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    Finishing touches to a living room

    Finishing Touches

    What finishing touches to add to your newly decorated living room?

    Finishing touches are literally the cherry on the top, the icing on the cake, the tiny details that make the whole seem extra special. But it’s possible to overdo them. Combine bad taste with bright colours and strong fragrance, and you’re ripe for a sensory overload in your living room.

    How to avoid that? Read on! Just a few additional details will make your newly designed and decorated living room into a place you’re happy to call home.

    What finishing touches to add to your newly decorated living room?

    Look, we’re not talking china shepherdesses, crystal animals, or doilies. Please, not the doilies.
    But there’s a lot of sweetly ornamental, but gently statemented items you can use to make a difference. And when we say ‘a lot’, we mean ‘make choices, don’t go overboard’.

    Art, ornaments and mirrors

    mirror image
    Most people aren’t ‘into’ art; but what home doesn’t have a few pictures on the walls? Whether it’s a collection of fine art prints from your favourite online gallery, framed with a touch of panache; or an eclectic curation of work that has touched your heart over the years, bare walls need to be broken up with beauty.

    Mirrors are a excellent additional framed item that can free up the design. They have the increased benefit of making your room seem larger, so strangely, a large mirror in a smallish room can work wonders for your sense of space. They’re also often less expensive than art, and come in some amazing frames.
    Ever wondered how mirrors are made? Check out this fabulous video showing the process.

    Who knew?!
    Ornaments … well, yes. They’re not for everyone, but we’ve all got our foibles. Whether it’s a lucky three-legged frog to boost your feng shui fortunes, or some pieces left over from when you travelled around Thailand in your twenties, the only two rules you need apply when it comes to ornamental decoration is:
    1. Does it coordinate or set off your décor?
    2. Does it say something about you?
    Which leads us into the next part:

    Personal items

    What really makes you you? Your interests, your style, your colour sensitivity? What can you use to really show off yourself, whilst remaining true to good taste?
    We can’t help you with this. Whether it’s musical instruments, a gorgeous chess set you bought in Malta on your honeymoon, or a set of coasters you found in Harvey Nicks a million years ago when you were young, rich and foolish, you’ll know what you should show off.
    One thing, though. Less is more. Trust us on this. Pick out things that go with your décor; that highlight or oppose the main of the textures or colours.

    Greenery and plant life


    Plants. They’re strangely good company, brighten the place up, and they even make the air easier to breathe.
    Pot plants can hang, nestle in the windowsills, or brighten up a dull alcove.
    Tall ones can improve the height of your surrounds, especially in the corners, while short or trailing plants can smudge the impression of hard lines in the design of the room.
    Lots of rustic-string hanging planters are available in a variety of colours for as little as a Euro or two, so you may as well plan ahead, and leave a little space for your greens.

    Texture and colour add interest to your living room

    Designers are forever going on about texture and colour. What do they mean by texture? Here, you want to consider a contrast between textures already in the room and those you can introduce for an opposite effect.
    For example, your walls and flooring may be hard. Your windows may have shutters or a roller blind. Wooden or veneer furniture. These textures are all hard, smooth surfaces, whether a shiny, silk, or matt finish. Opposing contrasts could be a fabulous fluffy rug on the floor; something monochrome if you’ve got a boldly coloured room, or something brightly coloured if you’ve gone for neutral shades throughout.

    Cushions and rugs

    Soft cushion covers in gorgeous complementary colours (use a colour wheel app if you don’t know what this means) and a variety of prints will give some comfortable informality to the general look of the place. In fact, comfort is where it’s at with soft furnishings.
    You can get them specially made if you’ve got some special fabric in mind, but otherwise why not just keep your eye out and impulse buy a few here and there?

    Window coverings: blinds, shutters, and curtains

    If you’ve got an abundance of hard surfaces in your living room—wooden or laminate floor, fireplace or mantelpiece, coffee table, lamps—you could do with a few new textures to change it up.
    Curtains should always be hung from as high as possible, dropped right down to the floor (none of this stopping at the windowsill business).
    Although it may be tempting to stick to the main colour or a neutral, you’ll find a better effect if some of the colours on the curtains match up, and some of them stand out.
    And you didn’t fancy curtains, or you’ve already got an abundance of soft textures, shutters are still a pleasing aspect of window dressing.

    Light up your living space with sensitivity

    Standalone lamps and sources of light will set off the features of your room, and if you choose them right, you won’t damage the overall look. Your tone is already set, so you’ll already know if you want industrial-style, metal standard lamps, chunky rustic wooden pieces, or something rather elegant.

    They let you brighten parts of the room, rather than the whole, giving yourself contrasts of light and dim to introduce mystery, interest, and practicality into the place.
    Don’t forget about sconces, either. They might be more common in larger rooms and mediaeval castle corridors, but you can bring a new type of atmosphere to your living room, depending on what you choose.

    The colour of your light will have an effect on the comfort of your room, too. Most people prefer warm feature colours for their living rooms. The purples, the maroons, even oranges and golds. For this reason, warm-toned light is normally the answer.
    Cool-tone (or blue-tone) white light tends to make a room seem much more harsh. You wouldn’t be able to relax in a police cell, so why would you bring police cell effects into your living room?

    Give yourself plenty of options, too. You don’t know what you’ll need the light for at this stage. So provide yourself with both muted and bright options to be sure.

    Fragrance brings in a new dimension

    And finally, consider the fragrance of your room for a real neural-programming effect. Smell has a deep effect on our memories, so when you have an opportunity to design your space, using fragrance to back it up can create a true 3-D sensory experience.

    Many people prefer fresh and light fragrance in their homes; the vanillas, the ‘laundered linen’, and citrus deliciousness. However, there are enough sales of incense sticks to indicate that warm and spicy is also a long-term favourite for many.

    All in all, the decorating isn’t finished until the details have been set. Finding the right pieces and atmospherics will depend totally on you and your tastes, but no matter what lights your candle, you definitely need some finishing touches in your living room.

    Not sure where to look for help with finishing off your decorating? Nip over to our directory right now, and select ‘Finishing Touches’ in the category drop-down box. You’ll find a swathe of Irish businesses that are happy to help you put the finishing touches on your living room.

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    How do I decide where to put my Sofa?

    How do I decide where to put my Sofa?

    The sofa is the biggest piece of furniture to be placed in the living room. The ideal sofa placement will be based around a few things like the balance and flow of the room and the amount of space that should be left around the sofa. All these factors will help you to decide on where you should put your sofa.

    Due to your sofa being such a large item it takes up a lot of physical space, but it also takes up a lot of visual space. When a sofa is placed in a living room or another room it may appear to leave the room unbalanced, with your eye automatically being drawn to the largest object in the room. This can be solved by using other pieces of furniture being placed on the other side of the room. In doing this you will appear to have created more of a balance in the room. This means that the sofa will not become the focal point of the room.                                  

    When thinking about where to place your sofa you should think about the traffic flow of the room. Due to the sofa being such a large item and taking up large amounts of space you don’t want it to be placed too close to any doors as many people would travel through this area, having a large item such as a sofa there would create a tripping hazard. It is also important that if there is a coffee table in the space where you want the sofa to be, it would be important to leave a large enough amount of space between the coffee table and the sofa so that people have enough space to get in at the sofa.

    It is very common for people to push a sofa up against a wall and sometimes it is needed due to the size of the room, but in general it is much better to give the sofa space form the wall. This is especially important when there are radiators on that part of the wall as this may damage the sofa.

    The ideal sofa placement in a living room is one that it at an angle to the tv that is not so large that the picture becomes distorted  and not so small that the people sitting there would be excluded from a conversation. It should also be on the opposite side of a room to another sofa or more than one smaller piece of furniture so the room appears to be balanced in the room. It should be close enough the a window to provide light and to allow for a breeze during the hotter months but also close enough to a radiator/heater so that the people sitting there stay warm during colder months, but not to close as to cause them to sweat or cause damage to the sofa material. The sofa should also be far enough away from any entrances to the room to avoid creating a tripping hazard.

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    Curtains or Blinds – When is best to use which?

    Curtains or Blinds  – When is best to use which?

    Curtains and blinds are both very different in how the act and in how they look but ultimately have the same outcome. Curtains do come across much more stylish and can fit in with the rest of the decor nicely if chosen well. They can be used to coordinate with everything else in the room or stand out in contrast. Whereas curtains do come in a variety of styles and texture they are not a useful in everyday life as blinds are. Curtains have the added benefit of adding warmth to a room, they also work as a sound barrier to keep noise inside the room. But blinds make a room seem much larger and fold away easily. 

    The price or curtains and blinds can vary a lot due to the material used and the quality of the material. The price may also vary due to the process in which they have to be put in because quite often bought products would have to be custom made which always increases the price. Curtains are often made from linen and luxury products such as that which makes them very expensive, whereas blinds are mostly made from wood or high quality vinyl. This makes them still expensive but far cheaper than most curtains. Installation of both curtains and blinds is not wildly difficult and would be and easy enough D.I.Y. project, but prices can vary on installation so you would have to shop around for the best price.

    The amount of light let in by curtains will depend on the the type of material that the curtains are made out of and how transparent it is. Blinds are much more versatile especially the vertical and horizontal blinds as they can be adjusted to allow different amounts of light in at your will.  

    In extreme climates more expensive curtains may be required. There are specially backed thermal curtains are available to ensure that the maximum amount of heat is kept in. In these sort of situations blinds would not be very useful as they do not keep in  massive amounts of heat and would almost be rendered null and void in extreme situations.

    Another benefit of blinds is that they provide some form of privacy at all times. Curtains only provide privacy when closed, but even when blinds are tilted to let in more light they still provide privacy. When closed both products give you complete privacy from the outside world.

    In my opinion the best scenario is having blinds and curtains, but this is the most expensive option of the three. Having both blinds and curtains will allow you to control the amount of light that is being let into the room. It will also keep the room much warmer with the added two layers to prevent heat loss . There will be less noise escaping the room with the added benefit of having some amount of privacy at all times.

    Realisticly when it comes to buying curtains and blinds with will all come down to what your budget is and what needs you have, because if you live in a hot country it is not going to be necessary to have big thick curtains. But both are extremely useful and versatile products.

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    How to create the Perfect Bathroom

    How to create the Perfect Bathroom

    A bathroom all be it one of the most often used rooms in the house is quite often forgotten in something like the remodel of a house, but it is almost always an easy fix to spruce it up a bit. It starts with trying to organise all the toiletries and towels. This can often be solved by removing old bottles. Another solution is instead of having a mirror, have mirrored cabinets or multi-tray storage units to hold items and stop them from cluttering up your bathroom.

    Another thing you can do to brighten up your bathroom is get a decent bath mat, getting a nice bath mat can bring some colour to the room. Making sure that the mat is good quality, so that it feels nice under foot when getting out of the shower and absorbs all the moisture so you not left with a puddle on the bathroom floor.

    When it comes to the colour of your bathroom you should choose a colour that helps set the tone of the room. Most people prefer to go with clean and bright colours like white so that the room appears bright, but I would recommend using warmer colours while still keeping the brightness such as off white or grey. You could also go with a darker colour scheme for much cosier feeling that could be added to the room by using colours such as blue, turquoise or even red. These colours will make the room much darker, making the room feel smaller and much cosier.

    Tiling your bathroom is another way to make it more interesting or give it a bit of life even if you cannot afford to tile the whole room try adding a border. Tiles give a bathroom fresh fresh clean look that can only be achieved by gleaming tiles. Another benefit is that they are are to keep clean and maintain.

    Another small thing that can be added to to tidy up the appearance of the bathroom is a towel rack. Even a simple one can be a great help help in preventing the towels from being left in a soggy pile on the floor or dripping off the shower rail. They can be whatever size, shape or colour you need to suit the style of your bathroom. You could even use something like a vintage ladder as a towel rack.

    Something that you can do to really improve your bathroom is adding a nice scented soap or even a candle. Having a nice strong smelling soap can often leave the bathroom smelling just like the soap. Another way to go is with candles, having a scented candle can have the same effect as the soap, but it acts much quicker.

    Adding art is one of the easier ways to change a room. It is quick and easy to ad paintings, photographs and even models or statue. These few things can really transform it into a new space, you should be aware of humidity though. The humidity may affect the look of the painting and may lead to colours fading.

    There are a few smaller things that can be added to liven up the place as well. Such as replacing the counter tops, or adding a table lamp, adding a flower or replacing your shower curtain. Even adding a wall decal to entertain wandering eyes. Doing these small things can greatly help improve the appearance and appeal of your bathroom.

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    Guide to Buying Plants – Artificial or not?

     Guide to Buying Plants – Artificial or not?

    Artificial plants were often seen as cheap, tacky things to have around the house because the silk plants were clearly not real and there were very few high street options. While it is preferable to have real plants and foliage around the house, but the upkeep of these plants often proves difficult as people’s busy lives, with work and family take up a lot of time and often provide many distractions which can lead to forgetting to tend to plants.

    There is also a large cost attached to buying fresh flowers and other plants to keep around the house, as fresh plants have to be bought almost weekly. Not to say that artificial plants are not expensive as well, but at least you only have to buy them once.

    There are ups and downs to having each type of plant in your house. Real plants and flower leave a nice fragrance in the room in which they are placed in, but as they start to die petals and leaves will begin to fall off and leave a mess. Also real plants will help increase the air quality of your home but artificial plants cannot. Whereas artificial flowers do not wilt or die, but they also do not leave the pleasant smell you acquire with a real plant. Having flowers fake or real will help brightens up the room.

    Nowadays the technology has come a long way from plants made from fabric. Now they are mostly made from plastic. This makes them look much more realistic. In some cases almost identical to another plant because they can be made from molds of real plants. Sometimes they are filled with foam which makes them look extremely realistic and gives them a nice texture. An added benefit of the flowers being made out of plastic is that many plants used around the home already look and feel quite like plastic.

    When buying real plants you need to look out for tropical plants because many of them are suited to growing in shaded areas due to the thick canopy of the rainforests. This makes them suitable for indoors, as the do not need massive amounts of sunlight to grow. Also try to buy plants in person so that you are able to pick them out yourself, in doing this you with be able  check for any damage done to the leaves by insects or any sign of disease.

    Remember that not all houseplants are going to be organic, as they are mostly tropical plants and will have to be growing in controlled environments and have pesticides used to prevent the plants being infested with bugs not natural to their ecosystem.  

    When buying fake plants you should attempt to buy plants or flowers that already resemble plastic (banana plants, bird of paradise and lotus leaves) so that they appear more realistic. Also try to get preserved plants as preserved plants are no longer alive, or fake plants similar to preserved varieties. Having these will give the impression that you are able to take care of and nurture plants without having to put in the time and effort.

    When buying houseplants always make sure that you are buying plants that are suitable for living indoors and that the fit in with the surrounding scenery, be aware of the needs of the plants (how much light and water the do or don’t need). Often people just assume that plants need lots of water and sunlight, but this is not always the case, many houseplants are not found naturally occurring in the country which they are used as houseplants. This is why it is important to know about what type of plants you have and where they’re from. Knowing this information will allow you to give it the best care that is available to you and give it the best chance of life.

    One of the reasons for it to be more preferable to buy artificial plants because there is a lot of to be put into maintaining a plant that will ultimately have to be replaced. I think that spending money on good quality artificial plants is much better than constantly buying real ones. It may be a bit pricier may to go with the high street options, but you only have to buy them once and it turns out better in the long run.  

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    Hot Tips to Winter Proof your home

    Hot Tips to Winter Proof your home

    The team at Finished have put together these 5 Tips to keep your home cosy and warm during the Winter and potentially save you money on your energy bills.

    1. Insulation

    Starting with the attic and working your way down the house to the walls and floors, ensure you have good quality insulation such as spray foam or fibreglass. The attic is one of the main places where a house loses its heat at approximately 20% due to heat rising. Invest in some good quality external and internal wall cladding. Also, do not neglect your hot water tank and pipes. By using some pipe lagging and a lagging jacket on your hot water tank, it helps to insulate and keep the heat in for much longer reducing the work your boiler has to do and significantly reducing your heating bills.

    2. Draughts

    A major loss of heat in the house is caused by draughts. Not only can this increase your energy bill but it can also increase the risk of damp and mould growing. Take time this Winter to do a 10-minute inspection of your house particularly on a windy day and go over all of the windows, doors, keyholes, floors and skirting boards checking for any gaps or cracks. Seal any gaps with some easy to use weather strips and foam tape and use a draught excluder to stop heat escaping from under the door. An unused fireplace should be plugged with a chimney balloon which will be sure to keep that heat in where it’s supposed to be.

    3. Heating

    Regulate the heating in your home by using a thermostat or smart heating appliance. It is very important to maximise the use of your heating during the winter and reduce your energy bills by only turning on radiators in rooms that are frequently used and by controlling the time and temperature using smart heating controls. This can help you save on energy bills ensuring the heat is where you need it and when you need it. Heating can take a good 30 minutes to kick in and to also wind down so set radiator controls to turn on 30 minutes before you wake up and turn off 30 minutes before you leave to maximise the benefit for you.

    Also, use aluminium foil or radiator reflector foil behind your radiator as heat can be lost from the back of the wall so this is an excellent tip for reflecting heat to where you need it.

    4. Upgrade windows and doors

    If you have the budget to do so, it is a very wise decision to upgrade your windows and doors to energy-efficient ones saving you money on your utility bills while also reducing your energy loss throughout the home.

    A good fibreglass or steel exterior door can reduce energy loss throughout the house and provide you with excellent security.

    5. Open fire/ Stove

    While new builds do not have the option of an open fire, if you live in an older style house, note that open fires are an extremely inefficient way to heat your home with approximately 8-% of the heat lost up the chimney. Not only this, but when not in use the heat from the room is also escaping up the chimney unless you combat this with a chimney balloon.

    Investing in a stove is a much better option and a lot less maintenance is required. If you do use an open fire, clean chimneys regularly, check vents, smoke alarms and C02 monitors.

    Please note home energy grants are available from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).

    Visit www.seai.ie to see all of the grants on offer for homeowners that you can apply for to reduce energy costs.

     

    Remember to get your boiler checked and serviced once per year.

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    How to choose the right rug for your room

    How to choose the right rug for your room

    A nice rug can often set the tone of a room. It can help turn a room into a comforting and welcoming environment. This all comes down to choosing the right size, shape and colour rug to go with the room, while keeping in mind the amount of space you have in the room and what type of room you are fitting out.

    Rugs can help to reduce noise around the house especially on hard surface floors like hardwood and tile. It would also absorb noise from the air, which would help to reduce, or remove, an echo. So choosing a thicker material, such as wool, would benefit more here as a thin cotton rug would not make much of a difference.

    The rug can be any size, shape or colour as long as they are relative to the style and size of the room.The size of a rug is only relative the the size of a room because if a rug is too big or too small it may throw off the look of the room and make it less aesthetically pleasing to the eye. The rug should also go with the colour scheme of the room to appear more pleasing.

    This also depends on the type of room, for example, in a living room you could use a large rug to place all the furniture on (chair, sofa, coffee table, etc.). In doing this you will anchor all the furniture to the floor.But a smaller rug may be preferable with furniture surrounding using the rug as a centre piece.

    Often people comment on beautiful landscapes and I feel finding that the right rug can give a room similar attributes of beauty that people see in nature. Almost like making the room an environment and the furniture and perfect rug the terrain to go with it. It can help give your room the warmth you feel when you see a perfect sunset or other spectacular things seen in nature.

    Pairing the right rug to the right room can be tricky. I’m not saying that a room should be designed around a single item such as a rug, but a rug that is not suited to its surrounding environment may ruin the style of a room. But a room designed around a rug can be done and would turn out just as well, if you were willing to take that route.

    The material of a rug is mostly down to preference with a few thing such as durability and quality that come into play when trying to choose. How you want it to feel under your foot would be another major factor when choosing the material for your rug. Materials such as wool,cotton and natural fibres come to mind. All are durable materials the only differences are texture and price. A soft wool rug can bring warmth to a room such as a living room with a hard material for flooring, but a cotton rug may be the best option for an already carpeted floor as it is much cheaper.

    The quality of the rug is very important when trying choosing a rug. A good quality wool rug is very resilient and will bounce back from indentations left by furniture and footsteps. This natural resilience allows the rug to stay looking fresher for longer, without having to do as much work on it as would have to be done on a lower quality rug.

    Where as a cotton rug would often be much thinner and not as soft and plush as a wool carpet but is still just as durable and much easier to clean. There are many other material options for rugs such as natural fibres, synthetics, silk and hydes. Often when choosing you would also have to think about where is is going to be placed, as the environment (sunlight and moisture)  may affect the appearance of the rug such as colour fading or shrinking

    A thick rug is ideal for cushioning footsteps, is much more comfortable to walk on and is better for joints and bones. It is also much less slippy compared to a hard surface floor such as hardwood or tile. When slips and falls would occur they would be much more forgiving, due to the cushioning given by the rug. This is especially useful if young children are running around the house. Choosing a good quality rug will also prevent furniture from moving as much and help to protect hard surface floors from scuffs and marks.

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    Coastal Cool

    COASTAL COOL

    IN 2013, Jennifer Walsh undertook the renovation of a holiday home on Rosslare Strand. Although the original building was sound, it was very dated, and she found she had quite a large-scale renovation ahead. The existing dormer bungalow had been built in the 1970s and still featured the original bathroom, complete with avocado suite, and a brown kitchen with matching appliances. But the real work lay in updating the house for a different generation; two of the four bedrooms were small by today’s standards and didn’t have en suites, and the whole house needed re-plumbing, new windows and insulating to modern standards. “It had to be done, “says Jennifer, “so we took the opportunity to do a really good job, and make a bright, comfortable home for our family and our friends that was warm,
    welcoming, and spacious enough to have guests to stay too.”

    Jennifer wanted the new plans to remain sympathetic to the original house, and in keeping with the landscape. “I wanted to keep it simple, not that different in the external appearance to what it was,” she says. Working with local architect Nicky Mernagh, Jennifer set about a major re-design. “My aims in the ground floor kitchen and living area were two-fold,” she says. “To create a large space for family and entertaining, and to link the interior with exterior living space, as family life is very much focused on the outside and outside pursuits, during the summer months especially. “As part of that, I also wanted the sea to be constantly visible from every area in the ground floor, which is why there are no solid doors on that level; every single one is glazed.”

    The large kitchen/dining space is designed to be open and flow out onto the terrace in summer, but cosy when the winter gales arrive; the house is on an exposed area of coastline and the winter storms are fierce. “This is a very different home in summer and winter, and I kept the living room to the original size and layout for cosy winter evenings around a large open fire,” says Jennifer. Bedrooms are spacious, simple and focused on a sea view. The one exception is the boys’ room, which Jennifer designed as a haven for her sons and their pals, based around a nautical theme.

    The four bunk beds are self-contained, each with its own reading lamp, storage bin withflip-up lid and sockets for iPods and iPads. Jennifer project-managed the job herself, with the help of highly experienced local builder, Liam Byrne of P&L Byrne Ltd. “I absolutely loved it,” she says. “I love the TV programmes about home renovation, but the concrete reality is so much better, I even love the smell of fresh paint and plaster. It’s a rare chance to create a canvas and populate it with your own ideas. This is the third renovation I’ve done and I would love to do more.” The build started in September 2013 and the structural work was substantially complete six months later.

    “For the finishing, I had a theme of simple beach life, using for inspiration homes that I had seen while travelling the east coast of America, Newport in Rhode Island, Stonington, Connecticut and Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts were my favourite sources of inspiration, a ‘cotton fresh’ look, rather than luxurious,” says Jennifer. She assembled a mood board clipped from magazines. “All had similar muted colours, whites, greys and neutrals, darker floors, high ‘Cathedral’ ceilings, and blue and white furnishings,” says Jennifer. “Interest came from flashes of red in the accessories, and extensive use was made of shells, stones and driftwood, beachcombing finds for display. The mood board clarified for me exactly what I was aiming for in the interiors. “I’m really pleased with what I have achieved here,” says Jennifer. “The house functions so well, it is warm, bright and comfortable summer and winter, through sunshine and howling gale, and it is definitely good to go for another generation.”

    Jennifer decided to use a feature wall of rough wood to bring texture and interest to the hall, she then painted it with a watered-down water-based paint to give a sun-bleached look. The floors are engineered wood, “There’s no point in having a lovely solid wood floor when your kids are at the rollerblading stage,” says Jennifer. It was sourced at BTW. Console table and lamps from Furniture Depot, Wexford.

    The candelabras either side of the fireplace were originally from a local church, Jennifer designed the firewood niches and had them made up by the builder. Sofas are from Meadows and Byrne, cushions, The Blue Door, while the rug is from Ikea. Jennifer designed the built-in bunks with storage bins and iPod / iPad sockets as the boys’ own personal spaces, they were made up by Cedar Craft Kitchens. The patchwork throws are from Penneys. Jennifer super-sized the table by adding a new top, the chairs are painted in Chalk Grey chalk paint from Lily Blooms, artwork above the side table is from Harriet’s House. The side table and dining table base are both from Strawbridge.

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    The best of large family sofas: some ideas of what to look for

    The best of large family sofas: some ideas of what to look for

    The best large family sofas are those that are finished in long-lasting fabrics, with well-stuffed cushions that can take plenty of bums all at the same time.

    The fabric

    Seriously, leather is one of the materials that is actually really family friendly. You can see the mess. You can scrape the mess up, if necessary. You can also wipe leather properly, with a damp cloth and a tiny bit of dish soap. Everyone always talks in hushed tones about leather sofas, as if the next child will cause sofapocalypse. But really, because leather doesn’t absorb gunge and liquids the same as fabric, it could be the best material for a family sofa that you ever came across.

    However, in 5 years, don’t expect it to look the same as it did when you first bought it … unless you’re the sort of person who looks ahead. Distressed leather is one of the greatest obfuscations of design. It’s fraught, scraped and different shades, and it still looks amazing. Best to buy it ready-distressed, however. The kind of distress that a family of three toddlers and a large dog could impart on a sofa might not be so evenly distributed.

    If you’re not so keen on leather (and many aren’t, so you’re not alone), whichever fabric you choose should have been checked through the so-called Martindale Rub Test.

    The rub test checks how durable the fabric is, and the more rubs it can cope with, the longer your fabric will survive. Rubs are tested in units of 1,000, and heavy duty and commercial grade fabrics should test out from 25,000 to 30,000+ rubs. If you’ve got a youngish, busy family, you should go for the heaviest, most resilient grade possible, and don’t be afraid to ask about the rub test in-store.

    The frame

    You don’t want to have to buy a new sofa every couple of years. But if there’s one thing that goes with time, it’s the springs and infrastructure of the couch. If you’ve got tiny tots or large dogs, you’ll find the springier they are, the less spring your settee will maintain. These chairs aren’t trampolines, but we’ve all used them for that purpose at some point!

    For that reason, hard wood is the best type of wood frame to get. It’s less likely to give and snap than soft wood. Hard woods you could consider include oak, beech, teak or mahogany. Pine is an example of a soft wood and is more likely to bend, become deformed, or break, if it’s given too much wear.

    Wear often occurs where two pieces of wood rub against either each other or another part within the sofa. This means you may get damage and splintery ends inside the sofa for a while before the real wreck occurs—a finish none of us wants! With softer wood, this will happen more quickly, and it’s almost a given. With the harder stuff, you’ll find it doesn’t have as much of an effect.

    The shape

    All the questions, but only you have the answers. Sofas are totally personal to the people using them.

    How are you going to use your sofa? If you love to lie around on it, you should consider where you head will go as you’re watching TV. Do you sit halfway up the back, your legs supported by a pouf, or do you lie right back with your head on the arm rest? Do you use it like a bed?

    Do you all watch TV together as a family? The bench style, often with a corner feature, is one of the greatest ever designs for family use, according to the Finished team. No-one gets left out, there’s room for littles as well as parents, and there’s no need for a ‘best seat’; they all feel great.

    If a bench-style sofa is too large for your needs, or you have a large family but not enough living room, you’ll have to compromise with a smaller couch and some additional furniture finishing touches. Chaise longue is the type that has a single armrest at one end, and a bench finish at the other. The open ended nature of the piece means you could probably get an extra person on in a tight spot, and for everyone else, there are floor cushions.

    Floor and scatter cushions never go out of fashion and if you get some made in a similar fabric to the sofa, you’re laughing.

    If you’re a lounger, you’ll want soft, well-stuffed cushions underneath and on the back and sides of the settee.

    If you prefer to sit more formally, the Poet sofa design has been around for almost eighty years, and it’s a classic shape that cups the people without throwing them together.

    When it comes to figuring out the best shape and materials for you and your family, pets, and visitors, the best thing you can do is visit the showroom. Go sit in the seats, lounge, take your kids, and make sure you spend enough time sat down to be able to tell how comfortable you are. As with beds, it’s best to use the piece of furniture in the showroom for at least fifteen minutes, to be able to tell if it’s the right family sofa for you and yours.

    Struggling to find a sofa showroom in your area? Check out our Directory and type ‘sofa’ into the keyword box to see where the Finishers get their gear, and take your pick of the best large family sofas.

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