Light in the living room can be a blessing and a curse. Many avoid white furniture, dreading the job of keeping it clean. I love it, as long as the furniture is white leather. I take the time, once a week, to briskly wipe it down with a leather cleaner followed by solution to keep it pliant. It takes maybe five minutes and the white is dazzling until the next week. Surrounded with espresso colored tables and consoles, it shines even brighter.
I do not recommend leather if your house belongs to one or more cats. A puncture with their claws shows and eventually the holes will grow with normal usage. My dogs, all having lovely black coats, are allowed up because I know cleanup afterward is little more than a swipe with a damp cloth or paper towel.
Along with looking good, white furniture brightens the room if there isn’t sufficient natural light coming into the area. A bright room makes us feel lighter and happier. Our home has white wooden shutters on all windows. These lend themselves to allowing whatever amount of light is preferred as they shut completely or the slats open to any degree and, last of all, the whole shutter can be opened to allow full sunlight through each window. The open shutters form a frame around the windows. Draperies may or may not be used. I opted not to use them as the shutters provide an unusual and beautiful decoration on their own.
The curse of a light living room comes from the amount of light itself. Direct sunlight may fade furniture and carpeting. With white leather, it may get a ‘suntan’ causing it to yellow. Rarely do I open the shutters completely unless we have visitors. However, with the brightness of the furniture, rarely is full light needed.
Although darker decorations may be preferable in the fall and winter, I enjoy the lighter or brighter colors to celebrate sunny summer. On a console beneath the wall-mounted television, are tulip candle lamps anchoring the other decorations. Those, though completely different on either side of the console, carry through with the same color scheme.
Embracing the sofa are lamps that vary in style, but their silver shades and bases compliment the pictures above the sofa. However, that particular color rapidly becomes boring when not broken up with color. Plants and ceramic flowers help in this regard. And the plants aid in freshening the air inside the home. Notice in the second picture there is a long white bench in the background. This is used as a roomy base for the philodendron plant to spread its healthy vines. Do be careful when using this plant as it has a tendency to attach to things as it grows. We check every day to make certain it is staying on and around the bench without attaching to the shutters.
With the exception of the lamps, almost all decorations came from auctions, yard sales and family. The knickknacks with which we surround ourselves do not need to cost a fortune. Take time to look until you find the right item for the place you are wanting to fill. Sometimes the bargains are more real than you know at the time. I bought two lovely figures of a Chinese man and woman. The cost? A whopping three dollars and fifty cents. When I had them appraised, it turned out they were ivory and worth between $300-400.
Have fun pulling a room together. Do not let it overwhelm you. Be patient and be certain you have exactly what you need to make each room special for you and your family. And bring the light into your house and to your family.