"How to LIVE in your LIVING room"...

Over the weekend my mom handed me an old article she had clipped from "House & Garden" almost 50 years ago.  It was written by the famed "Billy Baldwin", and was titled, How to live in your living room. 

His style and teachings are forever timeless.  My first "Design" book I ever received was a hand-me-down from my mom , a First Edition,  Billy Baldwin Decorates.   I refer to it every so often, and the photos are always inspiring.   

 I thought I would share some of his pointers on how we should really "LIVE" in the room and not have a "showcase room, to be used only for public occasions, wedding receptions or cocktail parties..."

The first thing he says to do is "to furnish it with big squishy sofas and upholstered chairs that just beg to be sat in"... 

La Fiorentina, 1970's,Architectural Digest

"Arrange it in small separate groups....so when you settle down in one of them, the rest of the room becomes background".

Albert Hadley, House Beautiful

"People don't seem to realize how pleasant it is to have dinner in the living room"... Baldwin writes.

Johnathon Berger, House Beautiful,

"It would be very clever to make each area a kind of activity group that the family would be drawn to naturally" he says.  

 (By adding a  bed or a chaise to your living room, there is no question what "activity" this room is recommending!)

Carolina Herrara's home Madrid, Elle Decor

Add "activities" to a living room like a piano, or books...

Susan Zises Green, House Beautiful

"When it comes to color, think warm.  Deep vibrant colors like brown, red, or burnt orange make a room intimate without reducing its size."

Baldwin's New York Studio, Image Source

I'm off to Round Top tomorrow...
Hope to have photos and treasures to share with you soon!

Meredith