How to Choose the Best Sofa Color for Your Living Room
Whether you’re planning to craft your living room’s decor from scratch or seeking some inspiration by refashioning your room’s aesthetics, a sofa is a decor element that is bound to pop into your mind before anything else. It sets the tone for your living room’s personality and thus choosing the right sofa color is pivotal.
If you’re undertaking a decor project from scratch, choosing the sofa first helps you align the other decor elements according to it. A statement sofa laden with vibrant prints or lustrous fabric can really be the focal point of the room. In case you’re adding a sofa to an already decorated room, go with a sofa colour combination aligned with the existing colour palette. Depending on whether you’d like it to stand out, or play a supporting role, you can choose the best sofa colour in neutrals or accents.
The wall accents, floor colour, the time and effort you’re willing to spend in maintenance are a few factors to be considered when choosing the right sofa. Give some thought to the vibe you’re trying to invoke and other decor pieces already present in the space as well. If you need a few more pointers, here’s a guide to help you pick the right colour for your sofa.
1. Choosing Sofa Colour Based on Home Decor
When shopping for furniture pieces such as the sofa, always try to visualise the piece as a part of the larger space and not as an individual element. Choose a colour that complements the other items in the space. The sofa should neither come off as too strong, nor completely blend into the decor scheme. Don’t stick to standard colours, online websites like Urban Ladder offer you sofas in a wide array of colour, for any type of decor colour scheme.
Neutral sofa colours like beige, grey, taupe, and cream can subtly complement your other decor pieces while also making a statement. They set a good backdrop for experimenting with accent pillows and rugs to amp up the space. They fit perfectly into minimalist and modern decor themes, and are like a blank canvas that you can decorate on with colourful throws, cushions, and more.
When choosing a colour for your sofa, flooring colour is also as important! If you’re going to use a dark sofa on a dark floor, look for one with metal or wooden legs or use a vibrant carpet to create visual space between the floor and sofa. If the sofa is not placed in the center, and will be leaning on the walls, choosing a contrasting colour could do the trick. Mustard and sea green sofas look great with light walls in the background.
Textures are the essence of decor. You can play with the shades of the sofa to get a dynamic sofa colour combination. A set of contrasting chairs could also be fun.
2. Choosing Sofa Colour based on Lighting
Sofas are traditionally large and upholstered, and as fabrics are known to absorb light, the wrong colour can easily weigh down the lighting in the room. Ensure that the placement of the sofa is complemented by natural and artificial lights. The trick to choosing the best sofa colour is to make note of how the colour interacts with light at different times of the day.
If the room receives sparse natural light, go for lighter colour with warm hues such as shades of pink, orange and yellow. If you are looking for a more royal vibe, go for sofas in dark jewel tones. Throw in a Persian rug to complete the set-up.
For a more fun vibe, go for a mismatched sofa set colour combination. Accentuate them with cushions in pop colours and designs.
3. Making Your Style Statement
Colour psychology is definitely a thing. Depending on your personality and taste, and the style statement that you wish to make with your living space, choose a colour for your sofa sets that speaks for itself.
If you don’t shy away from making bold choices, opt for a showstopper sofa design that anchors your room and steals attention dramatically with its stunning colour. Loud prints, sleek leather, or velvet pieces in bold colours can be an option for you. However, in a more formal office setting, sofas in neutral colours are great office sofas. Here, the attention is on work so having something bright could be distracting and could be more harmful than good.
Taupe and grey should be your first choice if you’re into a more organic, down-to-earth, and dignified vibe. They also look amazing with the greens of indoor plants. Hues of red and pink can be used to invoke warmth, joy, and passion. Looking for calmness, serenity and peace? Sea green, azure blue or olive green should help you craft a meditative space. For someone with a very outgoing personality, brown and teal, blue and lime, green and charcoal grey are some ever reigning combinations.
4. Picking the right sofa if you have pets and kids around
The absolute mad energy that pets and kids bring to a living room is accompanied by a spill here, a stain there and a few dents and tears. When browsing through a number of couches online, take a minute more to understand the fabric and colour to ensure it does not require too much maintenance. If you’re a pet parent with a dog or cat that loves to snuggle with you on the sofa, going for a dark earthy coloured couch could be your best choice. This way you avoid muddy paw prints or visible stains on your couch.
With leatherette sofas, careless spilling hurts both your pocket and heart a little less. Sofas with microfiber are hard to scratch and easy to clean in case your pet sheds a little too much. They even come in fascinating colours and prints these days. Quick tip: if you don’t want to compromise on the aesthetics and want to go for lighter shades, shop for some washable slipcovers too.
5. Climate and Weather considerations when shopping for sofas
Surprisingly, climate and weather are some of the practical aspects often overlooked when selecting a sofa. But you might want to give it some due attention, especially in terms of fabric sofas and colour palettes.
In a hot and humid climate, a leather sofa in spite of being a visual treat, won’t do you much good. You’d want to go for cotton and linen because of their natural and cooling qualities. Polyester sofas are super durable, resist fading, and last longer too.
In terms of colour, go for cool hues of sea green, sky blue or olive green to give the room a breezy feel and beat the heat outside. In case you see cloudy weather for the most part of the year, a warm colour palette of lime yellow, mild orange, leafy green and so on should help keep the space bright and upbeat through the year.All the information above may seem overwhelming, but with a website like Urban Ladder, picking the right sofa is just a click away. Before making the final decision, understand your room’s colour palette and style, the fabric best suitable to your needs and the kind of vibe you’re trying to set, and voila! You’re good to go. When shortlisting your favourite sofa sets from our collection, just close your eyes and envision it in your living room, and you’ll know if it’s THE one.
