Love is all you need…
~ via desiretoinspire
I have Kids and their play area is in our living room, we struggling to find an idea to store all the toys away in the living room without ruining the look of the room. We like simplistic smooth lines look with monchromal colours and we really want to hide the toys. Hope you can help as I sure many people struggle with the same problem
Ah…the age old kids toys in the living room problem. ;-) I know exactly what you mean. The first step is to be really honest about what you need or even which toys need to be in the living room at any one time – this is the hardest part. Once you have cleared out old, broken, redundant toys, look at what’s left to figure out what sort and size of storage you’ll need. Depending on your available space (and budget of course!), you could consider anything from a large cabinet to bespoke storage built into an unused nook. These days, there are a lot of really cool monochromatic kids’ furniture but any type of storage would pretty much work, so long as it’s big/tall enough. Also remember that any storage you choose to build in is unlikely to have toys in it forever, in case you wanted to invest in that. We have replaced sofas with bench seats with large drawers underneath (IKEA kids furniture actually as it suited our budget but still looks great if you choose white rather than pink or blue for example!)…often you’ll have to make a compromise, even if just for a few years. The key is to include storage as part of your design in any room – often people only consider it as an afterthought. I hope this helps. If you need more, email me your room and I can give you some quick suggestions.
Good luck!
Tip
tip_atkins@hotmail.com
Bit quiet on the diet front…in case you’ve been wondering, this is where my head is…aaah…the lazy colours of summer!
~ via Will
whats the best kind of sofa to get when your overwhelmed by the choices? I don’t have a huge space and its open plan. I love everything on your site! My style is eclectic I love to mix things up.
Sofas are tricky for sure. If you’re sure you want to have one (keep in mind that if your space is small that you may want to go with a couple of comfy singles or perhaps loveseats)…
Probably the first thing to do is consider your budget & how long you plan to have your sofa/stay in your place. Be realistic. Often sofas don’t travel well to other spaces – I have found that each room calls for something different. So perhaps a cheaper yet comfortable sofa with an eclectic mix of pillows would work…unless you can and want to go down the route of a classic design which has already stood the test of time – think chesterfield, or scandinavian mid-century modern for example.
Then think about function – how you will use it. Do you often curl up and read a book or watch TV? Is it for entertaining guests on; do you need it to multitask (like a sofa bed for example)? Is it just for you or are there often more people using it at the same time etc.
Then think about size. An interior designer once told me to make a template out of newspaper and put it on the floor and up the wall (height can also make a difference) so that I could guage exactly how big it would look like in my space. (They always look smaller in the showroom!). Size needs to suit function and fit into your space. You’d like to have about a meter to walk around the whole thing, if possible though you could get away with 60cm (at the absolute smallest) and if you live in an apartment then consider if it will actually be able to get up the stairs (I had this problem once – what a nightmare!).
Finally, once you have decided all that, form. From colour to shape/design, this is the hardest part as you say BUT since you have decided on everything else above then your choices should now be somewhat narrower than when you started. :-) I love mid-century modern furniture but generally those sofas are not the most comfortable to curl up in. Feather and down cushions are super comfy but pricey (though they do stand the test of time). Foam is cheaper but often hard – I have yet to meet a foam sofa that I could really relax in.
I hope I’ve helped rather than make it harder, haha! I have a small space now and in the end have gone with bench seating with storage drawers underneath plus a couple of single seats rather than more sofas. The benches are good when guests visit but often having sofas isn’t essential. Sometimes you do have to compromise to get the “best fit” for your space, budget and style.
Good luck and let us know how you go! :-)
Tip
