Your living room is the hub of your home. The place where you unwind, entertain or, if you have kids, somewhere you spend too many hours of your life watching Disney films while making sure no one swallows a remote control.
These are the things that make it worth living in.
Loaf Chatnap Modular Corner Sofa Bed
Because without a sofa, a living room’s not up to much is it?
This one is built in Nottinghamshire, features ample storage under the seats and also morphs into a sofa bed when your mates are in town. Or you know, for next-level Netflix and chill.
Available at Loaf, priced £2,685.
French Connection Linen Ombre Square Cushions
Like working nine-to-five, or spending a day’s wage on an haute cuisine tasting menu, sitting on a cushion-less sofa is an empty and unfulfilling experience.
Invest in cushions to transform your sofa into the supremely stylish, can’t-get-up-again-comfortable centrepiece it should be. These ones, from the homeware arm of British fashion stalwart French Connection, are hand dip-dyed, making each one of a kind.
Available at French Connection, priced £38 each.
Content By Terence Conran Balance Coffee Table
Think a coffee table’s just somewhere to land your brew? Think again.
Choose the right one – like this striking contemporary design from The Conran Shop – and your coffee table’s so much more: somewhere to stash mags, a focal point and, sure, a surface to rest your bevvies on. Well, sort of. See below…
Available at Touch Of Modern, priced £520.
John Lewis Croft Collection Arundel Marble Coasters
Your mum was right, wasn’t she? Coasters are important. At least when the table they’re protecting is yours, paid for by you and not something you relished defacing regularly for the best part of 10 years of your life.
Make your mother proud by investing in these solid marble coasters. Unlike cork ones, they won’t disintegrate, and unlike fabric coasters, they won’t look crap once you’ve spilt something on them (which you absolutely will).
Available at John Lewis, priced £20 for a set of four.
The Art Of Looking Sideways Hardcover
Even if you don’t actually read books, in fact because you don’t get near enough time to read them, it’s worth investing in something that’ll at least make you look smart.
The Art of Looking Sideways, by late British graphic designer Alan Fletcher, is just the ticket. A primer in visual intelligence, it’s 1064 pages of anecdotes, quotations, facts and jokes arranged in striking visual displays that bring words and their meaning to life. Which is a damn sight better than a dog-eared copy of last month’s Top Gear.
Available at Amazon, priced £20.37.
Zabel Rosewood Bar Cabinet
Bar actual recovering alcoholics, every man needs a well-stocked at-home bar. (Etiquette experts would argue that they need it, too.) And unless he’s still living in uni halls, he needs somewhere stylish to house it as well.
This cabinet – crafted in India from solid rosewood – will make even bottles of budget swill look good. Featuring a cut hexagonal pattern on the front, it’s got room for nine bottles and two racks for storing glassware.
Most importantly though, it’s a far cry from twenty Glen’s Vodka bottles arranged in a pyramid display.
Available at Swoon Editions, priced £379.
Design Project By John Lewis No.045 Floor Lamp
Hanging lights might look cool in your kitchen, but your living room needs something less stark.
This floor lamp, from John Lewis’ in-house Design Project series, emits a light that’s warm but not blinding and can be used in conjunction with other smaller lamps for a more cosily lit lounge. Plus its LED bulb makes it energy efficient, it’s touch-activated and it looks slick AF.
Available at John Lewis, priced £110.
Gandia Blasco Kilim Seal Yellow Rug
Much like your wardrobe, your living room can benefit from a statement piece, something to draw the eye to centre of the room and contrast with the rest of your minimally masculine furnishings.
Inject some life into your lounge with this honeycomb rug from Spanish brand Gandia Blasco. Made from pure wool, it’s woven using the traditional Kilim technique. Consider it the conversation piece that breaks the ice with potential bedmates.
Available at Olivias, priced from £351.
LG OLED55B6V OLED 55″ Smart TV
Thought OLED 4K displays meant defaulting on your mortgage? Think again.
At about half the price of some of its competitor models, the LG OLED55B6V offers all the eye-popping quality of a state-of-the-art display, without the stonking price tag.
Plus you’ll definitely save on cinema tickets…
Available at Amazon, priced £2,699.
