Contemporary African Design: Colour & Pattern Insights | Eva Sonaike Blog

March: The Livingroom

Mar 07, 2013

The livingroom (also loungeroom or sittingroom) is a great room to start off this feature, as it is the most accessible and most multifunctional room in many houses. In the living room you welcome visitors, entertain guests, watch TV or relax by yourself or with family members after a hard days work. In Western architecture the livingroom is often placed at the front of the house, near the entrance, hence it is also called front room. The standard features of a livingroom are sofas, lounge chairs, occasional tables, bookshelves, and in the UK and US, many period sitting rooms come with a fireplace.

Holly Becker explains in her book Decorate, which is a must-read for any interior enthusiast: “More than any other room your living space is your nest, your sanctuary and the one space that should reflect you to the core.” I so agree with that quote. When setting up my livingroom, I wanted to put my personal stamp on it, but as it is a family room, I also had to incorporate my husband’s and children’s needs and wishes. My husband, who loves old English libraries, was desperate for a traditional Chesterfield sofa and a TV above the fireplace! This wasn’t my personal choice, but we made it work with a black Chesterfield (you may recognise it from the picture on our homepage), a tempered, bend 70s glass table, a copper Tom Dixon mirror ball lamp, a black & white Moroccan carpet, lots and lots of cushions and a beautiful large colourful painting. And voilà! This may all seem a bit mix and match, but it works! Whenever people come to our house they love our living space (I call it living space, as we transformed the downstairs part of our house into an open plan space) and feel it is cosy and stylish at the same time. Have a look at some great living room ideas below. Of course, all with a touch of colour.