living room Archives - Emily A. Clark

I Bought a Patterned Sofa. . .

May292019

And I love it. After weeks of going back and forth over whether I wanted to commit to a patterned sofa, I pushed “complete my order” and just did it. I knew it was probably meant to be when I couldn’t find it on the site for a quick minute and started sweating. Once it arrived, I liked it in the room even more than I expected.

Before the change, you might remember we had two matching IKEA slipcovered sofas. To change up the look, I moved one of them upstairs to our playroom. I also added a wingback in a modern stripe on the other side of the fireplace. (My 10-year-old asked me why none of our furniture matched. Because I don’t want it to!)

Here was my thought process when choosing to go for the pattern over a new solid sofa:

Our IKEA Ektorp in the beige cover helps to balance it out.

The pattern is busy but a geometric is a little less of a statement than a bold floral, for example. It helps that it’s only blue and white vs. multicolor.

It’s all about scale. I can still pair it with other patterns (floral, animal prints, etc.). And a solid pillow or two helps to break up the mix.

And yes, I did order it online without sitting on it first. (I live on the edge like that.) It’s deeper than I expected and really comfortable. The arms definitely are not cushy so we use the bigger pillows with down inserts on the ends. I can vouch for it being a good napping couch and I’m loving the clean, modern lines next to the more traditional, rolled arms of the slipcovered one.

The good news is that this sofa comes in a ton of colors (and has a sleeper option). The bad news is that the pattern I bought was already sold out by the time mine was delivered. (I did find this pillow in a similar print if you just want to add a little pattern.)

My Layered Mantel (Step by Step)

Apr162019

I can only live with one look so long and recently changed up our mantel from a simple, symmetrical look to something more layered. I started with leaning frames, adding just enough accessories on each side so that it feels balanced. I’m also loving the glow of the small lamp at night. (Thankfully, we have an outlet right beside of our mantel. I just ignore the clear cord since it’s semi-hidden behind the chair.)

I ordered one of the art prints from Etsy and used a vintage frame I’ve had for a while. The diagonal print is the easiest DIY, and it’s in a large IKEA Ribba frame.

And, because sometimes pictures (and video) are better than words. . . You can watch a quick step by step of how I layered our mantel (and hearth) here.

Looking for something else? See more sources for my home here.

Simplifying the Design: Dark Green Living Room

Jan162019

It’s been a while since I’ve done a “scaling down the design” post. I’m changing the name but the concept is the same. I take a designer room that would probably feel a little beyond most people’s comfort zones and break down how you might simplify the design for your home, taking some of the elements and using them in different ways. This dark green living room designed by Melanie Turner (and featured in Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles) is bold, cozy and has a lot of great elements to play up.

I love the way she covered every surface (walls, trim and fireplace) with the moody green, using high contrast accessories, warm wood tones and modern art. I can envision a scaled down version of this room also being perfect for a small study or home office.

I’d play up the yellow gold in the original design with a pair of small slipper chairs and keep things more casual by foregoing the drapery and using woven shades, also in a gold tone. (These are the same ones I used in my house.)

The original room uses a chocolate velvet sofa. I substituted a dark brown leather one because I’m sure some of you have something similar you’re trying to work with and again, because it gives off a more casual vibe.

The high contrast art is important. I found a couple of examples from Minted that you can order as oversized prints.

There are several touches of brass throughout. I used this pretty (and affordable) pineapple chandelier that looks vintage.

I love the burl wood coffee table, but they’re pricy and hard to find. I substituted trays instead, layered on a clean white coffee table.

With so much going on in the room, I’d duplicate the simple woven rug, using something like my go-to jute.

And a reminder that you can always take inspiration from a space, but put your own twist on it. . . Here are a few other accent colors besides gold that that you might try with this color scheme. (As you can see, I think the tiger print works as a neutral.)