Living Room Update - Everything but the Sofa

Today’s blog post is sort of a sequel to last month’s post about a classic living room dilemma. We talked through how to work with multiple doorways, windows and a fireplace to create a cozy, conversation-inducing layout. We gave you a shopping list of all the furniture needed to make this happen. Today we’re talking through the details to consider as your find the right pieces for your unique home.

We have ideas and recommendations for everything…but the sofa. We figure most people already have a sofa they like/love. And if you don’t, you should. Other than a bed, a sofa is the most used piece of furniture in most people’s home. It’s worth a healthy budget to get quality (kiln dried wood frame, eight way hand tied spring system, down wrapped cushions).

Let’s look back at the layout we suggested last week. A sofa facing a TV wall, one or two armchairs facing the fireplace wall (maybe in your house it’s a window not a fireplace), and one accent chair angled in the corner to create a reading nook that can/cannot be part of the conversation scene.

With your sofa already in place, we have some thoughts on a rug, coffee table, armchairs, and accent chair. We recommend considering everything in advance - you may not be able to buy everything at once, but knowing the big picture plan is the best way to achieve a cohesive result.

Rug - A living room rug is one of the few rugs in your home that will be sat on occasionally (versus only stepped on). It’s where your kids play board games, your husband is forced to sit when all the seats are taken post Thanksgiving dinner, and that one friend inexplicably chooses to sit despite there being plenty of room on the sofa. So, you want something plush (not a flat weave) and soft. We’re big fans of wool, ideally with a cotton backing (it’ll last longer). You can’t go wrong with a neutral color and timeless style. Or, if you like color, the rug is an opportunity to inject personality and connect all the other color elements of your room.

Neutral Rug

Statement Rug

Armchairs - This should be a beautiful chair that might look uncomfortable just because it’s so beautiful (not because it’s actually uncomfortable). Because it floats in the room, you want it to be beautiful from all angles. Slipper chairs (armless chairs) are a great option for a smaller footprint in order to get two into the layout plan.

Coffee Table - In order to accommodate a bigger crowd in a smaller space, we love a round coffee table. It’s great for crowd flow. The big barrel style coffee tables are very on trend and we love them. But, a leggy table with space underneath for a catch-all basket is great for some families (like ours) that inevitably find a scattering of stuffed animals, hair brushes and socks throughout the living room by the end of the day.

Reading Nook Chair - You can go so many directions with this one. This can be the really fun, interesting, stylized chair or the nothing-but-cozy chair or the extra chair you’ve been looking for a home for. The main idea here is that it doesn’t have to “match” any other furniture in the room, just coordinate. Be sure to pair it with an ottoman and a floor lamp.

Blue Linen Nook Chair

Leather Nook Chair

Let’s put it all together. First up - a colorful, modern option.

Pouf / Floor Lamp / Pink Throw Pillow

And second - a transitional, neutral option.

Pouf / Floor Lamp / Blue and White Pillow

You can update slowly, overtime or save up and get it all in one HGTV style transformation. There’s no one way to get from vision to finished space, but don’t underestimate the planning phase. It’ll make for a successful “after” in function and style.

- Leah

*this post contains affiliate links*

Layout Issue - Living Rooms with Multiple Entrances

Way back in April (can you believe it’s mid July!?), we collected submissions from followers for free advice on paint colors, furnishings, layout and general design dilemmas. We covered a lot of ground in a series of 9 posts. It was a lot of fun.

Side note: if you want to check out these posts, go to the “Post Archive” tab on the right side of your screen and click on “Designer for a Day”. You’ll find a lot of free advice, mood boards and shoppable links.

When it was all said and done, we had missed one submission. It had been a long, complicated submission…yes, I’m making excuses…and after pushing it off week-after-week, it got lost in the shuffle and we completely forgot about it. Thankfully, we were in touch with the lovely woman who made the submission and she was more than understanding as to why we had missed her request. But, it’s been eating away at us. Plus, she had some universally relevant questions in her mix.

SO, today we’re going to work through one of her questions - how to furnish a living room that has multiple entrances (windows, fireplace, etc.) and provide ample seating for big families/events.

Here is her living room.

And from the other direction.

Like many living rooms, this one has 2 entrances/exits, a wall of windows and a fireplace. There are a lot of architectural features to contend with. First, some preliminary advice we have for any living room (and, actually, any room in general):

1) Furniture doesn’t have to line up to the perimeter of the room. It can float in the middle of a room as long as it is grounded by a rug and/or surrounding pieces.

2) Windows don’t have to be unencumbered to the extent that none of the glass is blocked by furniture. Sometimes that’s simply not possible.

3) Cased openings (doorways without doors) don’t have to be cleared for landing. People tend to treat cased openings like tarmacs to make sure that jets, and small children, can speed from room to room without obstacle. Everyone, small children included, will learn to navigate around furniture…and, bonus, it may even slow their sprint.

Now, back to the room at hand. We totally support the television location. Whenever possible, a television is best on a wall and not above a fireplace mantel. But, one sofa isn’t going to cut it. First, there’s not enough seating in general. Second, try sitting three people on a sofa and having a conversation that includes everyone. The person in the middle has their head on a swivel, it’s awkward and uncomfortable.

Proper conversation seating requires more than one piece of furniture in close proximity. And, our preference, is to have two pieces of furniture perpendicular to one another (at right angles). Here are a few examples of this type set up.

From our Lovell Project - the pair of wingback chairs are perpendicular to the leather sofa.

From our Prospect Project - the blue armchair is perpendicular to the gray sofa.

From our Enos Project - the curved armchairs are perpendicular to the bench seat sofa.

Another important note about all three of these projects - the chairs are floating in the room with enough space for a person to walk behind them. This isn’t as obvious in our Lovell or Prospect projects, but we promise - there is a good two feet behind the chairs in both rooms.

Below is our proposal for this living room - ignore the color and style of the furniture, we did a quick and dirty rendering.

We’re not working with actual room measurements, so the idea above is general. We would add 1-2 chairs in front of the larger cased opening and one smaller chair in the corner by the fireplace. And, bonus, a pouf by the chair near the fireplace could double as extra seating.

And, because we can’t help ourselves, we would recommend removing the sconces above the fireplace mantel (or relocating them farther apart) and add a mirror.

Armchair - $600

Woven Accent Chair - $200

Pouf - $105

Round Mirror - $80

Put a tall plant on the opposite side of the fireplace and a beautiful throw blanket over the back of one of the upholstered armchairs - transformation complete.

While we’re not taking anymore submissions for free Designer for a Day advice, we’re always taking submissions for ideas on blog posts. So, get creative. We’re all ears.

- Leah

*This post contains affiliate links*

Our Plan to Support the Black Community

We have developed a clear, action based plan for being better allies and showing tangible support for the black community in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. And we are spelling it out today. As Gray Oak Studio grows each year, we will look back on this plan, we will hold ourselves accountable and we will make bigger and better plans. We want our family/friends/followers/clients/colleagues/vendors (EVERYONE) to know that we aren’t just passionate about design, we’re passionate about creating a business that we can be proud of on all levels.

1. We will continue to amplify black voices.

We know that putting a black square on our Instagram feed and staying silent for a week to make way for black content creators to be seen and heard is great. We also know that this must be a day-to-day practice and not a one time effort. We have always featured noteworthy creatives on our Instagram stories, paying close attention to those accounts with less than 10k followers. We will now also pay close attention to those accounts with black content creators. Our shoutouts will be thoughtfully and purposefully diverse.

2. We will specify vendors who have shown tangible support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

Like you, we have been paying attention to those who have shown loud and clear messages of anti-racism. We have been happy and hopeful to see so many. Here are a few examples:

• Interior Define has put together a concrete plan to diversify the makeup of their workforce and will close their offices on Election Day to make it easy for their employees to vote for change.

• Framebridge has created three working groups to support black artists, partner with change-driven organizations and create internships for persons of color.

• Brooklinen has donated money to Black Lives Matter, Campaign Zero and Act Blue Bail Funds as well as matched donations by their employees. They also created a publicly accessible list of anti-racism resources.

We will purposefully specify these vendors for our projects. We want to partner with and support companies that have social justice policies in line with our own. Please share any company who has impressed you with a powerful anti-racism message and plan in the comments below. We want to add them to our list.

3. We will feature a furnishing/item of decor/etc. from a black owned business in every project.

We are also compiling a list of black owned companies, black artists and black artisans. Every Gray Oak Studio project will feature at least one black owned business. Whether it’s the paint on the walls (Clare.com), the upholstery fabric (Bole Road Textiles) or the soap…in a beautiful dish by the sink (Simply Good Soap), we will take time to shout out the product and tell you about the artist/shop/creator.

Stay healthy, stay informed, and stay tuned…we have A LOT of amazing projects to share over the next few weeks.

- Leah + Sonia