living room Archives - Page 30 of 31

All you need to know when decorating a small living room

cotswold reclaimed wood coffee table with two drawers

Decorating a small living room can sometimes be tricky, so to help you when decorating, we’ve put together some tips to make the most of your space.

The most important thing in a small living room is to try and make it as bright as you can to create the illusion of more space. This starts with your walls and flooring. In a contemporary space, white looks great, but if you are looking for something a little more unique, a soft grey, blue or green will work beautifully with most reclaimed wooden furniture. When it comes to flooring, light wood will create a Scandinavian style in your living room, perfect for pairing with any decor.

There are also other things you can do to create a bright and open space. Contemporary mirrors are great for making your room seem bigger, reflecting the light around your space. Opt for a simple frame and design for the best effect or even one without a frame. However, besides your mirror, try and keep decor and accessories to a minimum to create a clean and open look.

Lighting is also important, especially if you have small windows which don’t bring much light into the room. A statement light in the centre of your room will bounce light off the walls and also works to bring all your decor together. A ceiling lamp or three is great for making your room feel taller, and won’t take up the floor space as a floor lamp will.

When it comes to choosing furniture, make sure you think about how it will fit in the space – measuring is key! With style, open styles in light or mid-toned wood are a great choice for any room especially for larger pieces. A wood coffee table looks wonderful in any living room, but sitting at the centre of your living room, a design with a light frame or more open design will work better in a small living room. If you don’t have much space, you could even push your coffee table to one side of the room.

A bookcase is a great addition to any living room, and a small living room is no exception. Industrial style shelving is perfect for achieving that minimalist look which works so well in smaller spaces and is a great place for displaying a few of your most loved pictures and possessions for a personal touch.

Shop the Stanford Industrial Reclaimed Wood Bookcase

Finish your space off with a little luxurious rug. If you have wooden floors, a rug is great for bringing some warmth into your space. Again, neutrals and light colours are perfect for any space and are also versatile if you want to update the decor of your room in the future or even move it to another room!

For more inspiration for decorating a small living room, browse through the living room seating and storage collection.

How to choose the perfect rug for a room

Louis de Poortere rug in dining room with white dining table

The main purpose of modern rugs is to define a space, and that means choosing the right size, colour and shape. It is, however something people often struggle with, and here at Modish we want to make buying our rugs more of a pleasure and less of a pain.

Here, we provide some advice for those looking to purchase a rug for every room in the house, whether to complement industrial office furniture or as the perfect addition to the bedroom.

Our top tip for getting the right size rug is to create an ‘ideal size’ out of newspaper or marking out the rug edges with masking tape. When in doubt, opt for a rug that is slightly bigger rather than smaller – but there are several tips that work specifically depending on what room you’re looking to style with a rug. Read on to find out what they are…

How to use a rug in… The Living Room

Rugs look fantastic next to wooden living room furniture, but a great tip for small to medium sized living rooms would be to opt for a rug that fits all of your modern living room furniture on it. This helps to define the size of the room, giving it an ‘ordered’ appearance. Choose colours that complement your colour scheme or use contemporary rugs to introduce an accent colour into a space.

In larger areas, choose a rug that is large enough to fit well in the room and with the ‘front’ legs of furniture resting on it. This stops you breaking your budget with a very large or custom-sized rug.

If you have a large sofa, the trick is to choose a rug that is longer than the sofa. If you don’t want a too-ordered look, pull the sofa off-centre and have one end of it not sitting on the rug to create an abstract feel to the space.

The rug for The Dining Room

In an open plan dining room and kitchen, a rug is a great tool for separating the dining space. Opt for a rug that your contemporary dining room furniture fits on, making sure you have enough of a ‘border’ on the rug for chairs to fit, so that diners are not balancing their chair (two legs on the rug, two legs off) when eating.

And yes, for round dining tables, choose a round rug.

MEASURING TIP: place the dining chairs under the table and measure 50cm from the back legs. Add this to the measurement of the table and this gives you the minimum sized rug you will need.

The Bedrooms

In the master bedroom, rugs are a great alternative to carpet and they also complement wooden bedroom furniture perfectly. Like the dining table, you need a border of 50cm on a rug that you are fitting under the bed and any bed side tables you have. In the kids’ bedrooms or guest rooms, you can use rugs in various ways, including being a pleasant focal point that welcome people into the space by creating a path.

Think safety too – making sure that rugs do not ‘travel’ when walked on.

The Hallway

A long, runner rug works well in a hallway but if you have a large entrance space you may like the idea of placing a larger rug to define this area too. Choose complimentary colours and don’t forget that darker colours absorb light so think lighter shades or patterned rugs for maximum effect.

Your Home Study

With more and more of us working from home, the home study or office is increasingly common. In this space, you can be bold with your rug choice but again, ensure that it fits under your desk and office chair, leaving plenty of border so you don’t have the irritation of ‘falling off’ the rug with every movement.

A rug in the right place, in the right size and proportion lends texture, depth and interest to a space, as well as providing a definition and a boundary. Which rug will you choose?

Now that you found out how to choose the perfect rug and know how to measure your space get shopping! Browse the luxurious Louis de Poortere collection or make your feet comfortable on a sheepskin rug and get cozy on a reindeer rug.

Make a big impression with a big clock

Summer is the perfect time for a little decor overhaul with a statement such as a big clock. An oversized clock is great for creating a sophisticated feature on your walls and is handy for timekeeping too!

Clocks are fantastic in any room, but look especially great in rooms you probably spend a lot of time in, like your living room, kitchen and home office.

In your living room, use your wall clock as a fantastic, classic decor piece, instead of art on one of your walls. In a black and white living room, an extra large black metal wall clock would look fantastic. The industrial style and open design would make a wonderful vintage addition to a stylish, contemporary space.

Alternatively, the strong style of a black metal wall clock would look great in a bright white Scandinavian inspired space with injections of soft pastels.

In a glamorous living room, with a gorgeous brown leather sofa, like one of our classic Oswald 2 seater sofa’s, the large metal and gold wall clock would create an opulent finish. The blend of the slim black metal frame with the golden numerals is fantastic for a stunning injection of industrial style.

Zinc looks great in the kitchen. The elegant style of a large zinc effect wall clock is perfect for placing in any contemporary kitchen, especially if you create a strong contrast against glossy worktops. The simple zinc effect frame is perfect for blending with any colour scheme but with a mix of mid-grey walls and reclaimed wood furniture, it would look simply stunning.

For an old-style home office, go for a vintage-inspired design like a large rustic metal and gold wall clock. The subtle colour of the bronze effect frame and vintage style golden clock hands would make a wonderful addition to a neutral colour scheme. Keep the rest of your furniture and decor simple to make your clock the star of the show.

How to style a brown sofa

How to easily style your brown sofa - Modish Living

Leather or fabric, a brown sofa is a perfect addition in all households, from the busy family home to the uber-stylish bachelorette or bachelor pad.

Buying the right sofa depends on the shape, style and the space you have. Buying your ‘forever sofa’ is easy when you opt either brown leather or fabric and here’s why – it is a colour, whether the sofa is light in shade, a mid-brown or dark, that can be teamed with all kinds of décor and colour choices. Whatever type you choose, here are some tips on how to style a brown sofa with ease.

Blues of All Shades

Blue is a fantastic colour, adding light and detail to a space with light blue or in the case of navy, depth and drama.

A brown leather sofa works well with any shade of blue but we think a dramatic navy feature wall, with a brown leather sofa – dark brown leather works really well – is a fantastic way of adding depth and texture, as well as showcasing a fabulous sofa.

Add even more drama to the room with a unique contemporary blue rug to draw the whole scheme together.

Brown, Gold and Brass

A strong interior design trend for the coming season is to ditch silver accessories in favour of gold or brass. When it comes to a brown leather sofa, gold or brass is the perfect pairing.

Marry the Otto industrial 3 seater Chester club sofa with gold and brass accessories, including gold-framed mirrors and wall clock, as well as exquisite table lamps on either side.

White and Cream

A neutral palette is a fantastic way for your brown leather sofa to be the star of the show. Adding a dash of cream or beige to a space stops it from feeling too stark and devoid of any colour or depth.

Lighten the space even more with a white sideboard, adding the drama of black candle holders and plants to provide points of interest in the space. But don’t draw too much attention away from your sofa.

Grey and Teal

A refreshing colour scheme if you don’t fancy the neutral tones of white and cream, but without the depth and drama of darker colours. Grey and teal work well with any of our brown leather sofas.

Use a warm grey on walls, and teal for scatter cushions and rugs, as well as a throw or two for when keeping warm of a cold evening.

It can be a colour scheme that looks ‘cold’ however, thus adding dashes of warmth means adding texture. And there is no better way of adding texture than reclaimed wood, such as the Farringdon reclaimed wood coffee table with notches and scars of life from long ago.

Shop Farringdon Reclaimed Wood Coffee Table

For a touch of glamour, add a table lamp with neutral but appealing shade and consider adding a side table or two to frame the sofa in its position.

With these ideas, you can have your ‘forever sofa’, enjoying the look of a brown leather sofa in your home.

Browse the beautiful collection of sofas at Modish Living.

Why We Love Urban Modern Interior Design

Louis De Poortere Fading World Rug - Mango Brown in living room

Have you noticed how much urban modern interior design is used in commercial settings, such as restaurant, cafes and similar?

It is an impressive style and one that you may want to emulate. But what are the basics of the urban modern design? And how can you convincingly replicate this style in your home?

What Defines Urban Modern Interior Design?

This style, as you would expect, stems from modern, designer lofts found in major cities. These large buildings were once the hub of industrial activity, but were left baron after business moved elsewhere.

Vast, cavernous spaces, once home to large, noisy machines are now living spaces. Loft living is a style and the urban modern interior design styles is a fusion of the commercial past of a building with modern living.

It is minimalistic and modern, chic with edgy experimental designs, all of which collide and meld together to make a fantastic living space. Not just the style of the young or the ‘up and coming’, it is style that suits families too because of its simplicity, its warmth and its adaptability.

How to Get the Urban Modern Style in Your Home

Think exposed brick walls meeting stainless steel beams. Think industrial meets a modern style. The rough and the smooth. The urban modern style works anywhere, not just loft living or city apartments. It can suit your home and here’s how to get it;

One-of-a-Kind Artworks

Original artwork, hung centre stage, instantly adds a cosmopolitan vibe. But, before you think ‘too expensive’ there are other means of getting your hands on original artwork. Art students create amazing pieces and appreciate the exposure. Or, you could create some of your work on canvas or even take a look at some original artwork stocked by independent retailers.

Urban, Not Industrial

There is a difference. Urban style has a softer, warmer edge to it then the harsh functionality of an industrial interior design.

Original and exposed brick walls meeting with the warmth of hardwood floors welcome us home at the end of the day. Modern rugs act as layers of texture to a room, as well as helping to pull together an open plan living that otherwise would feel too vast.

Choose home accessories that are deep in colour, bringing in warmth to a space: think oranges, reds, browns, any colour that you react to as being warm and cosy.

Creating a Homely Feel

Every aspect of your home should embrace urban modern interior design. Distressed wood is a must and that is why adding key pieces such as a modern console table are fantastic additions.

Imagine if those pieces could speak. The dents in the floor, the distressed look of the wood, the stainless frame that have stood the test of time for so long, imagine the stories they could tell.

With key pieces such as modern dining table sets, the practicalities are obvious. But, should you wish to change the appeal and style of your home in the future, these pieces will fit right in with a range of additional interior design styles.

There are, of course, many different reasons to love urban modern interior design, and these are just ours – Why not let us know what YOU love best about this style, and how you’ve embraced it in your home?

5 creative ways to use a sideboard in your home

Hudson Living Chilson Oak Sideboard for Living Room or Dining Room

Wooden sideboards are a wonderful addition to almost any room in your home. Traditionally, sideboards are seen in dining rooms but there are so many different ways you can use a sideboard in your home decor.

What are sideboards used for?

In the Kitchen: kitchen sideboard decor

A reclaimed wood sideboard offers understated and classic style at its best. Perfect for almost any interior scheme, a reclaimed wood sideboard will provide a practical storage solution and give a charming finish to any room with the natural markings and unique character. If you are looking for something a little more creative, a white reclaimed wood sideboard such as our Large Dorset Reclaimed Wood Sideboard could be used as a kitchen island to bring the rustic vibe with a contemporary twist this spring. For more kitchen sideboard ideas read pro interior stylist, Kate Hill’s sideboard ideas.

Sideboard decor in the Home Office

A sideboard with drawers can be very practical in the office area, as it can help declutter your working space. This creates a better space to think and motivates productivity. An industrial style sideboard with dark grey metal handles and frames is fantastic for office space for creating a stylish, streamlined finish. The addition of three double drawers is fantastic for providing plenty of extra storage for stationary, folders and filing away paperwork.

In the Dining Room

If you are looking to use your sideboard in a dining room, we suggest choosing a style with room for a wine rack which can store your favourite drinks close to the dining table. This also cuts out storage space needed for wine bottles in your kitchen and creates a cleaner finish. An oak sideboard also fits well into a dining room decor as its paler finish blends seamlessly with other dining room furniture and colour schemes. The Rocco Industrial Rustic Oak Sideboard is a nod to modern Scandi or Nordic styles and provides the perfect stage to display your paired-back accessories.

Living room sideboard decor

In your living room, a sideboard is a great place for proudly displaying your collections or trinkets. But they can also provide storage space for family games, films, or even special glassware you don’t want to keep in your kitchen cupboards. When it comes to a sideboard for living room ideas, the modern shape and eye-catching brass inlays of the Farnham Sustainable Mango Wood Sideboard will add an instant a touch of glamour to any room and will be adored for its stylish, contemporary look.

Sideboard in bedroom

Finally, a sideboard can even be a fantastic addition in the bedroom, especially as kids’ bedroom storage. They are often a more compact solution than a chest of drawers and provide space for storing toys, books and games. The Chelwood Nordic Reclaimed Wood Small Sideboard is a wonderful option with its mixture of cupboard and drawer storage and smaller size, perfect for your little one’s bedroom.

To find the perfect one for your home, take a look at our collection of sideboards, or get in touch with one of our team members.

5 Types Of Interior Design Styles To Implement In Your Home

Windsor Oak Farmhouse Extending Dining Table in Dining Room with blush pink dining chairs

If you are looking for inspiration to create a new look for your home, but aren’t sure which style to adopt, then you need to know about these fantastic interior design styles and ideas. In this article, we bring you the 5 types of interior design styles and how to implement these popular trends in your home.

Industrial Look

The turn-of-the-century industrial era emphasised the liberal use of steel and distressed wooden furniture, along with exposed brick walls.

This is achievable in rooms and space across your home, including distressed-wood modern beds. Create a rugged effect but soften with softly draping, but clean-lined window dressings, along with rugs and cushions.

Find out more about the Industrial Style here.

Nautical

Nautical décor is a relaxing one, with warmth and an air of positivity to it, just like a day at the sea-side. The spirit of the sea is captured in many ways, and is the perfect style for capturing the urban modern style.

Think linear patterns, think blues and creams and think nautical patterns, from birds to anchors. Reclaimed wood is also welcomed in this style and with this modern dining table set, you can welcome the sea scape into your home, throughout the space.

Scandinavian Style

There is something delightful about the clean, minimalist lines of the Scandinavian style, but without lacking the warmth and texture that so many of us look for. Scandinavian pieces that fit perfectly within this style are balance engineered with organic materials, have a playful accent on colour and think smooth, rounded edges, rather than hard, angular lines.

Farmhouse

And finally, the farmhouse style is a welcome trend in the urban modern style that so many of us covet. There is a warmth in its familiarity and is a style that is simple to replicate, easy to live with. It is truly practical and versatile.

Again, distressed wood furniture is the backbone of the style, as it is furniture that is simple to incorporate into the scheme. Think pastel colours with neutral tones on both walls and floors. Be romantic in your outlook, including accessories that are not overly fussy. And stick with natural materials as much as you can.

Mid-20^th Century Modern

The mid-1900s provided some of the most iconic furniture design. New technologies gave rise to moulded plastics, plywood and aluminium furniture all perfect for the refined lines, minimalist silhouettes and natural shapes popular in the period.

To keep your home looking fresh, mix in modern-day interior design pieces, such as bright coloured modern rugs.

In the end, all types of interior design styles are focused on making your rooms look homely. It is about adding your creative tastes and takes on styles of yesteryear – like plucking the best bits and bolstering them with modern-day textiles and furnishings to create a space that’s all your own. Choose among the types of interior design styles and make your house not only stunning but also attractive.

Identifying Industrial Style

Standford Industrial Reclaimed Wood Dining Set with Dining Table and Dining Bench in dining room

Industrial interior design is an eye-catching contemporary style, with an environmental conscience. You can instantly spot an industrial style piece of furniture, due to the rustic and robust appearance of the reclaimed timber, together with bold metal supports and legs. The surface of the wood features some marks, showing the character of where it was reclaimed from. Each piece is unique and handcrafted to combine the reclaimed wood top, together with welded recycled metal for the table legs. The sleek dark legs and supports are any repurposed metal object, pieces of robust iron or steel, or even pipes.

Colour and texture

The colour of wood varies because some pieces are made from dark hardwood; others are elm or lighter. There are many unique options to suit your taste. You can easily create a homely statement as a centrepiece for your room. Textured reclaimed wood can be beams from old barns or demolition sites, which has become popular due to environmental concerns about waste and cutting down trees. For wood to be classed as reclaimed, it must have been previously used elsewhere. Salvaging the wood is a painstaking process to prevent damage. The wood requires a lot of processing to remove any metal nails and to ensure it is free from mould or worms.

Where to find industrial style furniture

Here at Modish Living, we have a range of well-priced industrial style furniture for your home. For examples, this Stanford industrial style reclaimed wood coffee table has impressive industrial character, plenty of pattern and natural markings. There are also two drawers for storage with metal handles which draws your eye down to the dark metal legs.

Alternatively, this distinctive elm industrial coffee table is perfect for a smaller space. This round design has a typically rustic finish. More unusually the table legs are made from flowing circles which really is an amazing feature.

Price reflects hard work and dedication to creating beauty

There isn’t a high price point of reclaimed wood in itself. Nonetheless, the price of the furniture reflects the handmade skills of working with wood and metal and the challenge of converting reclaimed wood into a unique piece of durable items of contemporary furniture. If you’re looking to find your ideal pieces of Industrial furniture, you’ll need to understand that are paying for beautiful unique characteristics of well-constructed pieces. Prices can range from £150+ for a bench, around £300 and up for a smaller table or to £1200+ for a large table.

Combination is key to unique décor

Industrial reclaimed wood furniture can be combined with other pieces from the same range or with other ranges to bring together the look of the entire home. For example, you could invest in a sideboard to be near your dining table; and then possibly a bookcase or console table, to create a co-ordinated Industrial theme and flow between your living areas.

The Lansdowne reclaimed wood Industrial table has plenty of character in the wood, from previous industrial use. This is ideal for a smaller area and a modest budget. The robust-looking steel legs are a typical design of industrial pieces of furniture, but because they are at an angle, this makes it a more unusual piece.

Industrial-dining-chairs such as the Hyatt Industrial Vintage Cafe chairs are a cost-effective option for a set of homely handmade chairs. Vintage black matches the dark metal legs of industrial-reclaimed-wood furniture. Or an off-white colour would make an interesting talking point as a contrast.

Industrial style has never been so on trend. Why not look for a few industrial inspired pieces for your home now you know what to look for!

Find out all you need to know about the industrial style

Industrial Lowry wooden high bar table and stools

Industrial style showcases all that is rough and ready. The style came to fruition when we started converting old industrial buildings and steelworks into homes. Rather then plastering over, painting, and carpeting the original features, we chose to celebrate the intriguing design benefits that industrial buildings have. The trend has become so big and so well-loved that we are now introducing industrial chic in to everyday homes and more contemporary spaces.

What to include when imitating industrial style?

To achieve true industrial style, you should include some or all of the below elements in your home – depending on how far you’re willing to take the trend:

Exposed or painted brick
Exposed metal (rusting and painted)
Exposed wood
Unique lighting, often oversized and old factory pendants
Vintage signage
Industrial furniture
Vintage decor
Recycled/ Upcycled furniture or ornaments

It doesn’t matter whether you live in an old converted industrial building or the average modern home, you can introduce the industrial style in many different ways, room by room. Choosing key pieces of furniture will help you achieve industrial style quickly and easily.

Industrial dining

Industrial dining furniture is a sure-fire way to bring industrial style into your dining room or kitchen. An industrial dining table can be statement piece that oozes industrial chic and reflects our industrial heritage. Made from steel, which has been created with recycled metal, and reclaimed wood gives dining furniture character and history; making it a real talking piece at a dinner party, as well as very functional.

Finishing touches

To finish off your dining space look you could introduce some industrial style lighting. Hanging an industrial pendant light over your industrial table adds interest and ambiance to your dining experience. Industrial pendant lights are incredibly stylish, you could use subtle styles, so you can hang more than one to created a striking look or perhaps pair it with another style of pendant for a truly unique industrial space that is all you. Industrial pendants often contain vintage filament lamps, giving you a sultry and sophisticated atmosphere.

Industrial Living

Moving through to your living space, you can easily breath some industrial style into your room by adding an industrial reading lamp. These pieces are very typical of industrial chic lighting. They’re so on trend and you can see why; they can be such statement pieces and can easily transform a side table from normal to industrial in an instant. This style of lamp is also a very functional reading lamp due to its ability to be multi-positional.

Adding an industrial coffee table to your living space gives you a main industrial feature, especially helpful in homes that are from the modern era. Placed over exposed wooden flooring and a vintage rug and industrial table shows off upcycled chic to its fullest.

You can go industrial in the smallest of spaces

If you do not have a space solely for a dining room, perhaps you have a corner in your living room just screaming out for an industrial bar table. Using a bar table and bar stools to make the most of a small space is a great way to make your home more functional, as well as giving it the industrial look you crave. Again, here, you can use exposed wood and metal to capture the industrial style, combine with some neutral, textured fabric on the stools to bring comfort and function together.

There’s so much you can do with industrial style, even in the most contemporary of homes. Done right, industrial style doesn’t have to be uncomfortable or too stark either – find the right accessories, such as rugs and cushions to complement your furniture, and you can have it all.