New beginnings what would you do?

Comments (9)

Sonia
5 years ago
You are right to step away from the black leather sofa - my pet hate! Choose brown/tan slightly distressed leather instead. the Country look is my favourite, favourite style so I understand how you feel. Kitchen wise go for classic shaker units, either hand made hand painted if the budget allows, or off the shelf as sold by many retailers like Wrens, Howdens etc. You can’t go wrong with white or pale grey units, or go bolder with green, navy or dark grey. Country style can mean soft neutrals and natural fibres like cotton or linen and florals or checks for soft furnishings. Furniture can be rustic or painted wood. One of the best stores for country style is good old Laura Ashley. Look around the store and pick up their catalogue, I think it costs £2 but it’s great for ideas. Great shop for ideas, but if budget is tight Dunelm do some lovely stuff. Soft grey is a great country colour, especially dove grey which has a pink tinge, as is soft greens and blues. Don’t forget you can paint your current furniture to give it a lift, if you have the time and inclination. Here are a few inspirational pics:
Emmanuelle
5 years ago
Exciting project! I would start by thinking about the flooring and the wall colour. Then the sofa as it is often the biggest piece of furniture in a lounge! What about a soft but moody mossy green on the walls? I think it’s a lovely neutral that goes with many colours... Above all, don’t buy all at once, but rather little by little... best advice not to make rushed expensive mistakes!
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Can you help - matching new bed to some old furniture
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My father left me a house in portugal and it has some mahogony furniture although the wardrobes are built in and I cannot remember what kind of wood they are. They look fine. it is quite minimilist and the walls are white which looks good. I was going to buy 2 double beds which were a pine wood frame simple modern design then I thought they would look out of place with the mahogany chest of drawers in one bedroom. The other bedroom only has a small table thing in mahogony which could be removed but I think it would be better to have everything the same not bitty. I have been looking at beds with fabric headboards steel grey or linen and one described as mocha with dark legs. I would like to have something neutral. I love natural wood simple modern design beds but I dont want to get rid of all the beatiful mahagony furniture so I am thinking a neutral colour like linen fabric bed with whte bed linen might look better. I am completely unable to picture it and decide. It is not much to go on but there is an example of mahogony with some of the beds for sale below. I would be very grateful for any suggestions Jill
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Positioning of furniture in living room, what do you think?
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Hi, we're trying to figure where the furniture should go in this living room. We would like to place a three seater, two seater and the television as a starting point. There is no fireplace or other focal point in the room. You also have to walk through this room to get to the kitchen so the furniture cannot block this route. There is a deep alcove on the left of the room where we would like to put a small work station with shelves on the wall above the desktop. Would you hang the television on the long wall or put it in the corner opposite the workstation alcove? We could put a three seater under the window but where to place a two seater is a problem. We need more seating than one couch can supply. Any ideas? Thank you
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Juliet Docherty
5 years ago
The most important thing in a house in my opinion is the light and the atmosphere. I really think it's a good idea to wait and see what type of house you get before you commit to decisions. Some places suit certain colours and others that have beautiful features may require a more simple approach. In terms of buying a sofa, I would go for a really good quality leather which is structured and looks light rather than too blocky. We have G plan vintage sofas, and although pricey they haven't aged a day. Everything that we see all over Instagram will pass, so look to older design books such as Terence Conran's house book to see what has stood the test of time such as parquet or real wood floors, functional kitchens and good windows.

Good design doesn't date and so it shouldn't.
Carolina
5 years ago
Hi,

Having looked at your ideabook, I think that what the photos you've saved have in common is this: cosy rooms, with light colours like soft grey/green, a little bit of blue and earthy colours, natural fabrics (I don't see that much leather), cushions, flowery prints, but nothing twee. I also see clean lined storage furniture. So I think you're probably not drawn towards the full on country cottage look, but more of a mix of clean lined cabinets and a soft looking sofa with lots of cushions.
Steph Obrien
Original Author
5 years ago
Hi

Carolina, Yes, I'm not so fond of a leather couch anymore, find them too cold. if one is right then perhaps I could be persuaded. to be honest the storage furniture is more because I have a partner that likes everything hidden, and two young kids or it could just be specific features that i like from the pictures, i'm yet to see a picture that is my ideal living room. and the fires, I love a good rustic fire, so there's probably a lot of them saved! I do love the natural effect, I Love plants and have plenty unusual exotic succulents and cacti,

Emmanuelle, thanks for the advise I learned that the hard way, the couch was a rushed decision swayed by the salesman, because we had a newborn - easy clean, quick delivery. which is why I am looking for inspiration now to get some idea of what I want so there isn't a mad dash to the shops for the first couch available. I do love the soft greens and blues, but I also love teal.

forzaitalia thank you, that is the kitchen of my dreams! the colour and style (even the beams but that probably wont be feasible where we are buying). Laura Ashley is my favourite shop and is actually why I Love the country cottage/farmhouse feel plus my great grandparents stayed in a beautiful little farmhouse in Ireland and it was the best.

colourhappy, That's what I thought with the instagram side, which is why I'm hesitant to go for inspiration there, I will have a look at that book you suggest, if I'm not going for a leather couch, which colour of sofa do you suggest?
Carolina
5 years ago
Shop around, don't decide the first time you see something you like. Go home, think about it, measure whether it will fit where you'd like it (sofas generally look smaller in the shop than they do in your home). Go back. Test it out again, is it still comfortable? Don't get the table and the cabinet and the side table that are displayed in the shop with that particular sofa that you like. Unless you really love it. Just because it is displayed like that, doesn't mean that there isn't anything else that goes with that sofa. And usually everything matching looks bland and without personality.

But you've probably figured all this out already :-)

Take your time. You have furniture, you can look around for the items you really love.
Jonathan
5 years ago
Looking at you ideas book I don’t think you have settled on country as a style- in fact other than tending towards lighter colours than you have described in your current house there is not yet an identifiable theme.
But don’t worry that won’t happen until you have actually found your new house and understand the proportions you are dealing with and the light you have.
So I think the way to approach this is to think about the house your budget is likely to buy and what size rooms you are likely to get and then set up ideas books for those rooms.
Say for instance you decide you might well end up in a modern detached house in the suburbs- you might decide that the living room will likely be 16’x12’ and in turn start looking for images of rooms that include sofas and other furniture that would fit in there and when you have a lot of appropriate images you will have a much clearer shopping list when the time comes. You can then think about kitchen and bedrooms in the same way- don’t forget you can have lots of ideas books with different names.
PRO
OnePlan
5 years ago
I have put together an ideabook with some of the pictures I’d use as inspiration in a new home if to were to buy another place and start from scratch... I can’t seem to link to it ( I’m on the app) but if you click on my icon - it’s on my pro page ideabook, under ‘great colours working well together ‘ you are welcome to have a scootch through !

Ireland

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New beginnings what would you do?

Juliet Docherty

Comments (9)

Sonia

Emmanuelle

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New beginnings what would you do?

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