CHOOSING A SOFA WITH ROCKETT ST GEORGE

When we were planning our ground floor extension, we knew we wanted the space to be open plan, but we wanted to zone the space into three clear areas; a kitchen, a dining area and lounge/ family space for us to watch tv together with plenty of room to lounge and relax.

The space is 7m deep x 10m wide which gives us 70m2 to play with.

Above is the open plan space which we had to play with, before the kitchen was installed. These are before shots before the glass doors went in, and before the walls were fully plaster boarded.

Our open plan space, before the kitchen was installed.

I’d heard great things about Rockett St George’s sofa offer. Mainly that they were extremely comfortable, stylish and came in over 16 different shades of velvet, 6 different shades of boucle fabric and 8 different shades of woven fabric. They offer a huge selection of ‘Made to Order’ Sofas and armchairs, which can be delivered in 20 weeks, and also some sofas and armchairs in stock for 8 week delivery. It’s worth checking the RSG website for details as stock might change.

My Favourite Rockett St George ‘Made To Order’ Sofa & Armchair Offer

Gorgeous Corner Sofa

Beautiful Velvet Large 3-Seater Sofa

Perfect Velvet Medium 3-Seater Sofa

Fabulous Velvet Medium 3-Seater Sofa

Stunning Sustainable Velvet Large 3-Seater Sofa

Suave Velvet Large 3-Seater Sofa

Gorgeous Velvet Chaise 3-Seater Sofa

Fabulous Velvet Snuggler Chaise

Perfect Velvet Loveseat

You can also order fabric samples from the Rockett St George website, so you don’t need to visit the Liberty London concession for this. I later ordered a swatch of the ‘Rose Pink Velvet’ , so I could compare it to my other soft furnishings and the green shade of my kitchen.

Having such a large open plan space, I had my heart set on a corner sofa to fill the space, as I loved the idea of us all being able to use it as a family and thought a smaller sofa would look like its rattling around in the open space. I had seen Rockett St Georges corner sofa and loved its classic shape which has hints of 70’s nostalgia.  It’s a gorgeous large corner sofa which is perfect for large living spaces, with its chic corner design, it can fit the whole family of 5 onto it for that much needed family time.  

With RSG being predominately an online business, I had seen that had a concession in Liberty London, so I set off to see their sofas in person to try them out and to check their squish factor during last summer. The sofa I chose wasn’t there to be seen in person, but I got to try out one of their 3-seater sofas and see their vast range of fabric offer. Here I am below sitting on the Suave Large 3-Seater Sofa In Umber Rust Velvet in the Liberty London store. I found this sofa incredibly comfortable so had faith that the Gorgeous Corner Sofa would be just as comfortable.

Me sitting on a Rockett St George Suave Velvet Large 3-Seater Sofa in Liberty London in the Umber Rust Velvet.

 Choosing the Right Fabric

The colour which took my fancy was the ‘Rose Pink’ Velvet.  I’d always wanted a velvet pink sofa and loved the idea of making a statement with one in this space. Plus, with our kitchen being in green, I loved the idea of the pink and green contrasting, but still sitting harmonious together. It’s a sort of terracotta pink, in fact it’s a very similar shade to our lounge which is just screened from this space by glass doors, so it’s nice that these shades are interlinked throughout my home as it ties it all together.  

I settled on the ‘Gorgeous Corner Sofa’ in Rose pink and made the order of our new Corner Sofa.

 Delivery took 20 weeks as the Corner sofa was made to order and it arrived just before Christmas, which was ideal as we wanted it for our first big family Christmas in our new home (As Covid scuppered our plans the year before).

I can now confirm that this Gorgeous Corner Sofa is just as squidgy, stylish and comfortable as I had hoped and my three year old particularly loves to lounge on it whilst watching cartoons, whilst I cook dinner behind.

The ‘Gorgeous Corner Sofa’ from Rockett St George in Rose Pink Velvet.

The ‘Rose Pink’ shade of velvet is super pretty, but still warm and cosy, it’s the perfect colour pop to zone the space perfectly and it’s created the ideal space for us all to hunker down in the evenings to watch a film. To say I’m extremely pleased with it is an understatement. It fits perfectly into our open plan space, and the colour is a gorgeous contrast to the green kitchen and it is extremely comfortable. I really enjoyed my visit to the Liberty London store to see the Rockett St George concession and would highly recommend RSG for finding your dream sofa!

And if you want to see more of this room, come check out my Instagram page @Houselust.

The ‘Gorgeous Corner Sofa’ from Rockett St George in Rose Pink Velvet.

The ‘Gorgeous Corner Sofa’ from Rockett St George in Rose Pink Velvet.

The ‘Gorgeous Corner Sofa’ from Rockett St George in Rose Pink Velvet.

Disclaimer: This blog post was all written, styled and photographed (apart from the Rockett St George stock sofa photos) by Amanda Cotton *This is a gifted collaboration with Rockett St George and all views are my own. I will only work with brands that I know will fit with my style and that I trust and love. The links contain Affiliate links.

OUR LIVING ROOM REFRESH WITH WEST ELM

After years of wanting to join the green sofa club, our day has finally come! Not only that, but we can now say we have a sofa that all three of us (four if you include the cat), can sit on together. .

I read in a newspaper recently that a modern day lounge now consists of a velvet sofa, a drinks trolley and a 70 inch TV. We might not have the huge Television, as I have this weird thing against huge TV’s, and am still contemplating how we can hide our 42inch, but we are guilty of the first two. So does that make me modern? Or am I just becoming an Insta cliche?

Our previous sofa was chunky, light grey and was slightly battered from the cat using the arm as a giant scratching post. To call it shabby was a understatement. It was also a sofa bed, which was purchased at the beginning of our interior journey when we only had two bedrooms and expected lots of guests.

In reality the sofa bed wasn’t made to be sat on daily, and had lost its springy-ness, and truth be told no one ever came to visit anyways. So I’m not sure what that says about us?

I longed for a much longer, luxurious sofa which bought an element of glamour and sophistication to our otherwise adult lounge. And yes our lounge can still be grown up, even with Otis around. Otherwise, why did they invent playpens? Plus I’m too stubborn to hide away our brass drinks trolley which I worked hard to own, even if it does mean I can’t leave Otis anywhere near it without supervision.

So here is our newly refreshed lounge, which I collaborated with the dreamy West Elm to create. It’s still adult, but the new sofa actually makes it more family friendly as we can all fit on it together now. I hope you like it as much as we do.

Drake Green velvet sofa £999, West Elm ; Staggered glass floor lamp £199, West Elm; Cushions hand made in House of hackney fabric.

Our old chunky sofa-bed sofa has now been replaced with this longer, green velvet goddess named Drake from West Elm. He’s much bigger than our previous sofa, but actually makes the room feel bigger due to the sleeker frame which actually feels like it takes up less room. He’s super comfortable and even long enough to be stretched out completely if you want a little lie down. As you do.

I made the cushions a couple of years ago after visiting a House of Hackney sample sale. The printed velvet was a bargain in comparison to buying the actual cushions, so I went for the budget version and made my own.

Drake Green velvet sofa £999, West Elm ; Staggered glass floor lamp £199, West Elm; Distressed Arabesque Wool Rug - Steel £449, From West Elm. Pair of prints on the wall are from Divine Savages

A room can never have enough lights and I chose the West Elm staggered light as it’s sleek brass thin frame doesn’t take up too much room, and the white glass sphere pops against the dark walls. It’s a great reading light for this corner, and the large round base tucks neatly underneath the Drake velvet sofa.

My track record in keeping real plants alive isn’t good, so in this room I have mostly opted for faux greenery. Most of my faux plants are from Homesense and the little man vase is also from here.

Solid brass candle sticks are antique; Vases are from Homesense.

The brass candlesticks were inherited from my husbands nan. They’re Jewish ancestry, not that we’re Jewish, but they were gifted by a jewish relative many years ago and have now been passed down the family. I love the family connection and their timeless design. I’d pick these out if they were in design store, so I’m pretty chuffed that they have a family connection too.

Draper Navy velvet sofa £1,499 , From John Lewis; Distressed Arabesque Wool Rug - Steel £449, From West Elm; Lampshade was made by me. See blog post for details.

I made the fringed lampshade a couple of years ago. I had lusted after one for so long, but couldn’t afford it, so decided to make my own. I wrote a previous article about how easy it was to make your own and luckily he’s stood the test of time.

I opted for the West Elm Distressed Arabesque wool rug from West Elm for this room. The dark mottled traditional pattern makes it great for hiding dinner stains…. jokes. We never eat in here, honest guv. But in truth I really struggled to find a rug that went in here without courting too much attention. I really wanted a rug which didn’t dominate the space, but yet filled it, adding texture and pattern but wasn’t the main focal point and I think this rug fits all of the above.

The shelving unit in this room is old and a nod to the industrial trend which I fell for hook line and sinker when we first bought this house. It now houses all my knick knacks and collectables, not forgetting my Pablo Escobar pineapple ashtray which was gifted to me by the legend that is Barbara Hulanicki.

Drake Green velvet sofa £999, West Elm ; Staggered glass floor lamp £199, West Elm; Distressed Arabesque Wool Rug - Steel £449, From West Elm; Large Nikolitsi Vase £14 from Oka.

As I head towards my forties I’ve become a bit of a vase collector. It’s the new lightbox, letter board fad for me. I can’t get enough of them and can’t seem to leave a store without buying one. The brass one above is a previous season West Elm one.

The brass drinks trolley is a still a favourite piece, which i’m reluctant to move out of the lounge even though our soon to be baby will be toddling around here.

(Our drinks trolley is sold out but West Elm do similar style ones).

Solid brass candlesticks are antique; Vases are from Homesense; Faux flowers are from Homesense; Brass plant pot is from H&M. Black Mirror from Wayfair .

Plants and art; my two favourite things to pad out and accessorize a room. My tips when buying art is to really love it. Think about the longevity and don’t be afraid to move pieces around the house to give them a new lease of life. And regarding plants, choose ones which are easy to maintain and less hard to kill. Cheese plants aka Monstera deliciosa and Mothers tongue house plants need little watering and thrive in dark moody lounges like mine.

And a lounge can never have enough side tables. Especially now our baby needs the maximum floor space to crawl around. I chose the gorgeous brass martini table by West Elm for its timeless look, plus I love the huge dose of metallic in this room. (Its also light enough to move around depending on who needs a table.

And that’s it for our lounge refresh. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the pieces I chose and how I’ve styled them in our home. Please feel free to leave me a comment below. I’m off to go plan the next room thats in need of a little refresh!

Drake Green velvet sofa £999, West Elm ; Staggered glass floor lamp £199, West Elm; Martini side table in brass £159, West Elm; Distressed Arabesque Wool Rug - Steel £449, From West Elm.

West Elm Source list - Drake Green velvet sofa £999, West Elm ; Staggered glass floor lamp £199, West Elm; Martini side table in brass £159, West Elm; Distressed Arabesque Wool Rug - Steel £449, From West Elm.

This room refresh was generously gifted by West Elm. I was extremely lucky to choose the pieces that I love and I will cherish these for years to come. All words and opinions are 100% my own.