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Emily Henderson wants to be in your living room, but we don’t mean she’s going to stop by for movie night. In case you missed it, she recently launched a seating collection on Wayfair and it’s essentially an assemblage of all her dream sofas. The uber-comfortable Oscar, the massive Bennett, the tailored-yet-curvy Alice—they’re all little windows into how her mind works when picking out furniture. But we wanted to know how she’d bring it full circle, so we asked Henderson our most pressing living room decorating questions.
The Biggest Living Room Mistake She Sees People Make
If your living room layout is looking off and you can’t quite put your finger on it, odds are it’s because your sofa is in the wrong spot. “The biggest mistake we see is everything shoved against the wall,” says Henderson. It’s a natural urge to maximize floor space, but in most large living rooms, it creates an awkward sense of emptiness. That’s why Henderson designed many of the sofas in her collection to sit low and have eyecatching backs—they’re meant to look good in the middle of a room.
The Living Room Trend She’s Digging
“The old world tapestry trend is on point right now,” shares Henderson. Lately, she’s loving Lone Fox Home’s throw pillow with Joon Loloi and Anthropologie’s Hale collection, which applies whimsical Old World patterns to bookcases and console tables. Her advice for bringing the look home? Partner it with less frilly finishes. “Combining them with post-modern elements looks really rad,” she says.
Her Cure to Decision Fatigue
Start with a colorful sofa (yes, really!). Right away, you have a focal point. “I think people might be scared of getting a color, but it actually makes your room easier to design,” says Henderson. “Then do the rest of the room in neutrals and maybe an accent color and you’re good.” Plus, colorful couches—greens, blues, pinks—wear better in homes with kids and dogs.
Her Affordable Solution for an Empty Corner
It’s easy to dismiss the negative space around a conversation area, but these corners can be an opportunity to make the room feel extra cozy. While sharing the living room reveal of a good friend, Henderson admits that a small pedestal table paired with two chairs is her go-to solution for blank nooks. “They always fit and the stools we like are just from World Market,” she says.
The Paint Color She’s Loving
Henderson’s constantly discovering new shades of white paint she likes, and right now she’s hooked on Sherwin-Williams’ Alabaster—the hue she used in her brother’s river house. “The undertone is a light taupe that’s not too warm and not too cool. It looks beautiful with all the wood they have,” she says.
When She Brings in Vintage
Not everyone has the budget to splurge on original art, so that’s when Henderson likes to hit up a thrift shop. “It’s so much more affordable compared to something contemporary,” she says. The other living room essential she likes to buy used? Lamps. “It’s an instant way to change the context of a room, to make it more stylish. And it’s still as functional as a new lamp, just cooler and weirder,” she adds.
Her Real Feelings on TVs
Surprise: This designer is not going to tell you to ditch your TV or hide it behind a cabinet for aesthetic reasons. In fact, she recently encouraged her photographer and friend Kaitlin to put one in her formerly-TV-less living room. Why? Because up to that point, she and her family almost never sat in the space. “We redesigned it to give it some purpose and she was so happy,” says Henderson. The designer cleverly “disguised” the Frame TV by situating it in a gallery wall.
Now, the adults can watch their own show while the kids are in the other family room. “I think holding out on a TV because you don’t want to look at it at the expense of not using the room is kind of a mistake,” says Henderson. So go ahead and binge Severance in peace.