An Edwardian Home Gets a Bold New Living Room
Geometric wallpaper, sociable seating and cocooning color create a place for escape and relaxation
“Give me a room I can drink gin in!” was the request to designer Karen Knox from the owners of this semidetached Edwardian house in the North Yorkshire region of England. Despite its fabulous period features, the living room at the front of the home was bland and empty-looking. With building work on the agenda and busy 9-to-5 jobs, the owners wanted a room to get away from it all — somewhere to take it easy and listen to music. Items of furniture they wanted to keep and a taste for geometrics also formed the basis for the high-style makeover.
Before. This photo shows the fireplace in its original context. The owners didn’t love it, but it was too good to take out.
As you can see in the next photo, Knox replaced the hearth with new tiles. “They are antique tiles sourced from eBay,” she says. “We were looking for something in keeping with the period of the property, but something that also had the blue [and] yellow accents in it to tie in with the rest of the scheme.”
As you can see in the next photo, Knox replaced the hearth with new tiles. “They are antique tiles sourced from eBay,” she says. “We were looking for something in keeping with the period of the property, but something that also had the blue [and] yellow accents in it to tie in with the rest of the scheme.”
After. Knowing the owners’ liking for geometrics and their color preferences, and with the coffee table in mind too, Knox picked the statement wallpaper and wanted to use it all round the room.
The suggestion met some initial reluctance, but the owners put their faith in the designer. “I didn’t want the ceiling to appear too high, so a horizontal design was perfect,” Knox says. A touch of glamour was a must as well, and the gold detailing in the paper fits the bill. The gold also ties in with the coffee table.
Wallpaper: Lines, Ferm Living
The suggestion met some initial reluctance, but the owners put their faith in the designer. “I didn’t want the ceiling to appear too high, so a horizontal design was perfect,” Knox says. A touch of glamour was a must as well, and the gold detailing in the paper fits the bill. The gold also ties in with the coffee table.
Wallpaper: Lines, Ferm Living
The owners were keen to showcase the home’s original features, so they took out the room’s carpet and stripped the floorboards themselves.
“They spent a week on them, but they were glad they went to the effort,” Knox says.
Chair: Ekenäset, Ikea
What to Know Before Refinishing Your Floors
“They spent a week on them, but they were glad they went to the effort,” Knox says.
Chair: Ekenäset, Ikea
What to Know Before Refinishing Your Floors
A geometric rug reflects the graphic pattern of the wallpaper. “It adds lightness to the floor and connects with the ceiling too,” Knox says. A warm off-white paint on the ceiling and above the picture rail makes a tonal difference with the brighter white on the cove molding. Meanwhile, a blue to match the wallpaper (Farrow & Ball’s Stiffkey Blue) covers the picture rail, baseboards, radiator and area around the window.
Rug: Fedro, La Redoute; paint: Matchstick (ceiling and above picture rail) and Pointing (cove molding): Farrow & Ball
Browse black-and-white geometric rugs
Rug: Fedro, La Redoute; paint: Matchstick (ceiling and above picture rail) and Pointing (cove molding): Farrow & Ball
Browse black-and-white geometric rugs
The sofas face each other in the sociable, TV-free room design. A floor lamp adds height and brings in the room’s golden-yellow accents at a different level.
Floor lamp: Euan, Habitat
Floor lamp: Euan, Habitat
The beading around the edges of the chimney — the original curved plasterwork — was painted to match the gold in the wallpaper, and the detail repeats on both sides of the window (see previous photo).
Knox included the owners’ existing accessories, such as these gold-framed postcards, in the design.
“The room doesn’t get a lot of natural light, which is fine because the owners wanted it to be cozy and they use it in the evenings,” Knox says.
However, she did want to introduce a reflective surface, and this yellow cabinet does the trick while repeating the accent shade. The glasses inside sparkle in the light.
Cabinet: Stockholm, Ikea
However, she did want to introduce a reflective surface, and this yellow cabinet does the trick while repeating the accent shade. The glasses inside sparkle in the light.
Cabinet: Stockholm, Ikea
The designer pulled together hand-me-downs and pieces from charity shops with new buys (such as the gold pineapple and trays) to accessorize the newly glamorous room.
Pineapple: John Lewis; trays: H&M
Pineapple: John Lewis; trays: H&M
Knox found a beautiful midcentury sideboard for the owners’ music for a bargain price on eBay.
Table lamp: Tribe, Marks and Spencer
Table lamp: Tribe, Marks and Spencer
The Nordium light fixture came from a local shop. “It didn’t come in gold, so we got a copper one and spray-painted it,” Knox says.
Share: Have you used a statement wallpaper in your living room? Tell us about it or, even better, show us in the Comments.
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Share: Have you used a statement wallpaper in your living room? Tell us about it or, even better, show us in the Comments.
More
See why dark navy is a stunning alternative to black
Find interior designers near you
Who lives here: A couple looking to add a touch of glamour to their home
Location: Harrogate, England
Size: 17¾ by 14 feet (5.4 by 4.3 meters)
Designer: Karen Knox of Making Spaces
Knox needed to incorporate two sofas the couple already owned and a coffee table into the living space, as well as the art hanging in the alcoves on both sides of the chimney, which had already been ordered. The furniture is relatively compact for the size of the room, so this was part of Knox’s challenge. “I wanted something that didn’t make the room feel too sparse and too cold,” she says. The blue geometric wallpaper does the job.
Sofa: Ritchie collection, Made; pillows: H&M; artwork: Andy Welland