I promised myself that when we bought our home, I would take my time decorating it. I didn’t want to rush into buying pieces I would eventually hate just to say, “I did it.” I wanted to have pieces around my home that make me happy, that fit the many personalities of everyone in the house, and that meet my family’s needs. It’s not easy to do that, especially when you’re in a rush. So, even though we bought our house in September of last year, I just got started decorating the upstairs loft. I’ve been going room to room and Fatima’s room took priority because we were welcoming her into the world, then Diari’s because she’s my diva who wouldn’t stay out of Fatima’s room until she had her own, and now, finally, the loft because that’s where we will spend most of our family time together.

Where would I start? I stood by the stairs and looked at this big open space and I realized I had no idea what to do with it. There is a beautiful two-panel window on the left wall, but that’s it. Everything else was empty and waiting for me to fill it. I created an idea in my head, so: I’ll put the TV and a media stand on the right wall, a big comfy sectional sofa on the left wall, a large area rug on the floor and a coffee table in the middle. I imagined a side table on one side of the couch and a tall lamp on the other side. I knew that I wanted a plant near the TV and a discrete toy box for the kids somewhere in a corner. So the hard part was over – I had a design in mind. But where was I going to find the perfect pieces I needed to make my design a reality? I decided to start looking for the biggest piece first – my big comfy sectional sofa.

A while back, I found this site called Joybird. I told myself that when I bought a house, I would check it out because it lets you create custom furniture based on your style. I loved the idea of creating something exactly how I wanted it and I thought that was the perfect idea for my loft sofa.

I went on the Joybird site and I found the Holt Sectional with Storage and fell in love with it. Not only is it huge, which is exactly what I was looking for, but it also has a storage compartment where I can throw all of the girls’ toys and extra blankets or pillows. And then, I had the option to choose the fabric, and there were so many! I couldn’t make up my mind so I ordered the free swatches of fabric, which gave me a chance to touch and look at all of the fabric options in person before choosing.

I decided on the “Tier 2 – Prime Stone” fabric and then I chose the “coffee bean” stain for the wood on the bottom of the sofa. What’s amazing about customizing my sofa is I also got to choose which way it faces. So, since my window is on the left wall, I chose the left facing orientation option. All of my sofa wishes literally came true! I liked seeing the pictures at the bottom of other customers who had bought the sofa, but the best tool was the Color Visualizer which let me see the sofa in the different fabrics.

Styling my sectional with the rest of the loft has been fun too. First, I painted the back wall this beautiful turquoise that helped give the room some color and style and helps tie the rug into the space. Then, I went out and bought some accessories for the sofa and the wall like pillows, throw blankets, and wall art.

Our beautiful Joybird couch is home in our loft space upstairs. I really wanted to make sure that I created a comfortable, chill space for family time, especially for the kids, but also a stylish space that we can entertain in. I needed something that would be durable because pretty soon I’ll have two toddlers jumping on this couch and fighting over who sits where on the couch. This was everything I could ask for (because I got to design exactly what I asked for) and more. We’re alaready creating memories in this space together. Now I just have to figure out how to get Diari to put her toys in the storage compartment and not in the corner!

What do you think of this space? How would you feel about designing your own sofa? Would you like a sofa with built-in storage? What are some of your favorite pieces in your home?

Thanks to Joybird for sponsoring this post and my loft dreams! As always, I’m sharing my true thoughts and experiences with you. I hope you enjoyed!