Family-friendly Living Room with Arhaus
A few months ago we began the search for a new family room sofa. We bought an inexpensive one for our living room when we moved in, but after essentially living on it for Nell’s first year of life (along with our sweet old dog Miles), it hasn’t held up very well. Thankfully the sofa in our family room has held up great and we plan to move that into the family room as soon as we replace the old one.
Miraculously, Arhaus reached out regarding their new showroom in the SoNo Collection and offered to partner on a family-friendly, comfortable option. I was familiar with Arhaus but must say was blown away with our visit to their showroom and their help in selecting a truly family-friendly piece that will last us for years to come. Along with the sofa, we decided to move a few things around in an effort to both minimize what we own and highlight the things we love (like our living room art, and the nightstands we just moved up to Nell’s big girl room). Since settling in to our life in West Hartford I’ve been working on balancing the coastal vibe of our home to better reflect our blended New England roots and this project was the perfect opportunity to ground our space a space. We are keeping a lot (paint color, chair, most pillows, throws, art - just rearranged) most of the change in tone will come through via the deeper, softer sofa, a new rug with a bit of drama, some vintage end tables, and a curated gallery wall of some of our favorite pieces.
Our criteria for the new sofa included the following:
Easy to clean: like REALLY easy. Slipcovers sound great but can lack stain-resistance and often require dry cleaning due to their size
DEEP: we are both tall and love being able to lay down, sit with our legs crossed, read Nell a book in our laps, etc)
Look good - design is important to us and as budding minimalists, require that we love both the form and function of everything we own
We’d had our eye on a certain sofa before visiting the showroom but the manager, Austin, made a really great suggestion that we pivot to the Beale Sofa for a few reasons:
It is deeper than our original choice
It comes in Cypton Fabric, which he then let Nell test out with a highlighter, soy sauce - to our amazement, they all cleaned right off with WATER!
The Nomad Snow color works perfectly with the things we want to keep
We could customize it with a bench cushion for a more elevated look (and less crumb-catching) without sacrificing style
It came in the perfect size (85”), a smidge shorter than our current couch, which is a bit too large for the room
I am so glad that we went to the showroom in person - we would’ve never selected the Beale or the magical Crypton fabric on our own and I think it will be perfect in our room. It’s supposed to deliver in mid-December, so here is to hoping we have a new couch for cozy Christmas nights by the fire!
Shop a few of my favorite Arhaus pieces below and check out our visit to their new showroom at the SoNo Collection! I love:
This incredibly chic and comfortable recliner
This striped chair was like a big down comfortable in person, and I love the lines (on this one too!)!
I’ve always wanted to be cool enough to own a strappy leather safari chair
The way the arms of this chair fold over the frame is so visually soothing to me
Also of note: I found this nearly identical alternative to our new rug, for under $200 and ships within a week!
Paint color: Pale Oak by Benjamin Moore
Arhaus has generously gifted us our new sofa in exchange for sharing our showroom experience and new living room space featuring the Beale Sofa.
