Q: We are moving into a new home and need a new sofa and chair (or sectional?) for the main floor, open concept, living room. Things get interesting when one takes into account the 'eclectic' pieces we are bringing into the space. We have inherited a beautiful tufted leather rocking chair that we are having refinished. Somehow we would like to pair it with a coffee table we received as a wedding gift years ago (this needs updating!). Help is needed for two things - 1) what kind of sofa and chair (or sectional) could possibly tie these pieces together? AND 2) how should we refinish the table?
Our space, in front of a fireplace with mantle, has 14 feet running in front of two windows (but we need to take into account the fireplace mantle, which will only really leave 10 feet of space), with an adjacent pony wall on the right that is 7 feet long. The space, although not reflected in the pictures, has crown molding and very large baseboards.
Please help - this is a tricky pairing!!
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Not so sure about the sofa ideas, but when it comes to the table go big or go home! there's nothing subtle about an elephant table, so why not paint it a gloss turquoise with a whitegold top? or flat base and elephants and super high gloss top in the same color?
What are you refinishing the tufted chair in? Because it would look really fabulous in an ikat or medallion print -- something that has eastern ethnicity...to tie to the table.
After that I would consider a sofa with some similar lines in terms of the way your chair is rounded on the edges and has tufting. You could go with a neutral tone and pull in the pattern/color with pillows and a throw that tie back to your chair.
Also, the table could go in a a number of ways --darker stain with some tonal differences to highlight the carvings-- something like you would see in an Indian Antique store overseas. Or, of course you could totally play it up like Mereditho said, above with a bright contrast. I guess it all depends on your style. I might however, keep my focus on that gorgeous chair and your sofa...let the table be a conversation piece in a more subtle way...It's a bit challenging to see the overall room and where you would place your pieces -- I'm guessing sofa in front of windows?
look at the flor catalog for inspiration. They are always pairing eclectic furnishings in really unique ways you wouldn't think to try.
I would probably get a low slung clean looking sectional, something like this from abchome http://www.abchome.com/store/store/pc/cobble-hill-bedford-steel-sectional-ireland-oatmeal-295p10790.htm (just the shape, not necessarily the color). Use textiles to tie your pieces together.
Also I would consider creating a bigger top for your coffee table. It doesn't look like it's scaled properly for the furniture you are going to be pairing it with (or I might just have a thing about small coffee tables). You could have a raised frame built around the top, that you could display objects in, then cover with a larger piece of glass, increasing your surface area but not obscuring the view of the elephants!