I’m over the moon to finally share our modern transitional living room reveal with the best white sofa! Not all of the pieces are in, we’re still missing some final touches, but with the big items in, it feels like this is how it was meant to be all along. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with Arhaus and their designer Kala to bring our vision to life. One aspect I really appreciate about Arhaus is their dedication to sustainability. Almost everything you see in our living room reveal is made in America and handcrafted by artisans. Arhaus actually planted 100 trees in my name in an effort to revitalize American forests! I’ve dreamed of a living room just like this for years. For us, it’s more than just a living room. It’s a place for us to create memories with loved ones. We can’t wait for all of the stories that’ll come out of this space.

I’ll be breaking down the design of our living room, how everything came together and our first impressions of everything that came. I will say, I am extremely impressed with Arhaus’ delivery team. They actually arrived an hour and a half early and when Johnny went outside to ask them if they were coming in, they apologized for being so early and said they were going to wait in the truck. They all wore masks and booties. Plus, they brought along a red carpet so the dolly and cart wouldn’t damage our floors.

Beale 4-Piece Sectional

If you are on the hunt for the best white sofa, look no further. Last year, Johnny and I embarked on a sofa journey and sat in countless sofas. We went to a lot of stores at all price points. The Beale from Arhaus won by a landslide because it has everything we want. Our home is a modern transitional style, so I wanted something with clean lines. The Beale has a modern aesthetic, but it’s casual, incredibly comfortable and oh my goodness so soft!

No Fluffing Required

Unlike similar sofas, the Beale does not sag so it always looks nice without any extra fluffing or zhushing. The cushions are made of down while the backrests are memory foam. What makes this the best white sofa is how it’s unbelievably soft, yet is low maintenance. I love how full the cushions look and think that is a marker of a well-made sofa. It’s actually handcrafted by upholstery artisans in North Carolina and I love knowing we are supporting our economy. The frames are made of solid wood, so I know it’ll withstand the test of time.

Why White

Now, let’s address the elephant in the room. I understand a lot of you may have worries about the wellbeing of our white sofa. “Don’t you want pets and kids?” or “It’ll stain, just you wait!” Warnings aside, we are not concerned because this fabric, Nomad Snow, is a Crypton fabric. It’s a sustainable fabric that’s recyclable, doesn’t have harsh chemicals or halogenated flame retardants, which are incredibly toxic. What also makes this the best white sofa is it’s stain, odor and moisture-resistant.

Let me share an interesting story. When choosing the fabric, I asked Kala if this white would be good with urine. My reasoning stems from my Dad being incontinent after his many seizures from his traumatic brain injury. He currently isn’t thanks to significant improvement from his VP Shunt surgery, but I know one day he will regress. Kala shared how there was a time last year when an upset customer decided to pee on the Beale! You can only imagine how big my eyes got! However, she says the urine beaded right up since the fabric repelled it and whatever small amount that did seep in, came right out! This story sold us and we knew this sofa would be as durable as it is beautiful!

Modular Design

One aspect I particularly love about the Beale is how it is a modular design. You can add or take away pieces as you need and rearrange them! There are metal connectors to prevent each piece from shifting. It really is the best white sofa!

Living Room Layout

I think the flow of a room can really make or break a space. Feng shui is so important to us and we wanted this space to be open and accessible so our family and friends would naturally sink into the sofa and relax.

Johnny and I opted for a right-facing L (if you are standing in front of the sofa looking at it, the L parts juts out on your right) because we have our Buddha and ancestor altar on the left side. We need room to properly pray and bow to them as a family, so we made sure to shift the sofa toward the dining room and kitchen more. To balance out the space, we put a recliner in to give that side of the room some weight.

One reason I like this layout is it somewhat separates the living room from the dining room, which is directly off it. Yes, there is a casing to really designate where the living room ends and the dining room begins, but this serves as an eye-level divider.

Rowland Recliner

If you were to ask Johnny what piece he’s most excited about in our modern transitional living room, he would breeze over the sectional and go straight to this recliner. The Rowland recliner first came into our life when Johnny spotted it on our third trip to Arhaus. He said it looked like his version of a cloud, sat in it and said it felt like a dream. I’ll be honest: I sat in it as a joke. However, it is incredible. Ultra-soft, plush and even reclined it doesn’t hurt my tailbone more. There is a wonderful mix of support and plush, which makes it so incredibly comfortable. It comes in a couple of colors and I love how it doesn’t look like a typical recliner. It’s beautiful and fits in with our aesthetic, which is awesome.

Enzo Marble Coffee Table

Since we have a lot of rectangular and square shapes in our modern transitional living room, we wanted to soften things up with an oval coffee table. I love the marble top and the pedestal legs. It actually makes us smile since it’s the coffee table version of a dining table we originally wanted, but wouldn’t work for our space.

I didn’t want everything to be one shape or only have sharp edges. The Enzo marble coffee table is the perfect size and I love the shape. It does come in other colors, but I love how it’s a light and airy option in our transitional living room.

Jackson Ivory Rug

To ground the space Kala recommended this ivory rug with subtle gray-blue lines. We never got to see this in person and Kala did an incredible job with this pick. We have the 9×14′ size and it’s perfect in our living room! It’s so unbelievably soft and is cool to the touch, which Johnny loves. We currently don’t have a rug pad underneath and are testing it out to see if that’s something we want to do ultimately. This rug comes in a bunch of colors, too! If you don’t like the gray lines in our rug, the cream colorway doesn’t have it.

First Impressions of Our Modern Transitional Living Room

We are absolutely over the moon with how everything turned out and looks! The sofa is incredible. There’s a reason it’s the best white sofa haha! We haven’t needed to fluff it and Johnny sat on it with his blue jeans and there wasn’t any dye transfer!

The recliner is a favorite for Johnny, of course, and we are lucky it is placed next to a plug, so we don’t have to worry about cables. The leather does show marks and scratches, but we absolutely love that and it’ll age nicely.

The rug has a slight scent to it, but I think it’s from being rolled up and wrapped for so long. We left our air purifier on for the weekend and it’s all perfect now! We couldn’t be happier and we are eagerly awaiting the final piece of our modern transitional living room to arrive in a few weeks!

Looking for more inspiration? Take a look at my mood boards for a modern transitional home.