More Space asked Steve Cordony, Belle magazine’s style director at-large and popular stylist and interior Instagrammer, for his top 5 tips for shaping the living space, from layout, flow, colour and texture, to how he creates the right mood for lounging at home.
The living space is often considered the entertainment or comfort centre of the home. But it is also a space to portray your personal sense of style and showcase your unique design perspective with key furniture items and accessories.
When designing a living room, there are many factors and interior principles to consider. Starting with the overall layout and then styling it with personal objects and accessories, a living space allows you to create a look that is not only layered and comfortable, but can show off your interior design prowess.
Maxalto Amoenus Soft
It’s all about layout and flow
The living space is often connected to dining and flows into the kitchen, so establishing the right layout is the foundation for a well designed living room interior. Look at the key furniture piece, the sofa, and decide whether it should create a division between adjoining spaces, or open to allow flow through each space. From there, work with the floor plan to position armchairs, the TV cabinet, consoles, coffee and side tables.
Choosing the right occasional pieces
When working with the style of an interior scheme, choosing the right occasional pieces to suit the aesthetics and functionality of the space is crucial. The sofa is often the hero of the living room, but it’s the occasional pieces that build on your interior story. A pair of upholstered armchairs sitting opposite a single graphic linear occasional chair creates asymmetric balance, and allows you to play with materials and colours. A beautiful coffee table with complimenting side tables allows you to introduce interesting hard finishes and provides everyday functionality.
At home with Steve - Maxalto Caratos Armchair and Lux Small Table.
Artwork can often be a starting point for the overall colour palette. Image featuring Maxalto Lutetia sofa
Redefining classic lighting with Foscarini Buds light
Rugs and artwork
A rug is the best way to define the living room and create a graphic moment within the space, while artwork can often be a starting point for the overall colour palette. Choosing a neutral colour for the sofa and occasional pieces (grey, flax, charcoal, white), allows you to play with bold colours and patterns. The scale of the room will dictate the size of your rug, but as a general rule connect the front two feet of the sofa, or armchairs, to make the space feel grounded. The tones and textures within your art collection often dictate (and contrast) soft furnishings, hard materials and upholstery for each piece in the room.
Accessories and soft furnishings
Scatter cushions, throws, styling objects and accessories are the most interchangeable elements within your interior. Contrasting interesting textures for accent cushions (velvet, linen, boucle) layers a space and creates warmth. Styling objects and accessories on mantels, coffee or side tables and cabinets, creates personality and a further layer to accent with marble, ceramics, metals, glass and timber. When styling interesting objects and vessels, group them together in clusters to create a vignette, think about different heights and arrange objects so that not everything is on the same plane.
Mood and lighting
Lighting not only creates mood but allows you to make a decorative statement. There is a huge catalogue of lights available, from sculptural, contemporary, or vintage lighting, to balancing (and contrasting) floor, table or pendant lights. Lighting is a great way to make a bold statement and create a focal point in the room.
At home with Steve - Maxalto Caratos Armchair and Lux Small Table.
Maxalto Recipio '14 Writing Desk
B&B Italia Diesis Coffee Table
"Establishing the right layout is the foundation for a well designed living room."
Steve Cordony
Maxalto Lithos Coffee Table - the perfect place to exhibit the most precious objects
The Wrap Up - Steve's top 5 styling tips:
One | Rugs
Rugs define the space and allow you to introduce colour and texture to use as a base for the overall palette of the interior.
Two | Lighting
Floor, table or pendant lighting not only provides low level mood lighting but allows you to create a bold decorative statement.
Three | Accessories and objects
Found objects or items from your travels add personality to your space. Interesting shapes and vessels allow you to create vignettes and styling moments in groupings on coffee tables, mantels and consoles.
Four | Greenery
Indoor plants, floral or greenery brings life into a space while allowing you to choose interesting vessels, planters and vases to style with.
Five | Mood
Not only does lighting create a warm mood, but having a signature home scent creates personality.
