white sofa/suite

I like the idea of a big white sofa/suite, but what kind of living room designs set it off well?

Andy

 

just about anything would go with white. that's a pretty broad question. i'm not sure i can even answer it without writing a book in order to cover all the possibilities. can you narrow it down a bit? for example, what style do you want? my first thought when white is mentioned, is contemporary styles. is that what you like? will these be leather or fabric? if fabric, i've seen white slipcovers used in virtually every style.

 

sorry- I guess it was a bit of a wide range of options!! I am thinking of a contemporary leather suite- maybe a corner suite. The thing I have in my head is a pretty big one. From reading around it seems that a white suite shouldn't be used with white walls, or the room looks antiseptic. I am wary of colours, probably due to a lack of experience, and I am worried that if I opt for a white sofa then it will really stand out from whatever colour scheme I choose, rather than working with it. Is it possible for white to clash???

Andy

 

it will only stand out if the walls are a lot darker than white. if you don't want a lot of contrast, stay more pastel with the wall color. that doesn't mean "bright" pastels, like Easter eggs or nursery colors, but just any color in the "light" range. they can be very muted/dulled/soft/grayed and still be warm and sophisticated. to avoid an "antiseptic" and cold look, warm it up with nice wood tones, as opposed to black or chrome furniture. a wood floor would be great - contemporary but warm.

instead of trying to pull colors out of thin air to work with a white sofa (options for which would be literally endless), find something to work around, like an area rug or a piece of art work or an accent chair or two in another color or better yet, a patterned fabric - anything to use as a springboard for a color scheme. doing so will make putting this room together so much easier for you.

 

Thanks once again!

I am looking constantly on E-bay at modern abstract pictures, and see loads that I like, in loads of different colours!! So I am locked in this cycle of actually picking one to go with walls I haven't decided on, and deciding on walls to go with art I haven't decided on-

The art pieces I particularly seem to be drawn to are subtle colours variations that are normally gold or bright red. If I were to actually stop dithering and buy one, what coloured walls would set off a gold painting, and what coloured walls would set off a bright red painting (I don't want a red room though)?

Finally I just want to say thanks for giving up your time to help people like me without a clue what we are doing!!

Andy

 

well, it's still going to be easier to coordinate around the art, than it would be to find a picture to go with everything else. so try to narrow down your artwork choices to 2 or 3 that you seriously love. then one by one, imagine possible wall colors for each, and picture your white sofa in front of it all. then when you've decided on the best one, get it. and go from there.

what is the flooring?? carpet, wood, ??? any woodwork or brick/stone work anywhere? is this an apartment or house or loft or what? good lighting or dark?

if you're wanting a contemporary, "art gallery" type look, you'll be wanting to keep the walls pretty subdued and neutral anyway, so don't feel panicked & pressured to pick out bold, funky colors for the walls. a misty blue-gray would be handsome with wood floors and white sofas and dark wood furniture and metal/nickel accents. the artwork could be the punch of color for you, and maybe a solid bolder color pulled from the art for an area rug.

 

How about getting some cool glass pendent lights first and then picking out your art work? Lighting can be its own artwork. Then when you get your peice of sculpture or series of photography you could have some spotlights put in. Try Ikea. They have some cool hardwire lighting or Pier One has neat candle type creations. The pendent lights come in exceptional Jewel tones such as crimson red and cobalt blue.