The living room ends in a library wall of open shelving, which gives adults a place to read away from the television and gives the room a warm, textured backdrop. The open staircase, with dark floating treads and a glass balustrade, runs along the side wall. Open staircase interior design is often chosen for looks, but here it is also a lighting decision: a solid stair in the same position would have darkened the back of the living room. Two tones of the same species, smoked oak for tall storage and the TV wall and light oak in herringbone underfoot, give depth without the noise of unrelated woods. Linen sofas, bouclé dining chairs and wool rugs keep the pale palette tactile, and blackened steel frames and slim track lights supply the fine dark line that sharpens every room.