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by Adriana
8 months ago in Design Dilemma
Need help for our living room.
We are renting and we do not have much money to decorate. The place was the Model and came with all the drapes and nicely painted. I am color and design challenged. Colors are brown and gold with a shimmer drapes, off shimmering white maybe with a silver hue, rods and chandeliers silver. I have two sofas from our old house that need slip covers and two leather chairs. What colors should I choose for the sofas? How can I bring the leather chairs into the picture? What kind of accent colors would work? Thank you in advance.
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Aja Mazin Very nice! I love your plaid sofa and I think all three pieces are terrific.

Now tie it together with an area rug!!
8 months ago ·
Adriana You don't think I should do something with the flower sofa? I was leaning towards a sage green slip.
8 months ago ·
michigammemom In your photo the drapes look like a pewter and camel stripe and it looks like the field color of your floral sofa is black with some of the tan/gold present in the pattern. The plaid sofa on the other hand appears to be a sage green and mauve plaid which is more problematic with the drapery colors. Can you clarify the sofa colors?
8 months ago ·
Inspired Interiors by Wendi, IIDA I would definitely slipcover the floral sofa. And I like Aja's idea of an area rug. What/where is the focal point of the room?
8 months ago · ·
olldcan I would get a slip cover for both sofas but to determine the colour take a drapery panel to the paint store. Match up each colour on the to paint chips. Hopefully the paint chips show 4 or 5 colours in the range of the match colour and maybe even an accessory colour or two. Now with paint chips in hand, the drapery panel and a chair cushion head to the fabric store to see what will work. I know the paint chips sounds crazy but this really has worked for me every time I'm in a pinch. The leather chairs look rose to me but the black marble surround (actually called brown) has a pink vein in it so each chair might be nice on either side of the fireplace. I have no idea why everyone wants hardwood and then they want to throw a rug on it to cover it up, makes no sense to me.
7 months ago · ·
Paradise Restored Landscaping & Exterior Design How about gray slip cover on floral sofa with the leather chairs and striped sofa -
7 months ago · ·
Natalie Hi---yes keep the plaid and slipcover the floral sofa a natural, ecru, or ivory color. Add a neutral shag rug... Pics of rugs-one wool, the other leather. Have fun!

http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Hand-woven-Mandara-Shag-Rug-5-x-76/6578431/product.html

http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Hand-woven-Mandara-Shag-Rug-5-x-76/5980745/product.html
7 months ago · ·
nevadan Slipcover the sofas in beige linen. Keep chair as is. Use turquoise accent pillows.
7 months ago · ·
nevadan Slipcover the sofas in beige linen. Keep chair as is. Use turquoise accent pillows.
7 months ago ·
nevadan Slipcover the sofas in beige linen. Keep chair as is. Use turquoise accent pillows.
7 months ago ·
olldcan Beige, rose and turquoise?????? isn't that from the 80's, actually 86.....that
7 months ago · ·
Inspired Interiors by Wendi, IIDA Slipcover both sofas and don't use the rose-colored leather chairs. Love nevadan's idea of using turquoise accent pillows!
7 months ago ·
Adriana Thank you all, this is grate, I'm even getting excited about doing this room. Michigammemom, I don't know much about color so,I,looked at pewter online. Is not pewter, is more like a chocolate and camel.
I like the gray or ecru. Ecru will go with the plaid sofa. I'm not sure my husband is s turquoise guy... What do you think turquoise and plum? Wendi, leather chairs must be used, he likes them and the place would be empty without it. The chairs and plaid were part of a room in the past that was design by a professional. .. Oh... Those were the days...
7 months ago ·
michigammemom Adriana that information about the chocolate drapery color is so helpful. In that case I would concur that beige or brown slip covers on both sofas would be your best choice.
7 months ago · ·
decoenthusiaste Grey slipcovers for the sofas would provide a nice neutral. The leather chairs are a bit on the pink side and would work nicely with the grey, but not so sure about the gold. Can anyone there sew? You might adjust the drapes by removing the gold and inserting another color. Are these drapes throughout the house.? If not, could drapes from another room be switched with them. Rather than ditch the chairs, I'd look for new drapes. Otherwise, have you thought of using the two of them in the master or guest room for a sitting area or nice comfy reading and relaxing corner? You might sell them on Craigslist if all else fails and purchase something to replace them there too. My area has very little on the list but in larger metro areas the buys can be astounding.
7 months ago · ·
shannon9024 Adriana, I will try to reply here rather than FB. I have always worked with a limited budget for my own decor and that can sometimes lead to the most creativity. My past mistakes are usually around not having enough for a room and hanging on to everything rather than take the best and make the most of it. These are some suggestions based on what I would do if it were me, and not knowing what your personality lends to in a room.

Personally, I like to keep colors simple to create a calm/peaceful atmosphere. When you have several colors, your eyes will continue to jump from color to color and it becomes distracting rather than calming. I would make your leather chairs more of a focal point than just fitting them in. Leather and nailhead trim are current and timeless. I love salmon and charcoal grey together. When you aren't confident with color(and I think, regardless), limiting to 2 main colors makes things look more pulled together & sophisticated.
This is where I would do like decoenthusiaste suggested in the comment above and change the drapes. I would use a charcoal velvet or even linen which could be purchased at decent prices at World Market or JCPenney's. (Lengths could be the issue depending on the height of the ceiling, but that can be arranged to work.)
Next, the thing I am running into at may own house, is mistaking the cream on the walls as a neutral. We painted about 1/2 or the house we are remodeling a Home Depot color called oatmeal. It looks beige against our dark brown floors, but in the room that has light oak flooring, it looks like a pale yellow. From the picture & just what my monitor is showing, your wall color may be throwing you off, too, because it lends more yellow. I would paint the walls light grey if you need a lighter room or a dark bronzy charcoal if you want a more dramatic look. The greys on the wall will make the chairs look more of a true salmon color rather than a tannish pink. If you get some paint swatches of pale yellows and greys, you may be surprised how the colors change the look of the chairs.
As far as slip covers, this is another area that I have regretted spending money on to keep from having to spend more, if you know what I mean. Slipcovers can range from $50 to $150+ & not even ones made to fit. If you sew, this is a different story, but if you don't, you may find you could buy 1 new larger sofa from World Market or Ikea for about the same as you would spend on 2 slip covers for the other sofas. Just something to look into. If you are going the slipcover route, I would go charcoal with these, too. Cream linen or duckcloth, unless you are doing an all white room will compete with the chairs.
Have to run now, but happy to bounce thoughts around with you if anything I suggested appeals to you.

My final thought, would be to decide if you want a light airy room or a darker, cozy, dramatic room. I envision either all cream-walls, curtains, slip covered sofas,& rug with the leather chairs accenting OR all dark grey--walls, curtains, sofa, rug(Ikat or kilim type that can pull in pinks and greys, possibly from World Market,again) with the leather chairs accenting.

Good luck! Curious how this project evolves :)
7 months ago · ·
Adriana Thank you all for your help. I tried to go with grey but I could not find a slipcover on a tone that was not drench with blue. We went taupe. I got the rug yesterday and I'm not 100% with it, my husband likes it. So what do you think? Here are the after pics.
4 months ago ·
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