What a living room owes you

It has to work for lounging, for entertaining, and for showing who lives there. The rooms that pull off all three mix comfortable seating with things the owners actually collected.

Old and new, together

Designer Haley Dermenjian of TOM Design Studio says the mix is the method. Blend furniture, textiles and lighting across eras and the room starts telling a story instead of presenting a set.

“Introducing furniture, textiles and lighting that blend old and new creates a multidimensional story in a living room.”

Shop secondhand, shamelessly

Lyndsay Jacobs reupholstered a Kijiji sofa and paired it with vintage chairs and objects from her travels. Salvaged stained glass from the original house carries the heritage through.

Give the eye one anchor

A soaring concrete-plaster fireplace pulls attention up to the double-height ceiling in an Osoyoos Lake home. A curved sectional seats a crowd, a jute rug adds the texture.

Contrast beats coordination

A secondhand Louis XIV marble mantel grounds Clarisa Llaneza's room while modern art works against it. Her palette stays quiet so the contrast reads as intentional.

“My palette tends to be tonal and quiet, with subtle variations that build harmony.”

Move your treasures in

Sharon Mimran's condo is full of things she carried from previous homes, including vintage models of Mexican aqueducts in the living room. Once a treasure, always a treasure.

Let one piece set the palette

In Amanda L. Hoyle's Notting Hill flat, a single painting decided the colors for the whole home. A contemporary statement light plays off the original cornicing.

Buy furniture as sculpture

Elyssa Maldoff chose pieces for shape first: boxy chairs nodding to Parisian design, a custom bouclé lounge chair pulled from a 1950s silhouette. Farah Altoumah went further, echoing the Toronto skyline in a Bubble Sofa and Origami Chair.

Add a little whimsy

Emma Reddington's disciplined room gets its personality from Frank Gehry's Wiggle stool and Noguchi's Akari paper pendant. One or two odd pieces keep a finished room from reading as a showroom.

Art does not have to cost much

Jamie Polan framed a blanket above her sofa and hung an oversized rattan pendant that does not block the view. Character, not budget, does the heavy lifting.

Put some punk in the pretty

Tommy of TOM Design Studio uses custom graphic drapes to rough up a traditional room. Natalie Tredgett does the same with chintz, which she says works best next to something contemporary.

“I always like a little punk with my pretty.”