i'm very lucky that when i moved into this flat, it was already "neutrally decorated". what that means, is that it was magnolia throughout, and hideously boring. so when it came to decorating, and making it my own, i knew the only way i was going to do that, was with colour. i've also been lucky enough to visit a number of very colourful countries in my life, and so with my love of travel and exploring countries in the back of my mind at all times, i wanted to make sure my true love was well represented in my decor - which is how my flat has somehow become somewhat of a dedication to travel. and the living room certainly takes its cues from trips to scandanavia, with the great swedish design elements, the candy colourings from denmark, and the unholy temperature of norway in the summer.
there are pops of colour in every corner, and not least of all because of the feature wall behind the tv unit totally covered in pastel polka dots. they're decals so they can come off quite easily, but why would you want to take them off? i found them on wayfair but they're by a brand called george oliver, and they are the perfect way to tie in the colours of the sofas, cushions, and colourful furniture i've collected. all of the white storage furniture is from trusty argos, from their zander collection. it took me ages to find furniture that i liked, that looked a little different to your ikea classics, and that has reasonable delivery options. i love that with argos you can choose what day and timeslot you want your stuff delivered - makes it easier to plan around!
the array of random coffee tables are all also from wayfair. in fact, i got a lottt of stuff from wayfair because they just literally have everything. and really, really affordable. thanks to the combo of wayfair, amazon and argos, i managed to furnish the whole flat for around £2k - not bad, for all new stuff, i don't think. as this is the only time i'll be a first-time buyer, i wanted to reward myself with only new furniture for the flat. don't get me wrong: i looked at second hand, i just could never find what i was looking for. instead, i did what i do best: shopped the sales.
the colourful cushions and books and rugs and prints are from so many random places that i couldn't possibly link you to everything, but i guess the most important things in the living room are the candy coloured sofa bed and bucket chair for all my lounging needs. again, these took ages to find, and took about six weeks to arrive - despite the fact they didn't need building offsite or anything like that, i think they just came from europe. i was away for a lot of may and june and so it just took time for them to arrive, but when they did it was love at first sight. i got both in the sale at slf24.co.uk which is choc-full of beautiful scandi-inspired pieces. i discovered this site on like, the eighth page of google when i just was so bored of not being able to find what i wanted. i wasn't sure the colours would work - but i'm so glad they do.
i am genuinely so insanely happy with how this room has come together - a lot of people can't believe how quickly i've pulled it off, but truth be told: i'm not very patient and i wish i had done a lot more than i already have. sure, i've started a couple of the other rooms, and even almost finished another (bathroom: coming soon!), but i really wanted to make sure that the room i would be spending a lot of my time in (now that i am a homeowner and can't lark about as much as i used to) was comfortable, colourful, and cute as fuck. and, i'd like to think i have totally nailed that brief.
let me know what you think!
