Our new home is gorgeous and I love it, but it came with its fair share of design puzzles – the biggest being that although it’s three bedrooms, all the rooms have very small. We decided to convert the extra bedroom into a family room/TV room so the TV wouldn’t become our focal point (too small) Living room. I also keep my clothes in this room because the house (especially the master bedroom) doesn’t have a lot of closet space.
Until now, we’ve been watching our favorite TV shows from a leftover double bed, masked with plenty of pillows, trying (unsuccessfully) to make it appear as a daybed. Jason is 6’3″ and I’m 5’9. Needless to say, this was neither pleasant nor comforting – Absolutely. And when I entered this room, I felt quietly upset.
I wanted to hold out until we found the perfect one: big enough for the whole family to spread out on, yet small enough (not just through doors in our house) but to look good in such a small room. Since we have a three year old cat, it also needed to be practical. As much as I love white linen and mid-century sofas, this just isn’t going to work. Function is the key. while visiting High Point Furniture Mart A few months ago, I had the opportunity to visit Jonathan Lewis Showroom and test drive (test sit?) about 50 different sofas to find my favourite. Jonathan Louis is a family business out of here in Los Angeles that designs, makes, and sells quality (and affordable!) upholstered delicacies at places like Macy’s, Living Spaces, and ZGallerie (Click here to find a retailer near you). I also met the owner, Javier, who has twins Ida’s age (OMG!) – so he totally gets what it’s like to look for something functional but also stylish.
There were a lot of options, really, and then on top of all the style options we were also able to customize the clip to fit our exact needs/desires for the room. I took a bunch of notes and pictures in the showroom (and indeed, they were all very comfortable.) Then once back home, Jason and Ida and I looked through all the pictures and notes, noting Jonathan Lewis’ website, and decided this:
What!?! very good isn’t it?? we chose Leo Sections Customize it by placing the chair on the left side. For fabric/color selection, we went with Bennett Peacock, but there it was Tons of fabrics and colors to choose from. What I love about the sofa, (besides that Jason and I can comfortably curl up/cuddle in together) is that it has those sexy mid-century lines… (see the wedge legs?)
Also, the color of the fabric is that perfect teal and brings that out blue I love the atmosphere. It’s so hard to find a small but spacious section that’s stylish, affordable, and not entirely a yawn-fest – but I think we’ve found one!
Once the sofa was here, I was energized and inspired to design the entire room in true jungle style. First I added a couple of pillows from my new collection with Loloi (coming out next month) and some African and African inspired accessories (remember this post I did on Afribo?) The table is an antique Moroccan carved wood table with a brass tray inside. The curtains are Mali indigo panels (found at the Santa Monica flea market), and the baskets on the wall were a gift Dabito He brought me back from his trip to South Africa, and then there’s my Jojo hat (that big, round, feathered blue yumyum). Then (of course) I decorated a lot of plants. It’s amazing how one piece of furniture can make an entire room come together almost instantly.
Here are some more beautiful picks for, you know, Pinterest and stuff 😉
(In this shot, you can see the old wall unit from the “before” peek photo – we plan to install the HVAC next year, but to keep things nice, we moved things around and put the clip on the back wall)
Well, go get new partitions now. Connect your forest. Get cozy with your boo. Let your 3-year-old eat buttery popcorn on it (well maybe not) but seriously, for a relatively small investment, it’s worth it. Those relaxing hours after work are so important and now when I enter this room I feel instantly happy and relaxed, it’s so amazing.
Useful Links:
Jonathan Lewis website
Jonathan Lewis Dealer Locator
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*This post was created in partnership with Jonathan Lewis. All opinions are my own.
*Photography by. J Blakeney
