Our three top tips to create a relaxing sitting room:

NO. 1
LARGE, AIRY SITTING ROOM

In a large room, take the furniture away from the walls, and instead, use internal architecture like fireplaces and windows to set centre lines to base the layout around. While this might feel counter-intuitive, it actually makes the room feel more spacious and avoids leaving an empty space in the middle of the room. Introduce an expansive rug ³Ù´ÇÌý
ground the seating area. Use the walls for bookshelves or to display art and fill corners with a small desk, like the Ardingly, balanced in the opposite corner with a large plant.

NO. 2
LONG, NARROW SITTING ROOM

If you don’t have architectural elements to design around, position a large piece of furniture, like a dresser or tv cabinet, to hold the scheme. Break the long space into two with a corner sofa and console behind, extending into the central space to create a low room divide. Then dress the console with tall lamps or flowers to add height but allow light through. A square shaped coffee table interrupts the linear lines of the room, making the space feel more visually interesting. An upholstered chair or love seat in the corner ‘rounds� out the conversation area and use the other end of the long room to create a library or study area.

NO. 3
AWKWARDLY SHAPED SITTING ROOM

With unusually shaped rooms or those with lots of doors or even a staircase, it can be tempting to push all the furniture against the walls. However, there is a lot of architectural ‘noiseâ€� in such spaces, so it is important to keep the room feeling smart, organised and uncluttered. Circulation is key to make the room feel comfortable, and we recommend leaving at least 80cmÌýbetween furniture and wall for good flow. Keep walls clear and divide the floorplan in³Ù´ÇÌýuseable blocks to which you can assign areas. Here there is a compact sofa area â€� we usedÌýthe slim lines of the George sofa â€� centred on a rug, and a reception area centred aroundÌýa pedestal table like the Sheldrake round dining table, which encourages flow in bothÌýdirections. A dark, unused corner under the stairs is utilised as a seating or reading area.Ìý

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FRED’S DESIGN TIPS

1. Mark out where furniture will sit with masking tape on the floor to get a sense of size and scale.
   
   
2. Try to avoid positioning the sofa with its back to a doorway as it will feel a little exposed.
   
   
3. Introduce a range of sofa sizes and shapes while maintaining a sense of symmetry. A sofa opposite two armchairs looks relaxed, two matching sofas facing each other will feel more formal.
   
   
4. Ensure you have at least 50cms between the coffee table and sofa or chair for a comfortable flow.
   
   
5. Ideally you should have a side table on either side of the sofa, or one next to a chair, but don’t introduce lots of different styles and materials for side tables as it can look chaotic.
   
   
6. Select a neutral fabric (this can be a light or dark tone) for your sofa and add pattern and texture with an upholstered footstool, armchair or cushions.

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Printed linen

Our printed linens offer a softer, simpler way to experiment with pattern � with just one background and one print colour to consider.

If you’re upholstering furniture, make sure the scales are similar. For example, Orla’s best for smaller pieces like our Milo stool; Francesca grand for larger pieces like our Charlie headboard; and Emma for medium-scale pieces (and particularly our Matilda armchair, although we have also experimented with it for sofas before). For curtains and blinds, Emma, Orla, or the smaller Francesca print are best on a full blind or as a curtain border, while the larger Francesca grand print is better for curtains for large windows.

If you have children or pets at home, we’d suggest choosing one of the designs with an unbleached base fabric for upholstery (that’s all the Emma and Orla colourways but not Francesca). Slightly darker than the bright white versions, they’ll be more forgiving when it comes to marks.

Printed linen at a glance

In this collection: Francesca, Emma, Orla
Best suited to: curtains and blinds, armchairs, footstools, dining chairs, bar stools, headboards, cushions
Use it in: sitting room, dining room, bedroom
Style: traditional, relaxed, country, formal (Francesca)
Lifestyle: adult-only, family, and pet homes

Woven linen

Our Samuel woven linen comes in two muted colourways and has a soft drape and irregular stripe for a relaxed feel. It’s a design that’s all about creating a subtle accent. Because of its widely spaced, irregular stripes, however, it’s really best suited to headboards, cushions, curtains and blinds, and plain footstool designs such as Eloise.

Samuel has a high rub count, which means it’s suitable for everyday use and will wear well over time.

Woven linen at a glance

In this collection: SamuelÌý
Best suited to: curtains and blinds, headboards, footstools, cushions
Use it in: sitting room, dining room, bedroom, kitchen (as blinds)
Style: relaxed, country, coastal, traditional
Lifestyle: adult-only, family, and pet homes

Cotton linen (fine)

Our versatile cotton linens combine cotton’s elasticity, strength and softness with the subtle texture of linen. Linara has a soft, peach-skin feel and makes a good option for loose-covered upholstery, like our Long Island and Charlie sofas � as well as bench and seat cushions. Its draping qualities are also ideal for curtains and blinds.

Linara is machine washable if you choose a design with loose covers, but just know that the darker and richer colourways may fade. It’s also worth saying that, although thisÌýfabric isÌýmore than strong enough for family life, being so plain, it will show stains more easily.

Cotton linen (fine) at a glance

In this collection: Linara
Best suited to: curtains and blinds, sofas, armchairs, footstools, dining chairs, bar stools, headboards, cushions
Use it in: sitting room, dining room, study
Style: versatile
Lifestyle: adult-only, family and pet homes (loose covers are machine washable)

Washed linen (fine)

Imogen’s a delicate fabric that’s suited to light use, so it’s best to avoid using it to upholster sofas or dining chairs (it also has a slightly looser weave, so we wouldn’t necessarily recommend it for homes with cats). Made from 100% linen, it offers a laidback look in two subdued shades and will help to soften spaces.

Use Imogen for occasional furniture, such as our Alex footstool, on headboards, for cushions, or even for curtains with a more relaxed, rumpled look.

Washed linen (fine) at a glance

In this collection: Imogen
Best suited to: headboards, occasional chairs and stools, cushions, curtains and blinds
Use it in: bedroom, sitting room
Style: relaxed, laidback, coastal
Lifestyle: adult-only home

Original linen (heavy)

A great all-rounder, Hugo works in almost every room of the house. The thick, uniform weave tends to suit more traditional homes, and brings a lovely formality to upholstered pieces, but has the versatility to feel more relaxed as well, depending on the rest of the space. In a selection of understated colourways, it’s a timeless option too.

The 100% linen, thick weave also means it’s hardwearing and holds its shape well, so it looks especially great on sofas (our first choice would be Olivia) and armchairs. If you have pets that use your furniture though, we’d suggest going for a tighter weave (like Harry, Chloe or the fine cotton linens) as they could potentially get their claws into Hugo.

Original linen (heavy) at a glance

In this collection: Hugo
Best suited to: sofas, armchairs, dining chairs, bar stools, headboards, footstools
Use it in: bedroom, sitting room, dining room, study
Style: versatile
Lifestyle: adult-only and family homes

Performance linen

The most robust of our fabrics, Archie’s a reliable upholstery choice for busy family homes. The durability of this fabric makes it slightly firmer, so it’s best used for pieces in active daytime spaces, rather than cosy snugs, and we wouldn’t use it for cushions or window treatments.

A natural choice for sofas that are used daily, Archie’s also great for dining chairs and bar stools, and can handle much of what busy family life throws at it.

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Performance linen at a glance

In this collection: Archie
Best suited to: sofas and armchairs, footstools, dining chairs and bar stools
Use it in: playroom, sitting room, dining room
Style: versatile
Lifestyle: family and pet homes

Character linen (fine)

Our finer character linen, Harry, is a relaxed fabric with excellent drapability. Machine washable and with a stain repellent coating, it’s a safe choice for homes with children and pets too.

Use Harry on a loose cover sofa design such as Long Island for a laidback look, or if you prefer something more structured, on a headboard such as Charlie or Olivia. The natural slubs in the weave will bring texture and interest to these larger-scale designs. Harry’s flowing drape also makes it a favourite for curtains and blinds.

Character linen (fine) at a glance

In this collection: Harry
Best suited to: headboards, occasional chairs and stools, sofas, curtains and blinds, dining chairs
Use it in: bedroom, sitting room, dining room
Style: versatile
Lifestyle: adult-only, family and pet homes (stain repellant, and loose covers are machine washable)

Character linen (medium)

The thicker of our two character linens, Chloe’s an unstructured fabric by nature. The stonewashed finish gives it a very soft and supple quality, so it’s particularly complementary in spaces with a lived-in look and feel, and when used for long curtains.

Alternatively, if you want to achieve a slightly more structured look with Chloe, use it on fixed upholstery pieces, rather than designs with loose covers.

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Character linen (medium) at a glance

In this collection: Chloe
Best suited to: headboards, sofas, armchairs, footstools, dining chairs, bar stools, curtains
Use it in: bedroom, sitting room, dining room, snug
Style: relaxed, laidback, versatile
Lifestyle: adult-only, family and pet homes (loose covers are machine washable)

Velvet

The perfect statement fabric, use Isla wherever you want to create impact. Sofas and headboards are natural choices, while armchairs and footstools will allow you to introduce velvet on a slightly smaller scale.

Studs and velvet make for a perfect partnership, as do buttons, so our Eva, Shoreditch, Casper, Lottie, George and Charlotte collections upholstered in Isla are well worth considering. And while traditional laid velvets are prone to crushing, Isla’s multidirectional pile resists pressure marks, making it much better suited to everyday � and family � use too.

Even so, it is worth knowing that velvet will take on more character over time than linen, cotton or wool. For that reason, we wouldn’t suggest it for homes with pets that use the furniture, and also only in formal dining rooms as liquids will stain.

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Velvet at a glance

In this collection: Isla
Best suited to: headboards, sofas, armchairs, footstools, curtains
Use it in: bedroom, sitting room, snug
Style: contemporary or traditional, semi-formal Lifestyle: adult-only and family homes

Wool

Wool is a smart choice if you have a young family and pets as it’s naturally water resistant, incredibly hardwearing, and, with natural flecks in the yarns, less likely to show marks. Our wools are great for sofas and armchairs, dining chairs and bar stools, and offer another way to bring texture and pared-back pattern (if you so desire) into a room.

Choose from our plain wool, Angus, Elliott’s herringbone pattern (a lovely fit for a study), or Hector’s understated check. For a lighter, less traditional look, you can pair our wool fabrics with our linens, or to embrace cosiness, use alongside our Isla velvet.

Wool at a glance

In this collection: Hector, Elliot, Angus
Best suited to: sofas, armchairs, footstools, dining chairs, bar stools, headboards, winter window treatments
Use it in: bedroom, sitting room, snug, dining room, study
Style: traditional, more formal
Lifestyle: adult-only, family and pet homes

Harris Tweed

The most traditional of our fabrics, Harris Tweed is made to a very high standard in the Outer Hebrides.

As with all wools, it’s naturally water resistant, but it’s also been through an extra milling process to make it even stronger and more durable for upholstery too. In comparison to our regular wool collection, it has a slightly looser, thicker weave (so that is something to take note of if you have pets particularly prone to clawing).

The rich colour choices make Harris Tweed particularly great for armchairs and headboards in snugs and cosy bedrooms.

Harris Tweed at a glance

In this collection: Harris Tweed
Best suited to: headboards, sofas, armchairs, footstools
Use it in: bedroom, sitting room, snug, study
Style: traditional, formal
Lifestyle: adult-only, family and pet homes

Leather

Although leather doesn’t fall within our fabric collection, it’s another great option for some of our upholstered pieces, so we’ve included Barnaby in the list.

Like velvet, a high-quality leather like this will develop character over time. It’s why we think it’s best for smaller designs like occasional armchairs or footstools, rather than whole sofas (although, as you’d expect, it does suit our Chesterfield-style Lottie sofa), where it’ll bring another texture and dimension to your space. You can absolutely use it in a home with children or pets if you’re happy to embrace marks and scuffs as a natural part of ageing leather.

Our leather colourway, Saddle, is a classic tan shade. You could incorporate it into a more contemporary space, but we do think it has a classic feel to it.

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Leather at a glance

In this collection: Barnaby
Best suited to: occasional chairs, Lottie, footstools, dining chairs
Use it in: sitting room, snug, study, dining room
Style: traditional
Lifestyle: adult-only home

Explore the fabric library here, or order your free swatches. It’s worth noting that our Archie performance linen and Barnaby leather aren’t available by the metre.

Natural Oak

Natural Oak is pretty much what it says on the tin: it effectively reverses the darkening caused by the linseed oil, returning the oak to what many of us would think of as oak’s natural appearance. Crucially, it has none of the orangey, yellowy tones that you can sometimes get on ‘natural� oak furniture. Instead, it’s a good balance of warm and cool, neither very pale nor rich.

You might be thinking, well why not just leave the oak as it is, without a finish, if natural is what you’re after? The answer to that is, apart from the protection from spills that IsoGuard affords, untreated timber will oxidise and change colour over time (think of silvering teak furniture in a garden � the same would happen with oak inside). IsoGuard also helps stop that from happening.

Chalked Oak

Chalked Oak is the palest of our IsoGuard oils and has a similar effect to limewashing in that it leaves the oak with a very subtle, translucent white finish. Chalked Oak also particularly highlights the grain in oak as it sinks into the grooves and makes these parts lighter, and so is quite a distinctive look.

Paler timbers like this have become associated with the light, bright interiors of Scandinavian design, and that’s a look that can go two ways. On the one hand, there’s modern Scandi minimalism � something our Chalked Oak Hebden trestle table fits right in with. On the other hand, there’s the traditional Swedish Gustavian style. Our Harrogate rectangular tables, with their curvaceous legs (in soft grey Fog as standard) and Chalked Oak tabletops reference this look.

Don’t feel that a Chalked Oak piece will only suit one of these styles though. Take Herston for instance, a smart occasional table collection where the Chalked Oak finish is about complementing the pale marble tabletop. Or try pairing Hebden with walls in a dark paint colour for a scheme that’s about drama and contrast.

Seasoned Oak

Seasoned Oak, as you might have guessed from the name, reflects the subtle silvering of oak over time � albeit in a controlled way. It’s not fully grey, and still retains some of the warmth of Natural Oak, but it does impart a very understated aged look.

Seasoned Oak suits a variety of furniture and interiors styles, everything from simple Shaker Suffolk to intricate Sheldrake and impressive Balmoral. The thing they all have in common though is a sense of history that the Seasoned Oak finish brings to them.

Darkened Oak

Darkened Oak is our most dramatic, most distinctive IsoGuard finish, and is quite different from the others which, while having their own personalities, are relatively similar. We created Darkened Oak to mimic the look of brown, stained antique furniture, while still keeping the contemporary matt finish of IsoGuard, and used it across our upholstery legs.Ìý

We think you can mix and match any of our IsoGuard finishes across furniture in your home or a single room, but Darkened Oak pairs especially well with the other three as it creates a clear-cut contrast. Likewise, it’s a good foil to lighter paint finishes, or it can be a harmonious partner to deeper, richer colours.

And the rest...

Natural, Chalked, Seasoned and Darkened might be our four main IsoGuard finishes, but you’ll also find a few others dotted through our collection.

Edinburgh, for instance, has a Vintage Oak finish, which is slightly deeper than Natural Oak but not as brown as Darkened. Carter and Chawton are finished with the same Vintage Oak IsoGuard, plus a few other processes that add up to what we call Dark Vintage Oak (a finish that feels very much like reclaimed timber, but with none of the wobbliness). Then there’s Henley, which we call Classic Oak. It’s a look very similar to Natural Oak in colour, but with an additional water-based topcoat that creates a sleeker finish to the timber and an ever so slight sheen.

Finally, there are also our exterior finishes. Exterior IsoGuard does just as the interior versions do and protects outdoor teak furniture from stains and oxidising, as well as helping prevent drying. There are two finishes in the collection: Moss (the one we use on most of our designs), which has a natural greenish-grey tinge; and Weathered Moss (you’ll find this on Hove pieces and Bryher’s legs), which is similar but a touch more pigmented.

For more on our IsoGuard finishes and to order refinishing, cleaning and touch-up kits, visit our aftercare section. You can also read about how to apply IsoGuard and look after timber furniture in our care guides.