House Tour - Living Room.

As it has been a while since my last House Tour post, I thought it was time to show you another room that is finally finished, the Living Room.

Unlike the Back Sitting Room which was pretty much a blank canvas, the living room was really only in need of a fresh coat of paint and a few new accessories as we already had all the larger pieces of furniture, so this was going to be more of a Room Edit.

When I create a Room Edit for a client, as with all my design packages, I start by looking over the photos of the space that they have sent to me to get an idea of how it is now and what I have to work with already. Next there are a few keys issues to look at -

1. The problem/s that the client wants to fix in the room (e.g. to make it more cosy, inject some colour)

2. What furniture/accessories are going to be kept

3. What the room is or is going to be used for

For the living room, the main thing I needed to address was the colour (and the light fitting! - which you might remember made an appearance in the back sitting room too). This room is south facing, with a large window, high ceiling and lots of natural light so I had a lot of options open to me in terms of colour. What I really wanted was to give the room a bit more personality, I wanted something that was striking but not too vivid.

We had all the furniture for the room already, either it had been given to us or we had picked a few bits and bobs up at second hand shops (in fact, none of the furniture in our living room was bought new)! When working on a client's project, I will try to find images of the exact items they own to use on the final board. Where this isn't possible due to items being antiques, discontinued or maybe the client just can't remember where the pieces were from, I will try to find images that are as similar as they can be so that it is easier to visualise the finished room (you may notice in the after photos that the sofa and bamboo table are not exactly the same as the ones featured on the board below).

Lastly, I knew this room was going to be where we spent most of our relaxation time. It needed to be comfortable and calming but of course I still wanted it to be stylish and reflect the style of the rest of the property. Having a wood burning stove is such a treat so I wanted to make sure the fire was looking good as well as being well stocked for use.

Here is a board I put together for our living room before we got out the paint brushes -

The final scheme I went with was pink (Calamine by Farrow and Ball) white and black. I wanted to make use of the picture rail, so the section of wall above this and the ceiling remained white to complement the white window frames and shutters. The fireplace has a very dark grey slate hearth and a black wood burner, so I picked this out to use in accessories such as a throw, artwork and the fun zebra rug! I already had two nice pale green patterned cushions and I love pale pink and green together and as we have a lot of plants too, this added the accent colour.

The Room Edit by Pink Couch is a budget and eco-friendly design option. It is all about looking at what you already have and how to make better use of things, rearrange items and add a few little extra details to update or bring the room together. The Living Room now looks like a totally different room and all we needed to buy for the project was paint, a rug, light fitting, log basket and a throw.

Finally, I wanted to mention our shutters. When we moved in I realised quickly that these would be the most suitable window treatment for our living room and bedroom which have large recessed windows. Curtains would have needed to sit within the recess, blocking a lot of the window and therefore the light in to the rooms. They are an expensive item but we decided that shutters would be worth the investment.

As they had a sale on at the time we were looking, we initially went with a large, well-known company, beginning with H. But after endless problems with the fit, quality and function of the shutters and countless phone calls and many months of trying to rectify these issues with no positive outcome and extremely poor customer service, we had to have them removed. After a bit more research I found an amazing independent company called Cool Shutters. This time, the whole service from consultation to fitting was fantastic. The product they offer is beautiful, all made from hardwood, to your dimensions and specifications. The designers and fitters take a lot of pride in their work and are extremely knowledgeable about what will be the best option for your home and ensure it is fitted to the best standard. We have ended up with a far more superior quality product, at a better price with a brilliant customer experience, I can't recommend them enough.

Hope you like the Living Room, keep your eyes peeled for another House Tour coming soon and if you have a project you need help with, click here to find out more about the different packages available.

R x