Interior Designer Answers Living Room Design Questions From Instagram

Architectural Digest

Today, AD100 interior designer Brigette Romanek joins Architectural Digest to answer your top living room design questions. What’s the best couch for kids and pets? How do you create a living room space in a studio apartment? Romanek shares her expertise to help solve your interior design problems.   ART: © Tyler Mitchell. Christopher Astley/Martos Gallery. John Henderson. © The Estate of Sigmar Polke, Cologne / ARS, New York, 2024. © Herb Ritts Foundation; Courtesy of Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles. John Chamberlain © 2024 Fairweather &amp; Fairweather LTD / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. © Adam Fuss/Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco. Joe Bradley and Venus Over Manhattan. Martin Disler, Lukasz Stoklosa/Amity Gallery, New York. Abel Guzman/la BEAST gallery, Los Angeles, Edward Burtynsky, Krystian Lipiec, Rebecca Jack, © Rudolf Polanszky. © 2025 Robert Rauschenberg Foundation / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY., Timur D’vatz, Fondation Lurçat / Artists Rights Society (ARS), © 2024 Comissió Tàpies / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VEGAP, Madrid. María Oriza Pérez. Henry Diltz Photography/Morrison Hotel Gallery. Maripol. Jake Clark/Albertz Benda &amp; Rodolphe Janssen.

Transcript

00:00Is it ever okay to cover original parquet flooring?

00:06My name is Bridget Romanek and I'm going to answer some of the living room questions you asked AD.

00:16Q and AD, let's go. What are the best places to find affordable pieces

00:21that still achieve a polished look? I call it the Gucci meets Gap approach and what that

00:27essentially means is that, yes, I have pieces that in my own home that I've saved up for that

00:32I really wanted and I love and I will probably have forever, but doesn't have to be everything

00:38in the room. In fact, it doesn't have to be most things in the room. The other part of that is

00:42really just bringing in pieces that mean something to you or pieces that you get creative about and

00:48the creativity is what's so beautiful about design. I have looked in basements of people's homes,

00:55I promise you. What brings the specialness and the personality and you into the room are those

01:00pieces. One thing I did was I really wanted blue and white vases and to have a vintage one or one

01:10with history from the early 1900s was very expensive. I went downtown in Los Angeles and I found vases in

01:18different shapes from ten dollars all the way up to thirty dollars, but I put the collection together,

01:24I threw flowers in them and all of a sudden it was one of the prettiest things I had ever done

01:29and I didn't spend over thirty dollars. Design is so personal and something that should feel you,

01:35it should be a love letter to yourself. Modern style versus a home with period features,

01:43how to create a space that honors both. Well, to create a space that honors both, that's called

01:50eclecticism. I love eclecticism because it's a way to showcase different periods and eras and styles,

01:58and I also think it creates a timelessness. When you mix pieces from different times and eras and

02:04designers and makers, it creates a really harmonious, also tension-filled moment that the pieces really

02:12speak to each other. If you have, let's say for instance, a home that is from like 1929, maybe

02:18a Spanish, will bring in some contemporary, bring in some modern, bring in some pieces that sort of

02:26challenge that. And what it helps to do is it defines that space. You know, all of a sudden the

02:31molding is more special. And if I were to pick pieces that were just from that time in that era,

02:37it would really be one note. Putting these things together allows for you to really look in detail

02:44at the individuality of each piece. You're immediately interested in the space and something

02:48is created that's personal and beautiful because you can't do that twice.

02:54How to create a designated living room space within a studio. I know this well because I used to live in a

03:00studio. A great trick is to be able to use backs of pieces of furniture to become walls, if you will.

03:08Backs of furniture are a great way to signal you're entering into a different room even without having

03:13the room. And rugs are 100% a great way to define a space. If I'm creating a seating area, if my couch,

03:21let's say is eight feet, then I want my rug to probably be 10 feet. So that on either side of my

03:30sofa, there is still rug. Because I really think that helps to define the space a lot. Color is another

03:36way. You know, you can have different color stories in different areas. And so that helps your mind and

03:40your eye to be tricked a little bit. Is it ever okay to cover original parquet flooring?

03:47Oh, yes, yes, of course. And the reason why I say that is because it's about you and and what you

03:59want and this is your space. I would probably cover it with something that is removable. So meaning

04:04covering it with a rug, covering some of it with furniture, just things like that that I can remove

04:10because to be able to get original parquet flooring is so unique and can be so beautiful. But maybe you

04:16want to change the finish on the floor, maybe that would make it feel like it's more something you

04:21want. But rugs, furniture and changing the finish on the floors are ways to do it but still keeping

04:27that incredible parquet floor. Do you have any tips for lighting with high ceilings?

04:35Absolutely. So we think of lighting as jewelry. And so with a high ceiling, you get to have some

04:42dangling jewelry. And that's what I would do is I would hang something that has a lot of length to

04:50it, and is bold. And the reason why is because it's still part of the design story. And it brings

04:57such a lovely mood and elegance to the space. Oh my gosh, apparatus just blows my mind. Lindsay

05:04Edelman, I just I don't even know what's happening. Historically, if you look at big grand rooms, they

05:11always have incredible chandeliers that just sparkle and just take your eye and visually overwhelm you in

05:18such a beautiful way. And you can take that exact same approach in your house if you have high ceilings.

05:25I want to get rid of my coffee table for space. What else can I use to replace it? I would say to

05:32replace it, you could use ottomans. I think ottomans or stools or poofs are all really great options

05:39because they are light, meaning that you can move them in and out as needed. You could put a tray on

05:46top of an ottoman and then that flat surface will create that coffee table. Drinks tables, I find

05:52some of those really great and they're very useful for drinks or a book or if you like to eat and sit

05:59on your couch. So that's another beautiful versatile way to not have a coffee table.

06:05How to design a living room to maximize conversation. Depending on your living room and the size,

06:11you can create multiple seating areas and thinking about conversation and how you want people to

06:17interact. Do you want someone's back to someone? Do you want it to be one big area where everyone is

06:22able to converse? And then that starts to dictate, should I have swivel chairs so someone can turn around

06:29to the person behind them if they are sitting in a vignette that has two chairs? Should I have a day

06:35bed where multiple people can sit or I can lie down and then someone can talk to me from a chair across

06:40the way? It really begins with creating that one area and all the other areas can stem from there.

06:46And I literally imagine myself on each piece of furniture and the purpose of that piece. So all of

06:51these things are important because you want people to come in and without knowing you've created this just

06:58for conversation that they sit down and it really is what happened and it is engaging. And in a small

07:03space, I would say I love like an L-shaped sofa. I love a curved sofa because on the ends, people do

07:08kind of get to see each other and converse that way. And so those are two ways to maximize space.

07:16What's the best couch to get if you have kids and pets? Well, I'm a good person to answer this because I

07:22have both. And what I have in my home is I have a sofa that number one, the fabric is durable. And

07:30what's really amazing is that now outdoor fabrics, performance fabrics, which are not the same as

07:36outdoor fabrics, but perform better than normal fabrics are a great way to go because they are more

07:42durable and can take more accidents, if you will. Hold on a second. I will get some.

07:52Okay. It's a performance world out here. Okay. So I think I brought too many, but you're speaking my

07:58language. So what's really great is that performance fabrics, now they really can feel like velvets.

08:04They have patterns. These are pendler, which I love, love, love, because they sort of have that boucle,

08:11some alpaca kind of feel to them with being amazing. And wools and the colorways are absolutely

08:18spectacular and gorgeous. There's so many companies that are using this as a normal fabric now. Crate

08:24and Barrel, West Elm, I think does it as well. Restoration Hardware. Also, if you have this space,

08:31I love a deep sofa, a sofa where multiple people, animals, kids, teenagers,

08:38can all enjoy the sofa. And so I don't think in any way, shape or form, you have to sacrifice style

08:45and sacrifice things that make you feel good. What shape coffee table works best with a sectional?

08:53Okay. What I would say is depending on the sectional that you get and the shape of the sectional,

08:59that should help to dictate the shape of the table and also the walkability around the table,

09:06as you are going to be able to sit. If your sectional is curved, then I would do a round

09:13coffee table. So really you're following the shape of the sectional. I like to do this as an extra step,

09:19but I love blue tape. So I mark out the size of the sectional and I will tape out and mark out the size

09:27of the coffee table and I walk around it. Listen, if I'm there by myself and I call it my own personal

09:33staff meeting and really figure out the functionality and how it will work, look and perform and support

09:40what's happening in that space. But blue tape is your friend.

09:45What piece of furniture should I design my living room around? Ooh, that's a, that's an interesting

09:51question because different designers have different ideas on that. My take on that is, first of all,

09:57I walk into the space. I walk into the space and I feel it. For instance, if I say this living room

10:03is going to be all about coziness, I want this to be a place where we just gather and relax. So first,

10:09it's probably going to be my sofa. That's going to be the piece that sort of dictates all the other

10:14pieces around it, because that's the main purpose of this room is to really just like relax. If I'm

10:20looking at the living room and I'm thinking, I really want this to be a place where I am showcasing

10:26my paintings. So then immediately I'm thinking about my paintings first and the lighting over

10:31my paintings first and the colors in my paintings and what that will dictate for the furniture. You

10:37have a chair that you've had for many years and you don't want to part with this chair. Plonk that in

10:42the living room and use that as the hero piece and build out from there one piece at a time. And it's

10:48like building an outfit as well. You know, how do you start that one? Thank you for all of your

10:55questions. I had a great time answering them and I wish you all the luck in the world on creating the

11:00living room of your dreams. You can do it.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended