apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I would do an ocher-type yellow. I think it would really work with the red sofa. Good luck & let us know what you decide to do!

A light dusty blue/grey would look pretty decent w/this... you could also go for fuchsia, if you're feeling daring; thing is... a red couch will stick out pretty much with any color, so you can either embrace the red, or say fu*k it and slip cover it. Next dilemma!

Peach colored walls? Warm off-white? Beige with a little pink in it?

White would look beautiful - especially with such a bright color. Decorator's white by benjamin moore seems to be the designer favorite. We chose simply white after days of deliberation and wished we had chosen the decorator's white (even though it looks a little gray going up).

Maize.

For a warm rich texture, I'd suggest a mustard yellow color. Your can texturize the wall with a marbling effect incorporating some burgundy to match the sofa, or achieve a rustic effect with a simple sponge and one tone mustard color paint. Incorporating mild hints of burgundy in a hand painted border around a door or window will tie it in well.

Since the room gets a lot of sunlight and this is such a bold color, I'd cool down the walls a bit with a pale blue. SW Topsail comes to mind. It's a greyed-down aqua. Yellow with red says country to me... so if that is not something you like I'd stick with a cool, pale shade on the walls.

http://inspiredroomdesign.com

Yellow would definitely be nice (more mustardy, but not dark). Or a light green could work... really, a lot depends on what else is going in the room. I imagine it's not just going to be a sofa.

I agree with hurly's Decorator White suggestions. If you're going to have a red couch, let it pop.

I'd go with a very pale pink, or else a light linen color.

light violet

I'd avoid yellow. Red plus yellow is the same color scheme used in a lot of fast food restaurants.

I'd go with a pale, clear, neutral blue. No green or gray undertones. I would avoid bright or loud colors or anything too warm.

I agree that red and yellow looks either country or like you're trying to encourage people to move along...

I suggest silver -- grey will complement the dark red well, but since you prefer the brighter colors, silver is a nice way to bring in some light but work with the contrast.

A pale, drab olive or grey. Just go as light as you wish, but not too light :-)

I vote for a blueish gray color palette.

I'm not a fan of solid colored, especially primary colored, sofas, so I have to ask why are you decorating around that Sears masterpiece? If money is that much of an object, paint the apartement one of those nice whites from F&B or Benji Moore, but my advice is to get rid of the fugly sofa, paint the place a color you love, and then get a new neutral sofa that will go with anything.

Wow. Blunt much? You might not like their sofa, but maybe it's the comfiest thing EVAR. I've always found this site to be supportive, let's keep with that tradition. kthx :)

Thanks for all the great suggestions! This is very helpful, especially the comments about red/yellow/fast food (I hadn't made that connection).

Djluckyonline - not sure about fuschia... but I agree, a neutral slipcover would open up more options. We originally got red to brighten up a white rental apartment. I wanted to get a sense of what might work with the red before just giving up and getting a slipcover. I know we can make it work.

-haley- yes, there will be other stuff going on... we have a couple of chairs (one red, one blue) and some quite bright/abstract modern art. Other fixtures and furniture are flexible.

Thanks KimberlyM! - it's a sleeper sofa from Pottery Barn. We need it for houseguests and the bed is super comfy. Any recommendations for more chichi but comfortable sleepers are welcome, but it's a real challenge. There's not much out there that passes the comfy bed test. So... we hope we can make the red work.

I look forward to any more comments and will post an update once we paint the room!

Rachel

A light blue/grey

The red is more of a burgundy red, which is a "cool" red. So I think hard white or pretty much any shade of blue would just look chilly with it. I also don't think yellow would work (and it's a good point somebody made about yellow and red being a fast food colour scheme).

I would suggest a green - a fresh sunlight-coming-through-leaves kind of green, that will be good for cold winter evenings or warm summer days. Green is a great neutral, it goes with everything (any colour flower goes with a green plant) so it will also give you the option of using other colours in the room without being a slave to a scheme that revolves solely around your sofa.

Definately blue! I just added red chairs to my office which is a medium blue and the look is bold but i love it. If you want something a little less bold I'd go with a gray/blue or silver/blue but please consider blue in some way. I think it would look great.

I love the idea of a grey/blue.

I used the color "barley" on our walls (painted the ceiling, too). I think it is by Benjamin Moore. Its a lovely, warm, rich yellow - sunny during the day and warm and cozy at night. We have a lot of red in our living room, along with some mossy greens and cobalt blue. Our couch is natural, but I'd imagine if you toned down the throw pillows and accents, your red couch would look beautiful!

Check out Behr's Light French Gray -- I just painted my living room and the color looks light blue in bright light and more gray after dark. It looks great with my similarly colored couch.

Anything but white.

We have a couch that is similar in color and it looks great against our yellow walls!

I think you need a crisp, light silver grey. That's a dark sofa, and I'd steer away from anything too dark. Keep it bright and crisp.

I have a similar red couch and can feel your struggle for paint colors...I went through the same thing. Inspired by vintage dish cloths with the red/blue/yellow theme I settled on Behr's "Havana Cream" for most of the room with one bold accent wall of a turquoise blue - Behr's "Tropical Waters". Not exactly subtle but I think it works for my space - couch is against the Havana Cream, not the Tropical Waters. Good luck!