A Room That Feels Like Home

The Sitting Room

by Susan Rios

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and go here to see more of Susan Rios Art.

Although I like to stretch summer as long as I can, I enjoyed this lovely autumn painting that came in my email this morning and would like to share it here with a link to Susan Rios to see more. I love her depiction of seating areas in the home, surrounded by books or writing materials, and flowering plants.

Camelia Rose Tea

by Susan Rios

  If a home had one room like this to keep for quiet times or guests, the rest of the house work would be a delight, because this kind of room seems to set a standard for the rest of the home.  This alludes back to the parlours of the Victorian times, which were just front rooms where the work of the home was not seen.  They were rooms used for an escape from the commotion of the rest of the house, or for receiving guests, who did not venture into the kitchen or the private living areas of the family. 

The Warmth of Autumn

by Susan Rios

 For most of us, the living room is just inside the front door and immediately comes into view when one enters, so it will be the room we are most concerned about for appearance.  When the lady of the home returns from shopping or from outdoors, her mood can be greatly improved when she sees that first room in order. It makes the rest of the rooms easier to tackle if they are in a mess. 

The Rose Room

by Susan Rios

For a small living area, I would suggest the following items to make it seem like home:

Two comfortable chairs for relaxing.

One couch, love-seat length.

Possibly a longer couch or settee, depending on the preferences of your family.

A bookcase with a collection of favorite and beautifully covered books.

A small desk with a lamp, which could also serve as an end table beside one of the chairs or couches.

End tables for lamps, placed beside the chairs and couches.

A braided or hooked rug for the center of the room.

A small table placed on the rug, for serving tea or bearing reading materials, a pretty plant or vase of flowers or interesting object that has meaning to you---a large sea shell, a tea pot, a basket, etc.

On the walls : a clock, photographs, paintings, and possibly a light that looks like a candle, or a hanging candleholder with wax candles that match the colors of your house.

Seaside Terrace by Susan Rios can be viewed at her website here.

To add to the feeling of home in the living area you can get a portable electric fireplace that is easy to move around, and put it on one wall. It has an electric flame that looks lovely and it actually puts out heat through a vent. The mantel piece area makes another old fashioned surface on which to place photographs, a mantel cloth, or a collection of things you like. You can use the flame feature, which adds like without heat, and is operated by a simple little night-light bulb.

A Place to Dream

by Susan Rios

If you like, you can get out your grandmother's lace to protect the surfaces of the tables and the mantel before you set out the lamps and other objects. It makes good sense to take care of furniture, however inexpensive and humble it is.

Garden Window by Susan Rios

can be purchased here.

As time allows, I hope to post about other places in the home, such as the porches, the dining room, kitchen, laundry room, bedrooms, etc. to find ways to make them both comforting and appealing to the eye. To make one room a model of order and beauty can help a homemaker have more insipiration and delight in her housekeeping and cleaning of the other parts of the house.

http://www.susanriosdesign.com/index.php/gallery/keepsakes/vintage-red-k.html

All Susan Rios paintings here are used with her permission.


Mrs. J., in comments: I agree about the footstool and the sofa table. The foot stool is much nicer than today's ottoman or hassock, which is harder to use and takes up enormous space in a room. The sofa table should be used because that way you do not have to put the back of your long couch or chair against a wall or corner. It makes it easier to position the couch with the back toward your audience but still have something nice against it. The sofa table provides a place that looks like an entry table, with a lamp, maybe a guest book and a vase of flowers. I quite agree that these two pieces of furniture should be included in planning your sitting room.

Also, the lady who commented about the piano: those things are so big and awkward and cannot be moved often, but I love them, and have one myself. They just add so much human-ness to the room, much like a shelf full of books.