About Us

Joanne Coe’s Living Room

Based in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, Living Room is a reflection of both my own design sensibility and personal ethics.  Following a 20 year career as a Furniture Buyer Manager and Product Developer for high street retail, working for several renowned UK brands, Living Room was conceived of a desire to do things differently. Rejecting mass production to create furniture of quality and provenance, we design and manufacture our upholstery designs to a standard and quality level that we ourselves wanted to own but could not find. Rejecting also the standardised model of global sourcing, we proudly manufacture in the UK, collaborating with master craftsmen who share our values of things made well and to last.

How and where we manufacture is as important as what we manufacture, with a commitment to take full ownership of our supply chain and maintain the highest levels of quality. In supporting British manufacturing industry, we also aim to minimise our environmental impact in everything we make. All of our designs are conceived in our Hitchin home studio and developed with a second generation family owned workshop in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, with each piece offering a meticulous attention to detail which we hope sets us apart from the ordinary. Produced by highly skilled craftspeople, we make to your order, reducing waste and ensuring that each piece is unique to you.

Our fabrics are proudly sourced from British and European Mills, from Yorkshire made wools and wool linens to Italian velvets. Chosen for their strength and durability as well as their look and feel, all of our fabrics are designed for longevity and are each suitable for contract and hospitality interiors as well as the rigours of home life.

Design Inspiration

Inspired by my lifelong passion for British Mid-Century furniture design, Living Room offers an entirely contemporary aesthetic that references the archetypes of the past.

I have always had a passion for the art and design greats from the post war period, from Robin and Lucienne Day, Ernest Race and Guy Rogers to Barbara Hepworth. My love of this period in Furniture and Homewares design is not only for its unique interior style, but also for the peak in UK manufacturing that it represents and we take inspiration from the great British makers of the post war years, from Parker-Knoll and Ercol to GPlan. Combining the optimism of this period in furniture design with a modern craft sensibility, Living Room takes inspiration from this period and combines it with a love of craft and honesty of materials to create something new which evokes quality and longevity. This is an aesthetic that pays homage to my design heroes, whilst offering a distinctly contemporary perspective. Each model offers a modern take on a Mid-Century archetype, from the relaxed detailing of the Model 1 Box Arm to the clean lines and strong profiling of the Model 3 Cocktail Chair. Our fabrics and colour palette are also chosen for their contemporary take on a Mid-Century aesthetic, with a careful edit of natural textured weaves and rich velvets sourced from heritage mills.

In built quality, designed to last

All of our Upholstery has been developed with and is produced by a highly skilled team in Long Eaton, the home of traditionally hand made upholstery. With a reputation for bespoke designs, made to exacting standards, this family run business was founded in 1965 and is still run by 2nd generation siblings. Comfort and ergonomic are key, with the highest standards of frame construction employed to ensure that your investment will be owned and love for years to come.

Your Living Room

Your Living space is unique to you, and an expression of you. Although Living Room is a very personal vision, I look forward to seeing how it works in your home. I hope only that you love what you buy, own it for years to come and that, just like the vintage pieces that sit in my home alongside the new, your purchase gets better with age.