Sofa Colours: How to Choose Yours & Top Combinations

Is your tired sofa colour and outdated furniture getting you down? Then it might be time to give your living room a bit of a makeover. Here’s a top tip: start with the sofa. This is the focal point of any living space, so it makes sense to use this as the foundation for your new design scheme.

The sofa colouring and style sets the tone for the whole room. The design, with everything from mid-century modern to baroque, dictates how the rest of the room will look and feel. This single style choice will inform every other decision you make.

The material is also important. Whether you choose luxurious fabric sofas in velvet, opt for opulent leather or pick a bold print, you can use these as motifs throughout the rest of your space.

Of course, you might not be going for a total makeover but simply have decided a new sofa will give your room the boost it needs. Either way, the really big decision is the sofa colour combination.

How to choose a sofa colour

Neutral tones such as grey, brown, cream or stone are always popular choices for sofas. That’s because these tones work with almost every style of sofa design. From modern and contemporary styles to sofas built for comfort.

Importantly, neutral tones also go with almost all existing colour schemes. If you’re not undertaking a complete redecoration but simply adding some chic style with some new seating, then brown and grey sofas are ideal. These provide a stable base colour onto which you can add splashes of bolder colour with soft furnishings, such as cushions, rugs and curtains.

However, you might decide different colour sofas are what you need to give your space a new lease of life.

Think about colour ideas

If you’re starting from scratch or feel like adding a dash of colour to your living space, then blue or green sofas offer classic tones. Green has a calming effect, echoing the natural world and works well with feature plants and geometric black and white patterns.

Blue is another idea for different coloured sofas in your living room. Very versatile and with a range of shades to create different effects, blue sofas work well in a selection of design styles - from classic roll arms to contemporary takes on mid-century styling. You can also find various colour schemes to go with blue sofas. Or, for a slight variation on the blue theme, try an on-trend teal.

If you’re feeling really bold, you could go for a sofa in red or purple, or even yellow or gold. These can look great but be aware that the bolder your colour choice, the less flexibility you have to redecorate in different colours in the future.

Colour combinations

If you really are determined to brighten up your space, add accent colour using cushions, throws and other soft furnishing. These can have the same powerful effect in terms of colour but are easier and cheaper to change should your style choices change.

Neutral colour sofas such as browns or creams deal well with most other colours and tones. Add a retro orange for a 70s vibe or choose natural tones such as rust red to create a cosier atmosphere.

Try and keep colour contrasts in moderation. If you have a bold colour for your sofa, try to keep other bright colours to minimum to prevent your room looking too busy. If your sofa is a more muted tone, then you have more scope to experiment with colour. There are dozens of colour combination ideas for living room colour schemes with grey sofas.

With 24h delivery sofas from Swyft in a choice of colours and comfortable fabrics (delivered flat packed for extra convenience), you could be transforming your living space by this time tomorrow. Be sure to check out our range of green, blue and grey sofas to find your best choice.

If you would like more advice on how to style brown sofas or for a grey sofa style guide, check out the Swyft blog. You’ll also find a green sofa style guide and blue sofa décor style guide, as well as tips on neutral colour palettes.