Maria Killam | Classic and Timeless Colour

Tricia’s Living Room Refresh & A Sexy Cognac Sofa

Posted: 11 Apr 2021 03:41 PM PDT

Today’s post is a guest post by my Director of eDesign Tricia Firmaniuk! Enjoy!

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Hi everyone! Not so long ago I was sharing a living room refresh with a practical, slipcovered sofa so I could avoid stress about the dogginess. Well, that sofa was also a sofa bed, and we needed to shift it downstairs.

SO! I decided to look for a sexier sofa for the living room. That prompted a whole reimagining of the space and an exciting collaboration with Article furniture!

A leather sofa with dogs?

I spent way too much time imagining life with a blue, green, claret, or peach sofa. Eventually, I realized I couldn’t decide because

I’m restless and like to change up my room A LOT, and
I still have dogs

It’s funny how if I was looking at my room objectively as a designer, ie. if it wasn’t mine, I would have immediately recognized that a cognac leather sofa is the answer. But being my own room, I had to consider every single option first.

However, once the idea landed, I got really excited. I decided to hold off a few minutes though and get smart on the real story of paws and claws and leather. I’m sure many of you have opinions and experiences to share on this issue so please share!

I’ll tell you what I learned. If you have paws and claws in your life, and like mine, they tend to regard the sofa as theirs, what you need is aniline-dyed leather. What this basically means in real life is that scratches and imperfections help develop a beautiful lived-in patina and not merely damage.

Perfect!

A sofa or an art sculpture? Both!

Next up, the shape of the sofa. Lately, I’ve been obsessed with pieces that have a sculptural silhouette.

I fell absolutely in love with the shape of the Texada Sofa by Article. AND it was high-quality leather. This decision was super easy. It was the ONE and I knew it immediately.

Article Texada Sofa in Taos Tan

It also helped knowing that because it’s from Article I could rest assured I was getting an amazing style AND value. Ordering was super easy and my husband and I really appreciated the Contactless Delivery they began offering last year.

Receiving and unboxing this sofa was like Christmas morning. Better, actually It only needed the legs put on and that was easy. We can tell from the craftsmanship that it’s a beautiful piece that we’ll have for years.

And here it is in my living room.

Article Texada Sofa in Taos Tan and Equa Brushed Brass Coffee Table

The cool channeled leather design and substantially rounded arms are balanced by the simple legs and space underneath the modern wood base. Perfection.

Why cognac leather is the perfect trending classic

The colour of this leather is indeed Cognac. And Maria has talked about this popular sofa colour here.

For me, it relates perfectly to the warm wood tones in my room so that it remains neutral without being at all drab. Cognac is a warm lively orange-brown that functions almost like a colour despite being basically neutral.

The colour palette in the dining room is walnut, cream, green and yellow. I’m slowly working this palette into our vintage 50s kitchen too.

Here’s what makes cognac leather a perfect classic right now: if you already have a lot of grey or black in your room, cognac is the perfect warm counterpoint to enliven the palette. No wonder it’s trending.

A grounded colour palette

Speaking of the colour palette, after a couple years of pinks in this room, a colour pivot was needed.

Since like so many of you, we are living and working at home, spending SO many hours here, we felt it was time to change it up sooner than later. I wanted to try working with the warm wood tones and cognac as a colour, and add in some yellow and green (plants!) to create a more serene and grounded feel.

Who else is craving new colours now that you’ve stared at your walls for an entire year?!

Article Burrard Chair and Ottoman in Forest Green

This Article Burrard Chair in Forest Green creates the perfect cozy reading nook. We painted the walls a deeper colour than they have ever been. It’s a muted, enveloping sage green, Micheal’s Moon by C2.

Koepel Brass Table Lamp by Article

We are loving this organic palette.

The room is very calm and nurturing. And it’s fun that with the cognac sofa, you really could create a variety of vibes with a more saturated colour palette, or a deep and dramatic one if you wanted.

Handmade extra large wood Mala Beads by @entouquet

The important question of course is what do the dogs think?

They enthusiastically approve. And the leather is unbothered by them, which is fantastic because they live on it. It’s the snuggle station. Get on the pile

This post is sponsored by Article, all opinions are my own

Love your new, cozy living room Tricia! Which piece is your favourite? Who has jumped onto the cognac sofa trend? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

Is a Cognac Leather Sofa Timeless or Trendy?

Is Cognac Leather Furniture as Neutral as Denim? Yay or Nay?

Three Best Colours for your Leather Sofa

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