The $3,000 Sofa That Looked Like It Came From Target
Two years ago, I invested in what I thought was my forever sofa—a beautiful Italian-made piece in soft gray linen, $3,200 after delivery. I styled it with carefully chosen pillows, positioned it perfectly in my living room, and invited friends over for the big reveal. Their reaction? "Oh, that's nice! Is it from Target?" I was crushed. That sofa deserved better. The problem, as I learned from a designer friend who finally leveled with me, wasn't the sofa at all—it was everything around it. My living room was a textural wasteland: smooth walls, smooth floors, smooth surfaces, all in varying shades of beige. That expensive sofa had nothing to play against, no contrast to make it shine. It looked cheap because the entire room lacked dimensional depth...
