Let's talk sofas

Yes I know that’s a huge topic, but it’s important to get the right one or ones isn’t it?  They’re not something we buy every day, so we need to get it right. And if you’re anything like me, it’s a piece of furniture that gets used everyday.

We currently have leather sofas, a two-seater and a three-seater in brown leather.  They’re almost ten years old now and if I’m honest have seen better days.  

But where to start identifying replacements?

As you’ll know from the hunt for dining room chairs I like to have an idea of what I’m after before I head to the shops. So the four things I’ve considered for our replacement sofas are:

1. Size

It sounds obvious doesn’t it, but you’d be surprised by how many sofas I’ve fallen for and then once we’ve measured just don’t fit in the space we have.  I saw a beautiful sofa a few years ago in a shop in Taunton of all places, don’t ask me why we were looking at sofas so far from home.  

It was a grey patterned sofa and gorgeous. But too big.  I got as far as taking the measurements and asking about delivery before I admitted this sofa wasn’t going to workBut then my investigations took on a new tack and I pored over websites to find the material.  I found it and had samples sent and my plan was to have our new sofas covered with this fabric.  

Of course that didn’t happen - and I’m lucky that we’d already measured our existing sofas and the space around them or otherwise I think I’d have been very close to an impulse buy that day in Taunton!  And now I’m glad it didn’t work out as I’m not sure the pattern I fell in love with really had the longevity I was after.

2. Layout and function

It’s worth considering what you want from your sofa.  Does it need to incorporate a spare bed for example.  Ours doesn’t but it’s worth considering.  We’re happy too with the two seater and three seater approach, even though there are many modern corner sets available.

3. Design

As I said before, our current sofas are brown leather, this time though we’re looking for a fabric finish.  They looked smart, were cool to sit on which was welcome in the summer (less so in winter!) and you might be wondering why we’re after something different this time.  

Partly that’s for a change, but it’s also because we hope the fabric sofas will absorb sounds more than leather.  This may not be a consideration for you but with a wooden floor and an open spiral staircase MOH is always encouraging more soft furnishings here.  It’s not that he’s a cushion fiend, but he says it makes his hifi sound less boomy.  Yes dear.

Instead of the large floral pattern I fell in love with in Taunton, we’re aiming for something more neutral but something that adds some texture to the room.  I might be setting myself up for another challenge here, but I’m hoping not.

4. Style

Now this is the big one. MOH chose our current sofas so I’m hoping for the casting vote this time round!  Thankfully we are both on the same lines, neither of us are pining for frilly and flouncy sofas. We’re after one with clean lines, that is functional and still looks good.It needs to be comfortable, to have enough of an arm to rest on, but not too much that it's tempting to rest a cup of tea on and be able to live through some minor decorating. 

That’s not too much to ask is it?

I've been looking online for inspiration, and these sofas from Habitat are what I think I'm looking for and the Chester sofa is just what I had in mind. There's a two seater and three seater version, so it could work.

CHESTER SOFA BY HABITAT
Image source: Habitat

CHESTER SOFA BY HABITAT
Image source: Habitat

But neutral’s boring!

No, it’s not or it doesn’t have to be. 

Not everything in our home needs to be bright, colourful or bling.  If you look at most rooms, and especially those in magazines most of the room, often seventy percent, is the room’s dominant colour with just thirty percent of a secondary and accent colour, which can be added through accessories such as cushions and throws.

MY SOFA, THE THROW IS STAYING WHEN WE REPLACE THEM

Now I have a plan of what I’m after I’m looking forward to the shopping!  What does your perfect sofa look like?

This is a collaborative post but all opinions are my own

A bathroom full of glamour

Today I'm sharing another room set from this year's Ideal Home Show.  I shared the kitchen last week, so thought I'd stick with functional rooms and show you the bathroom.  And it's a glamorous one at that, with a distinctive touch of Art Deco.

It's also huge - and that makes it unlike most of our bathrooms - but I think the concepts would work in the majority of bathrooms, whatever the size.  And as they say, the smaller the bathroom the bolder you should go.

The information about this GoodHomes Roomset said that it'd "been inspired by the soft colours of candy floss and putty."  Hmmm, I can see what they mean, but i wonder where they got that inspiration from?

The Art Deco touches  - the brass fittings and shower head and the beautiful free standing, what looks like a trolley, used as storage - complete the room and give it personality and warmth.

The marble-style flooring and modern tiles are a great backdrop for the standalone bath. I like the style of this one and think I much prefer the modern shaped baths to the claw footed ones.  Not that either of my bathrooms could accommodate either of these.  We looked at a house once that had a large bathroom, and while it was nice it did feel as if it was too luxurious on space.  We later discovered they'd converted a bedroom, and that made sense.  We didn't buy the house (obviously) the garden was a courtyard and I think we had bigger rugs than it.

What do you think?  Is this style something you'd do in your bathroom?  Or like me, is your bathroom too small for much of this?

An industrial-chic - or beautility - kitchen

As well as The Houses at the Ideal Home Show there's also a series of Roomsets, which I think are one of my favourite parts of the show. This year was no different and today instead of showing you the next House, I'm skipping to the Beautility Kitchen - it's fab.

The Roomsets were created by Good Homes Magazine and there's some lovely things in each of the rooms. The kitchen - or Beautility Kitchen as they named it - has an industrial-chic look which is this season's trend. The blurb alongside the room said you could "create this chic look with a grown-up industrial edgy by mixing matt and metallic finishes with black details."

This is what they mean.

It's an unusual looking kitchen, but one I'm mostly a fan of - and I don't normally go for too much blue.  I like the dark sideboard above, but I'm not sure how practical it'd be.  There are a lot of drawers if you ask me - in my kitchen I have two drawers, and both of those are hidden drawers inside units.  So it's safe to say I'm not a fan of drawers in kitchens.  Our previous kitchen had several, one of which had unknown junk in, which we never knew what to do with.  (Well in the end we just threw it all out!)

I'm also not sure how practical the open shelf would be at the bottom of the units.  I think they look great, but agreed with MOH when he said they'd be a dust magnet - he's the master of dust in this house (yay!)

The wooden clock and picture, I think add texture and warmth, especially against the light turquoise walls.  And they're a nice quirky touch too, aren't they?

A darker turquoise is used for a wall of units, and I think the handles on these emphasise the industrial look.  The wood flooring is darker than I'd have thought it would be too, but I think it needs something strong to complement the rest of the room.

But that's not all that's industrial.  Just look at that extractor fan - isn't it fab.  Obviously it won't go in my high-gloss kitchen but it looks so right here.  In fact we were drawn to lots of rusty metal at the show, so perhaps our subconscious is telling us something.

The worktop above looks like concrete - and it's absolutely right for this look. We considered a concrete topped table, and they're definitely worth a look and are much smoother than you'd expect.

I also liked the unusual choice of under unit lights and the open shelf unit above it, for me they completed the look - and that Grains as Mains is a cookbook that appeals too.

What do you think of the kitchen? Is it a look you'd go for in your kitchen?