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A Living Room Update + Our New Velvet Sofa

Living Room Makeover with @Article Sven Sofa | Modern home decor and decorating ideas from @cydconverse

When we last left off with our home renovation and decorating adventures, I shared that we were starting to really work on a design plan for our living room. I created a mood board to help capture the vibe and color palette I was after and then jumped into the details of pulling things together. Our initial living room renovation, which we tackled as soon as we closed and actually before we even moved in, included removing multiple layers of wallpaper, fixing the original 100+ year old plaster walls, painting every square inch of wall and trim, removing the 40+ year old carpet, cleaning up the hardwood floors and on and on. It felt like we’d never finally have a room that felt comfortable for watching movies, having friends over to watch the game or for cuddling up with a good book. Today I finally have another huge update to share, which makes me nearly giddy. Many of the pieces are coming together and, most excitingly, we have a new sofa! The amazing folks at Article sent along the most stunning blue velvet sofa (the Sven sectional in Cascadia Blue) which is now the undeniable star of our living room. I’ve clocked more than one nap on it already as I was struggling to get healthy over the holidays, so I can attest to it easily being the prettiest and comfiest piece of furniture I’ve ever owned.

Living Room Makeover with @Article Sven Sofa | Modern home decor and decorating ideas from @cydconverse

Living Room Makeover with @Article Sven Sofa | Modern home decor and decorating ideas from @cydconverse

Living Room Makeover with @Article Sven Sofa | Modern home decor and decorating ideas from @cydconverse

If you’re not familiar with Article, I hope this serves as a super enthusiastic introduction! Article is a pretty incredible brand, producing really beautiful furniture and accessories at amazing prices. Pieces, I should note, that ship easily, quickly and without hassle throughout Canada and the lower 48 for an incredibly reasonable rate of just $49. Plus, if for some reason you don’t love your purchase, you have 30 days to return it, all you have to pay is the $49 to ship it back. Seriously, friends, this is brilliant! All of this is really deeply important and notable to me personally, because where we live our only furniture options are very traditional showroom retailers where prices are high and selection is slim to none. As someone who is really design conscious, walking into a furniture store and slapping down several thousand dollars on some overstuffed mushroom colored microfiber sofa was just not an option. Actually, that description pretty well describes the sofa set we kicked to the curb that I’d had for several years after buying it secondhand on Craigslist. The stuff was literally falling apart, but I refused to replace it because 900 trips to every furniture store within an hour of us had proven to be a waste. And then, along came Article. With beautifully designed furniture where every detail is considered, where the quality is truly amazing, where you order it online, skip the showroom markup, and a couple of nice people show up in a big truck and unpack it in your living room right where you want it. Mind boggling, earth shattering, life changing if you’re a lady like me. Trust me when I say, the hyperbole is completely warranted.

Living Room Makeover with @Article Sven Sofa | Modern home decor and decorating ideas from @cydconverse

Living Room Makeover with @Article Sven Sofa | Modern home decor and decorating ideas from @cydconverse

Living Room Makeover with @Article Sven Sofa | Modern home decor and decorating ideas from @cydconverse

In addition to the new sofa, we also have curtains hung on all of the big, huge old windows and a new area rug anchoring the primary seating group in front of the fireplace. I sort of love the monochromatic blue-on-blue look and the flat weave of the wool carpet makes it really easy to clean up spills. Speaking of, I was a little wary about velvet upholstery in a very kid-friendly house but so far I’m impressed. The few little smudges we’ve had have cleaned off easily and a quick lint roll has easily cleaned up the inadvertent dog hair that has landed on the sofa. (Although I should mention that we don’t allow our dog on furniture so this is just hair that collects there despite our best attempts. Haha!) I’m currently finalizing decisions for a few other key pieces in the room, primary among those being a pair of arm chairs to flank the fireplace opposite the sectional. The fireplace is actually going to undergo a little bit of a makeover this week, too, until we’re able to invest in a gas insert and a tile or stone surround. We also have a big television that’s going to be mounted over the fireplace (we can debate the merits of that move another day) and art work that needs to be hung, too. Finally, once all those other pieces are in place, Emerson’s little play area at the end of the room will come together really easily and I plan to break that down in detail once we get to that point. So, stay tuned for a handful more living room posts before the big final room reveal! (Which I also plan to share on Facebook Live, so you can really check out the flow of the room.) I feel really impressed with myself using those words, but I am also so excited to be at this point. I’ve dreamed of having a really beautiful main gathering space in our home for seemingly a million years so it feels like a dream watching it all come together. Stay tuned! I can’t wait to share how it all comes together.

Living Room Makeover with @Article Sven Sofa | Modern home decor and decorating ideas from @cydconverse

Living Room Makeover with @Article Sven Sofa | Modern home decor and decorating ideas from @cydconverse

Living Room Makeover with @Article Sven Sofa | Modern home decor and decorating ideas from @cydconverse

Living Room Makeover with @Article Sven Sofa | Modern home decor and decorating ideas from @cydconverse

Living Room Makeover with @Article Sven Sofa | Modern home decor and decorating ideas from @cydconverse

p.s. If you just so happen to be wondering, yes. The sofa is Emerson approved. Also, our child is a complete ham for the camera any chance she gets. And check out all those teeth!

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I did not receive compensation for this post, although Article did provide the Sven sofa for review. All opinions and over the top gushing are completely 100% my own. Read more about our editorial policies.

[Art direction + styling by Cyd Converse | Photos by Alice G. Patterson.]

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Paul Marsden

Tuesday 16th of June 2020

I live in the UK and want to buy this sofa. Do you know where i can get it from please? Thanks

Cyd Converse

Tuesday 16th of June 2020

Hi Paul! I would reach out to the brand, Article, directly to see if they can help you out. https://www.article.com/ Thanks - I hope this helps!

Jessica Barr

Monday 23rd of October 2017

I have recently been looking at this sofa and really want to buy it but I am worried that it is dry clean only. They say not to rub or the colour will come off or fade. Have you had any problem?

Cyd Converse

Monday 23rd of October 2017

Hi Jessica! I am incredibly happy with how our sofa has held up over the last 10 - 11 months with a toddler and a puppy in the house. (The puppy is not allowed on the sofa, but she's also a puppy so her wet nose, slobbery tongue and hair can only be controlled so much.) I find that it cleans up pretty well (I usually just use a damp sponge) and we vacuum it weekly to keep it looking fresh. I hope this helps!

Cece

Sunday 3rd of September 2017

Love the Article Sven sofa... is the fabric a true velvet? It is absolutely amazing!! The color is awesome!!! Does the sofa cushion have the velvet fabric on the under side too? Basically asking if the cushions are flipable in order to use both sides? Thanks.

Cyd Converse

Monday 23rd of October 2017

Hi Cece! I am sorry for just now seeing your questions. I have been so happy with our sofa. (We've had it for nearly 11 months now.) The back cushions are fully reversible. The seat cushions are velvet on the underside, but they are not tufted. I hope this helps!

Natasha

Saturday 19th of August 2017

Loving everything! I was looking at getting this couch in green, was curious how it's held up? My kids will probably use it as a trampoline lol!

Cyd Converse

Tuesday 22nd of August 2017

Hi Natasha! So far I am really impressed. The velvet does have a tendency to catch dog hair a bit (even though our lab doesn't get on furniture) but it lint rolls well and we vacuum it once a week. The occasional spills (I have a toddler after all) have cleaned surprisingly well and I feel like we'll get several years out of our sofa. I hope this helps!

April

Tuesday 23rd of May 2017

Absolutely gorgeous! Where did you get your blue rug? :)

Cyd Converse

Tuesday 23rd of May 2017

Hi April! Thanks so much - the rug is from RugsUSA, which is my favorite rug source. You can find it here: http://www.rugsusa.com/rugsusa/rugs/rugs-usa-wp02-wool-diamond-trellis/Navy/200MHWP02C-2608.html I hope this helps! xo

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