Have a seat!

Have a seat!

One of my most important goals when working with a client is to maximize the seating potential in the living room. All too often people, many decorators included, fall back on the sofa, loveseat, chair combo dropped smack in the middle of the room regardless of what the space is.

I was working with a delightful couple in St. Louis a few years ago when she asked me to take a look at her living room. It had been “done” by her previous decorator but never really felt finished. The room is a gracious 16’ X 28’ with a center fireplace and 4 large windows letting in lots of gorgeous light. The far end has French doors leading out to a screen porch. Sure enough, one sofa, two upholstered chairs and two small accent chairs were the only seating in this room and to make matters worse, the sofa and large chairs were upholstered a matching print fabric. The side chairs had garish pink satin upholstery. A large herringbone sisal rug did anchor the room nicely but left lots of wide open space.

The first thing to address was the layout. I left the sofa on the wall opposite the fireplace and the two large chairs flanking the hearth but recovered them in sky blue linen velvet for richness and contrast. A cozy faux bamboo ottoman ties these together. A new plush lounge chair in sumptuous leopard velvet epingle from France now sits by the sofa. I then banished the pink satin, replacing it with a small scale silk taffeta check. These two chairs now sit in front of the two front windows to be pulled into the room as needed. The open area in front of the French doors was ample to do a second seating area using a small scale tufted sofa in camel colored English wool damask. Two new Regency armchairs flank this sofa with an antique tea table in front. I salvaged the original fabric from the large chairs for new cushions on these chairs. These two seating areas work well independently as well as together for larger gatherings. And I upped the seating capacity by 5 -6 additional seats.

The next step was adding some texture, pattern and color in the form of area rugs under each seating group. These sit directly on top of the flat sisal and really add dramatic detail. The larger Turkish rug was chosen to contrast the light yellow walls and sofa, pulling out the deeper colors from the sofa print. The smaller antique Persian rug is an unexpected contrast with intricate patterns, vivid colors and rich feel. These are a perfect example of two items not matching but totally complimenting each other.

Last, I banished the “circus tent” curtains! The colors may have been a “perfect” match but often that only leads to disaster. The skimpy panels on too low rods had bright gold painted finials. All in all, too bright, too cheap, too matchy. I searched for about 4 months to find the perfect softly colored silk taffeta stripe that would complement the room’s colors but not overtake the whole. I had my workroom take the curtains all the way to the ceiling for height and added fullness. A total of 60 yards went into these but the end result is soft, warm and elegant. A custom made trim finishes these perfectly.

My client was absolutely thrilled with the end results. Over time, we upgraded lamps, accessories and artwork. This is a room always being tweaked and added to, the way great rooms in great homes are.