‘We wanted this room to be the most impressive, glamorous and grown-up space in the house,’ says Alice Bettington, describing the vision behind this formal sitting room in a family home in Hackney, which was our most-liked image on Instagram in March. Also crucial was a sense of calm and orderliness as this needed to be a sanctuary for the owners, who have a growing family. Alice and her Golden design co-founder Ellen Cumber have more than achieved their goal, devising a room that feels smart and sophisticated without a hint of stuffiness. In short, it is the sort of room you would quite happily settle down in for the evening. It’s no wonder, then, that so many of you found yourselves drawn to this image last month. So how do you go about recreating such an appealing scheme?
First things first, you have to get your backdrop right. For the walls, go for your favourite warm-toned neutral, which will set just the right mood – and will even work well in a room that doesn’t get as much natural light as this one. Next up is the ceiling, which is one of our favourite features in this room. Alice and Ellen have created a very pleasing and rather subtle contrast with the walls by painting the ceiling in Farrow & Ball’s popular ‘Pink Ground’, which has a big dose of yellow in it for a blush tone that doesn’t feel in any way sugary. If you want to follow Golden’s lead, you can paint the cornicing and the ceiling rose in the same colour, all the better to showcase the domed, ruched ‘Aldwin’ pendant light from Soho Home.
This scheme is all about warmth and texture, which starts with a simple jute rug to delineate the sitting area, and continues with the rattan wallpaper that has been used to elevate the joinery on either side of the fireplace. You can quite easily replicate this at home with any textured wallpaper you like, adding it to cabinet doors or using it to line the back of some shelves (you might like to enlist expert help if you’re not a seasoned DIYer).
When it comes to the furniture, a series of gently curving silhouettes strikes just the right balance between softness and sophistication. You might recognise the lounge chairs as a 1930s design by Jindřich Halabala, his model ‘H 269’ to be exact, which pop up from time to time on vintage and antique marketplaces like Vinterior and 1st Dibs – and even at the big auction houses. For a more accessible yet equally appealing take on the design, we love Anthropologie’s ‘Herbin’ lounge chair with sherpa-style upholstery. A round wooden coffee table is the natural choice here, echoing the sculptural arms of the lounge chairs. Again, this could be a vintage piece or a contemporary design like Westwing’s mango wood ‘Benno’.
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Looking from the other end of the room, you can see the elegant sofa: a Pinch design upholstered in a golden linen from Nix by Nicola Harding, with seat cushions in ‘Tiger Mountain’ jacquard velvet from Dedar. The latter lends the room an air of timeless glamour, as do the flame-stitch cushions on the lounge chairs, which are very similar to Namay Samay’s ‘Rouen’ design (you will need to enquire for a price and to place your order).
No room scheme is complete without a few well-chosen accessories. On the coffee table is an instantly recognisable vase from Henry Holland – which looks just as good with or without flowers – and a sculptural black candlestick. We like the idea of getting a set of three from Caravane and dotting them round the room as you wish. Above the fireplace is a limited-edition print of an original self portrait by Lobo Velar de Irigoyen. It is now sold out, but you could look out for another print of the same artist’s work (Soho Home have a few) or a similarly striking abstract work, and flank it with a a pair of brass candle sconces. And what could be more grown-up and glamorous than the flicker of candlelight in the evenings?
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