Everyone has a personal sense of style, and knowing what it is will help you make the most of your home and every dollar you spend. I need to live in rooms that are designed for entertaining in sophisticated elegance. I encourage you to design for how you want to live and not defer to an overly casual, dressed-down mood in the principal rooms. Since the living room is supposed to be a sort of salon for receiving guests, it needs to feel properly appointed. I’m not into fussy and off-limits, or fabrics that can’t stand up to family life, but a little polish and a nod to glamour is always in the cards when I’m designing!
Allowing your interiors to be influenced by fashion is exciting, but I recommend approaching trends in a flexible way. Instead of making a long-term commitment to a lavender sofa, opt instead for an easy-to-change solution by painting your walls whatever colour of the rainbow tickles your fancy. You can always change the colour of your walls in a weekend on your own, but you probably can’t reupholster your sofa (and if you can . . . I’m impressed!).
A polished and pretty living room needs a bit of contrast, so add a simple, light textural note with inexpensive sea grass. If you need a palace-sized carpet (this one was 9 feet by 23 feet), it never hurts to choose a stylish and chic floor covering that comes at a reasonable price and can be bound to suit your measurements.
You don’t need to choose cool or warm metals — you can have both! My rule for mixing metals is that you need repetition and should use both more than once so it doesn’t look like an accent. It works best to also incorporate some items that feature both silver and brass (the wall sconces, coffee table, and drapery hardware are all a combination of both tones).
If you can’t find the fabric you want, make it yourself! I bought natural and cream linen, then had them sewn together to create a wide-striped band that runs vertically down the centre of cream-painted vintage chairs and gives a graphic update to a traditional frame.
In the past, your only option for ready-made drapes was more collegiate basic than couture. Now, you can buy well-constructed, luxurious interlined drapes that are ready to hang in time for tomorrow’s dinner party. Before you assume everything in your living room needs to be bespoke, let your fingers take you on an online adventure, and see what’s waiting to be discovered.
Living rooms tend to be used most in the evening hours, so there’s no need to light them up like stadiums. Install pot lights only where you need them to accent a piece of artwork or to light up a dark corner, then use decorative pendant lights and practical table and floor lamps to create mood and ambiance.