Eclectic Living Room with a Brick Fireplace Surround Ideas and Designs

Cosy Living Room with Bold Sofa and Feature Ceiling
Inspiration for an eclectic living room in London with a wood burning stove, a brick fireplace surround, green floors and a wallpapered ceiling.

The Brief This project aimed to redefine the home’s functionality and atmosphere by moving away from uniform room proportions, creating a more dynamic spatial experience. The primary objectives were to maximise natural light in key areas, particularly the central staircase and kitchen, and to optimise room sizes while maintaining a cohesive flow. A crucial aspect of the brief involved navigating planning constraints to extend the kitchen space, ensuring it became more practical and inviting for family life. The Design To address the limited daylight, a full-length glass roof was installed over the expanded kitchen, flooding the space with natural light and transforming it into the heart of the home. For the central staircase, a large roof light was introduced, paired with a glass staircase, allowing sunlight to cascade down to the ground floor. The design embraced a raw yet inviting aesthetic by exposing construction details such as bricks, joists, and floorboards, adding texture and warmth to the interiors. This was further complemented by oversized, curvaceous furniture, which softened the industrial elements and enhanced the home’s inviting feel. An unexpected architectural highlight is the double-height void between the first and top floors, which adds visual drama and enhances the sense of openness. These carefully considered interventions transformed the house into a vibrant, light-filled space that meets the family’s needs while elevating its architectural character.

Blue colour drenched lounge with velvet sofas, exposed brich fireplace and art collection.
Photo of a medium sized eclectic open plan living room in London with blue walls, medium hardwood flooring, a wood burning stove, a brick fireplace surround, a corner tv, a chimney breast and brown floors.

Inspiration for an eclectic living room in Berkshire with white walls, medium hardwood flooring, a standard fireplace, a brick fireplace surround and brown floors.

Photo of a small eclectic living room in Cornwall with beige walls, medium hardwood flooring, a wood burning stove, a brick fireplace surround, a wall mounted tv, brown floors, exposed beams and a chimney breast.

This is an example of a bohemian living room in Gloucestershire with green walls, carpet, a standard fireplace, a brick fireplace surround, a wall mounted tv, beige floors, a vaulted ceiling, a wallpapered ceiling and brick walls.

Design ideas for a bohemian living room in Essex with white walls, medium hardwood flooring, a standard fireplace, a brick fireplace surround and brown floors.

This family sitting room sits at the heart of their stunning rural period home. My client already has a great eye for colour and design, so the big challenge was centred around the issue of layout, as the room has three doors so lots of traffic pathways, plus in terms of function it needed to provide the family with comfortable seating to relax in as well as a dining area. The room needed to flow and feel cocooning, but also to be refined, vibrant and have eclectic edge. The characterful brick fireplace had a wood burner installed and we agreed on a layout that zoned top third of the kitchen end of the room as dining space, with an elegant banquette bench, upholstered in Lewis & Wood Bukhara, a print inspired by an ikat coat in the V&A and loaded with scatter cushions from Oka. I felt strongly that the room would really benefit from a darker wood antique table, so I sourced a 19th century oak refectory table which adds great character and weight to the room. Colourwise we went for a new dado, original skirting and radiators in Farrow & Ball Pigeon, then lighter above the dado to ceiling in Blue Gray. These tones were echoed in the celadon of the reupholstered fabric of the large sofa that divides the room, along with the glass and brass console behind it from Neptune. The stunning Atticus tribal print gathered lampshades from Vaughan create a real focal point for the room and really support the vibe we were looking to create. In terms of the rest of the upholstery the pair of French Louis chairs were sourced from eBay and upholstered in Rapture & Wright’s Serendip, where the generous ottoman was in Nina Campbell Dumas, lending a traditional yet energetic centrepoint. Always keen to repurpose existing pieces we also recovered the client’s pouffe in the small print of Sanderson’s Truffle and piped it in velvet from Samuel & Sons. Last but not least the smaller console, supporting Pooky’s rechargeable lamps with golden marbled shades, was resprayed in Little Greene Adventurer, a timeless plum that works so well with the claret of the existing Tori Murphy blinds.

Custom sofas, rug, artworks and decor combined with warmth and cosiness provided by the double sided fireplace. Vibrant colour and pattern makes this truly unique to my clients. Photography by Jason Denton

Dark inchyra blue walls and fireplace create a warm and cosy Victorian living room. An inky blue Balzac armchair completes the look alongside a vintage drinks trolly full of vintage crystal glassware and unusual spirits. A large circular print by Kristjana S Williams provides splashes of colour as do the bold prints by Noma Bar, from his Negative Space series. White ceiling and voiles contrast with the rich colours in the room. Contemporary circular pendant light by Le Deun Luminaires.

Bronwyn Poole
Bohemian enclosed living room in Los Angeles with white walls, a standard fireplace, a brick fireplace surround, a built-in media unit and medium hardwood flooring.

Inspiration for a small bohemian living room in Cornwall with a reading nook, beige walls, medium hardwood flooring, a wood burning stove, a brick fireplace surround, a wall mounted tv, brown floors, exposed beams and a chimney breast.

Bespoke folded metal staircase, dark inchyra blue walls, black and white photography from Rock Archive, mid-century cocktail chairs reupholstered in a bold and colourful print fabric by Timorous Beasties, reclaimed oak parquet floor, claret red plantation shutters, bespoke concrete dining table and a mix of Eames and Jasper Morrison dining chairs. Glass and copper chandelier by Studio It.

Cosy living room with a bold raspberry sofa, dramatic ceiling wallpaper, and botanical pieces.
Bohemian living room in London with green walls, a wood burning stove, a brick fireplace surround and a wallpapered ceiling.

Zona salotto: Soppalco in legno di larice con scala retrattile in ferro e legno. Divani realizzati con materassi in lana. Travi a vista verniciate bianche. La parete in legno di larice chiude la cabina armadio. Sala pranzo con tavolo Santa&Cole e sedie cappellini. Libreria sullo sfondo realizzata con travi in legno da cantiere. Pouf Cappellini.

Une belle et grande maison de l’Île Saint Denis, en bord de Seine. Ce qui aura constitué l’un de mes plus gros défis ! Madame aime le pop, le rose, le batik, les 50’s-60’s-70’s, elle est tendre, romantique et tient à quelques références qui ont construit ses souvenirs de maman et d’amoureuse. Monsieur lui, aime le minimalisme, le minéral, l’art déco et les couleurs froides (et le rose aussi quand même!). Tous deux aiment les chats, les plantes, le rock, rire et voyager. Ils sont drôles, accueillants, généreux, (très) patients mais (super) perfectionnistes et parfois difficiles à mettre d’accord ? Et voilà le résultat : un mix and match de folie, loin de mes codes habituels et du Wabi-sabi pur et dur, mais dans lequel on retrouve l’essence absolue de cette démarche esthétique japonaise : donner leur chance aux objets du passé, respecter les vibrations, les émotions et l’intime conviction, ne pas chercher à copier ou à être « tendance » mais au contraire, ne jamais oublier que nous sommes des êtres uniques qui avons le droit de vivre dans un lieu unique. Que ce lieu est rare et inédit parce que nous l’avons façonné pièce par pièce, objet par objet, motif par motif, accord après accord, à notre image et selon notre cœur. Cette maison de bord de Seine peuplée de trouvailles vintage et d’icônes du design respire la bonne humeur et la complémentarité de ce couple de clients merveilleux qui resteront des amis. Des clients capables de franchir l’Atlantique pour aller chercher des miroirs que je leur ai proposés mais qui, le temps de passer de la conception à la réalisation, sont sold out en France. Des clients capables de passer la journée avec nous sur le chantier, mètre et niveau à la main, pour nous aider à traquer la perfection dans les finitions. Des clients avec qui refaire le monde, dans la quiétude du jardin, un verre à la main, est un pur moment de bonheur. Merci pour votre confiance, votre ténacité et votre ouverture d’esprit. ????

This family sitting room sits at the heart of their stunning rural period home. My client already has a great eye for colour and design, so the big challenge was centred around the issue of layout, as the room has three doors so lots of traffic pathways, plus in terms of function it needed to provide the family with comfortable seating to relax in as well as a dining area. The room needed to flow and feel cocooning, but also to be refined, vibrant and have eclectic edge. The characterful brick fireplace had a wood burner installed and we agreed on a layout that zoned top third of the kitchen end of the room as dining space, with an elegant banquette bench, upholstered in Lewis & Wood Bukhara, a print inspired by an ikat coat in the V&A and loaded with scatter cushions from Oka. I felt strongly that the room would really benefit from a darker wood antique table, so I sourced a 19th century oak refectory table which adds great character and weight to the room. Colourwise we went for a new dado, original skirting and radiators in Farrow & Ball Pigeon, then lighter above the dado to ceiling in Blue Gray. These tones were echoed in the celadon of the reupholstered fabric of the large sofa that divides the room, along with the glass and brass console behind it from Neptune. The stunning Atticus tribal print gathered lampshades from Vaughan create a real focal point for the room and really support the vibe we were looking to create. In terms of the rest of the upholstery the pair of French Louis chairs were sourced from eBay and upholstered in Rapture & Wright’s Serendip, where the generous ottoman was in Nina Campbell Dumas, lending a traditional yet energetic centrepoint. Always keen to repurpose existing pieces we also recovered the client’s pouffe in the small print of Sanderson’s Truffle and piped it in velvet from Samuel & Sons. Last but not least the smaller console, supporting Pooky’s rechargeable lamps with golden marbled shades, was resprayed in Little Greene Adventurer, a timeless plum that works so well with the claret of the existing Tori Murphy blinds.

Beautiful fireplace library nook featuring Alsans upholstery
Inspiration for a small bohemian living room in London with a reading nook, porcelain flooring, a wood burning stove and a brick fireplace surround.

Projet déco: Peinture murs et menuiserie; reconfiguration et aménagement de la pièce; antiquités et meubles chiné, asiatique et mid-century; décorations. Mélange de styles: Exotique, éclectique, collectionneur chic, art déco, industriel.