Design Crew
Sat, 13 Aug 2011
Got a problem? Need some help? Just standing there shaking your head? Don't know what to do? You're not alone. Send us a link to photos of your design quandary and let the Desire to Inspire design crew help you .... that's you lot ... the readers! Peege emailed with this week's dilemma.
I need HELP. I've inherited 2 plain plain plain Pottery Barn slip-covered sofas and one gigantic matching armchair and have to make a sitting room out of them. Luckily (?) they are white, slipcovered but so blah that it's killing all inspiration. I have a set of Suzani pillows (reds) which I've added and I have a Kilim upholstered rectangular Ottoman on order. I love all things vintage, and from the Middle East but have no idea how to make the sofas look slicker. The only thing I like are the pillows. I am getting the upholstered ottoman in place of the temporary wicker garden table but please do post this so I can get some inspiration. I need to hear that they're not too hideous and my dreams of a serene sitting room will come true! Any ideas?
Reader Comments (31)
I'm so jealous that you have a white sofa! They are definitely not hideous! It does look like you could use some color in the room though. I think simply painting the walls would help a lot!
I definitely think painting the walls would help - and also more texture. How about a couple of throws here and there, and a gorgeous rug? They can be riffs on the theme you're thinking of.
Wow, I would be in heaven in that room just as it is. Gorgeous light, fireplace, hardwoods, and big white furniture. Lovely! But, since you love warm, rich color...I looked at the PB web site, and it looks like you can order new slipcovers in other fantastic colors. There's a color called "Jute" that is a yummy gold neutral that would be very middle eastern in feel. Painting would be essential, as would a rich, jewel-toned rug. Carved wood side tables, and texture in accessories and art. Ceiling to floor window treatments.
A rug (white or oriental), some art on the walls, some plants and some brassy goodness could work wonderfully with what you have started. I think the white sofas and walls are a great backdrop to many looks!
Fabric paint for the sofas. Follow your heart and make them whatever color or pattern you desire. Best part is if you tire of it you can just order new slip covers to start over.
This is another room where I would be totally content with the 'before'.
The great thing about sofas and chairs this color is they go with any color scheme you can contrive. As slipcovers they are very forgiving--spot clean, wash, bleach--great for sloppy adults, pets and kids. I see it as a blank canvas. The pillows you have look terrific. Since you are ordering a patterned ottoman I would add an 8x10 area rug, dress up your fireplace with your own treasures and add some art on the walls on either side of the fireplace. I can't tell from the pic, but it looks like you have a bay window behind the sofa. Could you put a folding screen there for a Middle Eastern feel? You could open or close it as the mood strikes you. I think the you have the beginnings of a great room!
Nothing at all wrong with sofa and armchair---they are very respectable. Get a rug with the colors of the ottoman, and paint the walls a dark enough shade of one of the colors so that you have a contrast with the white slipcovers. How dark you go should also depend on how much natural light you have in the room. The room looks rather small in the picture. If it is, darker walls will expand it. If you go darker, and can afford it, make the walls high gloss. If the woodwork is boring, paint it as well---same color.
I know how you feel!! I have a white sofa I´m fed up with and everyone who comes over loves.... I´ve done the colorful cushions, the colorful rug, but I´ve also got the walls in a warm clay color. In your case, your place is sooo amazing i would keep the white walls, colorful rug and throw, art work on walls!! (that´s a must!) and I must say I also like the wicker table.
It's not just the color - you obviously hate the shape. Since you're at the beginning of the deco process, my recommendation is sell them on craigslist. The boxy blandness of Pottery Barn cannot be hidden, any more than an Ikea origin. If you dislike the basic shape - and with recovering such an obvious choice, it's pretty clear you've set it aside - then sell them and get something you'll like. I'm not a PB fan, obviously.
please do not put fabric paint on the sofa
mix up the pillows with some more colors and textures
add a seagrass or kilim rug
find a rattan chair on craigslist
add in some shiny metal lamps and more reflective surfaces like mirrors
plants would be good too
and pottery
you have a good start
I agree with many of the commenters that your sofa and chair and not at all hideous and it looks like they are in great condition! I love the pillows, and would add a throw over the arm of the sofa. I'd definitely add a large area rug under the sofa and new ottoman, a floor lamp in the corner and colorful artwork on the walls. It's a lovely room.
@oregonbird I completely agree! This room needs much more ornate furniture.
i think it depends on what you feel is bland about the furniture - if it's just the color, that's definitely within your control, whether you paint or dye. and adding other interesting things to the room - plants, paint, lamps, art, mirrors, rug, objets, etc. - will do a lot to add oomph to the room so it's not just white sofas in a white room. BUT, if you hate the shape of the furniture, like oregonbird mentioned, then yeah, sell them. though maybe rounding out the rest of the room would detract enough from the sofa's shape, and you wouldn't notice anymore?
all that being said, i think you definitely have a wonderful blank palette here to work with. fun! best of luck!
Lose the chair. By itself, the sofa is invisible, and just fine. all you notice are the pillows and the comfort. but the chair-sofa combo is a deadly sort of "set", killing all other character in your room with its insipid pottery-barn-ness. then get a statement-type lounge chair/ottoman/whatever to fill out the team. something in leather and metal maybe to balance out all the fabric. something sculptural and strong, maybe with a light base so you can see more floor. ...everything else, as other commenters have said, looks great...
the furniture is not an obstacle. it's the perfect base. just find some nice shawls, or throws in the style that you like and put them over the furniture.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/63122153@N00/445662363/in/set-72157623185972361/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/63122153@N00/4919008816/in/set-72157616956933615
http://www.flickr.com/photos/63122153@N00/4884421976/in/set-72157616956933615
http://www.flickr.com/photos/63122153@N00/3449290650/in/set-72157616956933615
http://www.flickr.com/photos/63122153@N00/3242550165/in/set-72157616956933615
http://www.flickr.com/photos/63122153@N00/3051753589/in/set-72157616956933615
http://www.flickr.com/photos/63122153@N00/3051753589/in/set-72157616956933615
http://www.flickr.com/photos/63122153@N00/3051753589/in/set-72157616956933615
http://www.flickr.com/photos/63122153@N00/3051753589/in/set-72157616956933615
http://www.flickr.com/photos/63122153@N00/3051753589/in/set-72157616956933615
http://www.flickr.com/photos/63122153@N00/3051753589/in/set-72157616956933615
I also love all things vintage, especially when it comes to interior decoration!
I think you're more focused on them being Pottery Barn instead of being focused on the fact that they are simple, white, neutral basic pieces that you could add endlessly to. But, truly I think the white walls aren't currently doing you any favors especially now that you've got these white pieces.
Paint your walls grey, get a charcoal rug and put a mirror above the fireplace!
I love the cushions. I goes beautiful with whole house.
I'm with James - you should definitely lose the chair and replace with something else more to your taste. The room itself is gorgeous, but I would also back another poster's suggeston of painting the walls grey - it looks timeless, and will set off any other colours you choose to add to the room. Personally, I would add some shelving either side of the fireplace and fill with books or things you love. Books and nik naks add great colour to a room and make it look lived in, which is why Ikea (love it or loathe it) always have full bookcases in the room sets they photograph for their catalogue. A rug would finish the room off perfectly.
I agree with quite a few people here - the sofas are not terrible at all (I have definitely had worse in my student days). I would most definitely paint the walls, perhaps add some depth to the fireplace flue - maybe with a grasscloth or wallpaper.... or just a different tone than the walls.
I think the coffee table is a bit too bulky since the sofas are quite heavy... maybe something a bit slimmer and lighter would work better?
I would also break up the pillows, they're really lovely but they're all quite similar. maybe throw in some different patterns or solids.
Other than that I think it's a great space! It's a blank canvas and that's your problem - a blank canvas is never easy to start with! Good luck!
- agata.
I love the suzani cushions, and think the kilim ottoman will look great with the white couch. Would consider one of the patterned rugs rom Anthropologie which are modern but middle east inspired, or if the area is low traffic a creamy spangly Moroccan wedding blanket. I agree with James, and would replace the huge chair with two smaller armless slipper chairs upnholstered in a print. The slipper chair link is for illustration purposes only--unless money is absolutely no object. If it were my space I would fill the alcoves with either bookshelves or a pair of matching cabinets, maybe Chinese, Japanese or Indian.
http://www.anthropologie.eu/en/uk/shop-by-category/rugs/icat/rugs/&itemsperpage=41&isviewall=1&bklist=icat,5,shop,forhome,shopbyhome,rugs
http://moroccanmaryam.typepad.com/my_marrakesh/2009/09/moroccan-interior-design-moroccan-wedding-blankets.html
http://www.maxrollitt.com/bespoke/furniture/slipper-chair
http://www.grahamandgreen.co.uk/50-s-suzani-fabric-upholstered-chair
http://www.johnlewis.com/230480194/Product.aspx
I think this is the same style sofa in the picture by Bolig Magasinet that Kim featured in her blog article about dining storage. I agree with so many other comments that the sofa and chair are blank canvases to play.
http://www.desiretoinspire.net/storage/allpostphotos/081111boligmagasinet.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1313017760551
I convert my sofa-bed for sitting, then turn it to a focal point. The bay room is good for working the windows, so there's a compromise. I believe this angle will avoid glare too.
http://fotos.sapo.pt/deslize/fotos/foto/?uid=kHjlARq2tczWCyC0Rn6n
An intern sugested the same before. The angles of the walls would set everything else right, unless it was coming from Sottsass, or any other famous designer - I told him.
You have the bones to recreate one of my favorite, most livable rooms that's recently been thrown around the blogosphere -check out amberinteriordesign.blogspot.com.
The items in her room (with one large white sofa and chair) are all affordable too!
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tYDM-crzW4g/TgoRdh_Y2JI/AAAAAAAACAE/-hsq1z387rE/s1600/HighGloss2.jpg
I drool for that IKEA rug and think it'd be perfect in your room