Where to start? I recently bought a new couch (The Bailey Sofa from Boston Interiors in tan-ice blue) for the living room in my condo.
Looking at the couch in the showroom and examining the swatch at home, the fabric seemed quite neutral. I thought it would be an easy switch with my old taupe coach. I was wrong!
My living room opens to a dining room with grey/blue walls (Benjamin Moore Wedgewood Grey), so I thought that the subtle flecks in the couch fabric would work nicely to pull the two rooms together.
Unfortunately, now that the couch is in the space, it clearly doesn’t work with the living room wall color (Benjamin Moore Bradstreet Beige) or with the rug.
The wall color (which I like) is a rich tan with pink tones and the rug contains both the wall color and taupe. In context, the “tan-ice blue” of the new couch looks greenish. Though I love the couch, it’s really not working.
The other variables:
– The height of the new couch is several inches taller. The art work over the couch, therefore, is no longer appropriate.
– I can’t decide if I want to stick with the upholstered chair or try to work with a black leather club chair that “moved in” with my significant other.
– Lastly, we’re considering selling the condo in the not-so-far-off future. I need to make the situation work for now, but would prefer not too invest too heavily in this room. When the room was originally designed, the feel we were going for is a calm, modern oasis. Though I would like to stay in that general vein, I’m open to a new palette.
Do you have any suggestions? Is it possible to keep the couch without changing the wall color?
Dear Boston,
Maybe.
Let’s back up. The most important piece of information you’ve given me is this: “We’re considering selling the condo in the not-so-far-off future.”
Therefore, we want to keep expenditures of time and money under control. But you do need to love your condo while you’re living in it, so I agree that action is required.
Here are two potential solutions, both of them pretty bossy. (I tried to come up with a tame solution, but, well, you go bossy or you go home.)
SOLUTION #1: KEEP THE OASIS, CHANGE THE WALL COLOR
Believe it or not, sucking it up and painting the walls is probably your least expensive, least time-consuming solution. Especially if you have your S.O. do the painting.
You’ll need, what, 1 gallon of Benjamin Moore Aura paint? $55 or so. Plus $20 in drop cloths, tape, and brushes. And 1 day. That’s it. You can skip the woodwork and ceiling if you’ve painted in the last few years.
Rather than put up swatch after swatch of light beiges looking for the right one (Yellowish? Greyish? Greenish?), the safer route actually is to go darker.
Consider Benjamin Moore’s HC-87 Ashley Gray or HC-69 Whitall Brown. Here’s your DR color again, HC-146 Wedgewood Gray.
(The picture below is much darker – one of my favorite browns, HC-67 Clinton Brown – but it illustrates the point.)
SOLUTION #2: SCRAP THE OASIS, BEAT NEUTRALS INTO SUBMISSION
After writing about changing the wall color, I believe that’s your best option. But here’s another totally acceptable – albeit more expensive – option.
Add enough strong, hot accents to distract us from the close-but-not-really-working-together taupes.
First, a new rug. I actually think you could go traditional (or “tribal,” as Rugman.com categorizes)…see how this rug has some blue-grey in it to work w/ the DR?:
A contemporary rug is probably more your style. As my Gentle Readers have taught me, Overstock.com is a good place to look for rugs:
And Company C’s Carnaby Swirl, in Poppy, is a nice “transitional” option:
With any of the red rug options, you would substitute your S.O.’s black leather chair for the blue slipper chair.
Then, after you have the rug, you must purchase:
– A red mohair throw for the sofa (Jonathan Adler has gorgeous, brilliant pink and orange if the rug steers you that way)
– 2 non-matching, red-based accent pillows to complement the ones you have.
– And finally, go ahead and re-hang that piece of art, even if it feels a little large for the space. Just don’t hang it too high.
Good luck, Boston! Let us know what you decide to do!
Thanks again, xJavierx, for providing excellent photographs on your Flickr photostream!
