Inspired spaces with Alice Lines: How to find your living room flow

We’ve been sharing styling advice from homestyle editor Alice Lines. This week, we’ve turned to the living room. Alice puts comfort and functionality at the forefront, while also considering colour, art, and the all-important things you love. Learn how this look came together, and the ways you can embrace these ideas in your living room.

Comfort is key to making your living room feel good. Use the architecture, proportions and orientation of the space to guide the positioning of your key furniture items, then have fun layering in art, objects and accent pieces. Start by asking yourself how you want this zone of your home to function. Do you do a lot of entertaining, or is this your spot to retreat to? With the right finds, your living area could provide for both.

In an open-plan interior, creating a dedicated lounge can take some consideration, since it needs to continue the visual narrative of your kitchen and dining spaces. Consider placing the focus on the centre of the room to create a conversational setting, rather than arranging your furniture along the walls or in relation to the TV. Smaller, more easily moved items can be switched up to suit the occasion, mood or season, like a pair of Daily armchairs that look good from all angles together and apart, Column side tables within easy reach, and a Point floor lamp to enhance the ambience.

Colour is transformative in an interior, yet also very subjective. Gentle, calming neutrals; warm, earthy hues; vibrant jewel tones... whichever direction you go in, base your choices on what looks and feels good. With the aim of styling this space to provide a feeling of respite, here we included Sentient Dawn by Melanie Field (from The Frame Workshop & Gallery), and the hues of this abstract painting reinforce the laidback mood. However, like colour, art is a very personal choice too and doesn’t have to match your decorating scheme—be guided by how artworks make you feel in the first instance, then find the right home for them at your place.

When it comes to furniture, selecting big-ticket items made from natural materials such as wood, stone, wool and linen can help you confidently style a living space with enduring appeal, forming a strong foundation on which to build character as you become more assured of your aesthetic. Try to avoid panic buying to fill a gap. It’s always worth the wait to take it slow and live with less until you find items you really love. Make a list of the key colours, textures and materials you’re including in each space as a handy reference to inform new purchases. A rug I purchased while travelling years ago has informed my colour choices for my own living area, and having its palette in mind has really helped me not to be swayed by the ever-quickening trend cycle. Art also works well for this purpose, or try reflecting the hues on view through your window. Once you’ve landed on your look, continuity will be a breeze.

I take pleasure in regularly restyling the small objects at my place, so having dedicated spots in which to create these vignettes helps ensure visual cohesion. When items spill across every surface, the overall look can be more cluttered than curated. Allowing breathing room makes decorative moments more impactful.

Try using your coffee table as a stage for storytelling. Choose a theme for your grouping of objects, such as using common colours, materials or shapes, and play with proportion and scale to create a pleasing vignette. Pairing objects offers a sense of formal elegance, while the casual asymmetry of objects arranged in trios can add an air of effortlessness.

Next up, we’ll be focusing on the heart of the home—the kitchen. Discover Alice’s advice for challenging the status quo and adding personality to this space. Until then, view more styling inspiration here. 

Art credit: Sentient Dawn by Melanie Field (from The Frame Workshop & Gallery). Discover more from Melanie online and on Instagram.