I LIKE TO HAVE A TIDY KITCHEN BUT I AM NOT TOO BOTHERED ABOUT MY ROOM OR LIVING ROOM ETC. MY THEORY IS THAT WHEN IT’S UNTIDY I FEEL COMFORTABLE, LIKE IT FEELS LIVED IN. Dominic Monaghan
The main purpose of the Sitting Room is to provide somewhere comfortable for people to sit – to provide a space to sit down and relax. It might be to have a good chat with a friend or two over a cup of tea, or to provide a place for people to sit down after dinner, or to watch a good film, or to curl up with a good book. Consequently, it should be a space which is comfortable, relaxing and inviting.
Somewhere to Sit
As with the other ‘rooms’ in my living area, the Sitting Room is an area of the open-plan living space which I have sectioned off using two sofas at right angles to each other.
One sofa is from IKEA and has a lovely, old-fashioned, red cottage-rose pattern all over it, which the big, white walls can handle.
The beautiful reds, pinks and greens in this sofa give a gorgeous country cottage feel to the sitting room.
This red cushion came with the second sofa I bought (below), but I thought it looked a bit plain. I hand-stitched a red felt heart onto a left-over piece of Laura Ashley and then stitched this on to the cushion to create a unique cover which complemented the red tones in the IKEA sofa.
Create unique cushion covers which match your sofas by sewing complementary fabrics onto existing covers.
This second sofa is a sofa-bed, which I was really pleased to find in a Charity shop. I thought that the solid colour was a bit boring, so I covered the seat cushions with a thick pink blanket and the back cushions with this gorgeous crocheted blanket, which was also a brilliant Charity shop bargain at just £3.
Change the appearance of sofas and chairs using colourful blankets and throws.
Combine clashing patterns and striking colours for bold furnishing touches.
Storage
This wooden toybox provides a brilliant space to store blankets and board games and the cosy quilt on top creates an excellent extra seat when needed. I found the toybox in a Charity shop and bought the quilt on eBay. Both were excellent bargains and add to the country cottage feel of the sitting room.
Look for pieces of furniture that double up to offer clever storage solutions.
Something to Read
I love getting stuck into a good book and find slipping into someone else’s story for an afternoon and seeing the world from a different perspective a brilliant way to unwind. For a selection of some of the different books that I have recently enjoyed reading, have a look here.
Use excess space on bookshelves to display ornaments alongside your favourite books.
Along with books, I love a good magazine, especially when it is filled with ideas about how to decorate or furnish my home. The paper basket was a bargain at 20p at a Village Fete a few years ago and I have tied a head scarf around the rim to make it a bit more interesting. I have filled the basket with catalogues of beautiful fabrics and furnishings and magazines which inspire me.
Two of the magazines I love are the bi-monthly, Vintage-inspired Pretty Nostalgic, which is full of British-based businesses and includes gorgeous images and inspiring ideas to help you return to “vintage ways”, and The English Home, a gorgeous glossy mag which has beautiful images and interesting articles about the “essence of English style”.
Save magazines which inspire you and decorate old baskets with scarves or fabric scraps.
Arts and Crafts
As well as reading, I love turning my hand to anything arty or crafty as a way to unwind and relax. As such, I have saved a corner of my sitting room for my sewing endeavours. The wooden sewing box was a recent birthday gift and the sewing basket is one that I have had since I was a child (I think it was also a birthday present from my 6th or 7th birthday!)
Use a range of baskets and vintage boxes to store all of your sewing things in a pretty and practical way.
Collect a range of fabrics from different places – vintage fairs, charity shops, independent retailers, even old clothes – so you always have an interesting range to choose from.
I love Cath Kidston and Kirstie Allsopp’s range of sewing books for excellent ideas and inspiration. Have a look at my latest handmade projects here.
Pictures and Paintings
I have several pictures in the sitting room which I have painted myself. I like displaying my own artwork, as each piece is unique and reminds me of a particular place or a time.
This picture is one that I painted of the moors in Northumberland, which hangs in my Sitting Room as a reminder of one of my favourite places.
Save postcards and photographs of favourite places to display around your home and remind you of special times.
This is another of my paintings, which reminds me of the sea, where I love spending as much time as possible in the holidays.
If you don’t paint or draw yourself, collect artwork which you like and which reflects your character to make your home more personal.
This painting isn’t of anywhere in particular, but I think it has a real sense of freedom to it.
These pictures are from a variety of different places – look out for your own pictures in unusual places and save images that you like, from cards, postcards, magazines, newspapers, calendars, even wrapping paper. Clockwise from top left: the first picture is a postcard I picked up in London; the two pictures in the next frame are pictures from an old Edward Hopper calendar (one of my favourite artists); the third picture was from a National Trust magazine, and the fourth vintage-style photo was from a fashion-shoot in ‘Elle’ magazine. The frames were all from Wilkinsons and cost no more than £1.50 each.
Collect pictures from different places and display them together to create an overall feel.
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