Pillows for a Cream Sofa That Add Interest Without Adding Stress
I used to tell people to keep pillows on a cream sofa strictly neutral. Cream, white, maybe a very apologetic beige, nothing that could stain, nothing that could clash, nothing…
Dark Brown Sofas Deserve a Second Look
I spent about four years telling clients dark brown was a mistake. Told them it ate light, made small rooms feel like a dentist’s waiting room from 1997, and that…
What Goes Beside, Inside and Under a TV Stand
I was standing in Target with a rug swatch in one hand and my phone in the other, texting a photo of my TV stand to the group chat with…
Living With Light Yellow Walls: Curtains, Furniture and Sofas That Work
My friend Wendy painted her whole living room a light yellow called “Farmhouse Butter” two summers ago, hung linen curtains in a warm white, and the room looks like something…
The Navy Sofa Debate: Love It or Doubt It?
I have genuinely lain awake, actual insomnia, over whether a navy sofa was going to make my living room look like a hotel lobby or like something out of a…
Making a Black Leather Sofa Feel Like Home Instead of a Lobby
I used to think black leather sofas were a lost cause, decor wise. Not ugly, just cold, the kind of piece that looks like it belongs in a dentist’s waiting…
Gray Couch Bought, Now Comes the Hard Part: Everything Around It
“Gray goes with everything, you can’t get it wrong.” That’s what the guy at the furniture store told me when I bought my sofa, standing there with his hands in…
Brown Sofas Are Making a Quiet Return: How to Style One Now
A woman at the fabric counter, maybe thirty years old, tanned the way people who ski a lot are tanned, told me brown sofas were “having a moment.” She said…
Coffee Table Trial and Error: What Stayed and What Got Moved
What do you actually think a coffee table is for? Because I spent about three years furnishing mine like the answer was “displaying a single orchid and a stack of…
Living With a Brown Leather Sofa: What Sits Well Around It
My roommate had literally just set a mug of tea directly on the arm of my brown leather sofa, no coaster, nothing, and before I could even get the words…