our living room reveal
last time i showed you around my living room was back in 2015.. and wow, things have definitely changed since then! i'm still a big fan of vintage and mid-century furniture but my style is now more influenced by scandinavian design. i guess this room is a mash-up of all of those influences but i've always liked mixing new and old so that's not much of a surprise!
anyway, i've been itching to show you around how it looks now and share some of my favourite pieces! as we have a 1 yr old slowly taking over our home we weren't in the mood for a drastic renovation but with a repaint, a big reshuffle and the help of the wonderful west elm (aka the purveyors of dreamy mid-century furniture) who very kindly gifted us some pieces we've been able to create a living room that i want to hang in all day long. YAY!
one of the biggest things that we needed to change was our old sofa, omg it was a sorry state. it was so stained from years of our muddy paws whenever people came to visit we had to strategically cover parts with cushions, not cute! we'd wanted a dark green velvet sofa for ages (i love the whole retro feel and pinterest kept showing me so many it became a form of torture.) however we were torn over whether to get a more sensible option.. we thought velvet would be super high maintenance with a cat and baby in residence.
sofa | habitat
eventually we bought the goddamn high maintance sofa cause we loved it, yolo! so far we are v.careful about eating on it and regularly cover the seat cushions with a throw when gabe has mucky hands etc etc.
we bought the hendricks 3 seater from habitat (fyi i used my press discount on this purchase) at the last minute we had a little wobble and nearly ordered it in the burnt orange shade but i'm glad we stuck with the dark green now.
our alcoves are quite narrow so we were debating adding in shelving until we discovered this mid century cabinet -it's been the best small space solution we've found yet! i've managed to fit nearly all of my craftng supplies and photo collections inside saving me loads of room in my upstairs office- hurrah! (fyi i totally think it would also be quite a good option for a drinks cabinet.)
the shelf was a christmas present from james, i'd wanted one for ages and will probably get a few more at some point! (btw the plant is from ikea, i think it may be a variety of pothos? it's somehow growing really well with very little upkeep!)
our side table is an old ikea purchase that we bought when we first moved in. the downstairs floorboards in our home are all original, we like having darker floors so we simply restained them rather than sanding them when we moved in.
as you can see i'm a bit of a candle addict, splurging on nice candles is definitely one of my self care rituals and i'm making an effort to light one every day and enjoy it (no saving them 'special' occasions anymore.)
as you can see i'm a bit of a candle addict, splurging on nice candles is definitely one of my self care rituals and i'm making an effort to light one every day and enjoy it (no saving them 'special' occasions anymore.)
if you're obsessed with candles too some of my favourite places to buy scented candles are and other stories, workshop, arket and the white company.
our wall art is mostly swedish in orgin, the gothenburg poster was from our last visit and we recently bought 4 or 5 prints from fine little day including the rabbit poster above our fireplace. (confession- that print was supposed to be for the nursery but we kept it downstairs ha!)
I like to keep wall art quite monochrome throughout our house, that way the color focus is on the soft furnishings. it also means i can easily switch artwork between rooms when i fancy a change!
we have a lot of storage baskets that we keep tucked in corners or under tables.. essential for stashing gabes' ever-growing toy collection! these belly baskets are the perfect way to store his toys so we have easy access to them but the room still feels grown up. we have lots upstairs too, those are mostly used for bed linens and throws (you can't have enough wicker or rattan baskets in my opinion!)
we try to keep a balance between keeping things clutter free but not removing so much that the house feels bare. that's why i love items like this metal shelf, it's clean and simple but you can easily add some personality with a few photo frames, books or smaller decorative items. i'd really like to get some small training plants that i can squeeze into this shelf to green it up a little and add some texture..
we adore the pop of colour of this west elm slipper chair brings, we thought it would be a nice contrast to the dark green of the sofa and we weren't disappointed. (kipper has designated it his favourite stop to sleep hence the sheepskin throw on top) it feels a lot more expensive than it's £299 price tag.. which btw i think is a really good price for a nice armchair?
the big black and white vase was a christmas gift from my sister and it's perfect for holding big bunches of eucalyptus or pampas grass. i'm always looking for ways to incorporate greenery so i'll be investing in a few more statement vases going forward. we don't use our record player enough at the moment so i've started leaving some records out as a reminder.
when gabe goes to bed we get a few precious hours of grown-up time so i like to put on some music and light a few candles whilst we cook dinner. we used to take these little rituals for granted pre-baby so having a downstairs space that we love and enjoy now is amazing.
when gabe goes to bed we get a few precious hours of grown-up time so i like to put on some music and light a few candles whilst we cook dinner. we used to take these little rituals for granted pre-baby so having a downstairs space that we love and enjoy now is amazing.
we don't have the biggest area for a media unit in this corner of our living room and we'd found it near impossible find a media console that would fit without looking too bulky. this mid century console comes in 3 sizes (the struggle is finally over) and both the small and medium fitted our needs. we went for the smallest size so we had some room either side to store some of our vinyl collection.
it's such a dreamy piece of furniture i really wanted it to be a focal point, i've styled it up with lots of leafy green plants so there's no missing it when you enter the room.
it's such a dreamy piece of furniture i really wanted it to be a focal point, i've styled it up with lots of leafy green plants so there's no missing it when you enter the room.
crossley record player
this souk rug is the most luxe addition to our floor, it's so thick and fluffy it's was like walking on a cloud. (gabe loves playing with the oversized tassels so i'd defo recommend it for a nursery too!)
one of the themes we want to have running throughout our home is plants of all shapes and sizes. we're always adding to our plant collection but lately, we've made a more conscious decision to invest in more, whether that be hanging plants or smaller easy care plants like succulents that we can place in windows.
plants are one of the most important additions in our home, air purifying benefits aside they genuinely make me feel more relaxed and happier. because i work from home bringing the outdoors inside has had such a postivie impact on my mental health and i really do enjoy looking after them.. strange but true!
do you like the changes we've made in here? there's still a few things i'd like to change, i'm considering painting all the interior doors dark as a contrast to the white walls but i can't quite decide, should i take the plunge?
back soon!
caroline x
do you like the changes we've made in here? there's still a few things i'd like to change, i'm considering painting all the interior doors dark as a contrast to the white walls but i can't quite decide, should i take the plunge?
back soon!
caroline x
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