nature and appeal, there is drama and glamour to dark wood. Sit it alongside brassy or gold elements and you have a cursory nod towards the glamour of the 1920s, not unlike the sophistication to be found in our recently added Blackbone Collection. A collection aimed at the dining room, it looks fabulous against a reclaimed dark wood dining table…

We’re announcing our Best Sellers of the year!

With 2018 nearing its end, we thought we would take a whistle-stop tour of our best-selling products from the year. So what flew out of the door?

Chairs

From dining chairs to stylish armchairs, there were many contenders for the crown of the best-selling chair of 2018. There were two, however, that were always top of the list from the year’s start to its end;

Allegro dining chair – as leather dining chairs go, the Allegro version is stylishly simple but with plenty of character to match any of our reclaimed wood dining tables.
The Brooks dining chair – upholstered dining chairs are always popular but it seems that the detailing and rather sumptuous appeal of these upholstered dining chairs appealed to many customers.

In the dining room

The reclaimed wood dining table is, of course, the main dining room item but the items that surround it make sure that it stays the star of the show whilst offering essential storage space too.

When it comes to the dining room, is there any better storage option than a sideboard?

The Standford range with its rustic charm is always popular so it is no surprise that the large sideboard from the range is gracing many a dining room across the UK (and possibly beyond).

In the bedroom

As well as customers falling in love with our reclaimed wood furniture in terms of the wood bed frames – and the sustainable Bahamas range – this year we have noticed an upsurge in the popularity of bedside tables.

The Dorset Collection has flavours of the coast with its white frame and plain wooden tops and details. The bedside tables from this range have provided popular. Perhaps it is their beautiful simplicity that lends symmetry to a room that makes them the number one choice for our customers?

Staying in the bedroom, we come to a tall chest of drawers that customers have fallen in love with time and time again. The elegance of a tall chest of drawers cannot be denied which is one reason why this item is popular but we also think it is a sign in the change of attitude toward dark wood items.

Designers are expecting that dark wood will increase in popularity this coming year and we have noted how the Winchester dark tall chest of drawers has attracted a lot of attention this year. We fully expect it, and other items from our darker wood range, to pick up the pace in 2019.

Sleep well…

It isn’t just the quality of the mattress that contributes to a good night sleep but the bed frame, the style of the bedroom and a calm setting.

All our bed frames sell well – probably down to the beauty and patina of the reclaimed wood that we use across our Collections – but the understated simplicity of the Standford reclaimed wood bed places the others in the shade. We love its clean lines but also the height of the headboard that gives it a little more of an imposing presence.

Which of these items do you love? What else from our range catches your attention? Or will you buck the trend and go with one of our more ‘niche’ pieces for your home?

Recycling at Christmas – How best to go about it?

It is becoming ever more important for our generation, and for future ones too, that we really start to make more of an effort to recycle more. Christmas is the time of indulgence but this doesn’t mean we have to be wasteful.

But what can you recycle from Christmas and how? Are there alternatives to the traditions we have always indulged in? Obviously, here at Modish we love reclaimed wood furniture as it is more eco friendly but what else could be recycled this Christmas?

Wrapping paper

It’s an amazing fact but in the UK at Christmas, we bin 227,000 miles of Christmas wrapping paper (according to Telegraph), a shame when you consider that the majority can be recycled at the kerbside.

When you buy wrapping paper, opt for paper-based one over the foil wrap or one that has bows and the like stuck to it. The latter can’t be recycled but paper wrapping with all the Sellotape and bows removed can be recycled along with your usual recycling.

Of course, there are other ways of reusing wrapping paper in the home, something that many of us are becoming more aware of.

Christmas cards

Apparently, Millennials are sending very few Christmas cards, if at all. There are certainly fewer placed upon many a tall chest of drawers than in previous years in most households. Most are also forgoing wrapping paper too, a sign that their generation is environmentally conscious. Others put this down to being crotchety about the festive period.

We would like to think it is about helping the environment, something we are all about at Modish Living. The majority of our collections are made from wood that served another purpose in a previous life and we are proud to think that there are many more households enjoying their Christmas dinner gathered around a reclaimed wood dining table, seated on comfortable upholstered dining chairs.

And when wood is not from a reclaimed source, we use wood from sustainable sources, such as mango wood, a waste product of the mango fruit groves.

Christmas cards are a delightful way of staying in touch and we still buy and send around 900 million Christmas cards each year (according to Greeting Card Association), even though this trend may be falling.

You can recycle Christmas cards, whether they have glitter all over them or are a simpler version;

Some councils accepted them at the kerbside
Supermarkets will also collect used Christmas cards at their stores for most of January – look out for the special cartons to pop them in
Recycled the back of the card but save the top of the card for shopping lists etc.

Find out more about how to recycle Christmas cards.

Christmas tree

If you opted for a real tree this year, there are two ways of ‘recycling’;

Remove all tinsels, baubles etc. and check with your local council for kerbside collections of trees in your area
Buy a living Christmas tree in a pot that you can plant in the garden and enjoy for years to come.
Invest in a life-like artificial tree that you can use over and over again – there are some fantastic examples of all shapes and sizes, ideal for sitting alongside your sideboard cabinet in the dining room or living room

Boxes and crackers

Boxes, both white and brown cardboard, can be recycled at most kerbside or collapse them and pop them down to your local recycling centre.

Crackers can be recycled too – but you may have to dismantle them – the inner cardboard tube can be recycled at the kerbside. The paper outer can usually be recycled too, as can the inner ‘cracker’.

With all these options for Christmas recycling, will you be going more eco-friendly this Christmas?

The luxurious four poster bed and how to make the most of it

There are many trends tipped for next year but the one that caught our eye was the four-poster bed trend. What is it about this beautiful bed style that catches our eye, and oozes opulence and luxury? Is it a trend you’ll opt for?

Interior design trends come and ago but there are some that hang around for a long time and when they do, their style is updated and changed to reflect our modern tastes.

Alongside minimalist bedrooms and natural materials, the four-poster bed is expected to make a comeback. But if you are thinking of the grand four-poster with ornate columns and yards of drapery, you need to take a fresh look.

The modern four-poster bed

Like the rest of our reclaimed furniture items, the 4-poster bed is the epitome of style and grace but why do we fall in love with the iconic shape time after time?

Imposing – typically, the four-poster bed makes a huge statement in the bedroom in its size. It tends to be larger – that is, taller – and more imposing on the eyeline than other shapes and styles of bed. From chunky columns to ornately carved wood, beds of this ilk are imposing but the modern version is streamlined without losing impact.
Style – there are various styles available from the huge and very imposing dark wood, carved style to the minimalist style such as our beautiful Bahamas four-poster bed. With four columns extending upright, the connecting with the side panels gives it a true four-poster quality but without swallowing the room.

Will a four-poster bed work in a small room?

It’s tempting to assume that the four-poster should only grace a boudoir with acres of space but we think this beautiful style of reclaimed wood bed can suit the smaller bedroom.

In the case of the Bahamas four-poster bed, for example, the streamlined beauty of the columns and crossbar give the overall style but without shutting down the room too much.

Likewise, the absence of heavy drapes common to 4-poster beds means that the eye is allowed to wander around the small space, with nothing cluttering it or sucking at the light.

The supporting bedroom furniture items are also important choices in the smaller master bedroom with a four-poster bed in situ. For example, opting for taller, statuesque items such as a tall chest of drawers helps to balance the symmetry. A well-placed wooden blanket box along with matching bedside tables helps to pull the room together too, ideal for a cohesive style that isn’t overbearing.

Not convinced…?

You may love the idea of a four poster bed but are unsure that it will work in your bedroom. Maybe ceiling height won’t allow it, or the dimensions or shape of the room dictate a different approach.

As well as the four-poster with a streamlined, modern edge, the interior design trends for the bedroom in 2019 suggest that the bed should be simple, with clean, elegant lines to match the uncluttered appeal of the room – just like the Standford reclaimed wood bed. Dress the room carefully and similar to the suggestion with the four-poster bed – opt for a versatile wooden blanket box and matching bedside tables with a rug of our choice to bring it all together.

What changes will you make to your bedroom décor this year?