As much time as I spend helping clients choose new furnishings, I rarely buy them for myself. Part of the reason is because I like to decorate my 1939 stone home in period furnishings, so that means lots of flea market and estate sale finds rather than brand-new retail-type furniture. But when I saw this amazing tufted sofa at Merridian a few months ago I simply had to make it mine!
Tufted Sofa from Merridian Home Furnishings
Of course, it wasn’t in this fabric. It was in a lovely yellow velvet in the store, but velvet gives me the heebie-jeebies to sit on. I love the look of velvet, but for some odd reason I can’t stand to touch it – so no velvet sofas for me.
blue velvet would have been lovely, but . . .
Instead I chose this grayed-blue upholstery that I recently spec’d for a client’s sofa pillows. I knew this color would work well with my minty green walls and my butter yellow furniture.
blue tufted Bernhardt sofa
Because I LOVE color so much, I have a tendency to go a bit batty with lots of color in my own home. I was feeling the need to pair down the color palette in my living room a bit, so this is a good balance of colors for me: shades of blue, the minty green, and butter yellow.
can you tell I really love my new sofa??
After ordering the sofa from Merridian, I also purchased a contemporary rug from Dwell Studios for half price. This is as contemporary as you’ve ever seen my house, right?? It really does make the room feel fresher and younger (I could use that myself!)
yet another angle
Remember those turquoise lamps I snagged at Bella Rustica last year? Now they look great in this room.
Not only is the new blue tufted sofa beautiful, it’s so comfortable and incredibly well-made. And it looks nice all the time – the last sofa I purchased had down cushions that tormented me into fluffing their squished selves every time someone sat on them. The cushions of this sofa are firmer, but more comfortable to sit on for long periods of time (like right now as I write this post). A sofa is typically the largest and most expensive piece of furniture in your living room, right? Never doubt that it sets the tone for your entire space, and its size and style can make or break a great living room.
Subscribe to my emails for information about an upcoming workshop I will be offering in early May at Merridian Home Furnishings (2711 Franklin Pike, Nashville) about arranging furniture/accessories and choosing just the right fabrics and upholstery for your space! If you want to learn more about how to choose the right paint colors for your home, check out my Color Workshop Video.
LOVE LOVE LOVE your new sofa, Kristie! And the rug that ties in so well with the butter yellow! I agree, they really freshen the space, and make your other period items even more interesting. Great job!
Thank you so much, Sherry! It just “feels” better in there 🙂
This sofa made the entire room seem so much more sophisticated and “on trend” as you like to say. I would bet that a man would feel more comfortable in this space now too. The last sofa was beautiful, but quite froufrou. You hit the mark with this one!
Thanks, Edith – yes, the former sofa was definitely a bit feminine. It was my grandmother’s and I love it, but I was tired of the more “Victorian” look in the main room in my house. I’ll use it in a less-important room in the house now.
I love everything about this room, but especially how you incorporated the deer head!!! I have (correction, my husband has) several of them and I love to see how savvy decorators use them… most decorators shun them! Thank you!!!
Obviously, I’m not too politically correct, but I see it as “upcycling.” I actually bought it at an antique store 🙂
Kristie,
You certainly picked a winner. It’s neat, classy and looks like it will be very durable. I doubt that it will ever go out of style. The color is pleasing and melds well with your walls, other furniture and rug. I can indeed imagine that it is comfortable. I like the tuxedo sofas with arms the same height as the back. The lines are so “clean” and not bulky.
Beautiful! We’re looking for a new sofa for our family room. I know it needs to be comfortable and like you said, have cushions that don’t need much fussing, but with a big family of 7, do you recommend leather for quick clean-up? Our current sofa has a flat, smooth fabric that shows every smudge of whatever my children might drag in. The covers come off the cushions to be washed, but there hasn’t been much I can do to clean the rolled arms. So……leather?
I can’t stand the feel of velvet either. It gives me the shivers.
If you do leather, try not to do the overstuffed rolled-arm version! Rowe furnishings and Ballard Designs carries sofas that can be upholstered in Sunbrella fabric that will withstand any child or pet, and you’d never know it’s an “indoor-outdoor” fabric. There are also some upholstery fabrics that contain polypropolyne which makes it highly-durable.
I’m curious about why not the rolled arm version with leather? Does the leather wear too much on the rolled arms?
It’s not about the wear, it’s about the size and look. Rolled arms take up a lot of extra space, when you could have more seating space instead in the same square footage. Also, the overstuffed look in leather is just dated and ugly (sorry, but it is!).
While the space factor of rolled arms is a valid consideration, rolled arms do seem to offer the most comfort for leaning on and lying down, factors which may be important to your large family, Eileen, as they are to ours. 🙂
Interesting! I can see about the space issue, but don’t all people, at least occasionally, lay down on their couch? A rolled arm gives you a ready-made pillow. The look probably is dated, but I hope my living room encourages teen use–and for my teens at least, that includes lounging! And of course, the teen use issue is most likely why I find myself needing more frequent furniture updates than most!
It’s nice to get expert opinions and then if I go for the dated and ugly, at least I’m doing it knowingly! Love your posts.
Why not just use a pillow? My kids actually LOVE this sofa and think it’s so comfortable. My 8-year-old begged me to let her sleep on it the first night we got it!
I love your new sofa, too!! Good choice, and beautiful with the colors in the living room!!
This is absolutely perfect! Love it!!!
Love it Christie – I haven’t bought furniture in so long so I’ll be very excited to get some new pieces into our next home. Your sofa looks great and love the fabric you chose for it.
I love your space! It’s very close to the color scheme in my living room. Our new sofa is the same soft blue with yellow side chairs, and the walls are SW Canvas Tan. I thought about a soft robin-egg-bluey like yours but was worried it would clash with the sofa. After seeing yours, I was wrong! Your walls and sofa look great together. Would you please share your wall color? Thanks!
Angel,
Sure – my wall color is Benjamin Moore Prescott Green. All my paint colors are listed in this post, if you are interested:
https://thedecorologist.com/the-decorologists-paint-color-tour
Kristie,
Beautiful sofa and the room looks amazing. I love the bright lamps in there! And I am so glad to know that someone else has an aversion to velvet! I think it’s beautiful but can’t touch it, furniture, clothes, nada. Same with anything suede.
Caroline,
For me it’s velvet, corduroy, suede, and especially FOAM RUBBER!!! Anything that can be stroked the “wrong” way. Glad to see I’m not the only one! 🙂
Beautiful and classy! Love the color and works so well with all of your great furnishings and accessories. Your home looks very welcoming! Great job as always Kristie!
The sofa is stunning and definitely is the show piece of the room! I love all your details. Your color scheme is similar to mine. I LOVE IT! 🙂
LOVE the new sofa. Your living room looks comfortable AND fabulous – WIN WIN! (My rule is no microfiber!!!) 🙂
So I just bought (what I thought was a beautiful) Hancock and Moore “Chancellor” sofa. It is leather, tufted, rolled arm, with egg and dart wood detailing, etc. Thought it might end up an heirloom piece. It was not cheap. I was disheartened to learn it was dated and ugly.
I didn’t say that, Marilyn!!! Please do not mishear me about the rolled arm!!! A tufted leather Chesterfield-type sofa is beautiful. I’m talking about the overstuffed, puffy back, monster-arm type of leather sofa that every bachelor owned in the 1980-90s.
Oh! I am so relieved! I love everything you do, so when I heard the word overstuffed and rolled arm, I just assumed that it sounded like my sofa! 🙂 (Because it does make a statement in the room! I actually am searching for chairs to put with it right now. (I didn’t want to buy “matchy” pieces. ) That’s why there’s no matching loveseat either! Thanks for the quick reply!
i just googled it and it’s fabulous, marilyn! no worries 🙂
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Wow, the brilliant decoration is boosting in your room. I love how you matched everything perfectly yet still highlighting the sofa as the center of the room. Thanks for sharing great furniture decorating ideas