Know How: What’s the best sofa colour for my living room?

When people shop for a sofa, or when they visit our showroom, they have often already made one of two decisions. Many people have decided on the colour sofa they want, and they put this choice above the style. On the other hand, some people have a strong idea about the shape of the sofa they want, and when it comes to the colour, they feel completely overwhelmed with all the choice on offer. With over 120 house fabrics, we have more than enough colours to choose from, so how do you choose the sofa colour that’s right for your living room?

Without a doubt, our most popular colour choices are the blue and grey families, and these have surpassed beiges and creams in popularity over the last few years. Blue and grey tones are a modern, contemporary alternative for a neutral sofa, as many people now feel that beige has become dated. Cool, bluey-greys look sophisticated, smart and stylish and as a bonus, this colour looks great on every sofa. For a luxurious look, opt for a silvery grey velvet, and for a cool, contemporary take, choose linen or cotton.

If you like bright colours (we love brilliant brights at A&J), then we say go for it! Look around your room and try to pinpoint a deep colour in your ornaments and artwork and make the bold decision to upholster your sofa in this shade. Without a doubt, the sofa colour for 2017 is a deep, fern-like green, which looks exquisite in velvet or wool. Deep purples have a regal elegance and opulence. Sunny yellows look modern, while deeper, ochre yellows can look more traditional.

Think about the room and space that your furniture is going into. For living rooms, you want to create a warm, inviting feel, so warmer colours are best here. If you’re decorating a bedroom, you might opt for calming blues, whereas a conservatory might require cooler colours to reflect the light.

If you’re less of a plain Jane and want to inject some pattern into your life, then there are still a multitude of ways you can go. If you’re a traditionalist, you may opt for a bold stripe, country-inspired gingham, or a pretty damask, whereas if you’re perhaps more daring, you might go for something like our Kilim or Animal Print. If you do opt for a pattern, it’s advisable to stick to one piece and choose a complementing plain fabric for your other pieces of furniture to avoid the look becoming overpowering. When choosing a patterned fabric, the base colour of your interior scheme is important – you’ll either want to highlight this colour or find a complementing colour. In colour theory, any two colours opposite one another on the colour wheel pair brilliantly with each other, for instance, violets look great alongside yellows, and pink complements green.

Another important thing to consider with patterns is the sofa style. Traditional patterns won’t work so well on contemporary sofas and vice versa.

If you like natural colours and materials, then you can’t go wrong with leather. Leather usually comes in brown tones because it’s the natural colour of the hide and requires less dying. The shades range from lighter tan colours to almost black. The natural grain will crack and weather over time for a lived-in and well-loved look.