I am so excited about our new family room furniture. We moved into this house nearly 16 years ago and bought a matching sofa and love seat, chair and ottoman, coffee table, end table and entertainment center for this room. It was our first house with two living areas and we put our former living room furniture in the library (it’s still there). It was the first time we had bought much in the way of new furniture. We’ve been fortunate to have inherited a number of pieces from each of our families. I love antiques and things with a history.
The wood pieces we bought for this room are still in excellent condition, other than a little additional “distressing” on the coffee table. But we purposely chose something that people would feel comfortable putting their feet up on. I want my house to be attractive but more importantly, I want guests to feel at home here. And apparently they do. I cannot tell you how many of the kids’ friends have napped on our old sofa and love seat. They have served us well but finally crossed that line from comfortably shabby to just shabby. And the frames had broken down as well. One was propped up with a stack of wooden blocks and the other just sagged.
When we were in the city to celebrate my birthday a few weeks ago, David and I decided it was time to buy new furniture. We knew we wanted red leather and after looking at LOTS of sofas and careful consideration, we decided on these:
Aren’t they gorgeous? Real leather, made in America, and with hardwood frames which won’t break like our old ones. The cushions have down in them so they are really comfortable. And the seats are not so deep that I need help getting back up from them. Has anyone else noticed that so many sofas these days seem to be built for people at least 6’5″?
They were delivered Wednesday evening. There is also an ottoman but it arrived from the factory damaged so they’ve ordered us another. Now I’m in the process of updating the rest of the room. The existing drapes (also purchased when we bought the house) are a deep burgundy velvet which don’t go with these sofas. Plus they are terribly faded. We ordered plantation style wood blinds for the window but I’m still trying to decide on curtains/drapes. I’m going to add some black accents in the form of new lampshades and perhaps some iron accessories. The painting between the window and sliding glass door is going elsewhere and I’ve ordered an antique-looking map of New Orleans framed in black to go in its place.
We have an antique ship’s wheel which used to hang in a New Orleans restaurant which we are going to hang over the fireplace. Just as soon as David figures out the best way to hang it. It’s HEAVY! I’d also like to get decorative rugs to put under the coffee table and the antique table behind the sofa. Speaking of that table, David bought it for me at an antique store in California for my 16th birthday. Isn’t that sweet?
Before the sofas arrived I was trying to decide on accent colors for the room. And then I took a closer look at this:
A friend who fronts a local metal band, Our Mother’s Martyr, did this for a fundraiser a few months ago. David had the highest bid. It’s a little hard to get a good sense of the colors from this picture but in addition to the prominent dark red (like our sofas) there is black, a bit of tan and a smoky blue. That’s when it occurred to me that blue would be a nice accent color and would brighten up the room a bit. I had some blue accent pillows in the library and our bedroom which I’ve temporarily moved into the family room until I find just the ones I want. The blue placemats on the table and coffee table were hand knit by my grandmother many, many years ago. Several of our paintings in the room have touches of blue as well so I think it will all come together nicely. Someday we’d like to replace the green berber carpet with wood flooring but despite being nearly 16 years old it’s still in good shape so that will have to wait.
So that’s what’s been happening around here the past couple of days. I’ve also been spending a lot of time on Pinterest getting inspiration for this room. If you’re interested, take a look at what I’ve been pinning:
Tell me what you think and if you have any suggestions, please leave me a comment. Oh, and if you find an online source for reasonably priced black lampshades I definitely want to know where. I’m having a heck of a time finding some which aren’t $100 a piece. Yikes.
Oh, and here’s a picture of our old sofa:
There was also a matching love seat and David’s chair and ottoman which are a light tan. We moved the chair and ottoman into the library. It’s a little shabby but such a comfortable place to curl up with a book so we’ll keep it for now. Or knowing us, for another 15 years. Ha!
Love the new furnishings and the inspiration piece of art. I can't wait to see your finished product. I have to confess that it takes me YEARS to finish a room. It's one area where I will go slow and slower until I find just what I want.
Thank you! I finally know what drapes I want. My first thought had been black but I was concerned about practicality (dust!). I ended up having a conversation with a guy with a gift for interior design and he gave me the courage to go ahead with the black. I found the ones I want and hope to order them soon. I'd love to have them before the holidays.