The perfect balance of elegance and comfort, timeless living rooms celebrate the versatility and quiet sophistication of enduring design. The tenet “buy once, buy well” couldn’t be more relevant when it comes to creating a timeless sitting room: invest in classic, high quality pieces and you won’t need to constantly update the key elements, but can instead focus on ever-evolving personal touches such as art and heirloom pieces, as well as accessories including cushions and throws. As the feted 20th century American interior designer Sister Parish once stated, ‘I never follow trends. If I was aware of them I didn’t care, for I believed, as I do now, that rooms should be timeless and very personal’. And we couldn’t agree more.
Understanding timeless design
We have all had that experience of walking into a sitting room and feeling instantly at ease: the furniture is well crafted and comfortable; the space is easy to navigate and nothing jars when it comes to the patterns or the colour palette. This is what timeless living room ideas are all about: sophisticated, adaptable spaces that don’t shout out for attention yet exude warmth and character.
A timeless living space doesn’t preclude contemporary living room furniture, such as a modular corner sofa or a streamlined coffee table, but it is important to focus on pieces that will endure note this elegant chaise style sofa, an understated design that works beautifully in this traditional space. It is upholstered in Vara in Horizon, a refined, durable fabric that sets the stage for a subtle palette of terracotta and watery blues.
Start with a neutral base
Neutral tones are the bedrock of timeless living room design as they offer a serene backdrop that won’t go out of date. Considered tones such as stone, almond, chalk and pebble hues are incredibly calming as well as being supremely versatile: team them with darker neutrals like charcoal or chocolate browns to add depth to the scheme or introduce touches of colour for a more uplifting feel. Focus on using neutrals for the key elements such as the walls, furniture and living room storage, bringing in colour with accessories such as cushions, throws and artwork – pieces that can be swapped out or moved around with ease. And make sure your chosen neutrals embrace a variety of textures: the armchair in this sitting room is covered in Stresa in Camel, an inviting woven chenille that brings a tactile feel to this restorative living space.
Invest in quality furniture
A well-crafted sofa or armchair will pay its dividends in the long run as it will last for years to come – witness pieces by Howard & Sons, one of the finest furniture firms of the 19th century, which are just as desirable and comfortable today as they were when they were first produced in the 1820s. Sofas and armchairs that are handmade using traditional methods will offer longevity and superior comfort, so choose your style carefully: the height, depth and width of the piece will all affect how you feel when you are sitting or lying down on it, while an elegant shape will defy fleeting fashions. The sofa pictured here, with its deep seat, turned legs and subtly scrolled arms, is a design classic that will work equally well in traditional spaces as it will in a more contemporary living room. The velvet fabric – Chora in Carbon – has the feel of a traditional kilim, offering a sense of familiarity and timelessness.
Optimise your layout
A well-planned layout will make the difference between a living space that feels comfortable and easy to navigate and one that is awkward and uninviting. Think carefully about how you want to use the space as most living rooms have multiple purposes. Is this a place where you plan to entertain and if so, how many people do you hope to comfortably seat? Do you also intend to kick back and relax here and does this involve accommodating a television that can be viewed from the main seats? If you are planning a layout from scratch, mapping out your key pieces on a floor plan can be invaluable, and if you are undertaking a full renovation, this will also help you to decide on the placement of plug sockets for lighting and other electrical pieces. It is also helpful to physically tape out the shape of furniture on the floor to check that you can comfortably move around everything.
A key feature in the room such as a fireplace or a window is fantastic for anchoring your seating plan: here, a pair of sofas in a versatile small scale geometric print – Ashfield in Shamrock – is centred on the wood-burning stove, while a rug helps to further delineate the sitting area within the space. Note the side table, which doubles as a stool that can be pulled between the sofas when entertaining, while the seat cushion on the coffee table provides another occasional perch. It also offers the opportunity to bring another fabric – Ashfield in Waterfall – into the mix, further softening this relaxed living space.
Choose versatile colours
When selecting the colour palette for your living room design, focus on hues that are both versatile and adaptable. Neutral tones are brilliant for providing a flexible canvas, while subtle, understated colours are perfect for adding accents to give the room a more layered feel. The choice of a warm grey fabric for this sofa – our new chunky linen blend, Tanaro in Iron – is a versatile one, as it will serve as a foil to any number of colours, from soft sage greens to inviting saffron yellows to flattering pinks, such as the larger cushions here which are made in Tanaro in Rosewood. Their charcoal border, which is picked up again with piping for the smaller cushions, adds definition and a touch of tailoring to the room, tying in with the dark tones of the window frame and side table.
Incorporate classic patterns and textures
Classic patterns and textures are key to timeless living rooms because these familiar elements have lasting appeal. A combination of textures – stone, timber, jute, wool, velvet and linen, to name but a few – give depth and interest to the scheme, while classic patterns such as stripes, florals and plaids lend sophistication without dominating the space. The beauty of these patterns is their versatility: stripes, for example, range from informal ticking to chic pinstripes, ensuring that there is a solution for every living room style. The linen stripe pictured on this armchair, High Wire in Jockey, has a relaxed feel thanks to its freehand style that adds subtle movement. The cushion and blind showcase a stylised coral print – Big Top in Charades – while a plain curtain ensures that the patterns don’t overwhelm the space. The stripe appears again as a ruffled trim on the curtain – an all-important detail that adds to the textures in the room.
Maintain balance and proportion
Timeless living room ideas include considered layouts that ensure a sense of harmony. Symmetry plays an important role: a pair of sofas flanking a fireplace, for example, or a sofa teamed with a pair of matching armchairs, immediately helps to ground a scheme and establish a feeling of calm. When it comes to selecting the right living room furniture, proportion is key: a small sofa in a large sitting room can appear lost, as can a number of small pieces in a diminutive living space – it is often better to focus on one large piece to help mitigate the room’s limited size.
In this eclectic living room, where handsome fitted joinery helps emphasise the room’s grand proportions, an oversized sofa in a contemporary printed velvet – Kichana in Paprika – holds its own in the space and brings warmth to the scheme. Note the large side table and lamp, details that are repeated on the other side of the sofa to bring a sense of order and balance.
Incorporate durable fabrics
Hardwearing fabrics are the bedrock of a timeless living space as they will maintain their appearance in spite of regular use. Focus particularly on the pieces that will see the most traffic, which is usually sofas and armchairs. If there are children or pets in the household, you may want to consider washable slipcovers – have a look at our Elba linen in 48 plain colours, which has a gorgeous handle – or for fitted upholstery, hunt down stain resistant solutions: our wool fabrics are inherently resistant to spills while many of our velvets are both stain resistant and washable. Remember that the higher the Martindale test (which measures the number of times discs can oscillate sandpaper or wool across the fabric before it starts to show distress), the more robust the fabric, and a rub count upwards of 30,000 denotes a commercial grade fabric that is suitable for heavy duty wear. The beautiful Orta fabric pictured here is a textural linen mix that scores an impressive 100,000 rub count, ensuring that it will maintain its refined elegance for years to come.
We hope these living room design ideas will inspire you to create your own timeless scheme. Focus on high quality pieces, a considered layout and enduring colours, patterns and textures and you will have the building blocks for a room that exudes quiet elegance – and will never go out of fashion.