How To Create A Welcoming Space

If there’s one person to take interior decorating inspiration from, it’s furniture designer and founder of Maison Madeleine Leah Cumming. Today, Cumming gives us a look inside her favorite nook in her home—a corner of one of her living areas where she entertains friends and keeps her art and design book collection. Read ahead for her design thought process and philosophy. — Maraya

“I wanted to create a living space where friends could come over, sit down, and feel welcome to stay a while,” furniture designer and founder of Maison Madeleine Leah Cumming explains. “My ultimate goal is for guests not to feel just like visitors, but to feel like they are at home. Achieving this is extremely special to me.” She creates this sense of inviting warmth in her favorite nook in her home through tasteful, balanced eclecticism, using a variety of materials and textures—the jute rug, the Maison Madeleine linen Le Nuage Ottoman and velvet Vosges Sofa, the Hermès scarf she brilliantly framed and hung as wall decor, and Swedish striped, vintage side table—to make the space visually stimulating but not overwhelming. “There is something unexpected about the combination of these pieces that feels oddly comforting,” she comments. “When creating a personal space, it is vital to fill the room with pieces and accessories that spark joy and provoke memory and emotion.”

In addition to hosting and entertaining friends in this space, she also uses it for quiet moments spent reading with her dog Pogo or gathering design inspiration in a place that is not as pressurized and formally work-associated as an office. She supplements Instagram and Pinterest with her art and design book collection, which she has accumulated over the years. “Old and new, these books inspire me and fill me with much joy,” she comments. “As a visually inclined person, there is something profoundly satisfying about having something tangible to flip through.”

LATELY ON COVETEUR

_{All products and services Coveteur recommends are selected by our editorial team unless specifically marked otherwise as "Sponsored." Some of our stories include affiliate links; if you make a purchase by clicking on one of these links, we may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.}