How Do I Decorate Around An Ugly Couch?

Q: I have been going crazy trying to decorate around an ugly living room set [photo below] that I inherited by moving in with my significant other. This set is dark wood trim, dark leather arms with paisley fabric on the back rest and stripey (only way I can describe it) seat cushions. There are so many colors in the backrest and seat I probably couldn’t fit them all in one email. I remembered Apartment Therapy and there are so many good ideas on here I was hoping for some advice. Thank you in advance. -Sent by Stef

Editor: I read Stef’s description yet somehow still wasn’t prepared for those leather arms—this is like the letterman’s jacket of couches! Other than that, this is actually fairly similar to my grandparents’ sofa, but their house is fairly ornate and well over one hundred years old, so it fits in perfectly there. Assuming Stef and the responsible significant other aren’t going for a similar look, how do you recommend they decorate around this couch? We’ll assume that reupholstering isn’t an option, but if you have any favorite tutorials, it might not hurt to share the links, just in case.

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