Our Neutral, Scandinavian Inspired Living Room

It’s hard to believe how quickly time has gone: it’s almost been a full a year since we moved into our place! While it took some time for it to start feeling like home, it’s been a pretty special process: our first night sleeping here was the night we left the hospital with Miles, so it feels like we’ve been getting to know both the space and our baby over the course of the year… and in some ways feel like we’re finally starting to feel at home with both.

As previously mentioned, we’ve intentionally taken it really slow with decorating so we can be more thoughtful about our decisions and purchases. Our living room took a particularly long time: while we are really fortunate to have a large, bright common area, because of some weird nooks and crevices it’s been pretty tricky layout-wise to make it feel “just right”. I knew we’d spend a lot of time here, so it was also important to me that it was open enough for Miles to play and explore in, but also nice enough for adults to want to hang out in.

I’m so happy to finally share the space with you!

When thinking about seating, we initially considered two sofas facing each other. It was Brian who requested one larger couch for greater nap-ability and cozy factor, and we ended up choosing the Parker sectional from Article for its neutral, sleek look yet generous size. We then grounded the space with a thick, high-pile Hira rug, which has essentially become Miles’ main play area. I’m glad we decided to go the route we did, since Miles now has plenty of open space to roam around and explore in!

One thing to note with the rug: because it’s wool, it does shed quite a bit and we’ve had to vacuum it at least once a week to keep the fibres from getting out of control. It’s supposed to stop shedding after a while, but for now mine is still shedding about 1.5 months in. I think it’s worth it because it’s beautiful, but full disclosure that I’m also not the most practical person in the world! 😉  

To round out the room I added some seating on the other side in the form of an Embrace chair and Texa pouf. The chair is great because it’s low-profile so it keeps the space open. It also rocks and is nice and deep, so it could be a great nursery chair option if you’re a little taller than I am (my legs hang off it if I sit all the way back, so it was a no-go for me for nursing).

We finished it off with sheepskin accessories for some added texture and warmth, and of course included lots of plants to make it feel more homey.

This was actually my first time ever ordering furniture online instead of buying secondhand off Craigslist or going into a physical store. While it can definitely be a little intimidating for such a big investment, Article definitely makes it a user-friendly and simple process:

Ground shipping is free for orders over $999, with a flat rate of $49 on orders less than that (or $19 for small shipments). If you’re Canadian, you’ll be glad to know there aren’t any additional fees or duties involved, so what you see is what you pay. There’s also affordable upgrade options if you want your furniture delivered inside your home or assembled.

Lastly, Article offers a 30-day satisfaction guarantee so you can try out your new furniture in your home: if you don’t love it, they’ll pick up the furniture and provide a refund, minus the delivery and pickup charges ($49 in most cases).

While we’ve had a few people comment on how “brave” we are for making everything so light coloured with a child in the picture, so far we’ve been fine and I feel good about the direction we went with the design (though things may change in a year or two!). As much as I want to make our home ideal for Miles, I’ve learned that it’s also pretty important for my mental health to live in a space I like coming home to and enjoy being in. Thanks to Article, I feel like we were able to create a room that’s simple yet functional for our lifestyle, and sleek yet inviting.

Items featured in this post:

• Parker Sectional (unfortunately no longer available, but the Sven sectional and Burrard sectional are similar)
• Hira Rug (8×10)
• Texa Pouf
• Embrace Rocker
• Lanna Throw (2×3)
• Lanna Pillow

This post was created in partnership with Article, and all opinions are my own.