Delightful Dreams for the Living Room

Comfortable surroundings nurture our souls, and help us heal the hurts from work or school that inevitably darken our daily lives. It doesn’t take a treasure chest of jewels to decorate a home stylishly, although it is nice to have a few statement pieces to demonstrate a clever room design.

I read once that well-designed homes are never completely finished, simply because the people living in them are never finished dreaming! This hits the nail on the head in our case at Blue Willow Cottage. We dream with catalog in hand nearly every morning, with coffee.

As our lives change, so do the spaces in which we live. I like to design and decorate our home so that it is completely in sync with our life changes, no matter how challenging they may be. The changes continue as our lives progress, and so, I would like to share my dream Living Room with you, reader! But first, some photos of the way it is now…

Everyone knows that the Living Room is the place where families relax and shed the armor needed outside the walls of home. Finding comfort and warmth in the furniture and décor of the Living Room just makes life more joyous! Our children feel more grounded and centered after spending time with us in this room. I want my Living Room to be the place where our hearts and souls retreat in good times, and in bad. In the summer, our family typically enjoys a coastal look in our Living Room in the Cottage.

Currently, my family relaxes in the Living Room on a hand-me-down sofa that started its life in my husband’s Grandmother’s home. Slipcovered and dated, it still functions well; but someday, we shall gather comfortably on a lovely sectional sofa the color of a pale blue sky.

All of us want to live in ways that are more gracious and flattering than the way we currently do. I have always believed that our homes should be as much about celebrating where we came from as they are about where we are going.

IMG_4874[1] — The sofa table behind the sofa

And so, as we sit on Grandma’s sofa, we dream of the Pier 107 Two Piece Sectional Sofa in Dreamy Ice Blue by Arhaus Designs (link below). I have read that this slip-covered sectional sofa is most comfortable, and the color is just the ticket for our Living Room! Reminiscent of the tones of the ocean, the soft blue shade of the material is unique and brings to mind a summer day. One day, I hope to rest my head on a Batik Cloud Blue Square Pillow by Arhaus (link below) while napping on this lovely sofa, dreaming of happy picnics and frolicking at the beach. The best part is that there is plenty of room my husband and son on this couch! Movie-nights will never be the same! Arhaus has a lovely selection of pillows similar to the ones pictured here on our sofa and chairs (see links below).

Since we are talking about creating family refuges that shelter us from harsh realities experienced beyond our front doors, I shall dare to dream a little more today. My own Mother used to say that fantasy and curiosity are to be encouraged, so I am following her lead in this, and will mention a few more items I dream of displaying someday in our Living Room.

Paisley Throw similar to this one on the chair on the right found in link below

Molly Kay from Arhaus recently invited me to share my favorite items from the company’s line of furniture and décor. For a long time, I have admired the styles and ways in which Arhaus has showcased their beautiful pieces on their website. Many of these pieces would be perfect in our Living Room at the Cottage. I hope you will join me in looking at some of these splendid designs to see how them may complete the surroundings and style of any Living Room.

Currently, we use a piano bench as a coffee table.

My heart skipped a beat when I turned the page in the catalog to spy the Martin Rectangle Trunk Coffee Table in grey. Our coffee table has been beloved since day one of our 27 year marriage, but resting my feet on this gorgeous trunk just seems so satisfying to me! The leather and steel accents lend an Old World flair to the room, and the drawer space below would be coveted for those remotes, wires, and gaming items that seem to perpetually litter the floor around the sofa.

I keep a sheepskin covering our 27 year old coffee table

I adore the ALESSIO GRAND LEANER MIRROR by Arhaus (link below), and have just the right space for it in our tiny foyer leading into the Living Room.

Beneath the mirror, I can imagine one of our conch shells from Panama being showcased in the Glass Bell Jar (see Link) on the long table just across the wall from the foyer. The jar’s beautiful, sweeping curves would complement the wooden carved seagulls that stand on the sofa table to welcome guests.