apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I think that you can do one of two things. First, you can break every rule and actually paint it a slightly darker shade, a gray perhaps, but maybe a warmer gray (i.e. not bluish). Play up the coziness factor instead of trying to hide the fact that it's a small space. Add floor baskets with magazines and bookshelves and make it look lived in and comfortable.

If you're committed to opening it up, and painting it a shade of bluish gray (my personal favorite wall color), then I say lighten up the heaviness of the couch with some downright whimsical accessories, like this sheepskin pillow from Room&Board.
http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/product/detail.do?productGroup=19684&catalog=room&category=rm_accessories&subcategory=pillow_throw

Good luck!

The white sheepskin rectangular pillow, to be specific. http://s7d4.scene7.com/is/image/roomandboard/308023?wid=500&op_sharpen=1

or this: http://www.cb2.com/family.aspx?c=595&f=5368

There's no simple answer. "Rules" like 'dark colors recede' and 'bright colors intrude' and 'light colors enlarge' are too simplistic and give the impression that choosing a color successfully is simply about picking complementary colors.

Pure color alone is more complex than just the word 'color'--particularly the intensity of the hue can greatly affect its perception. Tint and shade obviously affect hue as well, but intensity is more often overlooked.

And then there's light. How much? Natural light? Artificial light? What color is the artificial light? Where are the light sources coming from?

And then there's the reflectance of the paint finish, the texture of the walls, and everything else in the room besides the sofa, and how those things are arranged.

Stacie,
I'm in a similar position with my sofa. I painted my living room, kitchen and bedroom in Sherwin Williams Versatile Gray (the Harmony no/low VOC). I love how the tone changes with the light. I used the next lighter color, Popular Gray in the hallway and bathroom. I'm really happy with both colors. Since your carpet is beige, maybe a lighter shade of a blue toned gray would look nice. Good Luck!

I didn't want to do something too white as I have the same problem with a giant brown modern sofa.

So I did CIL's Chinchilla. Which is a light warm grey. And I bought a giant white rug. The idea is that I am not allowed to put anything else that's dark or brown in the room

So now it feels nice and cozy instead of a small room with giant couch.

I don't think all rooms have to feel big. I feel that that's a cliche thing. Why do we always want everything to be bigger?

I concur wholeheartedly with marissachristy - either paint it darker to "cozy it up" and/or break up the black mass with lots of lighter, whiter, colored pillows and different textures (love the Room and Board fluffy pillow). Have you thought about floor coverings or floor color - lighter ones could also help and add textural contrast to the smooth relatively shiney texture of the leather sofa.

Good luck.

Sorry forgot to add, ideally you don't want to "notice" the sofa so much -- textures, darker colors, different finishes, can all aid this, and help to BALANCE the room. That's really the key, balance. If you have a big fat dark leather sofa, put up a bold dark paint color that diminishes it, or add a huge piece of art or chair with some major presence, or even a big green plant to balance the composition on the opposite side of the room. Just remember to only add one or two of these and remember that a small room (well, any room really) needs very careful editing.

I love the sofa. Perhaps you can order different legs in a lighter color from the manufacturer? A leaner leg, like a hairpin style, will give that sofa a less chunky look, for sure. Most often these legs just screw right off.

long, narrow, light-colored throw pillows might help -- or drape a lacy, spindly "throw" over part of it.

Oooh - ya, whimsical pillows, some plants, maybe something reflective like a mirror...

I think line is more important than color in this case. Paint a color you love, then keep everything else in the room delicate/slim-lined.

That's not too hard; you already have the right mind set and the better tips. If the problem's the couch... simply cover the cushions with a lighter color fabric; and it doesn't have to be BEIGE either lololol, I loved this month's Metro Home and how the designer of the cover pic upholstered what otherwise would've been really heavy chairs in lime green vintage fabric and white patent leather... sounds whacky, but it's very sleek without feeling cold. Also, personally I think people overlook flooring SO MUCH, but it's also understandable... sometimes it can't be changed... either way, a single piece of furniture can't really be a big deal as long as there's paint and fabric around.

(hhttp://www.pointclickhome.com/decoration_inspiration/articles/decorating_art)

Symmetrical tables with lamps and a mirror on the opposite side to reflect the space and the light - add balance and the sofa will recede!

The reason your sofa appears heavy within your room is because of the major contrast of the black sofa within the white room with beige carpet.

Changing the legs, hanging mirrors and tossing throw pillows around isn't gonna cut it.

You need to either replace the sofa with one that is a lighter color or paint the walls a darker tone and place a dark area rug on the floor so that the contrast will be less severe and your place would feel more cohesive and open.

Hi!
Your sofa has a hint of red in it. I think I would paint the wall behind it a very dark reddish brown, which would trick the eye and make the sofa look less obvious. It would kind of disappear. To trick the eye even more, put some funky art on the wall, something modern, colourful and bold, either one large piece to echo the volume of the sofa, or 3 medium pieces framed in the same style. The idea is to pick un on the masculine style of the sofa while adding a little fancy. The overall lines should be clean and lean, and the cieling matte paper white. Think cuban cigar lounge as an inspiration...

If you can't change the walls or the flooring then the next best thing to deminish the bulk/heaviness of the sofa is to add something colorful and large and bold in the way of artwork above it to help off set it's heaviness and then add something that appears a bit overscaled visually like another large piece of artwork or a lamp with a dramatic shade will help balance out the sofa and artwork and it'll throw color up on the walls where it can be seen and add some colorful throws on the couch to break up the brown a little.

Since most colors go with brown, think red, blue, yellow, anything but beige/brown/tan/toupe etc but get some true COLOR in the room to help liven it up and then they'll help deminish the sofa a great deal and then perhaps it'll be just fine. But the trick here is to be sure the sofa physically fits the space well and does not cause crowding to begin with.

Good luck!

I'd look into bolder, brighter, deeper colors non of this soft blue, sage green colors, but good, strong colors in the artwork and accessories as anything in soft shades will just reced and not do anything to the space at all.

Thanks everyone for all the fab tips! I'm actually leaning towards a blue toned gray so I will certainly check out the colors suggested by short giraffe. While I'm there I'll take a look at the warmer grays too because I hadn't even considered them. I really like the idea of the sheepskin pillows but I have a little dog who would think they were his personal chew toys :-) so I'm not quite sure about that. But I'm in full agreement on something whimsical to soften things up.

Since replacing the sofa is not an option at the moment and the legs look even heavier than they appear in the picture, a rug may be just what it needs. But I've also called the store where I purchased it to see how to go about changing the legs.

I have some Shepard Fairey prints that might work. Not 100 percent on them but I like the idea of deep, bold artwork. I also have an arc floor lamp that I love and chairs and a coffee table that are far and away more slim-lined. So after the paint goes up I'll play around and figure out what works best in the space.

Now I'm much more excited to get started and will definitely post photos when I'm all done. Thanks again!