The living room is undoubtedly one of the most important rooms of the house – and a real work horse, able to function as a space to read, relax, work, eat or do homework. The recipe for a perfectly furnished living room depends largely on what kind of space you have, and the type of person you are. Are you someone who will use the space for lounging around with a drink and a book in the evening? If yes, you’ll probably want a side table to rest your glass on by the sofa, and a decent lamp (floor or table) to read by. If not, then you can ignore those elements and instead look at ottomans and big sofas.
As far as living room furniture goes, there is a lot to consider but I would always start with the sofa. Once you have somewhere to rest your rump, the urgency is off – everything else can simply wait until you find the perfect piece. Unlike other furniture, I wouldn’t start bargain-hunting on Ebay for a sofa. The foams and fillers used on a lot of older, 20th-century sofas tend to sag, and the fabrics discolour. Plus, there are so many great value sofas (including sofa beds) on the high street. A safe and comfy classic would be the ‘Pudding’ by Loaf, while for bigger budgets, there are some exquisite reproduction antique pieces out there. If money were no object, my first purchase would probably be a bespoke sofa by Max Rollitt, or a piece by Humphrey Carassco, who restores and reproduces antique seating to a beautiful finish. Sofas can take up an irritating amount of space, so if you are living in a small home avoid styles that dedicate an excessive amount of it to areas that you can’t actually sit in (such as Chesterfields).
Position the sofa where you most like to sit. Usually it will be somewhere the sun slants in, or where you can look out the window. I used to live in a flat where the most logical place to put it just felt wrong; something to do with draughts, doors and human traffic. Don’t overthink it. You will gravitate to where you like to be and find yourself there anyway, leaning against the wall whilst the sofa sits in the draught, unloved. Listen to yourself, and move the sofa to a place where you will actually sit in it.
Now, work out what the ‘just right’ dimensions for the other pieces would be. The width and depth of a coffee table that won’t interrupt the opening of the door, or butt up against someone’s feet, for example. Measure any nooks that storage could slot in to. Also note standard heights: 75cm for a table, 40cm for a coffee table, just to avoid scale mistakes (the big hazard of online furniture shopping). Mock up the configuration of the room with scale drawings on a piece of A3 paper. You could even test the real dimensions of furniture with masking tape, paper or cardboard on the floor to experiment with the layout of the room.
Keep these measurements in your phone or notebook at all times, and only look for things that will fit those spots. Go to an auction site like Ebay, the online listings for your local auction house, or platforms like Decorative Collective and Vinterior. Look for character and charm, be it decorative flourishes or understated detailing.
A basic recipe for furnishing a living room
Other seating
