Living Room with Terracotta TV and Wood Art Wall

Seating spreads across a large white sectional sofa that wraps one corner, plus a separate cream settee and two fabric accent armchairs on timber frames. Spreading it over several pieces rather than one big suite lets people sit facing each other around the coffee tables. It also breaks the bulk up, so a lot of seating does not turn into a wall of upholstery. The pale fabric keeps the heavy wood wall behind from making the room feel dark.

The centre holds a cluster of round coffee tables at slightly different heights, some topped in marble and one in dark wood. Grouping small tables instead of one big slab means you can slide them apart for more people or push them together when it is just family. Round tops suit a busy seating layout, since there are no sharp corners to walk into. The mixed materials tie back to the marble and wood used around the room.

Two capiz disc chandeliers hang over the living zone, each a brass ring hung with pale shell discs that soften the light as it passes through. They give the tall room a warm centre without the glare of a bare bulb. Using a matching pair rather than one large fixture suits the long ceiling, spreading the glow evenly across the seating and the dining table. The discs also pick up the cream tones already in the sofas.

The panel on the wall is a figurative wood inlay, made from different wood tones laid together to form two stylised faces. Built into the panelled wall, it works as a large piece of art that never needs framing or changing. The warm timber keeps it in step with the rest of the room instead of standing apart like a hung painting. Black marble strips run beside it, which frame the inlay and stop the long wood wall looking flat.

Zoning does most of the work. Here the living side sits on a ribbed rug under the sofas, while the dining table takes its own rug and its own chandelier, so each area feels held even with no wall between them. The two feature walls give each end a clear focus. Keeping the flooring continuous underneath ties it back together, so it still lives as one space rather than two separate rooms.

For an open living and dining space it usually is. A ceiling cassette air conditioner sits flush in the ceiling and blows cooled air out across several directions, which suits a wide room better than a single wall unit pointed one way. It also keeps the walls clear for the panelling and art. The trade-off is that servicing means reaching the ceiling unit, so leaving proper access above it at fit-out saves trouble later.

It works if you pick the fabric for it. A white sectional sofa in a busy room should use a tight, treated weave or a washable loose cover, not a delicate flat cloth that shows every mark. Darker cushions and a throw take the daily wear and are cheap to swap out. The upside is a pale sofa keeps a large seating layout feeling light, which is why it was chosen against the warm wood and clay walls.