Our Living Room Tour

I'm really excited to be showing you our living room today. I've finally got it to look exactly how I want it to after living here for over four years! It's not that I didn't like the way it looked before but the room never felt cohesive, it was more of a mix of items that I liked rather than focussing on the room as a whole. I've worked quite hard to create a really calming and balanced space for Simon and me, it has a bit of a mid-century meets bohemian vibe which I love. For this post I've partnered up with the folks over at West Elm who helped me create my dream living room.

The Entryway

We live in a very small flat which is pretty common in London. There are only three rooms, our bedroom, bathroom and an open plan kitchen and living room space, I also work from home so it can be quite a squeeze! When you walk into our living room the first thing you see is the bookshelf. Simon works in publishing, he runs a comics publishing company so we have a lot of books! We also absolutely love reading and usually can't go into town without buying a few books.

I've styled the shelves with a range of books, small prints and accessories. I have a thing for ceramics so we have a range of cups and jugs made my our potter friends and a few textured vases from West Elm.

The Nook

My favourite area in the little room is this little corner next to the record player. I'm quite impressed that we managed to squeeze in an armchair into our teeny space but we did it! Its a perfect spot to sit with a cocktail or a book, or maybe both. I love the mix of our Turkish kelim cushion and the white macrame one from West Elm.

We bought the bar cart from a salvage yard and took the wheels off to make it into the perfect storage for our hifi. I love house plants so this is quite a green corner, we've got a lovely fiddle leaf fig, rubber plant and mother in laws tongue which are all so easy to take care of.

The Bar Cart

We used to store our booze over here but swiftly ran out of space so now it's in the kitchen. There's something so lovely about picking out a record and sitting their quietly listening. I really want to buy more vinyl, I have quite a long wish list. The amp and record player belonged to Simon's dad, I think its from the 1980's but it might be older than that. Its a lovely machine, I love the wood casing.

I bought the Mid-Century chess set for Simon and few years ago, we haven't played that much but I like how it looks! The large print above the bar cart is by Wolf Jaw Press, its a gorgeous screen print of our most favourite dog breed called a borzoi. They're completely magical looking!

Dining Area

I love this gilded catch all tray, we have quite a basic white dining table so it helps things look a bit fancier over there! We have a few cacti, some crystals and a scented candle which helps create a zen like atmosphere. I enjoy having lots of greenery around the house, it quite literally brings the space to life so I picked some fresh rosemary and lavender to have on the table. The flat smells amazing right now.

I will definitely upgrade our dining table at some point, I just haven't found the perfect option yet. We have around eight of our friends over every few weeks so we need quite a large table, a bit of a challenge as its such a small space. The search continues!

My Workspace

Until a few weeks ago my desk was an old 1950's kitchen table, although it was very cute it was never meant to be used as a desk. I can't believe what a difference a real desk makes, I'm so glad I bit the bullet and bought this one from West Elm. The Mid-Century upholstered stool is the perfect companion, it slots neatly underneath the desk when it's not being used which frees up floor space. It also makes a great footstool when I'm lounging on the sofa!

I'm a very tidy person, I can't stand having mess around me when I'm working so I keep my receipts, letters and important documents in the drawer. This frees up space for all the pretty, decorative bits, which I like! We also use my computer as a tv so it's quite important that I'm able to tidy away my work at the end of the day. The last thing you want when trying to relax is work everywhere.

The Sideboard

Another vintage Mid-Century piece in my flat is the boxy sideboard. I'm not sure what we'd do without it as it stores all my craft supplies. It's a little bit like a tardis in there! Like I said a few times, I really don't like mess so this piece of furniture keeps all my art supplies hidden away so I can focus on styling at all the decorative elements on the top.

It's made from beautiful original teak from the 1960s and I absolutely love it. The colour of the warm wood really complements the grey wall colour and the artwork we have hanging above. The top on the sideboard houses some more pretty pieces, my favourite artist is Vanessa Bell so I have her book proudly on display along with a photo of Simon and I in France. I have a few vases, one textured ceramic one and one glass from from the 60's. We should probably fill that lovely whiskey bottle up with booze soon!

I wouldn't have been able to create such a lovely living room without West Elm very kindly gifting me some items. West Elm is my favourite interiors store so it was so lovely to work with them on this blog post, the room wouldn't look half as pretty without their help! Some of the products featured were paid for by me so I've listed everything featured in my living room below in the interest of clarity.

Gifts from West Elm

Diamond Steps Wool Rug // Modern Weave Handled Basket // Naturalist Homescent Candle // Speckled Texture Vases in Small // Woven Light Throw in Orange // Gallery Frame - Polished Brass // Glass Whiskey Bottle // Wooden Lacquer Tray in Gold // Mid-Century Upholstered Stool // Unfortunately, it looks like the macrame cushions have sold out but this one is similar

Items I bought from West Elm

Mid-Century Mini Desk in White // Brass Toucan, this is out of stock but they have a Flamingo!  // Art Pottery Vase in Small // Speckled Texture Vase in Extra Small