Designing with Color: Go Bold or Go Home
When I hear from an interior design client or a broker for a staging, "I want to use color but nothing too bold," I try hard not to roll my eyes. While I will give my clients the respect they deserve, this question LITERALLY (in the correct use of the word literally) bores me to death. I understand that not everyone wants to go bold or go home but I do challenge people to consider color as a statement to make their space come to life with more than just an accent pillow. I am going to be very bold myself and propose that you consider a sofa that is not in the neutral family but is (GASP!) a color seen out in the world that people would register as a color, not a shade of white or gray.
Here a few of my favorite colored sofas from staging and interior jobs, completed with #thetaylortouch tips on how to make “go bold or go home” work for you.
A profound green sofa to support the southwestern theme was chosen for this penthouse on the Upper East Side.
To really emphasize the daring touch of green in the space, building up the wall behind the couch with various wall decor elements puts the bold color choice at the forefront of the design.
In harmony with the color choice, placing the sofa centered to the room creates a baseline for the rest of this sophisticated living space in TriBeCa.
One can do no wrong by adding in greenery to a space, whether it be a 6' tall fiddle leaf tree or a small potted succulent. Plants are the easiest way to counter balance an adventorous color decision such as this blue velvet sofa.
I love this red couch so much that I had to stand next to it for a picture.
Note how this is the same space from the above photo with the blue velvet sofa. I switched the arm chair for white, added a light gray wall paper and it makes the red sofa come to life as a showstopper focal point of the room. It is the same space two different ways - bright and airy with a blue velvet sofa, chic and sophisticated with a red sofa.
Now talk about color! Not only does the dark green hue of the sofa shine here but the span of color continues along white shelving to pull the eye around this two-story apartment located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
When choosing an eye-catching piece for the space, one must be confident in the color coordination with the rest of the elements in the room. It's easy to cut a single color with plain black and whites, but being able to pull in additional color is the tricky part. Adding in the natural surfaces such as the wood side tables and the rattan accent chair stabilize the strong color arrangement, ergo creating a lively and exciting seating area.
Black and white elements and a neutral rug direct the eye immediately to the blue sofa in this Gramercy Park living space.
When choosing a rug to frame a space that incorporates a bold sofa, stick to a non-distracting, unembellished design. The rug should tie into the overall character of the space without interrupting the flow of color.
So remember, when designing with a bold sofa, #TheTaylorTouch makes it work in three ways:
1. Keeping it simple: Let the sofa shine and allow it to be the focal point. Pairing it with neutrals or a few accent colors will help the sofa from becoming too overwhelming.
2. Remembering the color wheel: When choosing the other colors in the room, make sure to keep them within the same color family as the sofa.
3. "Go bold or go home": Seriously. TSNY doesn't like to play it safe and neither should you. So go buy that couch in deep red velvet and then buy a bottle of red wine to celebrate your achievement.
