Living Room Ideas
This airy ground-floor space is where the family relax and watch TV. The original sash window floods it with light. A large marble fireplace has been restored. “The grey colour on the walls was chosen to tone down the marble fireplace, which is huge,” Hamilton says. “It also actually helps scale down what is a big room.” Ottoman and sofa: Sofa.com; lamp shade: Graham and Green; rugs: French Connection
Martini anyone? The built-in bar adds a James Bond edge, along with a cosy reading nook with cushioned daybed. In fact, this wall of joinery panelling is super clever as, in addition to providing storage, it conceals the stairs. “The owners really make the most of the house and entertain a lot – this room is great for drinks parties,” Hamilton says
This was originally the main hall, a dead space now reclaimed as a rather grand ‘winter sitting room’, complete with library panelling and fire. Painting the skirting boards the same colour as the walls is a smart interiors trick. “It makes for ‘taller’ walls as they aren’t being broken by white skirting,” Hamilton says. The original floorboards were sanded back and stained. Walls painted in ‘Royal Navy’: Valspar; yellow chairs: Swoon Editions; chandelier: House Junkie; table: Rockett St George; wall sconces: Abigail Ahern
Chimney placement Where chimneys rise out of the roof from is dictated by the location of the fireplace(s) inside the house. In older heritage homes – particularly Victorian and worker’s cottages – chimneys are located towards the interior of the home, as rooms in these houses tend to look inwards towards fireplaces on interior walls. On the other hand, the rooms in California bungalows look outward towards the garden. As such, their chimneys were placed along exterior walls and expressed as large masonry elements, or roughcast with terracotta chimney pots.
The living room on the fifth floor has another old sandstone chimney, and the decor is a tribute to Le Corbusier, featuring his famous sofa. Pictures from a calendar by Pietro Orazio give the unfinished wall a touch of colour. The lighting for this room consists of built-in fixtures. It was possible to do this because the ceiling needed to be renovated anyway, since the original stone structure wasn’t stable and had cracks on the surface. Gabetta reinforced it by first creating a metal skeleton, then injecting resin in cracks and between the stones to give them added stability and finally securing them with wire mesh. “The spaces are fluid and liveable, and even though they are huge, you have the feeling that everything is within arm’s reach. Family heirlooms on the one hand and designer furniture on the other make this house warm and comfortable,” says photographer Francesca Pagliai. “The tower, isolated in the countryside and exposed to light on each side, is very bright, adding the element of spectacular light in each room.”
Take over a wall The modular shelving unit here is simple, stylish and extremely practical. The designer has installed a classic system right along the wall for the owners to use as they wish. Smaller gaps at the bottom are perfect for small books and CDs, while larger spaces at the top are for taller tomes and displaying ornaments. The brackets allow the shelves to be moved up and down whenever necessary, so the whole thing is wonderfully flexible.
7. Pop in some cube shelving… For an extra element on your modular shelving, mix things up with the addition of box shelves. Here, a row of rectangular shelves with sliding glass panels adds a cool design feature. You don’t have to use glass-fronted shelves; instead go for classic cube shelves that are available from many retailers. Line books up along the top, and use the box to frame a vignette of ornaments.
8. Double up on dining spots Although designed for all seasons, the convenience of ready-to-go alfresco dining is undeniable when dealing with the unpredictable authumn weather. Here, with the sliding doors opened up, the outdoor dining area is seamlessly linked to the kitchen for easy entertaining. The muted mix of modern smoked-oak and cappuccino-coloured cabinets allows the verdant garden to really pop, while a gleaming glass splashback reflects extra light.
10. Hide it behind doors For families, the kitchen is usually a place of happy chaos and many worry about adding a TV to the mix. However, if space permits, cupboard doors can be effectively used to hide the TV in this space. Wheeler Kearns Architects designed this family home to include a TV in the open kitchen/living area. The doors fold back and stack to the sides of the cupboard, giving the family the choice to either have the TV on display or neatly stashed away behind closed doors.
7. Tuck it away Brett Mickan has successfully taken the attention away from the TV in this compact living room. Attention is initially drawn to the colours and textures of the soft furnishings and then to fireplace rather than the TV, which is neatly tucked away in the left corner of the room, in case you can’t see it. Many people would have been tempted to place the TV above the fireplace, but by going against the grain, this room announces itself as a living/entertainment space first and foremost.
6. Disguise it as a view Bring your favourite view into the living room by displaying it on the screen of your TV. This is one of the rare cases when the bigger the TV, the better. In our digital age, this idea is easy to implement and can be tailored to your individual interests. When guests are coming over, wow them with a sunny harbour view or a lush green meadow that can easily make way for that rugby game in the evening. Tip: Static images such as the one in the picture above can be found through Apple TV.
5. Hide it on a swivel Bookcase by day, media unit by night; this is an unconventional but effective way to hide the TV. In this home, Martha O’Hara Interiors designed an innovative and efficient joinery system that does double duty in response to the clients’ brief to hide the TV. Out of sight, out of mind. Tip: Engage a qualified cabinetmaker and use good hardware to build something similar if you want it to last the distance. Remember, that swivel mechanism may get used several times a day.
3. Black it out A tried and tested way to make the TV disappear is to camouflage it into the surrounding wall. Paint the back wall a dark colour such as navy, charcoal or warm black – or use wallpaper as in this photo – and your TV will seem to merge into the background. In this living room, the dark feature wall and matching joinery add sophistication and moodiness to the room. This is a good solution for those wanting to avoid the obtrusiveness of TVs and of having to fiddle with cabinet doors. Tip: Use seagrass or a woven wallpaper in a dark hue on the back wall for added texture and warmth.
2. Create a new focal point Instead of giving your TV the prime position, make an architectural feature such as a fireplace the focus. In this living room, designed by Jennifer Weiss Architecture, the eye is drawn to the detailing and height of the chimney breast instead of the adjacent TV. By keeping them in similar colours and shape, continuity of design is achieved but the TV is an auxiliary addition rather than the main drawcard.
. Conceal it behind art When it comes to hiding your TV, a large piece of art is the perfect partner in crime. Set on a retractable slide, this system allows you to display a beautiful artwork rather than having the dark presence of a television front and centre. Even though the TV is tucked away, the sliding panel makes it easily accessible. This iconic photograph of Winston Churchill by Yousuf Karsh (1941) captures Churchill’s wry smile and holds special meaning for the home owners. Tip: If you are setting up a retractable-slide system, ensure the panel is larger than the TV itself and fill the entire space with the artwork. This will create scale, drama and a new focal point in the room.
To create the calm, coastal feel the owners wanted, Andjelkovic and interior designer Malise Sassano opted for a relatively neutral palette of materials with “weathered timber furniture pieces, woven rugs, linen and accessories in white and blues with a soft beach aesthetic”, Andjelkovic says. The shiplap panelling on the stairwell wall serves as a backdrop to the landing’s sitting area. “It’s an adaptation of classic Hamptons panelling,” Andjelkovic says.
Nothing beats a classic fireplace, especially one with open bricks and beam. The stove keeps it cosy and avoids the hassle of an open fire. However, this isn’t actually an original feature but it’s done so cleverly, you’d never know. “The fireplace was put in with careful planning to make sure it looked like an original part of the house, and the client hand-picked the reclaimed beams,” White says.
Westwood Sofa: Moran; sofa upholstered in ‘Ivory Aristotle’ fabric: Warwick Fabrics; plantation shutters: Sublime Shutters; Mink chairs: Molmic Vivian; lamps: Coco Republic
The most luxurious purchase made for this room was the custom-made coffee table by Mark Tuckey that, “helped ground the space in a way that any other coffee table couldn’t have,” says Delaney.
On the other side of this fireplace is the second living area. The fireplace and mantel were existing and the natural timber mantel was given a clear coat of varnish. Exposed wooden beams originally ran across the ceiling from the kitchen to the living area. These were removed to allow the space to feel more open and to keep a consistent ceiling plane from room to room.
Seabreeze Kitchens designed the kitchen space, keeping those soft blue hues intact. Delaney suggests embracing colour or texture when renovating. Parisian light fixtures: Schots Emporium; custom cabinets: Seabreeze Kitchens; kitchen island painted in ‘Miles’: Dulux; kitchen stools: Green Cathedral; flooring: Marco Polo; tiles: Academy Tiles
Attention getter Paint colours can be a great way to draw the eye where you want it and away from where you don’t; here the deep shade of blue serves to highlight the bright white shelving and pretty display items.
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