Room of the Day: Glam Comfort in a Tudor-Style Living Room
A family’s 1920s space gets a luxurious-looking update with new furniture, lighting, paint and fireplace detailing
The owners of this 1920s Tudor-style house in Salt Lake City loved their home’s vintage architectural detailing, including coved ceilings, arched windows and an abundance of built-ins. But their existing furnishings from a previous home weren’t a good fit. So they asked cityhomeCollective to rethink the living areas to complement the home’s period style while enhancing its glamour and comfort.
In the living room, the designers brought in new furniture and lighting, brightened the wall color, and replaced fireplace detailing to create a luxurious-looking space. They chose pieces that stayed within the couple’s budget and weren’t too precious for their two young children.
In the living room, the designers brought in new furniture and lighting, brightened the wall color, and replaced fireplace detailing to create a luxurious-looking space. They chose pieces that stayed within the couple’s budget and weren’t too precious for their two young children.
The designers tackled the fireplace first, which had already been demolished by the homeowners. What had been there before was “a not-so-great recreation of the 1920s original,” Holmberg says, so they pursued a creative alternative. A cabinetmaker made a custom mantel of live-edge wood, and a local stone company, European Marble, inset a black marble hearth. The surround of terra-cotta tile from Tabarka Studio was a big splurge, but it set the stage for the rest of the room’s design, and was chosen for its resiliency and ability to elevate all other details in the room.
Matching Jonathan Adler wall sconces add vintage style and glamour.
Matching Jonathan Adler wall sconces add vintage style and glamour.
The sofa was another investment piece, but it turned out to be a money-saving opportunity. The clients had expressed their desire for a teal velvet couch early on in the design process. ”The ones we were looking at were between $8,000 and $10,000,” Holmberg says. So they had one custom-made for less than half the price instead. “That couch is possibly the comfiest thing on the planet. It’s like a giant velvet cloud,” she says.
In the room, they balanced out the couch’s bold color with dusty pinks, walnut and brass — subtle colors that complement the home, are accessible and evoke vintage style.
Couch: Sharpe Upholstery; pillows: Anthropologie and John Robshaw; side tables: M3LD Modern Home Decor; table lamps: West Elm; wall paint: Dove White, Benjamin Moore
How to Commission Custom Upholstered Furniture
In the room, they balanced out the couch’s bold color with dusty pinks, walnut and brass — subtle colors that complement the home, are accessible and evoke vintage style.
Couch: Sharpe Upholstery; pillows: Anthropologie and John Robshaw; side tables: M3LD Modern Home Decor; table lamps: West Elm; wall paint: Dove White, Benjamin Moore
How to Commission Custom Upholstered Furniture
Though they were able to splurge on some items, like the fireplace tile, or get creative to find what they wanted for a better price, as with the couch, there were times that called for compromise. “We wanted to use Lawson-Fenning chairs, but they were out of the budget,” Holmberg says of the high-end furniture line inspired by midcentury furniture design in California. They chose a similar chair with architectural lines and dusty-pink cushions from West Elm. “We would have gone with an actual vintage Afghan rug for the living room if we had had the budget for it,” Holmberg says.
Lounge chairs: West Elm; side table: Katy Skelton; rug: Kilim.com
Lounge chairs: West Elm; side table: Katy Skelton; rug: Kilim.com
The wall above the sofa called for a bold art piece. The fine art photographs the homeowners were eyeing exceeded the budget, so they opted for an array of small framed samples of hand-painted wallpaper from Porter Teleo instead. “It was very important that it was hand-painted art so that there was some art that exhibited an artist’s hand,” Holmberg says.
Browse more stories about living room design
Browse more stories about living room design
Living Room at a Glance
Who lives here: A family of four, including two children, ages 6 and 4
Location: Salt Lake City
Size: 300 square feet (28 square meters)
Designer: cityhomeCollective
The redesign brightened the room and delivered the comfortable vintage glam aesthetic the homeowners sought. “We paired high and low pieces with unique pieces of art while layering different vintages to create something that looks refined yet timeless and worked with their budget,” says designer Susannah Holmberg of cityhomeCollective.
Though this isn’t the family’s only living space — they have a TV room in the basement — they planned to spend a lot of time hanging out and entertaining friends here. For that reason, the design team invested in higher-end items — fireplace tile and wall sconces — that would last and that would elevate less expensive pieces. “The right lighting and tile can set a stage that helps mask the ‘steals,’” Holmberg says. Items that are bound to see wear and tear, like the armchairs and rug, were bought with the idea that they might not be forever pieces.
Coffee table: West Elm