Working with a floral lounge.

After searching for months for a lounge for our front room (referred to as the library) I was struggling to find one. Every time I found an old fashioned style lounge for sale within my budget, when I inquired someone also beat me to it! I was sick of searching and then...I got lucky. My mother-in-law offered one they had in their 'junk room' that they didn't use.  I just love it's shape and style and it also happens to be quite comfortable.The pattern is quite an intense pattern but I'm kind of a fan. However I always like couches with cushions and throws since they make them feel more welcoming and comfortable. After searching the net for hours attempting to find information on how to style a couch with a strong pattern, I was a little stumped. Emily Henderson (I just love her style) did a great video on styling a plain couch by mixing patterns and her rule of thumb was no more than two patterns and three colours.

Since I already had one such intense pattern and three shades of brown on the couch, I stuck to the browns...not my typical colour choices said the girl who loves yellow, black, white and grey. While brown patterns are interesting, I do feel I'll be saving up for some reupholstery in the future. I also have high hopes for a larger rug for the room so all the furniture can fit on it, some built in shelving and new lighting.

I ended up deciding on using two brown cushions to give the couch some extra comfort. I went for different textures (one silky and one fluffy) to make the couch feel more homely and layered. I'm always searching for affordable cushions- the silk one was from a garage sale and had a border of beading around the outside which I removed, while the fluffy one was from kmart.

I feel like I can now use the front room as there's enough seating for a group of people. We had a small church discussion group at our house last week and we could comfortably fit 13 people in the front room (bringing in some chairs from other rooms too). Finally a rarely used room is getting some use which is so important to me- what's the use of having a nice home if it's not filled with people and shared? Also it happens to be quite far away from our room (aka where Henry sleeps) so we can be a bit more noisy in there. Win!

If you have any suggestions for other items to style on the couch or how you think I should reupholster it, I'd love to hear your ideas.

Lisa x