The Life Aquatic Powder Room by Fiorito Interior Design

When a client in Santa Cruz decided to add on to her Arts and Crafts bungalow, she created enough space for a new powder room, and we looked to the very nearby ocean for inspiration. This coastal-themed bathroom features a very special wallpaper called Acquario designed by legendary Italian designer Piero Fornasetti, and made by Cole & Son in England. White wainscoting and a navy blue vanity anchor the room. And two iron and rope sconces with a wonderful maritime sense light this delightfully salty space.

Happy designing!

Know Your Sofas: Back and Seat Options

While we have covered specific sofas in past installments of Know Your Sofas, today we are going to cover some design elements of a sofa and their names.

The advantage of working with me to furnish your home is that I can customize all aspects of a sofa to get the exact look we want. And one of the things that makes a sofa a sofa is its width. While this size can be adjusted, so can the depth and height.

Depth is an important factor as it is going to contribute to your overall comfort when seated. Petite and shorter people usually have better luck with a sofa that has an overall depth of around 36" which, after subtracting the structure of the back of the sofa as well as the thickness of the cushion, should give you a seat depth of around 24" or so. Taller families--or those who wish to have a lot of room to tuck one's legs on the sofa to curl up--will do well with a deeper overall depth of perhaps 40" or even 42". However, make sure the scale of such a deeper sofa fits with the room. You don't want to shoe horn a deep sofa into a space that can't take it.

A standard height of a sofa is usually around 36"--I have found that any higher feels like it blocks the flow of the room. There are lower sofas, usually of a modern design, but clients complain that it feels like they are going to tumble backward if it is too low.

The back of a sofa can also come in a few different iterations. One can have loose cushions...

...or if you don't like the fact that the cushions can come off and move around (people with kids often do not like that option since the cushions always seem to end up in a pile on the floor after playtime), one can have what is called a "tight back," seen below.

If you do opt for back cushions, whether loose or fixed (stitched into place), there are options here too! A back cushion can be a square- or T-cushion.

And of course a seat can get a square or T treatment as well!

The right sofa can ground a room and set the stage for a welcoming feeling of comfort.

If you'd like a new sofa, we can make all of these decisions and more (legs, wood finish, nailheads, fabrics, welting, throw pillows) to get you the right sofa for your comfort and style.

Happy designing!