Yes, You Can Use Two Different Sofas in One Room — Here’s How a Designer Makes It Look Good

Apartment Therapy is full of advice on small-space living and decorating. While a small space can be (literally) limiting, larger rooms also often have their own hurdles when it comes to decor. On the one hand, you have more space for furniture, of course — but on the other hand, a large room can quickly start to feel cluttered and random. 

So, when styling a larger room, you have to be more intentional with your styling choices. Take for example, the living room: If you have the space for two sofas, you want them to look good together, especially if you’re not picking matching couches. So I spoke to interior designer Emily Henderson to get her advice on exactly how to style two couches in the same room, and it turns out, it’s definitely possible!

“The pros of mixing two different sofas in the same room are that you look interesting, stylish, and like you have a lot of design confidence,” the designer says. But there is a method to this madness. Henderson recognizes that it’s not as easy as just picking two sofas and going with the flow. “They need to complement and contrast in the right ways in shape or color, or both,” she says. 

First, let’s start with what not to do. According to Henderson, mixing sofas that are just too different is a no-go. For example, styling a couch with an exaggerated high back next to one with a lower profile can appear accidental instead of intentional. The level of contrast in the color palette is important, too. “I think when one [sofa] has a really bold color and one has a muted color, it can feel like they don’t talk to each other,” she explains. 

So what is the secret then? Henderson explains that keeping sofas a similar visual “weight” makes the space feel much more calm and cohesive. And the way to achieve that is generally by sticking to a balanced color palette throughout the entire space, as she did in the project pictured above. The gray and navy tones of those two couches are similar enough (and neutral enough) to pair well together without looking like a part of a set. 

You should always consider the balance of the palette throughout the entire room as well — the gray in one of those couches matches well with the color of the fireplace tiles, while the navy blue couch echoes the area rug, window seat cushion, and patio furniture. “You can mix a leather Chesterfield with a floral Victorian, if there is a shared color palette,” Henderson notes. “That keeps the room from looking too thrift store.” 

You could also try mixing two identical sofas in different fabrics or patterns, so long as the color palette remains cohesive. “Two different patterns can also work fantastically, but you want them to be different enough that your eye understands it,” Henderson adds. “Ultimately, if you can identify your style and lean into it, identify your color palette and shop within it, then you will get closer and closer to making sure you love the two together,” Henderson says. 

If you need some help imagining what your vision might look like in real life, Henderson says you can use tools such as Keynote or Canva to add photos of the couches side by side and see how they look. Or, you can try out our Apartment Therapy moodboard tool — it’s a great way to plan out your color palette ahead of time!