Hi Janicemarie --

Lovely rooms!

Q, perhaps obvious -- are you choosing between literally the ivory in that style and the green in the other style? Or asking for input on first what style, then what color?

If it's those exact sofas I guess I'd ask yourself how you all have liked living with the light couches you have.

If you're ready for a change, you have your answer...if you adore the way light reflects off the pale fabric, you may have your answer.

My only real advice is that for me the lighter sample for roman shades seems to work better with a light sofa -- and vice versa with the deeper option working better with the green sofa.

I worry that the lighter roman shades might be a little too wussy to stand up to the green sofa and the red might be a bit too heavy with the white sofa.

Buy the very best sofa you can possibly afford - you will have it for decades if it's good quality. I prefer a tight back sofa with spring units in the back. Without them, the back will sag pretty quickly. With loose-back, the cushions may sag quickly as well unless very high quality, plus they will constantly need to be "fluffed". And if you have a pet, they will use them as a hammock!

Thank you! Yes House Vixen, I should have made that clear. Looking for both style and colour advice. We have narrowed our search to those two, although I'm open to other suggestions! The white pillow back sofa we would get in a creamier off-white than the white shown in the picture. The T cushion sofa I would love to get the green and embrace a pink and green palette for the room.

Anglophilia I very much appreciate your practical advice (I have white corian lined up to be installed in our kitchen thanks in part to your endorsement!). I was thinking that the loose-back might wear better since I could always replace the cushions. With our current T cushion couch the back cushions are prone to sagging. No indoor pets to consider at this time. I will have a look at options for a tight back sofa, that would certainly be a tidier look. We are looking to purchase from Wayfair.ca (Canadian) as the local options are not great.

The cream sofa you have now looks no worse for the wear, which is impressive in a house of 7! I have the same questions as House Vixen. I'm partial because I'm a sucker for a beautiful ivory slipcover so I say choice 1. I still absolutely love that hutch you have in there. I covet it every time I see your pretty space.

Thank you Rebecca! Our fireplace is likely not happening anytime soon so I am enjoying the hutch and the warmth the wood gives the room.

Another option would be to get another ivory couch to match the slipcovered one we currently have. It is a Rowe Nantucket and it has worn very well. I wash the cushion slipcovers about once a month and the entire frame slipcover about every 6 months. We don't eat in this room so that helps! I have always had light slipcovers and they are in my "comfort zone" if that makes sense so they would be a safe choice for me. Unfortunately the Rowe slipcovers are so expensive that getting another one would be the almost as much as another sofa, so it's not really feasible to have seasonal slipcovers. However the ivory one we have is still in pretty good condition so maybe this is a good option to consider.

The back cushions will be easier to keep neat on the style of the green couch. We once had a sectional that had a row of about ten of those loose style cushions, and it looked good for all of about ten minutes after I arranged them. Our neighbor had given us the sectional because the unkempt cushions made her crazy! While the three loose back cushions will still require flumping, it'll be nothing compared to the other style.

As an owner of 2 green couches, if you're comfortable with the maintenance of cream, go for it. The cream is much more versatile and it bounces more light around. While I love my green couches, they've been challenging to work around.

If you google Laura Ashley living rooms, you'll find lovely inspiration pictures that look very much like your room. They might give you ideas for your curtain fabrics, too.

Thanks for the advice laughable! I love your living room.

Good idea about the Laura Ashley living rooms, I loved the colours and feel of this one:

This is pretty also, but I don't think our room will ever be light and airy. It is a dark room most of the day, north facing with a covered porch outside. Thankfully we have a sunroom!

Thank you! North rooms are good for going cozy. Funny, I wouldn't have guessed that that room doesn't get direct sunlight based on the pictures. One thing I like about Laura Ashley is that their products are developed for the U.K., which I think of as having drizzly, overcast weather rather than lots of bright sunshine. So, English Country decorating pictures might be worth exploring too. I don't think curtains will feel too crowded in your living room.

Yes these pictures were taken during the approximately ten minutes of direct sun in the evening! Good point about the U.K. weather and decorating.

Hi again Janicemarie --

Thanks for the extra info!

What I hear is a person who loves loves loves light sofas, but worries a little about being stuck in a style rut.

This is so common with dressing/clothes, but if you do a reframe and think of light sofas as your "signature style" or "decorating uniform" it may ease your mind. For you, light sofas ain't broke...so no need to fix things (other than finding the right white sofa).

I like the idea of 2 slightly different ones. So you could keep your Rowe for sure, yes? Could you just slipcover the other one or are you looking for a better sofa?

If you stay white/ivory, you might want to explore a deeper green on the wall similar to your Laura Ashley pic. Seems like it would pull out the darker green stripe of the adjoining wallpaper, too.

janicemarie, another Canadian here. We're building a new house so I've bought a lot from Wayfair.ca but never upholstered seating. I would have to know the manufacturer and before I felt comfortable doing that. I very much agree with Anglo about buying the very best sofa you can afford.

I'll put in a plug for Crate & Barrel, which carries Lee Industries sofas and has a great sale every fall (Sept-Oct or so). We bought the slipcovered Harborside sofa a few years ago and have been very pleased with it.

Thanks House Vixen, I love the idea of green for the walls! And you are absolutely right, for some reason I feel like I SHOULD change things up with deeper colours on the sofas, but I absolutely agree, it isn't broken so don't fix it! I really appreciate your insight on that. The current non slipcovered sofa is really uncomfortable so we definitely need to replace it with something, I guess I thought they absolutely had to match but it is interesting to consider that they don't.

Becky that Crate and Barrel sofa is gorgeous! I have been sort of trusting the wayfair reviews to gauge the comfort, but perhaps that is just too risky with such a large purchase. Might I ask what the sale is in the fall?

janicemarie, I think it was for 15 percent off. In my opinion, the Lee Industries sofas are worth it -- comfortable AND long-lasting. Our previous sofa was a Lee Industries bought in 1990, and after 25 years in dire need of reupholstering; unfortunately, the cost for that around here is the same as the cost of a new sofa, and it was easier to find a new sofa than a reputable upholsterer. And if you have the chance to go to Crate & Barrel and sit your bum in a sofa to try it out, do it! Lee Industries is also carried by some smaller companies in various cities in Canada. I have the names somewhere for Edmonton and Calgary -- let me know if you'd like them and I'll dig them up.

If you can at all save money elsewhere and put the money saved toward a good sofa, I would do it.

I'm okay with Wayfair reviews depending on what the item is, and depending on the manufacturer. I've recently bought Safavieh lamps (though they are not identified on the website as Safavieh, which is maddening) and also a Currey & Co. chandelier. Wayfair has a great selection of things I can't find elsewhere, and in some cases the lowest price (in other cases the prices seem insane). Wayfair customer service has also been terrific -- one of the finials on the Safavieh lamp was stripped, which left the lamp shade bobbling around. When I called Wayfair to ask about a replacement finial, I was told that because Safavieh does not offer replacement parts (I have a feeling the lamps are made in a factory in China, packaged as sets of two, and shipped to the US), they'd be sending me "replacement unit(s) at no additional cost" and to "please feel free to donate or dispose of the original item".

Nothing I could possibly add on the sofas, I'm picking up information. And your room is coming along beautifully, already looks so nice.

I just wanted to suggest maybe thinking about built-ins. I literally fantasized about built-in cabinets, bookshelves, everything when I was in my teens, looong ago now. I've always loved them. But these days they're such a cliche--practically every tract home offers them (usually of course flanking fireplace). If you have books, maybe line a short wall somewhere else with book shelves. Or perhaps create a transition between major spaces with 30-36" wide built-ins on each side of a passageway. Just a thought tossed in.

Itm, if that sideboard and hutch on the far wall is not a special piece, how about painting it?

And are you in love with Roman shades? Couldn't talk my daughter out of them. Like built-ins, I liked them a lot more when they weren't everywhere you turn, and they have their drawbacks and cost so much money. Curtains you could run up (or iron up) yourself (and change out with the seasons if you wished) have a pretty grace and would move and occasionally flutter in the breeze. The feeling of relation between inside and out is a natural characteristic of cottages.

Thank you so much Hamamelis. I really appreciate your thoughtful response. Very true that we need to consider why we want the built - ins. We do have a potential "library" space at the top of our stairs upstairs that would work perfectly for built in bookshelves as well. Lots to think about.

I am not set on Roman shades, I just thought curtains might be crowded. After comments here I feel reassured that they would be a good choice and am starting the search for potential fabrics.

I think I actually like the warmth of the wood hutch for now but I could certainly see it would be pretty painted as well:)

To me, well-done built-ins and Roman shades are more classic than cliché or trendy; they may be especially popular now, but they've been varying degrees of popular for a long, long time. The increasing popularity is probably due to the fact that they're much cheaper now for average homeowners, especially if you go the DIY route with so many online tutorials (such using Ikea bookcases and trim).

For classic elements, if it's something you've always liked, I say go for it. The cure for something classic which is currently "hip and trendy" is patience -- wait another few years until the design industry decides they're passé.

I think the best way to gauge if curtains would work in the room is to take another photograph straight ahead of the windows and sofa, to see how much room there is on either side of the windows, especially between the one window and the bookcase. And also knowing if you plan to keep the bookcase in that particular location. Do you need window treatments for privacy or light-blocking reasons, or for aesthetics?

Take a look at Flex steel sofas, they are so well made that I have a 35 year old one in my lake house that has had new slipcovers made every ten years and still the original cushions. Not a dent or worn out look at all, people are amazed when they sit on it how it feels like a brand new sofa.

Yayagal, from what I've heard from family, for the past 10-15 years, you have to watch out where your Flexteel product has been manufactured. Like a lot of things, the item made 35 years ago doesn't always compare to the item made today.

I just Googled and found this, which backs up what my inlaws have said.

That link you posted definitely has made me want to find a really good quality sofa becky. There is an upholsterer near us who actually builds sofas from scratch, I wonder what the quality of them would be.

I just want curtains for decorative purposes, they do not need to function. I suppose I could leave them bare but it looks unfinished to me. I can try to tape some fabric up and take a photo:)

Thank you for that article, I had no idea Flexsteel was made in China but I'm not surprised. I'd like to suggest a paint color for your room. Tranquility https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/84/46/11/844611c1f4a43ec16e9c343b970ba39f.jpg 

janicemarie, since the upholsterer is nearby, it would be easy to get prices and also to get reviews/referrals, I would think.

You might also want to consider "stay in place" Roman shades, which are more of a valance, and much cheaper than fully functioning Roman shades. Just an idea!

Wow yayagal I certainly never would have thought of blue! It's very pretty. There is a little blue in the rug. I might get a sample.

I was also considering a very pale pink, I love pink and my husband doesn't mind. I think it might be cozy considering the north facing room. But I'm not very good with colours so I will probably have a consult with Lori S. when I'm ready. She helped me with my sunroom and her suggestions were perfect.