You know I love me a good Tar-get trip. We had our first Target open in the city a few weeks ago, however, I haven’t had a chance to go because it’s so freaking far from my apartment. Most often times I prefer shopping online vs. going in to the actual store because cabbing furniture / larger decor pieces home can be such a pain in the butt. Anyways, I always love browsing Target when they launch a new collection. They have really upped their home decor game as of late. The Nate Burkus line is always a favorite.
Today I’ve rounded up 10 things I want right now! I recently bought this gold tripod lamp for my living room after seeing it in my best friend Julie’s apartment. This mid-century modern white desk looks like mine from West Elm except a fraction of the price. I’ve added this little end table to my wish list for my living room. And how good is this tufted accent chair in pale pink? Yes, please! Apologies for keeping it short and sweet today. This week is kicking my butt! How about them Indian’s last night?! #cleveland. <3
If you’ve ever shopped for a sofa before, you know the process can be very challenging! Like with everything else, the options are endless. From the ultimate style to fabric choice, there are infinite options when it comes to choosing a sofa for your space.
If that’s not enough pressure, we have to ensure it’s the right size and fits all of our needs. Think about how much time we spend on this one piece of furniture from hours of Netflix to entertaining friends, I can’t tell you how many times I went back and forth on my final couch selection.
In case you’re just running in, I moved uptown last month and have been on a serious hunt for furniture – with the couch being my number one priority! I’ve never purchased a couch before but I know it takes typically 6-8 weeks to ship. I was on a mission to select my sofa fast but I also wanted to be super careful to not rush any major design decisions. Trust me when I say I looked everrryyyywhereeeee. West Elm, Horchow, Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, One Kings Lane, you name it. So when it came to narrowing down sofa’s, I used these five tips when selecting my sofa from Horchow!
One. Determine How Your Sofa Will Be Used
Determining how your sofa will be used is uber important. if it’s a family room sofa that will be primarily used for lounging, choosing a deeper sofa will be important. Standard depths range anywhere between 36″-39″ inches long. The couch I selected is 41″ deep so it will be perfect for curling up this winter. For all you renters out there, it’s important to be mindful of how wide the doorway to your apartment is. The standard width of most door ways is 3 feet, or 38″.
Two. Identify Your Style
Identifying your style is also very important. Are you more traditional, modern or coastal? If you’re more traditional, you may be interested in couches with a rolling arm or couch skirt. If you lean toward modern styles, you may opt for a square arm. For me, I knew I wanted something more modern but relaxed.
Three. Determine The Size
Though it’s tempting to rush the purchase, you have to measure (maybe, twice) to avoid a big headache! For renters, you have to measure every door the couch will be moving through – including the freight elevator and apartment doorway. Here’s a quick reference guide to help you get a sense of everything you should measure when getting a new piece of furniture into your home. Another one of my favorite tips is using painters tape to outline to help you vision how big the couch will look in your space.
Four. Consider The Shape For The Space
Proportion matters, especially if you’re considering a sectional. I personally was debating on getting a sectional (I LOVED this one from Horchow) as I want to use my couch for lounging! However, I think a sectional would overwhelm the room. I also want to do a club or spindle chair by the bay window and won’t be able to do that if I have a sectional. If you are stuck on the idea of a sectional, designers recommend for sectionals a 32″ high back. It helps keep the sectional a little less imposing.
Five. Choose Your Color + Fabric
Don’t fall for trends. Since your sofa will be the anchor of your room, choosing a classic color and style is highly recommended. For me I knew I wanted white, linen and a slip covered. White will never go out of style, linen helps me achieve the “relaxed” vibe I’m going for, and slip covered in case I spill or need to get a stain out. I will let my pillows do the talking + they can always be swapped out throughout the seasons!
I was so excited to find my couch at Horchow. They have numerous of options to choose from and with these 5 tips in mind, I was able to find the couch to fit my needs! As soon as I came across the Analise sofa, I knew it had to be mine. I can’t wait to show you guys the final reveal.
What are some of the tips you’ve picked up when buying a couch in the past? I’d love to hear them! Xo. Lauren
*Thank you to Horchow for partnering on this post!
My living room design is underway, people! It’s officially been a month since I moved in to my new apartment and I have to admit, things have been moving a bit slow. I’ve been scouring all of my favorite brands websites, blogs, magazines and Pinterest to try to nail down the aesthetic. Although I think my design will naturally evolve over time, I’m excited to share my initial inspiration board today with you guys.
If you are new around here, last year I participated in the One Room Challenge (which is conveniently happening right now). Although I’m not part-taking in the current challenge, I am excited to document the process with you guys in the same fashion. The main reason I’m not participating this year is due to how long the pieces of furniture I’ve already selected are going to take to ship. There’s simply no way I could get everything done by the reveal week in November! So any how, I still hope you guys are excited to follow along. I think it’s going to be good!!!!
I’ve been working on this inspiration board for a few weeks now. Although I didn’t include every piece of furniture that will encompass my living room, I thought this was a good start. As you can see, I’m sticking with my ever-favorite color scheme: blue and white. I’m also looking to include a ton of natural wood elements. I love both this dinning table and bar stools from Joss and Main (you really can’t beat these price points!!) I’m also so excited to partner with Dash and Albert again on my living room rug – I’ve decided on this one! It’s funny, I was actually trying to get away from a blue rug and opt for a more natural fiber or neutral rug but what can I say? I know what I like.
Here is everything that’s currently on my to-do list for my living room (which literally is everything):
I need to finalize my couch. This is going to take the longest to ship so this is priority number uno!!!
Dash and Albert rug. Done! Waiting on delivery.
Statement chair. I’ve had my eye on this spindle chair! Thoughts?
Finalize dinning table and bar stools.
Finalize coffee table. I’m searching for the perfect marble top coffee table so please send any leads my way!
Art work for the walls. This will most likely be done last and will be based on furniture.
Fiddle Leaf Fig tree. Done! It’s so cute, I got it at the flower market in NYC for $125 dollars.
TV stand and new TV. Unfortunately my 33 inch is not going to cut it such a large space.
Entry way console & accessories. It’s been a little challenging finding the perfect entry way console under 38″.
Must. find. bar.cart.
So that’s all I can think of for now. I’m sure more to-do’s will pop up over these next few weeks! Be sure to check back every Wednesday for apartment updates! I can’t wait to hear what you guys think. Xo. Lauren
You know I love me a good coffee table book!! I’ve been a fan of Bunny Williams for quite some time. Last week when I had the chance to attend an event at Alexa Hampton’s residence, Bunny and her husband attended as well so I had a little bit of a fan girl moment! She’s such an iconic interior designer and is so well known in the industry so when Bunny’s team wanted to send me her latest book – A House by the Sea – I was super excited to flip through the gorgeous pages.
Bunny’s latest book walks us through the design of her home La Colina based in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic – a destination that has been on my travel bucket list for quite some time! Oscar de la Renta first introduced Bunny and her husband John Rosselli (a notable antiques collector) to this paradise years ago and have since built their dream home in the DR. What I love most about this book is how much detail Bunny provides about the design and process of building this home. So many great tips and tricks that can be applied within any home!
