Working With A Brown Sofa: Tuesday’s Textile Mix

The other day I was in Target with the boys and one of the items on my list was purchase a new shade of lipstick.

Sadly, I walked out without a lipstick because I just couldn’t commit to a shade without trying it on and even thought it was only $7.99…it seemed like a big purchase to me.

You may be thinking…come on Nancy, it’s only a lipstick.

I need to mention I have an obscene amount of lipsticks having a little lipstick party under my bathroom sink and even more that have made their way to the dump over my lifetime.

Oh, you too?

I’ve also thrown out my share of lipsticks because at one point dark lips were in, then pale lips, then glossy lips, then matte lips etc….

So it should come as no surprise I have fallen prey to the “in right now” sofa also.  It was a big leather burgundy sofa.

Fate smiled on me though…when we pulled it out of storage to move it to our newly built house, it had been damaged beyond repair.  Don’t fret though, my Forever Sofa was moving on the path of destiny toward me.

If you find yourself working with an unfortunate sofa, there is hope.  There is even hope for a brown sofa covered in microsuede.

You don’t have to build a giant sink to stuff it under.

You just need a bridge.

A bridge fabric.  A visually graphic fabric that can serve as a bridge between the brown sofa (or any other color) you own and the direction you want the room to go.

Here’s the key-Pick a fabric with your sofa’s color in it and several other colors in the direction you would like to go.

Let’s take a closer look at the fabrics I matched up to the brown sofa above.  Each fabric has a different decor style, but they all have a little brown with a lot of other colors mixed in.  This is the reference for all of the other colors in the room.  If you want to see what the next steps would be you can check out my post on Six Steps to Mixing Fabrics.

I picked this Braemore fabric as my inspiration for building a farmhouse room around a brown sofa.  Notice the brown leaves mixed with the beautiful grey, blues, gold, and a healthy dose of white?  Paint the walls grey, add some white slip covered accent chairs, a few blue and white grain sack pillows, some rustic wood furniture pieces, and a few more textiles as curtains and sofa pillows and the farmhouse look will come alive in the space.  I built a bridge from the brown sofa to the farmhouse style by pulling in this one fabric and using it as a statement piece in the room.

The next fabric is from Richloom and it’s call Blue Haven Egret.  I picked this as a coastal fabric because the aqua looks so coastal and of course Egrets can be seen so often near the seashore.  Pulling out the different shades of blue, gold, and green allows for some really fun combinations in a room.  For a coastal look, I would add a large dose of bead board or white shiplap, a few aqua linen chairs, some dark wood accents on chair legs and a few painted pieces of furniture.  I would match up fabrics that have a light and airy feel but stick to the color palette.   I love this fabric and would use it in a bold way…long curtain panels.

This fabric,  by P. Kaufmann, has some of the same colors as the farmhouse fabric.  This fabric, however, provides more of a formal feel and I would take this fabric in a French Country direction.  I would paint the walls in a light ivory, hang solid pale blue window panels, add some ivory bergere chairs, and make pillows out of this fabric trimmed in the darker blue pom pom fringe.  Add a few more fabrics to the mix in stripes, solids, and a buffalo check in the room will read French Country in no time.  Add lighting painted in a chippy off white finish with French style and a French Country room will appear.

I love this traditional looking fabric by Portfolio because it has such a rich look.  Because it trends on the darker side, I would use it in small doses, and would strive to pull out the lighter colors in this fabric as the major players in the room.  I would paint the walls in the palest blue from the fabric, add wing back accent chairs in a very light tan, hang white silk or velvet window panels trimmed in a blue and white tassel or install white plantation shutters. I would stick with traditional furniture with a classic shape and add some lamps with mercury glass detail.

Can I just say…I so want to do a chinoiserie house?!  It is not the style that resonates with my heart for the long term, but I am drawn to it over and over again.  It may be my second favorite decor style and this fabric by Robert Allen just has me dreamy.  The colors!  I would fill the room with color…except for the walls.  I would keep the walls white so they could be a backdrop for all of the wonderful color.  I would add a sofa table or buffet in the Hollywood Regency style lacquered in the bright red.  Add this bold fabric on two accent chairs by looking for a pair of great chairs at the thrift store and then have them upholstered with this.  If that is out of the realm of possibility, I would add chairs in the sage green color and use the fabric on curtain panels.  Look for a Greek key fabric in the dusty blue for some extra pillows and add brass details.  Anything bamboo or brass looks great with this style.  Running across brass bamboo is like hitting the jackpot.

This modern fabric by Portfolio would be so fun to work with.  The geometric shape of the fabric makes me want to take the room in a mid-century modern direction.  I would paint the walls in a stark white, look for some great natural wood mid-century furniture pieces in a honey tone, add some grey mid-century chairs with chrome detail, and frame out artwork in the jet black color. Adding a retro piece painted in black would be such an eye-catcher.   I would look for some unusual shaped white ceramic lamps and hang a modern chrome pendant directly over the coffee table.

Let’s recap.  If you are stuck with a sofa and feel you are being prevented from embracing your style, look to fabric to create the bridge to the room of your dreams.  Find a visually graphic fabric with the color of your sofa in it as well as several other colors (this is the key).  Avoid visually graphic fabrics with just two colors in them.  To make this work you need a wow fabric with lots of choices.  Build the rest of the room off from the fabric and the sofa you thought was your albatross will suddenly become workable.  Don’t forget to pin this for future inspiration.

I want to know what you think!

Which one is your favorite?  Do you have a sofa that is hard to work with?

Have a fantastic day!