floor cushions...

I got this message from a dear friend of mine...

"Amnah, what should I do when my idea of living room decor is not materialised because my husband's idea of decor is a sleeping mat and pillows on the sofa 24 seven? I can't seem to decorate it because it just looks like a big messy bedroom... should I move the TV elsewhere so that the living room does not look like a bedroom?"

My suggestion would be to either move the TV to a bedroom...

modern bedroom design

Or if you don't like the idea of having a noisy TV in your bedroom, how about getting comfortable and pretty floor cushions for that extra comfort the husband is craving for while he watches his favourite shows?

These would be my picks for flat floor cushions...

Pottery Barn

Kaboodle

Kaboodle

Etsy 

And oversized pillows look great too like the striped one in the photo above!

Here are some images of pretty rooms that look comfortable without the sleeping mats and extra pillows from the bedroom...

Home Design

Floor poufs and cushions make hanging out on the floor as comfy as sitting on the sofa in the outdoor room above.

via American Gypsy Living

On a good day, oversized floral pillows sit atop flat floor cushions neatly.

via Home Interior Design

These two floor cushions sit beneath the coffee table and can pulled out for extra seating when there are guests.

via American Gypsy Living

Textured floor pillows look great in this eclectic room.

source unknown

Floor pillows makes a room look more casual, inviting and less formal.

source unknown

source unknown

I really do like the idea of having floor pillows! It would be great for those lazy days enjoying my favourite shows on TV!

Happy Wednesday!

So my style is...?

The best thing about having a new home is the ideas and inspiration we can find online as we dream of how the home will be decorated.

Even though renovation has not even started yet, there are days when I'm dreaming away of what my living room would look like.

If I were to define what style I would go for, I don't think I can put my finger on it.

It's a mixture of beachy decor made of blues, greens and greys...

Velvet & Linen

I am also inspired by the use of simple lines and natural materials, and darker, accent colours like the vases in this room...

via Mark D. Sikes

I love neutral-themed rooms too...

Curated Style

My Notting Hill

And some modern elements to spice it up a little bit!

Cote de Texas

I think I will use a mixture of all the features I love in each of the photos above to decorate my living room!

Have a wonderful day! 

Fantasy view of France

I've never been the daring type to go all-out with colours when it comes to decorating. It's not easy to make everything look good together.

This photo caught my eye.

My Home Idea

I love the different colours used in this room and somehow the antique painting of a fantasy view of France just brings the whole room together. It calms the room where there are a lot of patterns and colours in the throw pillows and the stools and curtains.

How do you inject colours in your room? Any tips and tricks on getting a colourful palette without going overboard?

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

lived-in look - sets of The Vow

Last Saturday, I went out with a few of my gorgeous girlfriends to enjoy the ultimate chick flick recently released in cinemas - The Vow. I was excited, as the last movie I watched was Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows part 2... yes, it has been that long.

Just before the accident which caused Paige's memory loss. See that lorry coming their way?

Not going to spoil this movie for you all, but let me just say I enjoyed the movie despite it being chock-full of cliches and (I know, I know!) it didn't fare well with the critics. As always, I cry in soppy love stories (which amazes myself and my husband as I'm not the soppy type. We're at a loss as to how soppy movies manage to push my waterworks button).

Anyway, as always, I like to look at the home sets they use on shows I watch, and I was delightfully impressed with the kitchen of the industrial loft of where the commercially good-looking couple, Paige (Rachel McAdams) and Leo (Channing Tatum) live in.

Firstly, I noticed they used pretty aqua-blue backsplash tiles which looks great with the white cabinets and wood countertops. I also noticed they used open shelves for the upper cabinets, and a stainless steel little portable island. The little plants on the windowsill above the sink also makes the home look lived-in, showing a bit of Paige's nature-loving character.

So, it turns out that the production designer of this movie is Kalina Ivanov, who happens to have won an Emmy for her work on HBO movie, Grey Gardens. No wonder.

Here are some more photos from the set of The Vow taken from Apartment Therapy. You can read the article and view more photos of the sets in this movie there. Enjoy!

A view of the rest of the loft from the kitchen. Like the green industrial lamps above the island and the open brick wall.

Paige tries to do a timeline of her photos on the dining table. Kind of like the Facebook Timeline which is being forced upon us all. Love the huge lamp shades.

The bedroom. I've always loved the idea of having built-in bookshelves around the bed. Ain't that pretty. Cool artwork above the bed.

Paige's studio

Paige and Leo in her studio

Which reminds me (pun not intended) - Paige lost her memory of the last five years, and she seemed bewildered with the fact that (spoiler alert) she dropped out of law school and became an artist. I mean, in reality, wouldn't she be amazed upon finding this out because a passion doesn't come out of no where? If I were Paige, after losing my memory and finding out from my incredibly good-looking and sensitive stranger/husband that I was a talented artist, I would be like, "Whoa! I'm an artist?! I've always loved art! Good on me!" and do a funny but endearing little dance.

So Paige has super-rich and estranged parents, but she lost her memory so she can't wrap her head around why in the world she would not have spoken to them in the last five years. So she goes back to her parents' home and leaves poor Leo mourning alone in their stylish loft.

Here's the parents' rich and sophisticated, formal home - looking all classy but cold. I think the formal family portrait brought in that feeling.

The tastefully-decorated formal living room with dark walls and furniture and a serious-looking family portrait of Paige and her family.

More dark furniture in the dining room. Nice wallpaper there.

Finally, Paige sort of comes to her senses and moves in to a city apartment all by herself.

Paige's loft, decorated with sculpture pieces, looking similar to the loft she shared with Leo.

Have you watched The Vow yet? After watching this, I feel like going on a Rachel McAdams'-romantic-movies-marathon. Starting with...The Notebook!

Hope you enjoyed these photos. See more of the set here.

Have a great Monday!

A Villa in Mykonos island

There's this little island in Greece, called Mykonos, where there are lovely villas for super rich tourists to lay back and enjoy the beach.

I found these two images from this website.

I love the colour palette of blues, creams and beiges. Note the casual elegance of the room - the curtains, the trestle table, the plaster walls. Gorgeous.

Another view of the same room. I fell in love with the window seats. Beautiful. Another trestle table behind the L-shaped linen-covered sofa.

Beach decor at its best!

a look into seaside decor

I’ve never really been a fan of beach / seaside décor, but after collating photos on Pinterest, I find myself drawn to the qualities of how beach homes are decorated – casual, laid-back and elegant. Nautical has never been my thing, nor knick-knacks made of seashells and corrals, so I think this style, sans these two elements would be more appealing to me.

This is pretty though. Source

One thing in particular that I am drawn to is the palette of greens, blue, sandy whites and driftwood greys. 

Source

I have always loved rooms that look casual and effortlessly pretty with nothing too precious to touch. 

Via Decor de Provence

You don't need to worry about the kids ruining your furniture. 

Pinterest

Slipcovers are also useful - just whip them off to the laundry whenever they get dirty. 

Eclectic Revisited

I love the use of linens, seagrass rugs, the wooden driftwood table and coral as decoration. The palette of natural neutral hues is beautiful. 

Velvet & Linen

Of course, I couldn't resist putting up this picture again. The perfect palette with a casual, beachy feel to it! 

Eclectic Revisited

This breakfast nook is gorgeous too. The painting of the ocean is reflecting the view from the window across, I would guess. 

Eclectic Revisited

The adjacent kitchen with the ocean blue backsplash tiles is gorgeous. I love the stone floors too. 

via Kitchen Design Photos

This kitchen is beautiful too.


Lets see what a beach-themed bathroom would look like.

via By the Sea

via Delight by Design

And finally, a beach-themed bedroom to retreat to. 

via SW Design

Do you like the beach look? I love the elements of casual and elegance that it brings!

coffee table ottomans

I am making a confession...our living room does not have a coffee table and its been that way for over a year now.

So when guests come over, we serve our drinks on the dining table. Our remote control sits on the side table, or on the arm of the sofa. So do my books and magazines.

I've never really considered the coffee table as a necessity, and never really thought it was practical for bigger families for these three reasons:
1. they take up floor space which is a problem if you don't have a huge living room
2. our toddler likes an open space to toddle on the carpet as we watch TV
3. it's not really kid-friendly as kids may bump and hurt themselves on them.

So I have long been considering using ottomans as an alternative to the traditional coffee table. They are more friendly to children, can double up as extra seating and look great too.

Here are some of my favourites.

Image from here

This ottoman is more of an upholstered bench. I love the colour and the shape. It's a good size too to fit in your serving tray and some knick knacks.

Image from here

In this image, this ottoman could be the focal point of the room!

You can also have 2 smaller ottomans so that they can be easily moved to the side when you need extra seating and space:

Image taken from here

Or you could even have it both ways - an ottoman AND a coffee table layered on top! How pretty is that? It reminds me of those breakfast in bed trays:

Image source

The next time you scout for a coffee table, do consider ottomans for their multi-functionality!

sofa guide

I received a request from a reader to write a post on sofas. Which was good timing because I had recently visited Macy, a store here in Malaysia selling sofas at affordable prices and nice sofa designs. A store like this is hard to find here - sofas are either pretty but expensive or cheap but not-so-pretty. Click here to view their website.

Here's a list of my personal preferences on looking for a sofa - those gathered from my obsession of collecting photos of beautiful rooms :-)

1. Shape
I like sofas with clean lines, no bulkiness and simplicity. Like the sofas featured in this room:

Image source Velvet & Linen

 This has to be my all-time favourite living room. I love the streamlined shape of the sofas. I'm also in love with the colour palette.


2. 3-seater or 2-seater?
While you can get value for your money when you purchase a set of sofas, I find that its nice to mix and match. If your budget allows, opt for a 3-seater with several wingback chairs in complementing colours and patterns.

Image source

This room has a 3-seater in a solid statement colour and four 1-seaters in complementing neutral colours.

3. Colour and Pattern
For your main sofa (usually the 3-seater), I would prefer a solid neutral colour with no patterns. That way, you can accessorize with pretty throw pillows. You can also mix and match with other chairs in the room.

Image source

A pretty turquoise sofa dressed up with bold patterned throw pillows.

One of Phoebe Howard's rooms. A neutral-coloured sofa dressed up with blue-gray and yellow throw pillows:

Image source

Patterns are also great in hiding stains and dirts. I'm not a floral-fabric kind of gal, but if you do like them, keep the pattern on your main sofa only.

Stripes are also making a comeback these days. But make sure your other seating doesn't go overboard with too many stripes.

Image source

4. Material
I've recently become a fan of slipcovered sofas. I find that they are practical and convenient for families with children - they can be slipped off to wash and slipped back on. And, it could be an option for people who like their sofas white so you can easily put them in the wash every time they get dirty (though this might mean you'll need several sets of slipcovers!).

Linen is a popular material for slipcovers at the moment - if you like that crumpled, casual look. Just remember that linen must be prewashed before you get them made into slipcovers as they do tend to shrink.

Image source

More slipcovers:

house beautiful

Leather is also a good material that ages well. I'm not a big fan, but here is a photo of a pair of leather armchairs. I really like that fabric on that table, too.

Image source

5. What about L-shaped sofas?
Yeah, what about it? L-shaped sofas are quite popular here in Malaysia - I think mostly for it being able to accommodate more people on it and its practicality for falling asleep in front of the TV :-)

You can consider this if you have a big family. Here's a nice one.

contemporary living room design

Do share with me your personal preferences in getting a sofa! I'm sure there are more aspects that I have not covered! Love hearing from you!