What to do with a mustard sofa?!

9 years ago

My partner and I have just bought our first house, and for that first house we've just bought our first sofa. On first inspection we thought it was green, had loads of design ideas, but went into a different store and it's actually mustard. We went ahead and bought it because we still LOVE it, but I'm not sure how to design the rest of the living room now. I love mustard and grey, but our living room doesn't get a lot of natural light so I'm worried that it'll look too dark. Any ideas of what we can do?

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Rebecca Mitchell Interiors

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

I think that a palette of this yellow, dark grey and white (and possibly black) can be very striking (as shown in some of the comments above). Yellow is very on trend right now and I think you should be relieved your sectional wasn't green! Here's a living room I did in this colour palette that might reassure or inspire you. Good luck from Montreal!

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Comments (50)

Cathy
9 years ago
I searched "mustard sofa" on Houzz's website, lots of design ideas there. I would tend to add blue or red, depending on what colors you have in the rest of the house.
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Fresh Look Design
9 years ago
What kind of colors do you like to be around?
Also could you submit some pictures of the room it is in?
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Thanks for the advice @Juliet Docherty & @sandrasal I haven't bought the sofa yet but think this is the style I'd like. The room has 2 large windows so gets a fair bit of natural light in. Not as much as @sandrasal but think its sufficient to call it a well lit room. Originally i was thinking the 'Dulux One Coat - Teal Tension - Simply Refresh Feature Wall Paint' below but maybe a lighter, duller version of this would be sufficient and let the sofa be excentuated. https://www.wickes.co.uk/Dulux-One-Coat---Teal-Tension---Simply-Refresh-Feature-Wall-Paint-1-25L/p/236892 What's your thoughts on the mustard arm chair? I think it could look amazing contrasting the sofa? Again, thanks for the help.
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Brandi Nash Hicks
9 years ago
I would kill to have that sofa
leandamay thanked Brandi Nash Hicks
Brandi Nash Hicks
9 years ago
I have mustard and I use burgundy purple and in the summer I use teal
bgfuqua
9 years ago
olive green, brown, and orange. great sofa!
janbhan
9 years ago
That's a nice sofa you have. You could have lots of cream (not white, too hard) and I'd go for a Moroccan rug because they have lots of colour, including mustardy yellows. You can pick up the rug colours for cushions according to the time of year, cooler for summer and warmer and richer colours like burnt orange or a rich purple. or you could go for simple creams and greys and spark it up with teal accents, but this might be a bit cold-looking. I think I'd play with colour swatches first, cloth, pages from magazines, paint swatches, and see what looks good. I'd draw the line at painting the walls grey, though, because grey steals light and you say the room is dark. Stay with a warm cream or magnolia to give warmth and brightness.
leandamay thanked janbhan
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OTM Designs & Remodeling Inc.
9 years ago
That's a beautiful color for a sofa. You may still go with a lighter tone of grey for throw pillows and add table lamps with a silver finish.
www.otm1designs.com
leandamay thanked OTM Designs & Remodeling Inc.
smo123
9 years ago
I love it. I would keep the room in warm tones. Browns, burn orange
smo123
9 years ago
Oops, burnt orange, deep red. Good luck, you have lots of options.
leandamay thanked smo123
feeny
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I think your instinct to use gray is excellent as it is a great color with mustard. Just keep the grays light, using the darker charcoals as accents, and you can add off white too.
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Chem K
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Classic white walls can never go wrong. Dress your space up with gray accents in furnishings, accessories and pillows.
Some ideas to inspire you. Remember to repeat mustard accents in the neighbouring rooms.
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leandamay thanked Chem K
Chem K
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Some fun pillows to help you get started. Mustards paired with grays, whites, browns and pale blues. Different pillows warm up or cool down the space whether contemporary or traditional
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Warner Decor
9 years ago
Hi! I LOVE the sofa! There are many different ways you can go with this, Here are a few ideas for you:

http://deciture.com/indian-summer-grey-pillow/

http://deciture.com/essentials-mellow-yellow-pillow/

http://deciture.com/hadley-grey-crochet-pillow/

http://deciture.com/zapata-embroidered-pillow/

Hope this helps you!@
leandamay thanked Warner Decor
janbhan
9 years ago
It's not a well-lit room. I would avoid grey on the walls and use an off-white, like magnolia or cream which will reflect the available light rather than absorb it. Unless you temper grey with lots of warm colours it can look cold and dingy as well.
leandamay thanked janbhan
leandamay
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you, you've all given me so great ideas, I really appreciate the time you have taken to respond. Here is a picture of the room.....we haven't yet moved in so it'll all very much in the planning stages for us.
leandamay
Original Author
9 years ago
I also really like this Orla Kiely wallpaper but I'm not sure it'll be a bit too much?
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Fresh Look Design
9 years ago
I know we're talking about your living room, but I just wanted to show you how I used these colors in a bedroom.
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Fresh Look Design
9 years ago
Sorry here is the other side of the room.
kiturah
9 years ago
Pillows tie all together. Mustard, grey and any other intense color be it indigo, red, purple, orange or green would balance together, and allow you to choose other furniture in a variety or colors, depending on what you like. Tie together with pillows, art work, draperies that you like.
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Creative Home Staging
9 years ago
I think that if you like the yellow/grey combination you should go for it. You could paint the walls a light gray than tie it all together with some of the great pillow options shown above.
Great sofa!
groveraxle
9 years ago
There are over 53,000 mustard sofas on houzz. Who knew? Add mustard walls and chairs and throws, and there are probably a gazillion!
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janbhan
9 years ago
You might put this on one wall, but I suspect you might get tired of it. Everything else would have to be pretty plain. But the colour palette is great, why don't you use these colours? I'd still keep the walls light, maybe a very pale mustard, and use the other colours to add zing.
leandamay thanked janbhan
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ExclusiveMod Furniture
9 years ago
Rebecca Mitchell Interiors & Boutique's ideas were just what i was thinking when i read the dilemma!
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UpStaging Interiors
9 years ago
The room colour needs to be changed for the sofa. So many great options for yellow. What did you end up with?
PRO
Studio 3 kitchens
9 years ago
Hi Leandamay, with the room subject to little natural light I would suggest keeping your wall and ceiling relatively light maybe Farrow & Ball Blackened 2011 on the ceiling and either Dimpse 277 on the wall with Pavilion Grey 242 as a feature wall. I would keep architrave and skirting gloss white and possibly look at a dark wood flooring. You can then accessorize and dress the room with teals, burgundies for scatter cushions/throws lamp shades etc and mustard/yellow as harmonious colours for drapes and artwork.
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Daman of Witham
9 years ago
We would suggest keeping the room very bright, whites and light greys and have mustard or blue cushions, lamps etc the break it up. The white will reflect the light and give the illusion of space, while the blues & greys will compliment the sofa. As for furniture We would maybe suggest a grey wood effect. Have a look on our projects we have a couple of examples.
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Spotdeco
9 years ago
Something along these lines looks like it would be a good fit for your room -- wooden floors look great with mustard and I love the green, though it could even be a shade lighter
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Davies Wallpapers Ltd
9 years ago
Love the sofa! If you're into retro designs take a look at Sanderson's 1950s collection - they have several designs that incorporate a mustard yellow - some with greys and blues and some with much bolder patterns and colours!
http://www.houzz.co.uk/projects/637225
leandamay
Original Author
9 years ago
Help needed again!!! We chose a wallpaper but then bought curtains that don't really match. We've decided Ee like the curtains more so need some suggestions for wallpaper to go! Must be available in the UK and ideally not too expensive, we can't afford designer wallpaper! Please help! x
leandamay
Original Author
9 years ago
By the way, the wallpaper isn't for that wall, it's for the feature wall behind the sofa.
janbhan
9 years ago
Your sitting room has become too monochrome, it really needs some colour, to lift it. can we see the wallpaper? Do you have choices?
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Fresh Look Design
9 years ago
How do you want the room to feel and what kind of prints do you like? Could you send a close-up of the drapery material? What other colors do you like?
groveraxle
9 years ago
You can't have a mustard sofa and go bland on the curtains and pillows. And the pink undertone on the walls needs to go.
http://www.dovemill.co.uk/curtains/all-ready-made-curtains/Grey-iLiv-Elements-Graphite-Ripple-Designer-Lined-Eyelet-Curtains
http://www.dovemill.co.uk/Cushions/Cushion-Covers/viva-luxury-faux-silk-cushion-covers-black-grey
leandamay
Original Author
9 years ago
There's definitely not a pink undertone. Please consider previous comments about the room being very dark.
janbhan
9 years ago
I liked one of the prints shown by Davies wallpapers, the blue and mustard on white. I agree, the wallpaper you have picked is going to look very bland, you need more of an accent colour. Just go back and have a look. If you have the other walls white too it will look very cheerful.
groveraxle
9 years ago
Working with color from a monitor is frustrating because colors don't always render true. What I can see on my monitor, though, is that the sofa blends into the wall which appears to be, if not pinkish, at least a warm neutral.

This may be a result of the lighting, but it still needs to be addressed. Perhaps there is a wall color that will work better in your light. In any case, if you want to pop that mustard color, its backdrop should be cool, not warm.

And if you really want to pop that mustard, consider its complement: purple.
PRO
Fresh Look Design
9 years ago
Navy draperies and cushions would be very pretty and would be a nice change from all the grey and yellow rooms.
janbhan
9 years ago
Try turquoise and white - that plus mustard in combination for wallpaper, white walls, turquoise accessories. I love the idea of a purple wall but it's a dark colour, and can look awfully dull in artificial light. You don't want to change the curtains... so you need to play them up by putting them against white or a very pale mustard wall.
monicaopal5
9 years ago
A Mustard and Charcoal or grey tones on the walls always looks very sophisticated. If you use the principal of the colour wheel. ie your primary colour is yellow or in your case mustard then your complementary colour would be purples and plumbs, which you could then use as a accent colour. Have a look on houzz under Ochre you will find some fantastic ideas!
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Rebecca Mitchell Interiors
9 years ago
Since you have committed to these curtains, why don't you check out HomeBase or Tesco for affordable wall coverings (I used to live in the UK and there are so many great wallpaper choices). Here's an example of a Graham and Brown paper from Homebase that would give the sofa wall the life it needs to pull everything together. You could paint the rest of the walls the "greige" stripe in the paper. Hope this helps. Good luck from Montreal!
Tani H-S
9 years ago
I know a lot of people have said about trying to keep it light, but actually a darker feature wall (warm rich grey paint if you can't afford wallpaper or want to keep it simple), along with a bunch of mirrors behind that sofa would bring it to life.

Having had small victorian homes with dark rooms and tried to keep everything pale, I realised that sometimes there is no point in fighting it! The yellow sofa (which I love - where did u get it from??) will really pop against a darker wall.

Otherwise for wallpaper - there are a few websites online that you can buy from in price order and by colour. I've also been looking and you might find a pale background with some striking pattern (darker) pattern would really stand out (rather than going as pale as your curtains)
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Roq2Edge Interior Design
9 years ago
I would add accents of bright fuschia cushions to lift this sofa (similar to Wild Orchid the Pantone colour of 2014) The bright pink will also give it some personality and zest.
monicaopal5
9 years ago
Dont forget that accessories can play a huge part, for example cushions can be so much more than people imagine. Not only can they be used to provide extra layers of texture to add to a room, but they are also a wonderful way to promote balance and harmony
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Inside Studio Ltd
9 years ago
The ideas are great on this! Love the sofa! I think you should remove the carpet and put a wooden floor, in a warm brown tone. It will bounce the light and make the room appear bigger and more spacious. Plus it will give you the option to play with a rug too. Please post your after pictures!
alitern
9 years ago
have grey accessories and walls if poss really compliment each other and also calming FAB sofa
monicaopal5
9 years ago
It would be lovely to see the finished result, especially with all the great advice you have had here. Look forward to seeing the end result.
Parimita Hura
9 years ago
I had one and I absolutely loved it. Yours is gorgeous too. There's a lot to play around with this color as a centrepiece. Brick red and Navy or teal look great with it. The walls should be white though in my opinion. Rug.. artwork. .. cushions..vase.. Lots of articles to incorporate the colours. I had this artwork-
Alison Oliver
9 years ago
love the sofa. My friend has just recently bought a very similar 2 seater and it goes fantastically with her existing furniture (a few choice retro G-plan pieces). I think light grey with teal blue accents would look fab.
HU-687507887
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
I have a sunflower color sofa same as a mustard color I bought it at Room's To Go. Designed by Cindy Crawford. I have white walls in every room in our small Florida home so it looks larger. I have light grey curtains on my kitchen sliding glass door that can be seen from the living room and I have white linen cotton curtains in our living room purchased on Amazon. The two sofa accent pillows have a geometric design of different colors that go well with mustard. I suggest white or light grey on walls and curtains and use accent pillows with one of the accent colors as a soft throw on the sofa. Keep it cool in a warm state. In a cold state then go with warm fall tones. Darker greys and browns.