While the duplex has been getting plenty of attention, we’ve also been making progress at the beach house. The backyard is coming together—shed, patio, fence—and we can’t wait to show more as it develops. For now, we focused on brightening and beach-ifying the living room to create a light, airy, and family-friendly space.
This room finally feels like it belongs just a few blocks from the shore. Our priority was a relaxed, wipeable, and durable design because this house gets packed with family, friends, and kids. We wanted a fresh, coastal look that could stand up to sand, popsicles, and everyday life—so the aesthetic had to be pretty and practical.
We used pieces from the furniture line we helped design, including a new sofa upholstered in performance fabric—that choice alone made the room much more practical. We started with our Mellow sofa for the beach house; performance fabric means easy cleanup and everyday durability, which is ideal for a vacation home full of activity. There’s a limited-time flash sale on a few of our other sofa styles, so if you’ve been considering one, it’s a great moment to take a look.
We retired our long-time Ikea sectional after eight great years and donated it to charity. Moving a sectional from home to home had made the layout awkward—especially when the chaise cut into the doorway or limited seating options. Replacing the oversized sectional with a smaller sofa freed up space for additional functional furniture, like a side table and a reading lamp, which made the room more comfortable and versatile.
Swapping rugs also helped brighten the room. We replaced a vintage rug with a patterned gray rug that reads lighter and feels beachier; the vintage rug found a new home in the duplex. The varied gray tones in the new rug make it forgiving of spills and stains—an excellent feature for a high-traffic family space.
Light-colored wood furniture and washable curtains are simple, budget-friendly ways to make a space feel brighter. A quart of white paint with primer can transform a coffee table or a bookcase in an afternoon and still be kid-friendly. We used white finishes to lift the room visually while keeping surfaces easy to wipe down.
Our three-tier side table is a favorite—plenty of places for magazines, a basket of toys, or remote controls. We liked it so much we ordered more for the duplex. It comes in a smaller size as well, and we’re exploring other shapes like a coffee table version in the future.
I added affordable art from an independent artist I found on Instagram—two 8 x 8 canvas prints that were vibrant and affordable. Framing them in simple Ribba frames with linen-like backing added texture and a double-mat effect without overpowering the room.
We also updated the coffee table. The dark wood legs on our DIY table started to feel heavy as the room brightened, so we brought in a lighter scalloped coffee table that reads airy and fits the space better. The scalloped rim raised a question about comfort—could you prop your feet on it?—and the answer was a pleasant surprise: the shallow rounded scallops are comfortable and don’t interfere with tabletop activities like board games. In fact, the rim helps keep pieces from sliding off during play, and the table even includes a shallow remote drawer to keep clutter contained.
Layout changes made a big difference. Downsizing the sofa actually created more flexible seating: the three-seat sofa combined with three separate chairs gives better conversation flow than a single large sectional. We tucked a chair into the corner by the TV to create more seating zones, and we’re still hunting for relaxed, roomy chairs for the window wall.
We had a small scare with the rug—an old slime stain under the chaise left a grease mark once the sectional was removed. After researching removal methods and trying a few, the successful approach was white vinegar, gentle scraping, and a dab of nail polish remover, which lifted the stain completely. That experience reinforced how forgiving a multi-tonal gray rug can be for a busy house.
Between that and an immediate chocolate stain on the new sofa (which performance fabric handled effortlessly with water), we’re confident this room can withstand typical family wear and tear. It’s reassuring to know the space is both pretty and practical.
One last update: we replaced the dining room capiz chandeliers with sturdier fixtures from our lighting line. They feel more substantial and tie in with other polished nickel details throughout the house. The old capiz fixtures were relocated to the duplex master bedrooms—because a capiz fixture belongs somewhere in every house, apparently.
These updates show that rooms often evolve over time. It’s normal to move things around, experiment, and repurpose pieces you already own. Small changes—a lighter rug, a smaller sofa, white-painted furniture, or a different side table—can dramatically shift the feel of a room without starting from scratch.
If you’re shopping for furniture, there’s a limited-time sale on some of our pieces on Joss & Main right now. For more about designing our furniture and recent updates—including our thoughts on painting the living room walls—check our posts and podcast where we share the process behind these choices.
P.S. In honor of the new chandeliers, we’ve included a link to our Shades of Light collection in our newsletter. We love seeing these fixtures in other homes—send us photos if you use them!
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