Matching Your Sofa Fabric to Your Walls Isn’t Just for Maximalists

When shopping for a new sofa, odds are the primary factors you’re weighing are comfort, silhouette, and upholstery. The walls the piece will sit in front of barely register. While we’ve all been in a shopping vacuum, we’re asking you to reconsider. Why not match the textile on your sofa to what you use to cover the walls?

We’ve seen the furniture-wall pairing all over headboards, but from Tulsa to Singapore, designers and homeowners alike are bringing the trend to sofas these days. The statement-making result allows the couch to sink into the room rather than hog the attention and the space. Read on to see four colorful takes—some patterned, some solid. 

Block Party

A sage green block print in this Florida home toes the line between floral and geometric. In a space as large as this, the orderly pattern gives the eye places to rest without overwhelming it. 

Don’t Forget the Ceiling

One pattern can do it all in Soane Britain’s British living room design. The curtains, sofa, walls, and even ceiling are covered with the same textile (Lotus Palmette in raspberry). The small-scale burgundy print creates a cavelike effect for maximal coziness.

Leafy Greens

Singapore-based designer Elizabeth Hay’s clients wanted their home to, as they put it, “sing with color.” Having fallen in love with a green Christopher Moore botanical, using it in only one place simply wasn’t enough. Onto the walls and cushions it went. An extra-large painting of a tiger is a welcome switch of scale.

Tangerine Dream

Patterns aren’t the only way forward; when in doubt look to your wardrobe for inspiration. For A.B. Laffite, the way she gets dressed informed her all-tangerine living room. “My favorite uniform in life is wearing monochrome,” she says. Pink on pink, yellow on yellow—the bolder, the better. “It’s my safe space,” she adds.

Bold Entrance

In an entry by Katie Rosenfeld, a Sister Parish pattern adorns the walls and a small bench, an understated take on the trend. The neutral color scheme and plenty of wainscoting only add to the effect.

Seeing Red

In Reath Design’s project in Monterey, California, this hangout spot is decked in a rich ruby hue from head to toe. Coordinating plaid throw pillows add just the right amount of contrast to the velvet curtains and sofa upholstery.

Read more: We Cracked The Code on Mixing and Matching Patterns