Living/Family Room
Great resource for measurements - conversation arc, TV distance from seating, etc.
Love a large upholstered ottoman that doubles as a coffee table. Love the chairs as well - they look comfy and the rug. "Four soft leather swivel chairs surround a round ottoman covered in crushed velvet. “The chairs look like they are covered in slipcovers, which helps to soften their look. They add this great combination of sophistication and casual charm to the space.”
Love these rooms. I like that the back room is a darker shade of the blue in the front room. Back = Benjamin Moore’s high-gloss Philipsburg Blue. Front = Benjamin Moore’s Van Courtland Blue. I like the front room shade best and it looks great with the oatmeal couch and light wood. I also really like those 2 chairs on the left. “The wall color is inspired by the Pacific Ocean and all the natural wood tones throughout the home add a coastal vibe.” Not fond of the pink and dark navy pillows but I do agree it needs a splash of another color. Light green?
Another gorgeous one. “This room is in the same house as the next photo - these folks have their porch style down. Out here, a strictly neutral pattern ensures that the furnishings don’t compete with the woodsy lakeside view. Detail worth noting: The pattern on the rug echoes the sun-dappled patterns on the ground outside.”
The living room is open to the kitchen. It has wide beadboard instead of drywall and a new Ontario stone facing for the fireplace, which used to be covered in drywall and have a traditional mantel that was too formal. The furnishings — a striped cotton dhurrie for the floor, casual slipcovered furniture, wicker and wood accents and playful touches like the elephant garden stool and juju hat.
Goes with photos in Kitchens & Bathrooms that are bright white with touches of navy. This room on the other side of the kitchen is nice restful greys which is a nice contrast to the cheerful white & navy but still goes together. The greys also tie into the light blue backsplash tile in the kitchen. I like the color of the walls. This is a nice use of grey; works well in a room with lots of sunlight. Love the upholstered ottoman/coffee table.
Here, designer Jodi Cook used a brown leather sofa to help break up all the upholstered pieces in her Denver living room, shown here.”Brown leather sofas work as well with a warm palette as they do with a cool one, so they’re a perfect ‘basic’ to purchase if you find that you like to change things up with pillows and rugs,” she says. “I happen to love a warm cognac-colored leather sofa with a black and white palette.”
A brown leather sofa makes everything else look better. “It goes with everything and elevates everything around it,” says Melanie Kiernicki, who put a brown leather sofa in her home, shown here. “It was an investment piece but manages to make our $20 Goodwill chair look fantastic as well.” She’s had this piece for about three years and says she wipes it down with a dry or water-dampened cloth as necessary. “Once or twice I’ve rubbed it down with some coconut oil,” she says. “We also have a performance velvet sofa, and I am constantly having to clean and vacuum it. The leather one always looks clean and is such a gorgeous color that I doubt I’ll ever tire of. Definitely my favorite piece of furniture in our home.”
It warms up the rest. While brown leather upholstery keeps things cool, its color visually does the opposite. Designers Greer Nelson and Jamie Hamilton chose a classic brown leather sofa to bring warmth to an industrial condo in Vancouver, shown here. And they love everything about what the color and style of the sofa bring to a space. “The ease and comfort, the durability,” Hamilton says. “We find that brown leather goes with just about anything.
A lot of homes feature white walls and wood flooring. A tan sofa provides contrast to those walls while complementing the flooring. “A brown leather sofa with a modern silhouette and clean lines can really transition into any style or setting and has a timeless aesthetic,” says designer Christen Ales, who used the classic piece in the bachelor pad shown here. She adds that leather is especially effective at providing a sleeker texture alternative to spaces with a lot of upholstered fabric pieces.
Denim and corduroy are two other materials that can be inviting yet durable. Plus, they add an unexpected twist compared with the typical plain cotton or wool upholstery you often see in stores. When choosing fabric for your living room furniture, look for a material with a blend of natural and synthetic fabrics to get the practical features of both, and if possible do a bend test of a fabric swatch to make sure the weave appears tight and doesn’t reveal the backing material. A tight weave will be more durable than a loose one (which leaves lots of space for dirt to hide), no matter the material. When in doubt, look to a cheerful blue — it’s a hue that usually everyone can agree on. It perfectly contrasts warm elements such as leather and wood, and it feels just neutral enough to work with basically any other future accent colors.
One of the safest ways to mix upholstery fabrics is leather chairs with a fabric sofa or vice versa, so the materials contrast in an obviously intentional way. It gives the living room design some diversity, which can also give members of the family different options to suit their seating preferences.
Most furniture stores give you the option of purchasing an entire living room set in matching upholstery, but that doesn’t mean you should do it. In a formal seating area, matching upholstery can give a sense of maturity and order, but if you want a living room to feel cozy and welcoming, mix and match your upholstered pieces to give the design a bit more personality.
Like the colors. Caramel leather for Glenn’s throne? Like the mix of caramel with oatmeal.
Gold! Height adjustable
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