Displaying posts labeled "Living Room"

Just as our first white house celebrated it’s stylish simplicity so does this contemporary house on Sydney’s northern beaches. Even though it doesn’t sit in a field of waving grasses tree tops and expansive blue sky are captured through a feature celestory window. Light and airy, open plan living perfect for the Australian climate. Skylight House by Rachel Hudson Architecture.

Far from the basic shelters built for farm labourers on large estates this bothy was the charming home of interior designer John Tanner. Maximalist and traditional in style the tiny cottage shows that small space living does not need to be pared back and sterile. Beautiful, individual and dramatic.

Photography by Christopher Horwood

I can’t make up my mind what I love more … the warm, caramel colour palette, the stunning spiral staircase, the stylish yet serene bathroom or the wonderful outdoor entertaining areas. Toluca Lake Residence by Los Angeles based Rios Clementi Hale Studios.

A few months ago the folks at Eternity Modern emailed us about a blog feature. I had not heard of this company before so I took a look around their website and was delighted to know they are headquartered in Vancouver (Canadian eh!) and have an appreciation for some of the best classic mid-century designs. They carry sofas, lounge chairs, dining tables and chairs, sideboards, office chairs and more, of the designs of geniuses like Hans Wegner, Eero Saarinen, Le Corbusier, Finn Juhl, Warren Platner and many more. I was asked to review a product from their shop and I wasn’t sure what to choose at first, until I came across their version of the Noguchi Freeform sofa & ottoman. I have dreamt of owning a curved sofa for quite some time, and knew I would never come across one in the wild here in Ottawa, land of some of the most boring vintage furniture, so as soon as I spotted this sofa I was sold.

The 9 or so weeks I had to wait for my sofa to be made based on my fabric selection were the longest 9 weeks of my life. Selecting fabrics was a bit agonizing too – Eternity Modern has options for this piece of either bouclé wool, cashmere or velvet (or custom, using your own fabric!). They will send along fabric samples which is VERY handy to help with the decision making process. Given the amount of cats I have I knew velvet would be ideal for me (so easy to wipe the fur off!), but picking colours was tough. I was torn between rose mauve and ginger cider for the base and ottoman but after asking on Instagram it seemed the ginger cider was the winner. I then chose slate pebble for the back rest. That done I started thinking about furniture placement in my living room. This sofa is rather large – a little over 10 feet long. and it ranges in width from left to right to form the curve so it’s the perfect sofa to have at an angle. The ottoman is no slouch at almost 4 feet long.

I realized once it arrived that I would have to rearrange the entire room to fit it at the longer end as it really it quite large and needs a fair amount of space. The photo below shows an “aerial” view (me standing on a chair) so you can really get an idea of the curves. It is absolutely gorgeous.

And I have to say it’s really well made.The velvet is beautiful and I hope wears well over time. It is perhaps a bit more firm than I would prefer (I just noticed the site says “cushion softness customizable”) but I’m sure it will soften in time. I had a nap on it the other day and to be able to spread out with the cats around me was fabulous. 🙂

I am really happy with my purchase (keeping things real here – I received a discount on the sofa, it was not free of charge). The only issue that came out of this whole process was with the shipping. Perhaps my fault for insisting the sofa be delivered on the estimated day the shipping company had noted on their site as I had booked the day off work, but when only one guy showed up and could not get it off the truck, I climbed in, unwrapped some of the packaging and helped carry this beast (I think it weighs over 200 lbs) into my garage. I was so excited to finally have my Freeform sofa in my living room as I had sold my previous sofa right after purchasing this one, that I was willing to do anything to get this in my house!

I am in love. It really is the sofa of my dreams.

A couple of quick notes about Eternity Modern: the designs are all identical to the original, shipping is free over $1000, their prices are great and totally reasonable for the quality of their products, they have a large selection of really beautiful fabrics. And did I mention they have a Canadian site? That is key for me as I detest spending money on exchange rates, duty, handling, and all the other fees that mysteriously pop up when shopping internationally. They do have a US site and have warehouse and distribution centers throughout the world.

I took a few shots around the room to show what else I have going on in there since I really did have to rearrange everything to fit the sofa in. It was alot of fun to work it into the space and create a new, lighter zone in that end of the room. I’m still going to be fussing with the layout a bit and the accessories but this is what I had going on during photo shoot day.

My husband bought me this swing-arm lamp about 10 years ago off eBay from the Netherlands I think, and it has been in a box in storage waiting for the perfect spot all those years. When the sofa arrived I realized it matches  perfectly with the colour of the back rest. I’m so stoked to be able to finally use it!

My sister Jen was doing a tour of all the ice cream shops in the city she could find over the summer, and took this photo of my niece Adelina on one of their stops. She had eaten black ice cream and I had to have this photo blown up. I found a vintage frame in storage and for under $20 I have new art over my fireplace.

Where my last sofa was became the plant and book zone.

Across from the sofa I added some Panton chairs and a lucite table under my antique mirror (collage in the reflection that is hanging over the sofa was a new purchase for the space by Stephanie Clayton via Artfix Cultured Studios)

Dark and dramatic, moody and marvellous this Woollahra cottage by interior architect Phoebe Nicol is like a stage set perfect for playing out your everyday life with panache. A wall of mirror increases the sense of space in the narrow house while a carefully curated collection of antique and contemporay furniture pices, artwork and objet plays against the dark walls. In contrast the bedroom is light yet soft, a personal oasis.