I may go back to the store to see if I can find a shade lighter than the navy. I threw in the beige velvet just for curiosity. A response to those who have suggested beige/neutral. Yes, I think it would melt into the wall.

GigiMom, you sure have a cutie curled up in that last photo. I'm sure s/he would love you to get dark velvet. So lush and soft and a fun fur magnet.

I like your rug and I like blue in very small doses, e.g., in your rug and pillows. While a dark blue velvet couch would certainly make a statement (I think GWers are at odds with what that statement would be), I just can't see it doing well on a piece of furniture where pets are allowed.

Full disclosure: I have two cats and they are on everything. Never mind that they don't mind me anyway. I just can't live with things that are off-limits to my two indoor-only cats.

I do think a solid fabric with texture would be nice, but I'm not sold on dark blue velvet.

I like the sample farthest from the sofa. Beautiful!

This would be a way to really freshen things up!

I just have to say one more time that I like what is on the sofa now. I fully admit I love mixed patterns and your all work so well together. (again, i get the need for a change now and again) but the stripes look so great in your room :)

I don't think my sofa is the best example, but on the other hand it was shot under completely different, and less yellow lighting than the room.

"It is a common enough mistake, imho, to ignore the carpet. I think the reason is the expense of a carpet drives people to ignore it."

I have to disagree with this statement. If people are concerned about the expense of an existing rug, they would just continue to make sure whatever scheme they did worked with the rug, if keeping a tight palette was what was important. Or, they'd sell it and get a new one. I think people who ignore them are ignoring them because they don't think a Persian rug needs to fully drive the scheme.

Posted by linelle: GigiMom, you sure have a cutie curled up in that last photo.

She seems to be saying "don't take my couch away"

First off, I love the navy blue. I have to agree with linelle, though, and I would be looking for it in a damask or a more dutiful fabric, and not velvet.

This post was edited by Lilylore on Wed, Oct 29, 14 at 13:10

I like the beige fabric.

Have not read all, and hesitated posting as have no detailed suggestions. However! I love your beautiful room , and at the same time, every time I return to the pics I'm depressed by the overall ( on my screen) feel of drab, muddy tan and dated/granny-ish fabrics, excluding the cream/tan chairs. The only thing this room truly needs, imo, is a lightening of the room via neutral fabrics. Melting into the wall will not occur with a splash of pillows, and the bit of melting willI serve to visually enlarge the room. I'd consider a glass table to lighten the look, reflecting outside light . Love this room that was posted above. It's exactly how i see your room....though not the pup hair loving velvet! :). Oh! Do buy enough fabric to place on sofa as a doggie sheet. Not noticeable and easy to whip off.
Yes I'd remove valence , leaving simple panels.

Thanks everyone for continued interest and input. This has been my dilemma over the many years I've considered reupholstering this sofa. Neutral vs color/pattern. Yes, a dark velvet would attract pet hair, but Mr. Jake in the photo is usually not so interested in that room. My original impulse for velvet stems from a feeling that it would have texture and variation and appear less visually flat. Still have more work to do. I will pick up some more samples soon.

Posted by GigiMom: My original impulse for velvet stems from a feeling that it would have texture and variation and appear less visually flat.

A textured linen will offer texture and a damask has variation and would be less flat. I like the idea of having the upholsterer serge the ends of a throw you can place over the couch during 'down times', but in all honesty, if Mr Jake isn't going to claim the couch, a quick bushing of it with a magic-brush once and a while is a small price to pay for the luxury of velvet upholstery.

This post was edited by Lilylore on Wed, Oct 29, 14 at 15:43

I would think about painting the walls a deep blue. The furniture and drapes would look much better. Maybe we should drag up Kevin from Philadelphia's old threads.

I'm kind of old lady-ish (baby boomer) and I always thought of velvet as old-fashioned, so for me, a velvet sofa just adds to your original problem.

Mr. Jake is adorable. If you've had that sofa a while, maybe he isn't that interested in that room. But if he's anything like my cats, get something new, and they're all over it. New anything and they can't leave it alone. If I got a dark blue velvet sofa, I might as well put up a sign "This belongs to Bessie and Zephyr. Humans go away!"

I was just watching an episode from season 1 of Boardwalk Empire. If you do not know the show Season one take place in 1920.

One of the main character's living room reminded me so much of yours. Maybe a bit less pattern. It had to same type of sofa and curtains and tables etc. Just reminded me how lovely a space you have! Whatever you decide your room will look lovely!

GigiMom, I just want to say that you have a beautiful room, regardless of what furnishings you use. Fireplace! Four beautiful tall windows, nice yard out front, hardwood floors, a gracious entry. Oh, and Pope-ette!!!

Your room exudes good taste and quality furnishings. I certainly understand the desire for a change and I think you have gotten some excellent advice. Start small by taking the valances and tie-backs off the draperies. If you want to recover anything, I'd choose the wing chair and would do it in a solid.

Changing the lamps will make a difference. Live with it and see then if you want to play it safe and reupholster the sofa in white/off white.

I'm fighting the same old lady syndrome in our LR here. What we did was buy a new Oriental rug and new lamps. That's enough for now. The stripped sofa is still a struggle for me. I am watching this thread with interest!

What state are you in? I can envision your home being in New England or Virginia.

I just had a look at this thread again--and see a closeup of your carpet. Gorgeous--I used to have a smaller Lavar Kirman in those colors and regret having sold it. Maybe think of Mario Buatta's advice--"pick a secondary color or even tertiary color for walls".....I'd say, use the rose on the sofa instead of navy. I'd certainly re-cover the chair--ivory?rose/navy stripe?

OK, for what it's worth: I'd go with the more neutral color scheme, i.e. beige, lighter wall, less fussy window treatment, subtler accessories, some gold. At least the dog hairs won't be as visible.

You need a fabulous mirror above the sofa. Can you move the dancer painting to the back wall?

Definitely a gold mirror somewhere. What would be reflected if it were above the sofa? Or in other words, what's where the picture was taken from? A wall that would reflect the window?
BTW, I love that painting above your fire place.

Gigimom, I really like the camel velvet! But I would do all the welting in the lighter blue velvet. And possibly try to salvage enough of the existing fabric for one pillow, which I would pair on the same side of the sofa with a blue velvet pillow.

Sorry about the pope misunderstanding, thanks for showing a close up---- it is a lovely painting!

kswl, that was a nice post. I do think welting in a lighter blue color would be nice. Is the Hungarian dancer picture blue replicated in the rug?

My old lady living room sure appreciates the compliments and presumed votes for less change :)

Answers to some questions

--Is the Hungarian dancer picture blue replicated in the rug?
Yes, there is a bit of that lighter blue seen in the painting on the rug.

--What would be reflected if it were above the sofa? Or in other words, what's where the picture was taken from? A wall that would reflect the window?
A mirror above the sofa would reflect a black baby grande piano and french doors that lead to an office. The reflection would be kind of dark. Over the years, I have thought about a mirror over the sofa, but ultimately decided on the more colorful painting. I think a mirror with a beautiful gold frame would look great, though. The wall behind the piano could accommodate the dancerPope. Gives me more to think about….

--What state are you in? I can envision your home being in New England or Virginia.
We are in Pennsylvania just outside of Philadelphia.

Looking at the dark blue fabric samples for 2 days now and I'm feeling a navy sofa would bring A LOT more blue into the room .. sigh. I'm off to the fabric store later today. Will see if I can find some interesting cream/tan/beige samples as well as blues, which I haven't totally rejected just yet.
Thanks !

Here are a couple non-velvet and not blue samples. Kind of hard to see in the photo due to light level today.
One is more of a linen and another is an updated damask. Both have a texture that I really like if I were to go with a more neutral color. Still very torn .. neutral vs blue velvet vs not reupholster.

More of a weave/linen

linen close up

I think the neutral sofa would be fine if the entire room was going in a different direction, but as a stand-alone I think it will just look washed out. What about a blue in a damask type pattern:
Robert Allen Puzzle Play in Navy Blazer and Kravet Carnegie shown:

The beige would be depressing to me every time I walked by the room. Parlors aren't typically used, unless you have company. So this is a room that can be like a jewel box, even a little showy. Something pretty to catch your eye when you come home -and then you go straight to the den, plop down and that is were you need calm to relax.

Like a guest powder room, this is a room where you can show a little style.

My taste is away from the beige on beige on beige layering. But if I was to give advice on that esthetic, I would say you should go to the local library and look at bound volumes of Redbook or House Beautiful from 1994-2004, and think of a way to update what you find.

Even the classic modern twists on beige, coastal chic, that some designers are coming out with leave me saying "meh."

Here is a link that might be useful:

It's hard to tell without a floor plan, but at a glance the existing upholstery looks under-scaled for the room to me.

I think bringing in a larger sofa in a lush mossy green velvet would be lovely.

Then reupholster your existing sofa in ivory, move your two matching chairs to another room and ponder a new fabric for the accent chair.

As others have mentioned, remove the valances and find a couple of fabulous curtain rods and finials.

Here is a link that might be useful: Miles Redd

I agree with Pal. I think the blue would be fab. Maybe a slight pattern in the same blue would be a good idea.

I think blue would be a wonderful change. Something like Pal's last fabric on the left.

I like the linen, more casual/contemporary with the traditional shape of the sofa. But agree that there would have to be more changes, like a glass coffee table and perhaps paint change (can't see the colors properly on my monitor.)

I'm loving the damask and I'm loving the blue, so I think Pal's suggestion is spot on. Blue damask.

Blue damask camelback sofas.

Blue stripe

I think a blue damask is highly appropriate, but I would love to see a rose or teal fabric that pulls out one of the less represented colors of the rug. Rose would be wonderful. If you used a blue damask, what would you do with the chair? It looks like the existing chair fabric is too similar to the proposed sofa damasks.

I thought OP wanted to go a bit less traditional. The blue damask seems very formal to me.....

No help from me, but I am in love with your front door! A classic beauty!

Oh, and the glass coffee table someone posted could look great in your handsome room, adds a little sparkle.

kitchendetective and I are stamping our feet: Rose, rose, rose!

Okay, that's hilarious. I almost added to my post a parenthetical comment to "imagine an emoticon stamping feet here."

Here is one that combines the stripe and the rose ideas:

This post was edited by kitchendetective on Sun, Nov 2, 14 at 12:40

....Or you could satisfy everybody's choice - rose, blue, beige (?) - with a velvet stripe.

Here is a link that might be useful: velvet stripe with blue and rose

Or this one (which I like a lot). Lot's of pizzazz!

Here is a link that might be useful: another striped velvet

Thanks forum pals… great fun reading the posts!
There is something about adding more blue to the room… it just feels like too much, maybe because blue is the dominant color in the rug? Or maybe I just haven't found the right blue?! Will continue looking at damask, but i was trying to inch away from the heavy traditional look. Not easy with my very traditional furnishings. The rose stripe sofa is pretty, but since I've lived with stripes for so many years, I'm gravitating towards less pattern and less busy. I HAVE thought about rose/red! I have a dining room that has a lot of red, which I love. I actually thought about reupholstering the 2 small chairs in a rose!? I'm thinking about something in the green family for the sofa? It's one of the colors in my rug (pale green with touch of blue) Thought about a shade slightly darker than the rug's green elements. Any thoughts? (thanks Deedee for the inspiration)
I think the glass and brass table idea is super!!

Look at La Barge coffee tables.

Gigismom, the more I look at your original room the more I like your striped sofa. Our ID recommended s similar type of stripe (with a damask looking overprint) in coral and gold from Clarence House for our Martha Washington chairs in the library. They were reupholstered in 2006 and I am as happy with the pattern today as I was then. Is it modern like a linen, or trendy like ikat? No--- but those fabrics wouldn't suit my room, and the Clarence House fabric does. It's a high quality classic and I'm going to enjoy it for years to come. Make a few other changes in your room and see if your sofa doesn't look a bit updated from that. Otherwise, wait until the perfect fabric comes along.....don't change it just to change.

I've been watching this thread with interest and am beginning to think I'd keep what you have until you find something that makes your heart flutter a bit! What you have is lovely. I'm concerned about the blues not getting along if you do a solid blue, and your stripe brilliantly solves that issue already.
I'd look at the window treatments for now, maybe try a few different pillows, and then take a fresh look.

When you have to try this hard to find something better, it often means what you have should stay awhile longer.

Thanks kswl and jjam. I do plan to take my time with this. I picked up a few more samples today. The blue pattern sample on the back of the sofa is what I'm most drawn to among these. The red appears brighter on the computer screen. It's actually much darker.

The blue and red samples on the sofa seat have some gold threads woven underneath the main color. They are both a velvety weave. The are interesting up close… but perhaps not all that interesting for my sofa.

That blue on the back of your sofa is gorgeous. And I don't even like blue that much. It's really beautiful.

I love that blue patterned fabric. If you choose that one, I think you are committed to a rather formal, traditional look. Many of the suggestions for easing into a more casual style aren't going to work with that. However, I'm in the crowd that loves the room the way it is and wouldn't be concerned with making a lot of changes.

I agree with linelle the large scale blue damask is astonishing. You might want to lay it on the seating to compare it to the carpet.