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If you’re ever feeling stuck when couch shopping, you can’t go wrong with a brown leather sofa. Timeless, durable, comfortable, stylish—it’s an easy and obvious choice. The hard part? Decorating around it. Figuring out what colors go with a brown leather sofa isn’t exactly intuitive. Some earth-toned neutrals like terracotta tend to wash it out, while charcoal gray and black can give off bachelor pad vibes. Instead we strive for cozy and ambient colors that accentuate a brown leather couch’s welcoming ways. In fact, many of the hues that do it justice are ones we’d call in-between shades, or tones that straddle the line between two different colors. Ahead, six foolproof paint colors that will pair perfectly with your brown leather sofa.
Light Orange-Pink
Other than simply being a happy color, pink has an unusual benefit: It’s extremely flattering. Many designers will choose the hue to make the people in the room look better, but the same can be said for the furniture in the space. Caitlin Higgins, the partnerships manager for Emily Henderson, reminded us of this when she painted her living room walls with two coats of Sherwin-Williams’s Pueblo, which she describes somewhere in between a light orange and a “barely there, almost-pink shade.”
Creamy Yellow
No windows and dark furniture can be a recipe for a drab-feeling space—focusing on the fifth wall (aka the ceiling) can help. In her small Queens, New York, apartment, jewelry designer Sarah Burns swathed her ceiling in Benjamin Moore’s Buttermilk, lending a glow over the vintage Afra & Tobia Scarpa pieces below.
Bright White
If your brown leather sofa is as cool and sculptural as Brandon Blackwood’s vintage Ubald Klug one, then opt for simple surroundings with a bright, fresh backdrop like Pure White. Fellow fashion designer Christian Siriano says this specific swatch reminds him of apartments in Paris—not a bad place to pretend you and your big brown leather sofa live.
Dark Blue-Green
What do you get when you pair a brown leather sofa with Clare’s Current Mood (a “mysterious, moody green,” per the brand’s description)? You get a scholarly library feel. At least, that’s how design editor Ryann Trombetti would describe her living room setup, which she completed with a burgundy-tinged vintage wall hanging and faded red antique rug. Her only regret? Not painting the ceiling the same color (but she has plans to fix that stat).
Light Blue-Green
If you want less study vibes and more play-with-the kids energy, go a shade or two brighter. This silvery blue color features flecks of green and has been a part of Farrow & Ball’s assortment since the company’s very beginning. In her Waco, Texas, home, stylist and photographer Hilary Walker kept things effortless and bright with white moldings, a graphic white rug, and a globe chandelier.
More Brown
Wood. We know it might not be your first thought, but hear us out: A brown leather sofa in a room with stained warm wood walls screams “countryside oasis.” You also don’t have to live in a rustic bed-and-breakfast like the Inn at Kenmore Hall (pictured above) to re-create this setting. Portola Paints’s Roman Clay line lets you achieve a similar color and texture without having to splurge on millwork.
