By Keeva Stratton
The living room is where you’ll lounge on weekends and where your guests will experience your home – it is often the heart of your home. To make your living room live up to all these expectations, we’ve got expert tips and tricks from interior stylist Deborah Hutton.
RESCU: Where do you start?
Deborah Hutton: Your living room is probably the most important living space in the whole house; it has to be both relaxing and practical or it won’t work. You must begin by understanding how you’d like the room to work for you, the best furniture lay-out; do you have a favourite reading chair that needs a lamp, a coffee table big enough for books and to put your feet up on? Is there a TV in the room and do you want it to be the focal point? These are all questions that will help guide you to the perfect arrangement.
RESCU: How can you make your living room functional and fabulous?
Deborah Hutton: The last thing you want is to walk into things, go blind reading at night, or be constantly wiping marks off glass coffee tables. The relaxing component comes down to sofas that are deep enough to fall into or have a nap on lazy afternoons, covered in forgiving fabrics that hide marks. Tables and side tables that offer plenty of space to place a glass, a mug, a book. Standard lamps setting a relaxed mood. Throws, cushions and comfort items that are close by for those moments when you need them.
RESCU: How do you make your living room unique?
Deborah Hutton: Adding individual touches is all about personal choice and surrounding yourself with things that you love. Perhaps it’s a collection of some kind that should take pride of place? Pieces you’ve picked up travelling that tell a story; it’s these individual items that make the room yours. So highlight them and give them a stage if you have the room. Frame them, pop them under glass and draw focus to the piece. Your room will become a stand-out and a reflection of your personality.
RESCU: How should you use signature pieces?
Deborah Hutton: When you want to create a room you love walking into, try to find a magic piece of furniture that just speaks to you. A chair, sofa, wall art, side table, a rug – something that just says ‘me’. This is the best way to start to build your room; this is the piece will dictate the colour and the mood you want to create. It’s then a matter of working with that and adding pieces slowly and not rushing in to finish the job. The personality of the room will define itself over time. Patience makes perfect.
Rescu. recommends:
Deborah believes that you can create great looks for less, which is why she has created the chic yet affordable Living with Deborah Hutton, a fully coordinated homewares range that covers all your needs in the bedroom and bathroom, all on a budget. We love it!
Aman Candle, $12.95 and Aman Photo Frame $16.95 Living with Deborah Hutton for EziBuy
