I’m finally ready to share a peek inside the front rooms of our new house, and thanks to Sauder furniture I’ve identified this style as Modern Simplicity.

When you enter, we have a sitting room, and a formal dining room, which I use as a studio space for photo shoots. I’ve outfitted the rooms with simple pieces that have a mid-century modern feel. There’s also a touch of natural materials and pops of color to stand out against the neutral gray and white foundation.

Remember this post when I was working on a plan for the sitting room? Well, you can see how I used that as a guide and brought the room to life.

• I wanted the sitting area to consist of a grouping of chairs instead of a small sofa and chairs. The main reason is that I frequently have to move furniture around to take photos for work, and the chairs are easier than a sofa. The other reason is that I envisioned sitting with a few friends, sipping coffee or wine, and being able to have a conversation in a circle rather than side by side on a couch.
• I don’t like things too matchy-matchy {obviously} so I chose a couple of matching chairs and an accent chair in gold. I DO have plans to add another “statement” chair to the mix but haven’t found what I’m looking for yet.
• I’m also very aware of balancing circles and squares in a space. For instance, the seating and chest are more squared off, so I added round side tables and a decorative sphere to break up the straight edges.
• Art and accessories are the best ways to bring color into this room so I chose a pillow and throw with a definite retro pattern, in bright contrasting colors.
• The picture collage in the corner is an eclectic mix of prints, and I’m in LOVE with my custom drawing/water color of our house, from Kori Clark Designs.
• I also mixed in a combination of modern and vintage-style decorative pieces to add to the surfaces.

• To keep this style from looking TOO modern I added the small wood table next to the metal base chair. This juxtaposition of the metal and wood looks more interesting and adds texture. Other natural elements in the room are a small antler and the wood ladder that holds more colorful throws.
• Every room needs some type of chest or shelves don’t you think? I found this mirror inlayed chest, which holds some of my entertaining supplies.
• I topped it with colorful art and accessories, and another Kori Clark Design print displayed under a glass cloche.

• The dining room, aka my studio, is minimally furnished so I have the freedom to set up a design how I need to. My trusty white table serves as a desk when it’s not being used as a dessert table, and I keep our small dining table here for tablescape photos.
• The room wouldn’t be complete without my retro style bar cart! I have no problem mixing metals, as you can see. I can’t be tied down to just gold or just silver so I let the metals mix and mingle!
• These rooms are modern, simple, and uncluttered which in turn makes me more relaxed and calm. There’s no need for lots of frills here, but when you come to sit for a while it’s very inviting and cozy.

 PIN this Post

If I had the pleasure of adding a piece from the Sauder collection I’d love to incorporate something tall like the tower bookcase or the wood grain wall shelf. I’d style them with books, pottery pieces from my entertaining collection, maybe a small plant, and some colorful accessories.

Either piece would blend seamlessly with what I already have going on and they are budget friendly too! You can get more ideas and inspiration on Sauder’s Pinterest board.

For more inspiration, follow me on Google+, Pinterest, and Twitter. Cheers!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sauder Woodworking. The opinions and text are all mine.