It’s not always the biggest rooms that make the best impression or offer the maximum enjoyment factor. Filled with sunlight and infused with a cozy ambiance, this living room has everything one could want in a city home, all tucked into a fairly compact floor plan. With little room for improvement, this space was the only room in the house to survive a dramatic basement-to-rafters renovation with only minor improvements and finishing touches.
At first glance, this room appears saturated with a healthy dose of colour. Touches of pomegranate and coral are sprinkled throughout the room, making it feel alive with rosy hues. But look a little closer, and you’ll notice that the more permanent elements in the room, such as the carpet, sofa, walls, chairs, and tables, are all neutrally rooted. The notes of colour that attract your attention are actually just small accents that are by no means permanent. Despite their diminutive size, flowers, books, vases, and pillows used in combination can make a mighty colour impression.
An accent wall is hardly a novel idea, but instead of limiting your use of a commanding hit of colour to what comes out of a can, consider what can be achieved with wallpaper. This living room would be overwhelmed if all the walls were covered in rosy-toned wallpaper with gilded accents, but when limited to the chimney breast, it gives just enough energy and elegance to the room while drawing attention to the crisp white mantel and striking black-and-gold Greek key mirror. Since a strong colour pulls your sight line through the room, the use of this paper actually makes the space feel bigger.
You might enjoy the idea of living in a century-old home within a historic neighbourhood, though you may not want to make a similar style statement with your decor. The fact that your home was built last century should not preclude you from outfitting it in a way that represents how you live today. Mixing tradition with modernism is an effective way to update your home without stripping out all the character from your surroundings. For best results, select upholstered furnishings that have a clean, streamlined profile and a classic unadorned silhouette. The lean Parsons-style sofa, striped chairs, and subtly patterned, neutral carpet are well-suited partners to the minimal, modern chrome-and-glass coffee table, accent tables, and midcentury chrome chairs.
