Will a Colorful Couch Put You in Your Happy Zone?
A bold sofa can wake up a too-neutral room, personalize a rented space and more
Laura Gaskill
September 13, 2018
Houzz Contributor. I cover decorating ideas, Houzz tours & the monthly home maintenance checklist. My favorite pieces to write center around the emotional aspects of home and savoring life's simple pleasures. Decluttering course + discount for Houzzers: https://www.lauragaskill.com/welcome-houzzers
Houzz Contributor. I cover decorating ideas, Houzz tours & the monthly home maintenance... More
If you have been eyeing gorgeous sofas in hues like emerald green, vibrant red and rich teal but have been hesitating to bring one home, read the eight statements below. If one or more apply to you, that daring sofa might be just what the design doctor ordered. And if none resonates? Sticking with a trusty neutral (for now) may be the better course. Here are eight ways to know if a statement-making sofa will be a good fit for your living room.
1. When It Comes to Decorating, You Prefer to ‘Set It and Forget It’
A colorful sofa is a big commitment. If you enjoy swapping out accessories to get a whole new look each year or each season, a statement sofa might cramp your chameleon-like style. But if you simply want a living space you love — and are happy to live with your choice for the foreseeable future — that gorgeous emerald green couch might be the perfect centerpiece for your ‘set it and forget it’ scheme.
Find emerald sofas
A colorful sofa is a big commitment. If you enjoy swapping out accessories to get a whole new look each year or each season, a statement sofa might cramp your chameleon-like style. But if you simply want a living space you love — and are happy to live with your choice for the foreseeable future — that gorgeous emerald green couch might be the perfect centerpiece for your ‘set it and forget it’ scheme.
Find emerald sofas
2. The Color You’re Considering Feels Practically Like a Neutral
Think of it as the blue jeans effect: Just as anything goes with your jeans, the same is true of most blue sofas. So if the couch you have your eye on is a forgiving shade of blue, like cerulean, denim or navy, living with it probably would be just as easy as living with a beige couch — but probably a lot more fun.
Read about this house | Browse blue sofas
Think of it as the blue jeans effect: Just as anything goes with your jeans, the same is true of most blue sofas. So if the couch you have your eye on is a forgiving shade of blue, like cerulean, denim or navy, living with it probably would be just as easy as living with a beige couch — but probably a lot more fun.
Read about this house | Browse blue sofas
3. You Usually Go for White Walls and Minimal Decor
If you’re firmly in the “less is more” camp when it comes to decorating (for example, you love white walls and minimalist, modern furnishings), a colorful sofa could be just the thing to give your space a shot of color. A red (or an orange, green or blue) sofa can provide a bright spot in an otherwise minimalist room, allowing the architecture and carefully chosen accessories surrounding it to sing.
If you’re firmly in the “less is more” camp when it comes to decorating (for example, you love white walls and minimalist, modern furnishings), a colorful sofa could be just the thing to give your space a shot of color. A red (or an orange, green or blue) sofa can provide a bright spot in an otherwise minimalist room, allowing the architecture and carefully chosen accessories surrounding it to sing.
4. There’s One Color You Always Gravitate Toward
For me, that color is aqua. For you, perhaps it’s jade green or rosy pink or tomato red. If there’s a hue that speaks to you, a sofa in that color is likely to fit in well with your home. Since we tend to collect items in our favorite color almost without thinking about it, chances are that you already have supporting players in your space (like lamps, vases or rugs) that would coordinate with it.
For me, that color is aqua. For you, perhaps it’s jade green or rosy pink or tomato red. If there’s a hue that speaks to you, a sofa in that color is likely to fit in well with your home. Since we tend to collect items in our favorite color almost without thinking about it, chances are that you already have supporting players in your space (like lamps, vases or rugs) that would coordinate with it.
5. You Love Wildly Colorful Spaces
Can’t get enough color and pattern? If you feel most alive in wildly colorful spaces, a colorful sofa is probably a good fit. If you’re unsure about which hue to choose, I’d again make the case for blue: It’s interesting but also versatile, so you can change up the color scheme as often as you like, and your blue sofa will always look right at home.
If you want to spice up your colorful sofa even more, consider adding multicolored buttons to a tufted sofa (as shown here) or painting the legs a fun contrasting color.
Can’t get enough color and pattern? If you feel most alive in wildly colorful spaces, a colorful sofa is probably a good fit. If you’re unsure about which hue to choose, I’d again make the case for blue: It’s interesting but also versatile, so you can change up the color scheme as often as you like, and your blue sofa will always look right at home.
If you want to spice up your colorful sofa even more, consider adding multicolored buttons to a tufted sofa (as shown here) or painting the legs a fun contrasting color.
6. The Sofa Will Be in a Less Frequented Space
If you’re not sure you’d feel comfortable choosing a colorful sofa for the living room, a bold piece in a private or less frequented space could still be a good fit. The bedroom, guest room and home office can all be good spots for colorful couches. Since you probably don’t spend as much waking time in these areas as in other rooms of the house, such as the living room and kitchen, the novelty of a colorful sofa is less likely to wear thin.
Find pink love seats
If you’re not sure you’d feel comfortable choosing a colorful sofa for the living room, a bold piece in a private or less frequented space could still be a good fit. The bedroom, guest room and home office can all be good spots for colorful couches. Since you probably don’t spend as much waking time in these areas as in other rooms of the house, such as the living room and kitchen, the novelty of a colorful sofa is less likely to wear thin.
Find pink love seats
7. You Wish You Could Paint the Walls, but You’re Renting
If you’re coping with plain walls and carpeting chosen by a landlord or builder and wish you could add some color, a bright couch could be the ticket. A sofa takes up so much floor space that one in a vibrant hue can have a big impact on how colorful your room feels overall.
If you’re coping with plain walls and carpeting chosen by a landlord or builder and wish you could add some color, a bright couch could be the ticket. A sofa takes up so much floor space that one in a vibrant hue can have a big impact on how colorful your room feels overall.
8. You’ve Fallen in Sofa Love
It may not make logical sense to put a hot-pink velvet chesterfield in your living room … but love doesn’t always make sense. If you’ve fallen head over heels for a certain sofa and can’t get it out of your mind, chances are good that you’ll also enjoy having it in your space, regardless of whether it should work.
Tell us: Do you have a colorful sofa? Share a photo in the Comments!
More
5 Daring Sofa Colors to Make Your Living Room Come to Life
Find an interior designer to help with your color mix
It may not make logical sense to put a hot-pink velvet chesterfield in your living room … but love doesn’t always make sense. If you’ve fallen head over heels for a certain sofa and can’t get it out of your mind, chances are good that you’ll also enjoy having it in your space, regardless of whether it should work.
Tell us: Do you have a colorful sofa? Share a photo in the Comments!
More
5 Daring Sofa Colors to Make Your Living Room Come to Life
Find an interior designer to help with your color mix
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Bye bye grey, hello colour !