It is always exciting to pick out a new couch. You’ve saved up, and now it’s time to reap the rewards by getting a stylish new seating arrangement in your living room, den, family room, office, or even your bedroom! No matter where your new couch might be going, it’s important to consider all of your options for color before committing. The last thing you want is a couch you’ll be sick of in a year because you realized the color of the leather doesn’t jive with the rest of your home decor.
At Florida Leather Gallery, we know that a new leather couch is an investment, a purchase that will last. We believe that your couch should feel like an integral part of your home. Come see us at our Sarasota showroom or any of our 5 Florida locations to learn more!
Here are some questions to ask yourself before you pick out your couch color.
Do I want my couch to blend in with the rest of the room, or do I want it to pop as the room’s centerpiece?
Probably the first question you’ll want to ask yourself, design-wise, is what your plans are for the overall look of the room where you’ll be putting your couch. Do you have a big, colorful piece of art that will hang near the couch? You might want a more neutral color in that case, like a grey, white, brown, or black, so that the art can stand out better. If you don’t already have a centerpiece of the room, you might want to choose a bright, more statement color like red, teal, or even purple or yellow, so that the room will feel fresh and funky. Above all, for either option, you’ll need to consider your home’s color palette. If you’re planning on going neutral, make sure that you’re not choosing a cool color like slate gray, if your home’s color palette is generally warmer, full of browns and tans. In that case, you’d want to coordinate your browns and choose a leather couch in a brown shade that works well to complement your existing home decor. If you’re hoping that the couch’s color will pop, you’ll still want to make sure that the bright color you choose complements your other colors—if your house has an overall cool color scheme, full of grays, blues, and whites, try a couch in orange or yellow, colors which are directly across the color wheel from the rest of your decor.
What is my family like?
Next, you’ll want to consider your own lifestyle, as well as your family’s needs. If you have young children or pets, you might avoid choosing a lighter shade of leather, like off-white, cream, or even light blues. These shades of leather will scuff more easily, and make it harder to hide any spills, stains, or crayon incidents that might happen. A darker color, like black, deep brown, or even dark green, navy, burgundy, or purple would be a better fit if you’re worried about what Fido might track onto the couch, for instance. If you and your family moves often, or if you know you like to rearrange your space a lot, you might choose a more neutral color, like beige, gray, brown, or black, which will make for easy redecorating and is more likely to fit into multiple different spaces. Thinking about your own family’s needs and how the couch will be used day in and day out is going to help you narrow down your color choices.
Where exactly is this couch going to go?
In the same way, you might also want to consider where you plan to put your couch. Will it be next to a large window and thus exposed to sunlight throughout the day? You might want to choose a lighter shade that won’t fade as quickly as something brighter, like a turquoise, a red, or even a deep black might. If your couch is going to be near any appliances, for instance, if it is in a spot in the living room which connects with your kitchen, you will want to make sure to consider the color of those appliances as well so that the couch leather does not clash with a silver, bronze, or black finish. If you can see your backyard from where the couch will go, a fun option is to match the color of the couch with the color of your flowerbeds or trees outside to coordinate in an unexpected way. No matter what you choose to do, considering where your couch will end up is a great way to decide on a color.
