LOUNGE INSPIRATION

For me the lounge is the homiest and most important room of the house. It’s probably the room I’ll spend most of my hours in watching Netflix, socialising with friends and slogging on the sofa. It’s also the first room you enter in our house, so for that reason I want it to be welcoming but have impact!

We’re lucky enough to have an open plan lounge-dinning room which is great in making the room feel bigger than it is. However I do want the rooms to feel slightly different, like sisters but not twins - they need to have a similar identity but completely different character.

I have taken inspiration from Kensington townhouses in London; large bright white skirting boards with dark aged flooring and vintage furniture. I love this style - it looks so elegant and beautiful. Not too shout-y and laden with trends. I want the space to look lived-in but also elegant.

I love this dark blue/ petrol colour from Farrow and Ball - it's just beautiful. As much as I'd love to paint the whole room, ceilings and doors this colour, I think it would make the room feel too small. Instead I'm going to only paint one or two walls this colour and have them as feature walls with a beautiful mirror. I love the depth of the colour and it also feels really homely and warming.

We currently have the most comfortable grey cotton sofa and lucky enough to have been given a second-hand leather sofa but I would also love a velvet armchair to sit between the lounge and dining room. This might sound like too many looks smushed together but I'll tie these in with textured throws and velvet scatter cushions.

I have also seen these brilliant ideas on Pinterest for a small shelf behind the sofa. It makes use of the wall space behind the sofa for wall prints, candles or plants - making use of space that was redundant before. Here are a few of my favourites from Pinterest...

Accessories are an area I’m most excited to explore. Once you have the bones of a room; wall colour, flooring and statement furniture, it’s the accessories that turn a room into your personal living space.

I love brushed gold furniture like the examples below. I love the vintage feel of the furniture and the hint of glamour it exudes. I also like how slim this style is too, it's great for space saving alongside bulkier furniture. They can be styled so easily with a few coffee table books, candles and plants. OLIVER BONAS sell beautiful styles like this in console tables, stools and cabinets. I've also seen them in SWOON EDITIONS and MADE.COM.