What colours will go with my sofa

4 years ago

I've got a large Chestefield sofa in my living room that dominates somewhat. The room always feels a bit gloomy and I need to brighten it up. The sofa is a red wine colour, walls are cream white and carpet is straw colour. Also I have wooden blinds and black log burner which don't help matters and a large tree outside that doesn't belong to me but blocks all light. Don't really want to change the carpet and can't change the sofa just yet. Any ideas for cheery colour schemes much appreciated.

Featured Answer

minnie101

4 years ago

I think it's a nice room and the curtains work well imo. If the pinball has to stay, could it be hidden with some form of decorative screen/room divider? It may even fit where the plant is (turned round :)). For the walls something like little Greene Portland stone dark (last pic) may work. The floor lamp is a bit too tall for the space and would swap that. The seating arrangement feels a bit squished, maybe pull the red sofa away from the wall a little or just pull the table out a bit (it may work swapping the tv and chair but depends on how many watch tv!). I'd swap the red vase and flowers for more greenery(ignore the grey vase, whatever I tried photoshopping in disappeared!). I would look at something like this for cushions, all bar the back left are Laura Ashley and can be found on eBay, etsy, amazon etc and work well with the curtains and break up the red? I think a round mirror would work better over the fire as there's quite a few lines on that wall. Maybe in future swap the tv cabinet for a larger one?

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Comments (11)

PRO
Brandler London
4 years ago
Any chance of some photographs Debby??
Maths Wife
4 years ago
Maybe post some pics. Lots of colours go with your sofa, pale cream, off whites, pale grey, pale green. I suspect the wooden blinds aren't helping with blocking the light, so you may be best to change to white or off white shutters. The light coming in will bounce off the shutters then instead of being absorbed in to the wood. I don't know what you have in the way of mirrors, but a large mirror above the fireplace is a must.
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Very pretty fabric. The background grey of the curtains would make a lovely wall colour. I don’t think you need anything bolder as the fabrics are quite bold. A pale grey carpet would be a nice neutral. I think you could go quite bold, if you dare, with the sofa though - bright green or teal, or pink. I think the Parker Knolls would look great in a bold velvet, but if that’s too much then a muted grey will still look great and you can liven them up with colourful cushions. Here’s some ideas, but I couldn’t find many images of curtains like yours with a sofa!
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Juliet Docherty
4 years ago
I think that a red wine coloured sofa may look a bit too harsh with the walls. It may be a good idea to provide a temperature contrast by painting the walls a cooler stone colour such as Shaded White or something similar. Photos would be good.
Debby Boulton
Original Author
4 years ago
Thanks for comments so far. I’ve tried to take photos. It’s quite a dull day and a bit messy. I just don’t like it at the moment
Debby Boulton
Original Author
4 years ago
Plus I’m planning to get the armchair recovered but unsure of colour too
T Gray
4 years ago
Maybe remove all the cushions, throws, curtains and other decor. Start with what you cannot change, the sofas. You can then start to see the room. At the moment the strong colour of the sofas is fighting for attention with the curtains, the throws and everything else. Take a pic of the decluttered space and post it and you will get more great suggestions. Colourhappy is always right though. :D
Sonia
4 years ago
Red is a very strong colour that can dominate a room, but it is all the bits and bobs on the sofa which stops it having a clean look. i love red, but too much can be rather overpowering. i would remove it all and add the items bit by bit, see what looks good with the red. Throws covering a sofa just look like a dogs bed, so folding them neatly and putting them over the arm of the sofa can help (see photo). I adore the curtains - Laura Ashley? Maybe pick a calm shade from the curtains to paint the walls - green or stone would be good, as suggested by colourhappy, or even grey. Reupholstering a sofa professionally can cost as much as buying new. I did it once and it cost £1200, never again!
Maths Wife
4 years ago
I agree with T Gray. Too much going on. Definitely de-clutter, preferably take the pin ball machine out of the lounge, it's not a lounge object.

The main problem is the mixing of the accessories ie, you have spotted throws, floral curtains, and a tartan dog bed all on show.

Once you take away all of those, if you went for a calming green on the wall it would probably work well with the red.

If however you dislike the red, then you could go for sofa covers, not throws. as Forza says, they should be folded neatly along an edge or the back, not used to cover the sofa up.

My daughter has a sofa cover that she bought on Amazon, and it's really quite good, it will definitely last a few years until she can buy a new sofa.

I also would not re-cover the armchair, it's not worth the money. You can always go for second hand, there are many bargains to be had on local facebook pages / Ebay etc
Debby Boulton
Original Author
4 years ago
Thanks everyone for the comments. I’m a bit stuck with the pinball machine. I was gifted it for my birthday and don’t have the heart to say it doesn’t go :-( I’ve got nowhere else to put it. I’ll start with a declutter and I’m going to get some white wooden blinds.
Maths Wife
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
I wouldn't start with the blinds, they may be ok if you change the curtains and throws. However, if you do go with the blinds, then lightening up the walls first a little with something like F&B Clunch.

You could go with an off white, / pale cream blind that will work...........not white, it's too stark. Try looking for 'stone', it's a great colour, very neutral.

I know that you're trying to cover up the red sofa, but it's not going to work without actual sofa covers. Instead remove the cushions, covers and curtains. Definitely change the curtains.

Going for a paler contrasting colour for everything will calm the room down. Pale cream, beige, taupe, mushroom. Even painting the furniture will help massively.

Go with these colours as your 'calm down' theme.
Debby Boulton thanked Maths Wife