living room Archives - Page 28 of 31

Why dream of your perfect armchair? Create it!

bristol leather and harris tweed armchair for living room

Armchairs are the perfect accent chairs in any living room, and their size allows them to be fully versatile. If you have more space, create a reading nook; in a bay window, place two next to each other with a side table and a pretty lamp in the centre; place on either side of your fireplace for a classic, cosy finish; or place one facing your sofas as an accent chair.

Given how versatile they are, you probably want to look for the perfect one for you home so you can get as much enjoyment as you can out of it. At Modish Living, our bespoke design option means you can customize each part of your chair and make it exactly how you want.

When it comes to living room chairs, you have two options – go for a classic design which will work in any colour scheme, or go for a bright colour to add a pop of colour and a real statement.

High back armchairs are great. The Preston Armchair is a true beauty and the perfect fabric chair for your home.

If you are looking for a leather armchair, the classic style of a brown leather armchair, like the Edward Leather Armchair is perfect for any room. The stunning leather gives it a real stylish vibe.

For a different take on leather, go for the extraordinarily special Oswald Armchair Vintage Brown Leather which offers all the elegance and comfort. Wherever you put it, the Oswald Armchair is sure to turn heads.

To find out more about our bespoke design service, get it touch with one of our team members or find the perfect armchair for your home here.

How to get the Scandinavian living room

black and white leather armchair for living room

Clean and uncomplicated, the Scandinavian living room look is a popular choice.

A design of this kind if characterised by using light, neutral colours alongside natural materials. Think wood, not MDF. Think metal, not plastic. Fabrics are natural too – the warmth of wool and the smooth touch of cotton.

It is a look you can have in your living room, and here’s how;

Neutral Walls are a staple of the Scandinavian living room style

Don’t opt for dark colours, but keep the shades light and carefree. White is favourable but if you find it too stark and clinical, used soft, soft greys and barely-there beige and cream.

Flooring considerations for a Scandinavian living room

Natural wood flooring is ideal. Seal and varnish but love its impurities, dents and scuffs as you love an old cardigan that answers so many needs. Add texture and notes of warmth with rugs, but remember natural materials are essential.

This grey rug would add tone to a room, perfect for complementing white walls. For between-your-toes luxury, this white sheepskin rug is the epitome of luxury.

Living Room Furniture for a Scandinavian living room

Sofas and Armchairs

Scandinavian living room design doesn’t mean a trip to a well-known Swedish store. There are other options.

For a Scandinavian sofa, this Harris tweed sofa is ideal, especially with the wooden legs to complement the wooden floor and white sheepskin rug.

Add a pop of the modern with this black and white leather hide club chair. Imagine sinking into its welcoming, comforting depth at the end of a busy day, fire roaring, drink in hand.

Now that you have the sofa and chairs in places, you need to add furniture for storage and style. But don’t overfill the space. Not every inch of the living room’s floor space and perimeter needs to be filled.

Sideboard – a painted sideboard is an ideal storage unit and they come with various designs and detailed features that work well in a Scandinavian interior. This oak sideboard is ideal or for when you want height, storage and display space, this oak display cabinet has the right look, without the clutter or the busyness.
Ladder shelving – again, adding just the right amount of detail, these oak shelves is ideal for a Scandinavian interior.
Coffee tables – Scandinavian design is about dimension too. Coffee tables should frame your sofa, not overpower it. Thus, choose a – preferably white – coffee table that is simple in design, affords storage and other practical elements but is smaller than your sofa.
Nest of tables – no longer assigned to the past, there is a simplicity with a nest of tables that means they fit perfectly within a Scandinavian design. An armchair should be part of three items – a small table and a rug – means it is framed within the larger setting of the living room. To ring the changes, a white round coffee table is an ideal element in this design scheme.

Finish the space to complete the perfect Scandinavian living room

To accessorise the space, add key elements such as plants – one large floor plant or sets of three, smaller pot plants on your oak shelves work well.

Throws are great for the sofa but don’t opt for heavily coloured items. Instead, stick to light colours and patterns such as plaid or tartan.

Now all you need to do is enjoy and relax.

How to fit more seating in your living room

From large families to parties, there is always one issue that causes family arguments and discomfort for your guests: lack of seating.

Get it right, and your living room is the epitome of style, comfort and ample seating. Get it wrong, and it will either look like a waiting room or a case of musical chairs at every sitting.

Modern furniture offers fantastic solutions but just as important is making sure that you have the right seating, in the right shape and form.

Size and Dimension

Firstly, take note of your room, its shape and size. Think about what would look great in that space. For example, a longer, leaner, narrower room would look fantastic with a longer, leaner sofa.

Contemporary furniture offers many solutions, such as the L-shaped sofa that looks fantastic across the corner of a living room.

Don’t forget ad hoc seating solutions for short term seating – armchair and footstool combinations provide two seats at a party, with someone perched on the footstool being the perfect solution.

Placement, Placement, Placement

To stop the ‘waiting room’ feeling you need to think outside of the box and not just assumed that the only rightful place for a sofa is against the wall.

If your living room has a view or a large bay window, for example, make the best of that. Place a sofa opposite the window with a garden view so that when people lounge of the Italian leather sofa, the vista is framed perfectly.

Armchairs provide much needed extra seating and because they are easier to re-position that a large sofa, they can be moved as and when needed. But keep the placement of the sofa in mind and make sure that they don’t block the view.

Mix Colours, Materials and Finishes

We are often taught that to get cohesion in a room so that the brown leather sofa connects with the armchairs and the footstool is to stick with one colour, one material choice and one colour.

However, you can mix and match – and you can certainly do this within the confines of any style.

For example, a ‘traditional’ appeal of a brown leather sofa such as a Chesterfield works well with the grandeur of a winged armchair. Or mix fabric armchairs with a leather sofa.

Or, get super-creative and bold with a sofa and armchair that incorporates both leather and fabric in their design, such as Harris tweed and Italian leather sofa or leather and wool seating.

Or Opt for One Colour

You can sink back into a comfy sofa with a same colour comfortable armchair. This works well in a smaller room where you need plenty of seating options. Break the monotony with a throw or two in different colours, and don’t forget the power of the scatter cushion for adding a zing of colour or an interesting pop of a pattern.

Top tip – creating cohesion with many separate pieces of contemporary furniture such as footstools, armchairs and sofas can be rough, even for experienced interior designers. That’s why designers always say to match in pairs – so, think sofa with two contrasting armchairs.

No longer will family members have to have first dibs on the comfy sofa now that there is plenty of choice of comfy seating.

How to prepare your home for a worry free holiday

The anticipation of your summer holiday is a fantastic feeling. The moment you leave work knowing you are waving goodbye to your desk for a week or two is often one of elation – no matter how much you may enjoy your job.

You have a great few weeks but your return from holiday is a return to reality. In most cases, it comes with an all mighty crash with 101 things to get done between the time you arrive back home and the time you need to be back at your desk.

Knowing you are returning to hard work can cause a dark cloud to hover over the holiday. But we have the solutions to not only a worry-free holiday but to you gliding back into your routine so that the relaxing effect of your holiday lasts for weeks to come yet.

Keys to a Worry Free Holiday

1) Preparation

Preparing your home for an extended vacation, or any holiday can feel like a military-styled operation to get everything ready. But we tend to make this all about clothes shopping and bag-packing.

Although they are obviously essential holiday-planning activities, there are other preparation activities that will serve you well when preparing your home for holidays;

Top tip – if nothing else, empty ALL the bin in your home so that unpleasant smells are eliminated.

In the bedroom – if you get a chance, changing your bed so that you clean sheets await your return is the ideal first night home from your holiday. The smell of clean bed linen also helps to keep the modern bedroom smelling pleasant.
In the dining room – this is the room where items for holiday tend to gather in the weeks and days leading up to a vacation – especially on dining room table sets. Once you have everything packed, make sure the dining room is clean and clear, so that the first meal at home is an effortless affair. Wipe down dining rooms sets and wipe over dining room furniture such as dining room display cabinets to create a pleasant space for your return.
In the kitchen – the kitchen will harbour all kinds of nasty smells if food is left out, uncovered etc. Donate perishable food to food banks or ask your neighbours if they can make use of it. Wipe around the fridge and don’t leave any food out. Even fruit in a bowl on the countertop or other kitchen furniture, such as your chic white display cabinet, will soon attract fruit flies, even with doors and windows shut.
In the lounge – the space where everyone relaxes, you want this to be a haven on your return. Plump the cushions, wipe down the leather sofa with wipes and make sure that all your carpeting, hard floor, wool rugs etc, are well vacuumed before you leave.

Top tip – let a trusted neighbour know you are away and ask them to keep an eye on your property. Make sure they have emergency numbers to contact you if necessary.

On your return

The whole point of any holiday, from a fortnight in the sun to a weekend away is to break the monotony of routine and refresh mind, body and soul. Plunging straight back into routine means you quickly lose the sense of well-being.

Make it last longer by planning your first few days home. You may need to ‘catch up on the washing’ but how about a quick trip to your favourite supermarket or local grocer for local produce, ideal for a lazy, late brunch?

Industrial shelving & Italian leather for an avid explorer

Louis de Poortere Mad Men Coppertone Luxurious Rug in living room

The traveller sees things, hears things, experiencing cultures, sounds and sights that live forever in the memory. But this travelling instinct, this thirst for knowledge of other lands can be translated into a home interior style, ready to welcome you back from your next adventures. A mix of natural materials, it is a deceptively simple style, the sharpness of angles dulled by memorabilia gathered from across the world, beautifully displayed.

So how do you get the effortless chic and elegance of the ‘avid explorer’ style?

The key is finding balance in everything from the floor through to industrial shelving, below we’ll take a look at each one and how they all fit together.

The Floor

The mantra is ‘simplicity, but with warmth, form and character’ and this means starting with the floor.

Everything in this interior design has its place and a purpose. On a hard floor surface, choose from modern rugs, with modern colours and designs but without a striking, grabbing-attention patterning, such as large rugs from our Louis De Poortere collection.

The Living Room Furniture

With muted walls, hard floor and rug in place, you can begin to add the details:

Sofas and Armchairs

Planning your next journey, you will need places to sit and this means opting for the clean look of either a brown leather sofa or this modern black Chesterfield sofa that adds detail and depth to a space.

Team the Triumph brown leather sofa with its matching brown leather armchair. The Italian leather sofa is exquisite to touch with the criss-cross pattern adding a pleasant detail, the matching brown leather armchair offering extra seating with the same level of detail.

Coffee Tables and Side Tables

Now you have your leather sofas in situ, you will need to add functional, yet contemporary furniture items to begin adding form to the space. These items, coupled with industrial shelving (more on that later) are the pieces that bring everything together.

The Avid Explorer style is gender-neutral with unique furniture and pieces being the order of the day. What could be more exquisite for your glass of Italian red wine of an evening than this Aviator coffee table?

For a cohesive look, this Aviator sideboard offers a truly unique look to a space that is modern and practical, with minimum fuss but plenty of character.

Industrial Shelving

With so much memorabilia, photos of places you’ve been and people you’ve met, along with delightful pieces of artwork, you need something as delightful to show them off.

The industrial shelving is the ideal partner in the avid explorer look. The steel frame of this shelving unit or the reclaimed wood shelves of this bookcase are great partners in the explorer style. The key to industrial shelving is to decorate the shelves with minimalistic, personal, and tonally similar pieces of art, ornaments and pictures.

Now Add Atmosphere…

And that means adding lighting.

This desk lamp is the ideal shape – curvaceous and practical – for pouring over the travel guides for your next far-flung adventures.

Floor lamps also add to the ambience and atmosphere of the living room. Plenty of light without it being overly-luminescent is a tough call. Cluster the Arc floor lamps in various corners of the living room for maximum effect.

Is it the look for you?

If you are looking for an interior design that is unique, with minimal fuss but with a depth of warmth and character, then the avid explorer style with its industrial shelving, striking rugs and leather armchairs, could be a style that fits you perfectly.

Complete your modern living room furniture with a luxurious rug

There are many benefits to using a rug in any room. No matter what style you go for, from the uber-modern minimalist look to the farmhouse living room, there is a rug for every style.
But why bother with a rug? Will it really help your room look better and does it really ‘go’ with modern living room furniture?

Lift the ‘Look’ of the Room
You have everything in place. Everything just as you want it. You have taken hours of research to find the contemporary furniture that creates the modern living room that is stylish and functional. But is there something missing? A rug can lift the look of a room. One way is by injecting a vein of colour that is eye-catching, but without starkness. This Atlantic blue striped rug is just one of many solutions.

Supports a key piece
There is a need for a rug to have the right dimensions, as much as there is for it to fit the space in terms of style, colour and appeal.
You may have selected an item of furniture, such as a black leather sofa as the focal point, the shining star that instantly attracts attention. You need to support this piece, whether it is a reclaimed wood coffee table with considerable age, a beautiful living room sideboard or a contemporary sofa that is simply delightful.
Wool rugs can support a piece. Match the colour of the rug and its style with that of the piece you want to support. A great colour for bringing out wood tones or contrast with the coolness of a marble coffee table is red, like this red patchwork rug.

Emphasise the space
The right size rug brings the room together. But it also needs to be the perfect colour.
This grey rug, for example, would look well in a space where the overall colour scheme if neutral but warm.

Create a focal point
The rug is an important addition in many living rooms because it is the focal point.
In order for any design scheme to be successful, there needs to be a reference point for the eye. Also known as a focal point, the rug is ideal because you can attract attention to it with shape, but with colour too.
Design and pattern can help it stand out too. The deep red of this rug, along with the emphasising grey swirls of colour is an ideal example of texture being added to a room with a red and grey rug.

Add Warmth
When interior designers talk about ‘adding warmth’, they are talking of adding texture to a space. The different textures of fabrics and materials stop a space being ‘flat’ and cold to the eye.
To add warmth, choose sumptuous fabrics and with rugs, this means a looser pile so that it caresses the toes.
The mix of chenille cotton and wool in a rug is luxury for the feet, ideal for adding warmth to your living room.

Adds a Twist
There is something delightful about adding a little cheekiness to a space, an item, a colour or a shape that is not expected.
Whimsical without being childish, a rug can add a sense of something extra to a space. As well as pattern, there is colour to play with.
This rug, with understate copper tones, would come alive in a space in front of a brown or black leather sofa.

Not Just for the Fireside
A rug was, and still is, commonly used to protect the floor in front of an open fire. But it is not just for the fireside.
With the right size, pattern and colour, it can be the platform that emphasises a piece such as a wood table or the beauty of a leather Chesterfield sofa.
Or it can be a piece of art work in itself…

How to make your home smell fresh

There is something about a good smelling home; whether it be the smell of your family’s favourite food cooking, a wonderful new candle or just the smell of home. Here are a few of our favourite ideas to create an uplifting and homely smell throughout your home and incorporate some cool dining accessories.

Candles are always an easy option for making your home smell amazing and they give you the freedom to change the scent of a room depending on your mood or the time of the year.

When it comes to scents, you may wish to tailor the candle to the room. For example, floral smells like eucalyptus and jasmine or foody scents like basil, lemon or rhubarb would be fantastically in your kitchen whereas a warmer or a subtle, coastal scent would be perfect for your living room, dining room or bedroom. Candles are also great left un-lit in places like linen cupboards so you get a lovely smell when you open the door or get out new bedding.

If you prefer to use tea lights so you can switch up the smell of your room more often, the Bella Ball Tea Light Holders are great. The clear curved glass holders with curved stainless steel framing offer simple, contemporary style which would look great in any room or on a rustic coffee table. Place three together on a solid oak sideboard or above your fireplace or spread around your room.

Alternatively, the Contemporary Anthracite Lanterns make a fantastic statement decor piece in your living room, crafted out of aluminium. Place a tall pillar candle in the centre, or on an oak display unit to create a warming glow and a wonderful smell.

Also in your kitchen, make the most of fruits. Keep fresh fruits like oranges, limes and lemons in fruit bowls which are not enclosed. Not only will they smell lovely and fresh, but they also look great and add a bit of colour!

The unique design of the Encore Stainless Steel Basket Bowl is perfect for any kitchen. With its elegant curve and contemporary caged style, the colour of fresh fruits will pop right through and look great in the centre of your kitchen sideboard, table or on a worktop.

For a slightly different alternative to fruit, you could always add oranges and cinnamon to a bowl of water which will create a lovely warming smell. Or you could add a couple of drops of your favourite essential oil, like mint, lavender or vanilla and put these in a bowl.

The Pearl Wrap Bowls are a statement in themselves but are perfect for placing your pinecones. With their beautiful curved design and inside coated with pearl coloured enamel, their Scandinavian inspired design will work beautifully in any room for a touch of glamour.

Use the largest in the set of three in your living room, or in an open plan house, somewhere where it will reach the largest amount of space. You could place one of the smaller ones in your hallway, on a small console table, so you get a lovely smell when you walk through the door.

The Four Corner Bowls are another great option. The tops of the bowls are elegantly curved and have a dark interior for a little drama.

There are also plenty of other ways to keep your house smelling amazingly fresh day-to-day.

When it comes to cleaning, citrus-scented products are great for creating an uplifting smell. Products for cleaning your worktop or your floors will leave a lovely smell once you’ve finished cleaning. You can also clean your bins with citrus to keep it smelling fresh and hide any food smells you don’t want to hang around!

In your kitchen, growing herbs is a great option. Herbs like basil and mint have a wonderful scent, and you can use them in your cooking too! Alternatively, fresh flowers always add a welcoming feel, look beautiful and can smell amazing. A bunch of flowers in the hallway on a reclaimed wood console table; or bedroom, on a bedroom chest of drawers, is always a lovely touch.

For more inspiration, have a look at the full collection of home decor at Modish Living, get in touch with one of our team members for any enquiries.

Selecting the perfect industrial living room furniture

louis de poortere mad men rug in living room

More and more homes are incorporating modern design inspirations these days, and the aesthetic beauty of industrial living room furniture has been at the forefront of this trend. Industrial can refer to everything from the smallest accessories to the largest tables and all stops in between, so if you’ve been looking to become increasingly creative you’ll have plenty of options to choose from.

Reclaimed industrial living room furniture has the eye-catching looks you’d expect to find, of course, but it also has a story to tell along the way. Each piece can be full of character, whether it’s the exquisite Maddox Pendant Light with its distinctive frosted glass finish or perhaps the stunning Luxe Elm Industrial Reclaimed Wood Square Coffee Table with its weathered top and cage design legs.

A living room that features industrial decor and furniture throughout will showcase your persona, so you should feel free to express yourself throughout. This means adding in your own ideas in both the small things and the large. Try to remember that you can incorporate your favourite clocks, wall hangings, light fittings and bookcases, as well as larger pieces such as the gorgeous Barkby Leather Sofa and perhaps a Barkby Leather Armchair or two.

The only rule for selecting industrial living room furniture is your own personal style

In many ways, the main rule about industrial living room design is that there are no rules. If a certain item catches your fancy, go ahead and use it. This can include a brown leather sofa and a leather armchair that don’t necessarily match, perhaps, or a solid wood coffee table such as the spectacular Standford Industrial Reclaimed Wood Coffee Table and a host of other pieces created from completely different materials.

If you’re fortunate enough to live in a home with high ceilings, you can create an industrial living room that pay homage to the urban loft spaces that were once used as warehouses and factories. Your custom wood coffee table – the Oldman Coffee Table would be an ideal example – can be complemented by suitable floor coverings which have all the character your new design will ever need.

Selecting industrial living room furniture

If you incorporate an industrial coffee table with steel legs, grey rugs will look particularly wonderful. For a somewhat softer look, it may be worth considering the sublime Large White Icelandic Sheepskin Rug instead.

As you recline in style on your comfy 2-seater leather sofa or perhaps on your luxurious Easton Vintage Brown Armchair – a true industrial classic – you can reflect on the perfection of the industrial living room furniture that you’ve selected. Don’t forget to include space for all your home comforts, however.

How to measure your living room for a farmhouse coffee table

If you love the farmhouse style, you are in good company. Popular as an interior design style, it is warm and homely, but with tweaks of finesse that makes it a firm favourite.

Farmhouse furniture is chunky and wholesome, but modern. It has a level of detail that adds a certain panache. It is functional and practical, stylish and suitable for every home, from a busy family house to a bachelor apartment.

What Makes a Farmhouse Coffee Table?

An essential component of a successful farmhouse living room design, the coffee table is the platform for refreshments, as well as magazines, newspapers and other essential accessories.

It has a clearly defined purpose, and in the farmhouse style, it is just as important as the industrial modern look.

So, what sets a farmhouse coffee table from any other?

Chunky.

Solid.

Wood.

If there are three words that sum up the farmhouse coffee table, it is those above.

A solid wood coffee table pulls together the farmhouse style in the living room. Not only does the platform – the top of the table – have a sturdy satisfying chunkiness, it comes complete with a drawer or a handy lower level shelf, perfect for hiding things away.

Scaling, Size, Dimension – Getting the Measurements Right

Have you noticed how in the glossy pages of magazines, everything looks together, united and scaled? So why doesn’t your farmhouse living room furniture have the same scaling?

The answer lay in following the golden interior design rules of measuring, scaling, dimension and size.

The distance between the reclaimed wood coffee table and your sofa should fall within the 14 to 18 inch of space rule. Close enough to reach a magazine, but without cramping leg room.

The height of the coffee table would match the height of the sofa, with not more than 4 inches’ difference in height in either direction. This ensures easy access too but also helps the coffee table fit in the space, not looking too big nor too small.

The final scaling factor is the coffee-table-to-sofa size ratio. In terms of visual appeal. The coffee table should be ½ to ⅔ the size of your sofa. Too big and your handpicked chunky wood coffee table will simply look enormous. Too small, and the carefully chosen, handcrafted reclaimed wood furniture will look pitifully minute.

What Happens When the Size of Your Living Room Doesn’t Fit the Equation?

These measurements imply that there is a ‘right’ sized living room. But there isn’t. Some farmhouse styled living rooms have acres of space, others are delightfully bijou and compact.

What this presents is not finding a coffee table big enough nor one small enough to complement the space perfectly.

There is a solution in the shape and curvaceous form of the made to measure and resplendent Mayfair Coffee Table. Made from reclaimed wood, its dimensions and scale will fit your room perfectly, in width, length and height.

For extra functionality, team your farmhouse coffee table with a taller in height reclaimed wood side table.

The farmhouse style is ideal for any home, but which coffee table catches your eye?