Small living room design tips and a week of 'firsts'
Catching up after a week of writing, mood boarding, and grappling with a small living room layout
Image credit: @je.te.pimpe.maisonjolie / Abigail Ahern
This week has been quite a big week and I feel like I’ve made a lot of progress with work. It’s been a week of firsts, in a way.
I’ve just signed up to a co-working space once a week, after a trial day last week. I was so much more productive working in a space with other people around, some gentle chatter but without the noise of a cafe. I think it really helped to be with people and out of the flat, and to feel a little bit more like I was in an office.
I always used to study in the library at uni, and could never work at home, and while the co-working space was definitely not library levels of quiet, I felt much more focused, which should mean that the time I spend working is more efficient and I don’t waste time faffing around.
As work friends will know, I love the pomodoro method of 25-minute bursts of focused work followed by a break, and tomorrow when I’m back at the co-working space I might try and do two sets of 3 ‘pomodori’ so I end up doing around two 90-minute sessions of really focussed work. And then ease off a bit or just work in a less structured way.
Unrelated to work, I went to my first track running session this week and loved it. Despite the slight intimidation and not knowing track etiquette (was definitely totally in the way of people sprinting at one point) it was really fun to be running on the flat and to be able to measure how fast I was going.
I was also just really glad to have completed the pyramid (400m, 600m, 800m, 1000m and back down again with recovery periods) but also found after a while I could turn my brain off and just keep running at a consistent pace, counting from one to four over and over again. Honestly, weirdly stress-busting.
I’ve also taken on my first interior design client – a living room redesign, and I’m excited to see the project through, and hopefully create a space with some of that Michelle Ogundehin ‘magic’. It’s going to be cosy, homely, warm, and functional. The space itself means I’m quite limited in terms of layout, as it’s a small living room in a Victorian terrace, with a bulky sofa. And we’re on a tight budget.
I’ve enjoyed getting into the client’s head and really trying to come up with something that feels well-designed and practical – putting the mood boards together and finding affordable ways to refresh the space and make it feel cohesive. From everything I’ve read, listened to and seen in years of working in interiors, I think one of the key elements in a small living room is ensuring there is some kind of focal point – in this case, it’s going to be a focal wall with bespoke bookshelves and artwork on the chimney breast. But it could also be the fireplace. You don’t want to walk into the back of a sofa, and you don’t want the TV up high above the mantlepiece. And you want the biggest rug possible to pull the whole room together.
Then, there’s lots that can be done in terms of maximising the sense of space and light – window treatments, mirrors, a lighter ceiling colour compared to the walls, light rugs and plenty of accent lighting. Playing with scale is another great tip, for example, having one item in a room that feels larger than it should be, a statement lamp or large artwork can actually make the space feel bigger. On the other hand, a gallery wall of lots of tiny prints gives the impression of a smaller space and can feel cluttered.
I think we often worry that if we use a certain colour it might feel ‘out of style’ five years later, but one way to avoid this is lean towards earthy tones. Pale browns, soft terracottas and greens – because of the fact these are all rooted in nature, they never get old. Even though brown is on-trend in the world of interiors right now (yes, really), the right shade for your room will stand the test of time. Like this, from Jake Arnold:
Image credit: Lulu and Georgia / Jake Arnold
Next week, there’ll be fewer ‘firsts’ but I can’t wait to present my ideas for the living room and make a plan for the next steps of the renovation. I’ll also finish my first month’s worth of commissions in terms of writing, so next month I should feel a little bit more confident with the whole freelance thing rather than starting from zero.
I’ve also signed up to my first session at TRIB3 (Sheffield’s answer to One Rebel ) so it’ll still be another week of trying new things. And then it’ll finally be February! Have a great week.