katie.lacy@letsgetcoffee.co.uk, Author at Modish Living

How to obtain an elegant monochromatic décor

Do you hanker after an elegant colour scheme to your home, making it feel and look like a space that is effortlessly chic?

Have you tried monochromatic décor? You may think it only means black and white but it can mean any colours, in fact, use sparingly and exclusively.

The definition of the word monochromatic leads to confusion as it means one colour but when it comes to décor, a monochromatic is one that uses two contrasting yet complementary colours to produce a finish that if chic, stylish and beautiful.

But how do you get this look right? Surely it’s impossible to go wrong? Or is it?

THINK luxury and simple

To get this chic finish, as well as choosing a colour palette that works well together, you need to think in terms of luxury and simplicity.

Take a look at a traditional black and white finish, and you will notice the clean-cut finish to the whole effect. For example, choose a classic, unfussy grey fabric sofa alongside a classically styled small armchair works well in a traditional black and white monochrome setting.

THINK in patterns

Monochrome décor appeals to people for many reasons but if you feel it looks a little flat and lifeless, give it a lift with pattern.

From patterned tiles in the bathroom or monochrome kitchen, for example, to pattern in the same colours for scatter cushions and window treatments, there are many ways of adding warmth and depth to the style.

THINK lush, green foliage

Another trick for adding an instant lift without stepping too far outside of this style scheme boundaries is to add colour with plants.

A cluster of lush, broadleaf plants, for example, of the hallway console table of the reclaimed wood coffee table in the living room adds a note of interest in the monochrome landscape.

THINK symmetry

The beauty of monochrome décor is that it can fit in any room and across the entirety of the home. And so in the dining room, a natural palette of monochrome sits well with both the oak dining table and upholstered dining chairs.

It’s an incredibly neat and tidy look too, probably why it is so popular and so maintain symmetry with everything well placed within invisible borders. Centre the artwork, use odd numbers of the same accessories such as plants or vases and contrast the textures of the smoothness of the oak dining table with the luxurious feel of upholstered dining chairs.

THINK warmth with wood

If you love the monochrome look but worry it will look too minimal and starkly modern, warm it with wood. Reclaimed wood furniture works well in most décor schemes, the monochrome look included. Mix it with modern materials, such as plastic bucket seats or let it warm the sharp coolness of the industrial style with monochrome décor.

THINK boldness

We achieve less in our comfort zone why break out of its confines and be bold. Go the whole hog and reach the dizzying height of monochrome success with whitewashed walls, black industrial furniture and reclaimed wood furniture as points of interest!

Smart furniture to maximise a small living room

6 tips for choosing the perfect sofa

You sit on it, nap on it, cuddle on it and lounge in it, with the dog enjoying a sneaky nap on it too – the sofa is an essential piece of furniture, no matter which room it graces.

It needs to tick a lot of boxes from comfort to style. And with such a bewildering choice, from the curved sofa to the Chesterfield, opting for a sofa that can be everything to everyone in your family is tough.

#1 Style

Essentially, you are looking for a style of sofa that complements your home. Hence, if you favour the traditional style, you would do well to look at traditional styles, such as the iconic Chesterfield style sofa.

In a more modern or industrial style setting, you would be looking for a modern sofa with a cleaner style, sharper lines and crisp angles with fewer flourishes and details.

#2 Room size

With a firmer idea of style, you now need to understand how the sofa will fit and complement the dimensions of a room.

Our top tip is to mark out the dimensions of your proposed new sofa and see how it fits the floor space.

#3 Seating space

Sofas tend to come in either small 2-seater sofa options or larger three-seater sofas. The size of the room may dictate which one you choose. If not, it is a question of deciding which option you prefer.

A 2-seater sofa is certainly a cosier option, whilst a three seater could be more practical (and perfect for stretching out on for a Sunday afternoon Nana nap!).

To stop a room looking swamped by a sofa, consider opting for a sofa with less height to it. Low arms and back can help to prevent the room from looking cluttered.

#4 Seating depth

If you want luxury and comfort in both styling and when you use the sofa, then you need to consider the depth of the seating area.

In other words, a narrow, slimline sofa will leave you feeling perched on the edge but one with depth will lure you in and envelop you in softness and comfort.

#5 Leather or fabric

This can be the sticking point for many people – do they opt for the sleekness of leather or opt for the softness of a fabric sofa?

There are pros and cons to both materials. If you want effortless style and beauty, a brown leather sofa is the go-to option.

Fabric can bring depth and texture to a room, as well as feeling pleasant to the touch and ‘warmer’.

Or you could opt for a fabric and brown leather sofa…

#6 Styling tricks

If you have a small room or feel that it looks cluttered and too boxy, we have a clever styling tip:

The Darlton brown leather sofa meets the floor; in other words, there is no gap between the floor and the bottom of the sofa visible to the eye. If you want a cosy feel, complete with clear boundaries then this is the style of sofa for you.

But if you want to create an illusion of more space, you need to accent the gap between the bottom of the sofa and the floor. In other words, choose a sofa in which the legs are visible.

So with these tips in mind, which of our sofas would you opt for?

How to keep your cat happy in your new home

If you’re thinking about adding a cat to your family, the chances are you’ll want to give it the very best. So before welcoming your new feline friend, have a think about how you can make your home more cat-friendly?

First of all, entertainment is key. Not only will it keep your cat content, chances are you’ll also protect those beautiful reclaimed wood furniture pieces you spent time saving pennies for. A window perch for looking out (even better if it has a view of a bird feeder), a cat tree for climbing or a water fountain is a great option.

Entertainment which also creates an opportunity for exercise is also important, particularly if you have a house cat. In order to keep your cat fit and healthy, a wall mounted structure may be a more stylish option than a giant cat climbing frame which also takes up precious floor space. There are plenty of DIY projects to make cat structures and trees if you’re willing to put the time in.

You may also wish to think about cat-friendly furniture. A glass-topped reclaimed wood dining table is a great idea if you’re looking to protect the natural grain of the wood and will also be enviably easy to clean. Additionally, you may want to consider something more durable in terms of seating. Beautifully upholstered dining chairs look stylish, but they may not be the best pairing with kitten claws. So how about durable wooden dining chairs instead?

Once you’ve lived with your cat for a little while, the chances are you’ll discover its favourite sleeping spot. The chances are it’s not that plush cat bed you splurged on. To welcome your cat, roll with their favourite spot. A folded towel or blanket makes a great makeshift bed and shows you care if you pop on their favourite spot – whether that be a shelf on your rustic shelves or under your reclaimed wood coffee table.

Finally, do some research into things around the home which may be toxic to your new cat. For example, although cats love plants, a lot of common plants e.g. lilies can be toxic for cats. Instead, look for plants which are safe for felines or plant a tray with kitty grass which your cat is able to nibble at throughout the day.

Have you got any tips to welcome a cat into your home, or any tips to protect your rustic furniture from cats and other furry friends?

Spending a quality lazy day with your dog

August 26^this Dog Day, a chance to share your time with your beloved pooch, making them the centre of attention.

For most dog owners, their canine companion is the centre of their world every day with Dog Day just giving them an excuse to spend even more time with their best friend!

With this in mind, we canvassed the Modish Living team, all dog lovers, for their ideas on the perfect way of spending quality time with Fido. And here’s what they came up with…

A good book and a picnic

Unpack the picnic blanket from the wooden blanket box and head out with delicious treats for a woodland or coastal walk with your dog.

Once their excess energy is worn away, enjoy a picnic together sharing tasty treats under the blue sky of summer. Snooze in the sun or enjoy a few chapters of a novel before you head on home.

Host afternoon tea for your dog and their canine friends

Dogs are pack animals, enjoying time playing with their friends – just like we do. So we loved the idea of hosting an afternoon tea party for your friends but bringing their canine companions too.

As well as tasty cake and treats for your human guests, make sugar-free and dog-safe ones for your dog and their friends. From homemade liver dog cake to carob drops, there are many ways of making afternoon tea just right for your dog.

Potter in the garden

If there is one thing about your dog that he wishes he could tell you, is that all they want to do is shadow you. Whether that’s washing the car or pottering in the garden, being near you is the perfect way to spend the day.

After your morning walk, enjoy the papers in the garden along with good coffee and a croissant or two, followed by a few hours pottering in the garden. Spread out together on your large sofa for a mid-afternoon nap before you strike up the BBQ for dinner al fresco.

Get organised

Downtime is great for anyone but with your dog at your side, it’s even better. Owning a pet is great for busting your stress levels so why not take advantage even more by getting organised for the week ahead sitting on one of the fabric dining chairs at your reclaimed wood dining table, your dog at your side listening attentively to all your ideas?

Meal-planning is perfect for a lazy afternoon, especially when you can make a list of your week’s meals and your shopping list for ingredients too.

Catch up on box sets

Whether you have a dog, cat or a guinea pig, we loved the idea of catching up on the latest box set whilst snuggling with your furry friend.

Recline on your reclaimed wood bed with your dog for company, using a throw to protect your duvet, and snuggle with Fido whilst you binge watch your favourites.

Stop and smell the roses

The best suggestion by far was ‘stop and smell the roses’ because who says that Dog Day has to be about ‘doing anything’? Just relax together…

Get the look – The Mitcham industrial dining room

The Mitcham Collection with its retro appeal and industrial style furniture options sizzles in any room, but for the dining room, it is perfection.

A stylish dining room makes for a great family time as well as a great entertaining space. From enjoy coffee on a Sunday morning with the papers to entertaining friends, we’ll show how to get this look using the Mitcham Collection.

The dining table

It is – and should be – the focus of any dining room but the Mitcham oak table is stunningly beautiful with its spider legs, adding a hint of detail but without the fuss. It is a detail ‘to be discovered’ by your guests and one that will be admired.

The dining chairs

Using two tones of leather with the stylish dining chairs is a great way of adding yet more detail but again, without being overly fussy.

The tan and grey dining chairs are the Cleo models, faux leather dining chairs that offer the look and feel of real leather but at an affordable price. Their thin, metal leg frames are an ideal foil to the thicker spider leg of the industrial dining table.

We have other industrial leather dining chairs that offer a similar finish, tan leather being a beautiful colour for the dining room.

The rug

The rug acts as a platform for the industrial table and chairs but finding the right colour and shade can be problematic.

The ‘salt and pepper’ colours and effect on the rug in the dining room landscape as highlighted above allows the tones of the brown oak top of the dining table to shine through, setting off the tan and grey leather dining chairs too.

Sticking with the black and white tones, lightly-patterned rugs works a treat in the industrial styled dining room.

This fantastic black and white Louis de Poortere rug is one of our most popular, and ideal with the Mitcham oak industrial dining table.

The industrial sideboard

Just visible with its beautiful corners and slightly raised door panelling detail is the Mitcham industrial sideboard.

Everything should be well-placed and a thought-out addition to the dining room. When using items from the same collection, you are making it easier on yourself in the sense that you don’t have to worry about different shades or tones of colour and finish.

The Mitcham Collection has several industrial sideboard options, from the large industrial sideboard to the concrete sides of another style of another Mitcham industrial sideboard.

Lush greenery

It’s there and it is just enough to lift the interest level – plants.

It is a trend that has made a mark on interior design this year and it works well within eh industrial styled dining room too.

Cluster similar plants on the industrial sideboard or on a display unit, also the perfect addition to the dining room. Or why not ring the changes by placing the slimline but effortless chic console table in the dining room?

Industrial style furniture works well in any room but is fantastic for the dining room. Is this a style that attracts you?

How to get the industrial living room look

The industrial style is a popular one. And no wonder: easy on the eye and not too difficult to emulate from the glossy pages of interior design magazines, the industrial look is both a practical and comfortable style for the living room.

Framing and materials

The industrial look is an effortless and seamless combination of two factors – framing and materials.

The industrial look is the stylish connection between wood – usually reclaimed wood – and metal, black, polished or matte stainless steel. There are also some industrial styled pieces that include rose gold finish too.

Framing is about the appeal of the style to the eye. A piece of furniture can be large and statuesque but maintain the frame with items of the same height, giving a uniform appeal to the living room.

The sofa and the armchairs

The living room is an informal space where all the family can come together and enjoy time together thus, the essential industrial style furniture for the room is the spacious, comfy sofa and the armchairs.

Choose a shape that has style to it, very much like the industrial leather sofa with the detailing similar to the iconic Chesterfield style.

Maintain and promote cohesion with matching industrial styled brown leather armchairs. If it feels too matchy-matchy, use different scatter cushions and throws to soften the edges.

The lower backs and arms of this style of sofa and armchairs bring a delightful clean-cut appearance but don’t forget the ‘frame’ them with an industrial coffee table that sits perfectly against the backdrop of the sofa.

HINT – the coffee table should never be longer than the sofa. Choose one a little shorter than the sofa in length as this allows it to frame it perfectly.

Surrounding it with beauty

The combination of reclaimed wood and metal is a marriage made in heaven and one many people are turning to.

Maintain this with the pieces you choose to include in the living room. It doesn’t mean, however, that industrial furniture is only truly industrial in style when there is a lot of metal with a hint of wood.

We feel that it is the simplicity of design, the clever use of reclaimed wood and the hint of metal that makes this wooden TV unit a fantastic example of industrial style furniture with a difference.

It fits beautifully against the stylish aplomb of the industrial sofa and armchairs, allowing its sharp angles and pleasing lines to shine.

HINT – it’ll be tough but try not to focus your living room furniture around the TV, have another focal point in the room such as the log burner or the vast expanse of floor rugs that add comfort to the space.

Similarly, this drinks display cabinet has a sheer simplicity that has echoes of art deco about it. Fitting into both the industrial living room and a more traditionally styled one, we just love it.

The floor up

Whether you choose carpeted floors, sanded floorboards or even a darker oak laminate, the floor is an expanse of space that is assumed, under the guise of the industrial look, should be kept ‘clear’. But floor rugs soften those sharper corners and for the family living room, we would say are essential.

Following the tenets of the industrial style, steer clear of geometric or floral patterns, opting instead for abstract floor rugs, such as a grey rug that suits both the wood and metal of the industrial living room.

And there you have – strikingly simple yet superbly stylish: the industrial look living room.

How to Create Harmony and Style in the Living Room with Cream Sofas

We assume that because cream is a neutral colour that it is easy to work with. But as most interior designers will tell you, working with neutrals can be tougher than working with bold colours!

One slip or mistakes and the room plummets from stylish to insipid, devoid of character and boldness.

We take a look at two of our sofas available in cream and how with clever choices of colour, shape and form, you won’t be anywhere near creating a neutral living room that fails to commit.

The Edale Sofa

The Edale cream sofa has a hint of Chesterfield about it with its button back and low, curvy arms. Where it differs is the curves in its overall shape, a change from the straight, angular appearance of the Chesterfield itself. But what of Edale sofa inspiration for the surrounding décor?

The velvet Chesterfield sofa alone is something worth celebrating which is why we would use the fading black rug to draw attention to the floor and to the curved of the cream sofa itself.

Carrying the black from the rug would be the narrow console table, perfect for running along a wall close to the cream sofa, giving you ample storage options without the clutter.

Harmony is across this living room and the statuesque industrial display unit would make a fantastic addition – opt for two, for column-like structures that add drama.

But finally, adding more than a hint of the unexpected is the reclaimed wood coffee table on wheels but look at the wheels! The thing we love about reclaimed wood furniture is the quirkiness of it and how sometimes, this can be as obvious as you like!

The York Sofa

Everything that shines and sparkles is sheer silver when it comes to styling a room in our opinion.

The York sofa again alludes to the iconic Chesterfield shape. A fabric chesterfield sofa sits well in any living room and with its neutral backdrop, it lends itself well to adding more colour.

As well as earthy green being an option, there are navy cushions and throws to consider for York sofa inspiration. Or why not opt for a classic contrast of black and white?

A lighter cream rug, one of many living room rugs from which to choose, would work well under the York sofa, especially if using darker coloured scatter cushions for drama and effect.

Stick with high-shine, polished stainless steel for a glamorous look too. A reclaimed wood coffee table, complete with criss-crossed stainless steel legs would work a treat for your afternoon cup or evening cocktail when guests are over for dinner.

For cohesion, choose a side table from the same range. The lower level side table from the Luxe Kensington range is perfection in itself. You could opt for two but we would place one at the far end of the sofa, using it for a dramatic table lamp that fits with the glamorous appeal of this neutral, but characterful living room scheme.

Bold with neutrals

Using neutral colours is not difficult but an item could be easily lost. When choosing a cream sofa, opt for one with detailing such as the button back or a curvy shape that attracts attention, preventing it from sailing into the background.

And use colour, including metallic finishes, and you won’t regret your choice of a cream sofa!

Creative ways to style a traditional brown leather sofa

It may be iconic, its shape instantly recognisable, but you’ll still want to ensure that everything around it supports and not detracts from the iconic shape of the traditional, leather Chesterfield sofa.

With such an iconic shape, our assumption is that the brown leather Chesterfield sofa can only be used in a traditionally styled landscape. This is not the case.

Take a look at how to style this beautiful sofa with its timeless elegance and appeal within the industrial style – and without anything jarring or looking out of place.

Blue & Tan

Brown leather comes in many shades including a slightly lighter shade commonly called tan. There is an elegance to this colour that marks it out as being different but not twee or time-limited.

Blue and tan are a combination of two colours that work effortlessly together. It makes sense to pull out the lighter tones of the Charlie leather Chesterfield sofa with the lighter, barely-there blue of the Louis de Poortere rug, ‘Beige Sky’.

The clean industrial look

We often associate the industrial look with sharpness and coolness, but the iconic shape of the Chesterfield sofa with the traditional.

But the low backed Chesterfield fits right into the industrial design, especially with its natural leather material. Even the button back detailing isn’t a problem.

Match the traditional real leather sofa with the understated industrial coffee table for an effortless industrial style furniture chic in the living room landscape. Choose an oversized wall clock and add a note of the unexpected with a grey rug.

Age and character

Many people opt for the Chesterfield styled brown leather sofa because they want the appearance of age, even though it is brand new.

And that’s why the Birley brown leather sofa, complete with Chesterfield styling and detailing is their perfect choice.

The leather is not worn, not about to rip or become cracked beyond repair. It will age beautifully.

Again, teaming it with a Lois de Poortere rug frames it perfectly. The salt and pepper rug is ideal with the slightly faded traditional patterning. Add a reclaimed wood coffee table and you have the frame complete.

Best of all worlds

What if we told you that you can have a mix of tweed and leather on one sofa, complete with the Chesterfield shaping? What if we told you brown leather was an option?

With the Granby sofa, you get so much. And a ‘half and half’ Chesterfield sofa is the heady combination of Harris tweed and brown leather.

With its curved arms, low back and caster feet, this Chesterfield styled leather sofa is a sheer delight. Set it off in any room with the use of a reclaimed wood coffee table– look at the prime shape of the Maddox industrial-esque coffee table, for example – and height with industrial oak tall bookcases.

Bring out the warm tones of the wood with the Louis de Poortere Copperfield rug underfoot and there you have it – an effortlessly chic combination of the traditional with the industrial, with nothing out of place or jarring against each other.