Room #3- The Living Room

After I eat and sleep I must-watch TV and of course blog. So I must move on to the living room. The living room started with a coat of yellow paint that is about two shades lighter than the kitchen since this room was a little darker and needed a little brightening up. The layout of the living room/office was probably the most difficult in the house, it is long and narrow and also has several window and door openings along with two wall-mounted radiators. A lot to workaround! After several rearrangements, I found one that worked best. By centering the sofa under the window, I hid the larger radiator, which is mounted in an alcove under the window, and have a warm and toasty place to sit and watch TV during the cold German winter. The chairs then fell into logical positions which allowed me enough space to use the far end wall (the only one completely free of obstacles) for my desk, computer, and of course my photo collage.

For this room, I can give you a lot of information on the sources for the furniture since most of it is not antique or re-purposed. If you like my mid-century sofa and chair these two pieces are from the Clare collection at Macy’s and are a great bargain. The sofa at $699, when compared to similar pieces sold at Design Within Reach which costs over $2000 more, cannot be beaten. The chair on the right is a Pottery Barn Brooks chair which I got for a steal, along with the coffee table, as floor samples. I was using this chair in another room at our old house but I made a new slipcover for it and now it fits perfectly into this room. The rug is a Dash and Albert, Field of Flowers hooked rug, which inspired the whole room.

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The curtains I also brought from our previous house but they were slightly too short so I added a band of aqua fabric to the bottom to add a little length.  I tend to go pretty neutral or solid on the large upholstery pieces since they are expensive to change. I add pops of color with pillows I make myself, that way I can afford to change it up as often as I like. I have added the fabrics and links I used here in the photo below.

1. The Sofa and
2. Chair are from the Kady collection at Macy’s
3. The Rug is by Dash and Albert and is called  Field of Flowers
4. The coffee table is Pottery Barn Bailey table which is no longer available.
5. Waverly Cross Section Green
6. Anna Maria Horner Summer Totem Emerald
7. Vintage fabric bought for $1 a yard from an upholstery house.

I am happy with the results so far but I wouldn’t say this room is complete. I have one last area that need to be dealt with next to the second radiator. I would like to get a small piece of furniture for storage or maybe build a radiator cover and bookshelf like the one I found below. What do you think?