Today, AD100 interior designer Brigette Romanek joins Architectural Digest to answer your top living room design questions. What’s the best couch for kids and pets? How do you create a living room space in a studio apartment? Romanek shares her expertise to help solve your interior design problems.
ART: © Tyler Mitchell. Christopher Astley/Martos Gallery. John Henderson. © The Estate of Sigmar Polke, Cologne / ARS, New York, 2024. © Herb Ritts Foundation; Courtesy of Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles. John Chamberlain © 2024 Fairweather & Fairweather LTD / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. © Adam Fuss/Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco. Joe Bradley and Venus Over Manhattan. Martin Disler, Lukasz Stoklosa/Amity Gallery, New York. Abel Guzman/la BEAST gallery, Los Angeles, Edward Burtynsky, Krystian Lipiec, Rebecca Jack, © Rudolf Polanszky. © 2025 Robert Rauschenberg Foundation / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY., Timur D’vatz, Fondation Lurçat / Artists Rights Society (ARS), © 2024 Comissió Tàpies / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VEGAP, Madrid. María Oriza Pérez. Henry Diltz Photography/Morrison Hotel Gallery. Maripol. Jake Clark/Albertz Benda & Rodolphe Janssen.
ART: © Tyler Mitchell. Christopher Astley/Martos Gallery. John Henderson. © The Estate of Sigmar Polke, Cologne / ARS, New York, 2024. © Herb Ritts Foundation; Courtesy of Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles. John Chamberlain © 2024 Fairweather & Fairweather LTD / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. © Adam Fuss/Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco. Joe Bradley and Venus Over Manhattan. Martin Disler, Lukasz Stoklosa/Amity Gallery, New York. Abel Guzman/la BEAST gallery, Los Angeles, Edward Burtynsky, Krystian Lipiec, Rebecca Jack, © Rudolf Polanszky. © 2025 Robert Rauschenberg Foundation / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY., Timur D’vatz, Fondation Lurçat / Artists Rights Society (ARS), © 2024 Comissió Tàpies / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VEGAP, Madrid. María Oriza Pérez. Henry Diltz Photography/Morrison Hotel Gallery. Maripol. Jake Clark/Albertz Benda & Rodolphe Janssen.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Is it ever okay to cover original parquet flooring?
00:06My name is Bridget Romanek and I'm going to answer some of the living room questions you asked AD.
00:16Q and AD, let's go. What are the best places to find affordable pieces
00:21that still achieve a polished look? I call it the Gucci meets Gap approach and what that
00:27essentially means is that, yes, I have pieces that in my own home that I've saved up for that
00:32I really wanted and I love and I will probably have forever, but doesn't have to be everything
00:38in the room. In fact, it doesn't have to be most things in the room. The other part of that is
00:42really just bringing in pieces that mean something to you or pieces that you get creative about and
00:48the creativity is what's so beautiful about design. I have looked in basements of people's homes,
00:55I promise you. What brings the specialness and the personality and you into the room are those
01:00pieces. One thing I did was I really wanted blue and white vases and to have a vintage one or one
01:10with history from the early 1900s was very expensive. I went downtown in Los Angeles and I found vases in
01:18different shapes from ten dollars all the way up to thirty dollars, but I put the collection together,
01:24I threw flowers in them and all of a sudden it was one of the prettiest things I had ever done
01:29and I didn't spend over thirty dollars. Design is so personal and something that should feel you,
01:35it should be a love letter to yourself. Modern style versus a home with period features,
01:43how to create a space that honors both. Well, to create a space that honors both, that's called
01:50eclecticism. I love eclecticism because it's a way to showcase different periods and eras and styles,
01:58and I also think it creates a timelessness. When you mix pieces from different times and eras and
02:04designers and makers, it creates a really harmonious, also tension-filled moment that the pieces really
02:12speak to each other. If you have, let's say for instance, a home that is from like 1929, maybe
02:18a Spanish, will bring in some contemporary, bring in some modern, bring in some pieces that sort of
02:26challenge that. And what it helps to do is it defines that space. You know, all of a sudden the
02:31molding is more special. And if I were to pick pieces that were just from that time in that era,
02:37it would really be one note. Putting these things together allows for you to really look in detail
02:44at the individuality of each piece. You're immediately interested in the space and something
02:48is created that's personal and beautiful because you can't do that twice.
02:54How to create a designated living room space within a studio. I know this well because I used to live in a
03:00studio. A great trick is to be able to use backs of pieces of furniture to become walls, if you will.
03:08Backs of furniture are a great way to signal you're entering into a different room even without having
03:13the room. And rugs are 100% a great way to define a space. If I'm creating a seating area, if my couch,
03:21let's say is eight feet, then I want my rug to probably be 10 feet. So that on either side of my
03:30sofa, there is still rug. Because I really think that helps to define the space a lot. Color is another
03:36way. You know, you can have different color stories in different areas. And so that helps your mind and
03:40your eye to be tricked a little bit. Is it ever okay to cover original parquet flooring?
03:47Oh, yes, yes, of course. And the reason why I say that is because it's about you and and what you
03:59want and this is your space. I would probably cover it with something that is removable. So meaning
04:04covering it with a rug, covering some of it with furniture, just things like that that I can remove
04:10because to be able to get original parquet flooring is so unique and can be so beautiful. But maybe you
04:16want to change the finish on the floor, maybe that would make it feel like it's more something you
04:21want. But rugs, furniture and changing the finish on the floors are ways to do it but still keeping
04:27that incredible parquet floor. Do you have any tips for lighting with high ceilings?
04:35Absolutely. So we think of lighting as jewelry. And so with a high ceiling, you get to have some
04:42dangling jewelry. And that's what I would do is I would hang something that has a lot of length to
04:50it, and is bold. And the reason why is because it's still part of the design story. And it brings
04:57such a lovely mood and elegance to the space. Oh my gosh, apparatus just blows my mind. Lindsay
05:04Edelman, I just I don't even know what's happening. Historically, if you look at big grand rooms, they
05:11always have incredible chandeliers that just sparkle and just take your eye and visually overwhelm you in
05:18such a beautiful way. And you can take that exact same approach in your house if you have high ceilings.
05:25I want to get rid of my coffee table for space. What else can I use to replace it? I would say to
05:32replace it, you could use ottomans. I think ottomans or stools or poofs are all really great options
05:39because they are light, meaning that you can move them in and out as needed. You could put a tray on
05:46top of an ottoman and then that flat surface will create that coffee table. Drinks tables, I find
05:52some of those really great and they're very useful for drinks or a book or if you like to eat and sit
05:59on your couch. So that's another beautiful versatile way to not have a coffee table.
06:05How to design a living room to maximize conversation. Depending on your living room and the size,
06:11you can create multiple seating areas and thinking about conversation and how you want people to
06:17interact. Do you want someone's back to someone? Do you want it to be one big area where everyone is
06:22able to converse? And then that starts to dictate, should I have swivel chairs so someone can turn around
06:29to the person behind them if they are sitting in a vignette that has two chairs? Should I have a day
06:35bed where multiple people can sit or I can lie down and then someone can talk to me from a chair across
06:40the way? It really begins with creating that one area and all the other areas can stem from there.
06:46And I literally imagine myself on each piece of furniture and the purpose of that piece. So all of
06:51these things are important because you want people to come in and without knowing you've created this just
06:58for conversation that they sit down and it really is what happened and it is engaging. And in a small
07:03space, I would say I love like an L-shaped sofa. I love a curved sofa because on the ends, people do
07:08kind of get to see each other and converse that way. And so those are two ways to maximize space.
07:16What's the best couch to get if you have kids and pets? Well, I'm a good person to answer this because I
07:22have both. And what I have in my home is I have a sofa that number one, the fabric is durable. And
07:30what's really amazing is that now outdoor fabrics, performance fabrics, which are not the same as
07:36outdoor fabrics, but perform better than normal fabrics are a great way to go because they are more
07:42durable and can take more accidents, if you will. Hold on a second. I will get some.
07:52Okay. It's a performance world out here. Okay. So I think I brought too many, but you're speaking my
07:58language. So what's really great is that performance fabrics, now they really can feel like velvets.
08:04They have patterns. These are pendler, which I love, love, love, because they sort of have that boucle,
08:11some alpaca kind of feel to them with being amazing. And wools and the colorways are absolutely
08:18spectacular and gorgeous. There's so many companies that are using this as a normal fabric now. Crate
08:24and Barrel, West Elm, I think does it as well. Restoration Hardware. Also, if you have this space,
08:31I love a deep sofa, a sofa where multiple people, animals, kids, teenagers,
08:38can all enjoy the sofa. And so I don't think in any way, shape or form, you have to sacrifice style
08:45and sacrifice things that make you feel good. What shape coffee table works best with a sectional?
08:53Okay. What I would say is depending on the sectional that you get and the shape of the sectional,
08:59that should help to dictate the shape of the table and also the walkability around the table,
09:06as you are going to be able to sit. If your sectional is curved, then I would do a round
09:13coffee table. So really you're following the shape of the sectional. I like to do this as an extra step,
09:19but I love blue tape. So I mark out the size of the sectional and I will tape out and mark out the size
09:27of the coffee table and I walk around it. Listen, if I'm there by myself and I call it my own personal
09:33staff meeting and really figure out the functionality and how it will work, look and perform and support
09:40what's happening in that space. But blue tape is your friend.
09:45What piece of furniture should I design my living room around? Ooh, that's a, that's an interesting
09:51question because different designers have different ideas on that. My take on that is, first of all,
09:57I walk into the space. I walk into the space and I feel it. For instance, if I say this living room
10:03is going to be all about coziness, I want this to be a place where we just gather and relax. So first,
10:09it's probably going to be my sofa. That's going to be the piece that sort of dictates all the other
10:14pieces around it, because that's the main purpose of this room is to really just like relax. If I'm
10:20looking at the living room and I'm thinking, I really want this to be a place where I am showcasing
10:26my paintings. So then immediately I'm thinking about my paintings first and the lighting over
10:31my paintings first and the colors in my paintings and what that will dictate for the furniture. You
10:37have a chair that you've had for many years and you don't want to part with this chair. Plonk that in
10:42the living room and use that as the hero piece and build out from there one piece at a time. And it's
10:48like building an outfit as well. You know, how do you start that one? Thank you for all of your
10:55questions. I had a great time answering them and I wish you all the luck in the world on creating the
11:00living room of your dreams. You can do it.