*AD:Gifted - this post contains a gifted sofa from Sofas & Stuff and a gifted coffee table from JYSK. I also received press discounts on the Wayfair rug, Little Greene Paint Company paint and Sofas & Stuff chair. As ever, my views are my honest opinion!*

I like to think our home is a perfect mix of modern and retro with a love of mid-century style, which flows throughout pretty much every room of our house. The living room has always been a favourite room of mine, as the big bay window lets in so much light, and it has a bright and airy feel, with the high period ceilings and exposed original floorboards. Two of the statement pieces within the room are our vintage teak sideboard, which came with us when we moved from London, and is one of my most treasured pieces of furniture, and a brass bar cart, which I bought from a local antique centre for a bargain £20! But, do you know what I’ve never been happy with in the space? The sofas.

Whilst having a sort of mid-century feel to them, they were over 10 years old and just weren’t comfortable anymore. The 2-seater was also a squeeze in the bay window and I’ve always felt it took over the space and made the room feel smaller than it should. That’s why I’ve very rarely shared them on here or Instagram, because they just didn’t feel very me anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for making use of what you have (these also came with us when we moved up North), but I also think you need to admit defeat sometimes and realise when it’s time to let go to make way for something more suitable.

We’d been planning on updating our living room for a while as 3 years in, the paint was starting to look a bit tired. Also, by now, I’m guessing you know that I am a bit of a serial decorator when it comes to repainting the house!

So, imagine my excitement when Sofas & Stuff got in touch about working together earlier last year!

Let me tell you, I was absolutely chuffed to bits, as I was already a fan of their sofas and knew they had a lovely big Manchester showroom too. In fact, I already had my eye on their ‘Haggerston’ sofa, which has a classic mid-century shape and comes with sleek bolster cushions. It felt like the perfect opportunity to give the living room a bit of a revamp.

A NEW SOFA & CHAIR:

Sofas & Stuff are a British brand who offer beautiful sofas, chairs and beds that are handmade to order in Britain in any fabric in the world. They have been in the furniture industry for over 70 years and offer a lifetime construction guarantee on their furniture, alongside free design consultations in each of their stylish 13 UK showrooms. We decided to visit the Manchester showroom to try out the Haggerston sofa, which is situated near The Lowry hotel in the centre of Manchester.

The showroom is spread out over two floors and we were looked after by the lovely and friendly Suzi, who immediately made us feel at home with a glass of fizz (sofas and bubbles – the dream!). It’s a really cool space, which feels more like an open plan apartment than a showroom, and there is a huge selection of sofa, chair and bed styles to try out. With our heart set on the Haggerston, it fortunately didn’t disappoint and was so comfortable, especially with the bolster cushions, and also nice and deep to really sink into.

After originally only being available in three colours, the ‘Haggerston’ sofa has recently relaunched as the ‘Marylebone’ to be available in any colour of fabric, alongside the choice of their brand new ‘Essential’ fabric collection, and very excitingly we are one of the first people to have a bespoke sofa from the range! After looking through the new Essential collection with Suzi, we decided to go for a rich, deep navy velvet with ‘Indigo’ for the 4-seater sofa and also ordered a Haggerston chair in ‘Concrete’ grey velvet. The chair is basically like a cuddler/love seat and fits two people on it and is so lovely to snuggle up in!

All sofas and beds at Sofas & Stuff are made and delivered within a 6-8 week lead time and we received our new sofa and chair in early December – the perfect early Christmas present!

WHY THIS SOFA?

I wanted to enjoy them for a month, so that I could give you the full lowdown on how comfortable, easy to clean etc they are, and I have to say, we are so happy with them. So, here are my thoughts:

They really feel like they will hold their shape well, which I know is a common worry with velvet and how much it might slouch. The cushions are soft yet firm and they have a spring and a bounce to them that feels very sturdy.
Whilst we haven’t spilt anything worrying (wine, ink etc) on them, any general dust or light marks (yes, I’m talking about you Turkish Delight icing sugar at Christmas) has just wiped away and we’ve used the sofa contraption on our hoover to clean them. We chose a dark blue velvet for the sofa, and that colour definitely shows up dust/fluff more than the grey, so something to think about when you’re choosing colours. You can add a protection policy through Sofas & Stuff to put your mind at ease if you are concerned about spillages or damage.
The chair and sofa are SO comfortable. The sofa is one of the deepest I’ve sat on and it’s also really long, so even lying straight out on it with your feet up, there is still plenty of room! The chair is great for cuddling up on together and my niece and nephew have also loved sharing it, so it’s the perfect chair for two children or two friendly adults! The arms on both are quite square, so the bolster cushions are great for adding an extra layer of comfort for your head or as arm rests.

We absolutely love our new sofa and chair and it’s made the whole space feel completely different, and whilst continuing the mid-century style of the space, it also feels much more modern.

THE DETAILS:

Before the arrival of our new sofas, we repainted the ceiling and the walls to give the space a refresh. We used some Hemsley light grey paint we already had for the ceiling (which has now been discontinued) and I chose a Little Greene paint colour for the walls – Celestial Blue. I’ve worked with Little Greene a few times (I’ve often stated how I think they are the best paint I’ve used) and they very kindly gave me a press discount on the paint. It’s the perfect blue/grey/green colour and I like how the colour changes depending on the light. With the light grey ceiling replacing the plain white which we had previously, the room feels much warmer, whilst still retaining the brightness I’ve always loved about it.

To compliment the new sofas, I chose a mid-century style brass and frosted glass coffee table from JYSK, which was kindly gifted to me. If you’re not aware of the brand and you like modern retro and Scandi style, then you need to check them out. JYSK have some great products, which are really affordable, and I’m so impressed with our coffee table. It’s a spacious size and feels really sturdy and looks far more expensive than it was). It works perfectly with the rest of the decor in our living room.

It's also currently in the sale for £60 (instead of £119.99) so grab yourself a baragin here!

I also chose a new Berber style rug from Wayfair and picked a light colour to balance out the darker sofas. It’s great quality and feels so soft on your feet, and with the tasselled edges, it’s as close as I’ve found in design to a traditional Berber rug.

You can check it out in more details here.

To add another mid-century element to the room, I ordered a gorgeous new retro style light from Matalan. The smoked glass echoes the glass on the bar cart and it’s so much brighter than our previous pendant light. I also swapped the light switch for a brass switch from Amazon, which our electrician fitted whilst he was here to replace the light – I eventually want to do this in the whole house, but it will be costly, so I’m going to slowly change them in each room!

We didn’t change everything in the room, however. My beloved retro sideboard and bar cart have remained, alongside our tropical Ikea armchair, palm print Matthew Williamson wallpaper and lamp, and all of our artwork.

The only thing yet to be finished is replacing some of the cushions to tie into the colour scheme more, but I’m going to do this slowly as and when I find cushions I like. I often make the mistake of rushing to get a room finished and end up buying things I go off in a few months’ time, so that’s one little New Year resolution I’m making!

I’m really happy with our living room and the new sofas! Alongside the other new furniture and accessories, they’ve made the space feel grown up and a much better fit with the rest of the house. It’s the perfect place to relax in and over Christmas, we did just that!

Check out our sofa over on the Sofas & Stuff website and choose your own bespoke colour!