{"id":487049,"date":"2026-05-16T02:47:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T02:47:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/487049\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T02:47:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T02:47:21","slug":"the-latest-interiors-status-symbol-a-second-living-room-upstairs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/487049\/","title":{"rendered":"The latest interiors status symbol? A second living room upstairs"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019ve spotted Victoria Beckham posing on social media of late, you may have noticed one of her preferred backdrops: the glamorous dressing room at her London townhouse. But this is unlike the walk-in wardrobes of yesteryear: the successful entrepreneur and style maven has taken things up a level \u2014 quite literally \u2014 by incorporating a living room into her upstairs space. Take that, Carrie Bradshaw!<\/p>\n

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Furnished with a statement green velvet sofa and stylish pink armchairs, and finished off with a jet-black rug and a dazzling chandelier, the whole thing is achingly Parisian, which effectively makes it a contemporary salon, inspired by the elegant living rooms found in the grand European homes of the 18th and 19th centuries.<\/p>\n

\"AAn upstairs living room in a Surrey house by the design studio Covet Noir<\/p>\n

\"AIn this Holland Park house, the designer Katharine Pooley created a bespoke home bar topped with Calacatta Oro marbleJames McDonald<\/p>\n

Beckham is not alone. Other celebs known to have carved out dedicated seating areas for lounging and conversing far removed from the staff downstairs include Kim Kardashian and Benny Blanco. And at this year\u2019s WOW!house \u2014 the annual London show house featuring interiors by a raft of award-winning names \u2014 Martin Kemp Design is tapping into the trend with a salon-inspired space called the Parlour, which takes its cues from the formal living rooms of the past.<\/p>\n

Often incorporated into or sitting alongside dressing rooms and bedrooms, and featuring everything from bars to baths for different uses throughout the day, these hybrid spaces are fast becoming one of the most hard-working rooms in the house. And they come with all the bells and whistles.<\/p>\n

\"GershwingGershwing wallpaper in gold by Divine Savages (\u00a3159 for a 6.5m roll) adds a decadent touch<\/p>\n

\"AJodie Hazlewood\u2019s upstairs living room in her former Nottingham flat, complete with a bath (Painted Boat Bath, \u00a33,056, by BC Designs)Jodie Hazlewood, BC Designs<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been adding everything from occasional seating to fridges and coffee stations for a while, but increasingly the dressing room is considered a continuation of the living space with clients looking to create lounge-like environments,\u201d says Philipp Nagel, the director of Neatsmith, which creates bespoke wardrobes and dressing rooms for the rich and famous. \u201cIt\u2019s now somewhere to spend time, whether that\u2019s getting ready in the morning or winding down at the end of the day, as well as an additional space to host.\u201d From curling up with a good book to enjoying a killer cocktail, the routines of everyday life are elevated to luxurious heights from the comfort of this sexy new spot.<\/p>\n

Before a recent move, Jodie Hazlewood \u2014 the founder of the British handmade furniture company The House Upstairs \u2014 regularly posted snaps of her stand-alone upstairs living room in Nottingham before it was even a thing. \u201cIt gives you a space that doesn\u2019t need to work for anyone else, which changes how you approach it entirely,\u201d she says. \u201cWhile the rooms downstairs are often arranged with guests in mind, this salon-like environment can be shaped around your own habits, making it feel more personal and easier for everyday living. For me, that meant combining a place to sit and read by a wood-burning stove with an elevated bath area for a good soak, so the use of the room shifted naturally depending on the time of day. It was somewhere to start the morning slowly or to retreat to in the evening, and it never felt like it had to be \u2018ready\u2019 in the same way as the main living space.\u201d It\u2019s hardly surprising that Hazlewood is planning a similar first-floor space as part of the renovation of her new home in Bristol.<\/p>\n

Likewise, Georgina (George) Townsin, the creative powerhouse behind the interior design company Studio George, has recently created similar lounges for clients looking upwards rather than outwards. \u201cWe\u2019ve just designed a smart, adults-only living space for relaxing, conversing and reading away from the mess of everyday life at a home in Notting Hill,\u201d she says. \u201cThe space is a sanctuary that feels separate from the rest of the home and creates a sense of calm and luxury. More generally, these upstairs spaces give you the chance to use materials and finishes you might not have in everyday family rooms, like a suede sofa, velvet footstool and silk curtains.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ADe Rosee Sa created this calm dressing space in Mayfair, complete with a custom daybed and red lacquered sidetable. The wardrobe doors are covered in Iris wall fabric by Dedar<\/p>\n

\"AIn a mid-century Dulwich townhouse, this first-floor living room, by Studio George and Cake Architecture, features vintage, contemporary and bespoke furnitureFelix Speller<\/p>\n

Elsewhere in the city, the interior designer Katharine Pooley has thoughtfully considered all four levels of a family residence \u2014 including, you guessed it, a living room on the first floor. \u201cThis formal space comes into its own for entertaining with a fully fitted bar, Rose Uniacke sofas, a Kelly Wearstler floor lamp and cast Murano glass pendants by Thomas Pheasant,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s not unusual for a townhouse to be arranged vertically. Therefore we often see relaxed areas and wellness spaces on the ground and lower ground floors, with the upper levels dedicated to slightly more formal gatherings.\u201d<\/p>\n

So how do you create your own upstairs living room for unwinding \u00e0 la Beckham? \u201cYou don\u2019t need a large walk-in wardrobe or even a separate room to achieve one,\u201d advises Claire S\u00e1, the founder of the architecture and interiors studio De Rosee Sa, who notes an increased demand for such dedicated spots. \u201cIf you introduce somewhere to sit, even just a small chair or stool, and think carefully about lighting, it immediately feels like more than simply a space full of wardrobes or a spare room. The way people use their homes has fundamentally changed. There\u2019s less separation between different parts of the day, so rooms need to be more flexible. Getting ready is no longer just a task, it\u2019s a moment of transition \u2014 between work and going out, between bathing and sleeping \u2014 and we want spaces to feel calm, ordered and comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maybe it\u2019s time to level up your living room.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you\u2019ve spotted Victoria Beckham posing on social media of late, you may have noticed one of her…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":487050,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[267],"tags":[365,362,363,364,366,18,117,19,17],"class_list":{"0":"post-487049","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-eire","14":"tag-entertainment","15":"tag-ie","16":"tag-ireland"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116581974012294833","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=487049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487049\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/487050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=487049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=487049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=487049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}