A sofa is an island of comfort, tranquility and relaxation, and at the same time a status piece of furniture that can create an atmosphere of elegance and mystery or a student party. How important is the color of this furniture and what are the advantages of black?
Like a classic black suit or black dress, a black sofa can be paired with almost anything. The design solutions in the photo will show how easily a black sofa will fit into the space, which interiors it combines especially well with, and how it can emphasize the chosen style.
Tricks and secrets for making the right choice
A sofa in an interior can be a central object or play the role of a neutral object, a background for beautiful, unusual or bright decorative elements.
The most common approach is to choose a sofa that complements other decor and is neither the focal point nor camouflaged in the color of the walls. This is why neutral sofa colors are the most popular for most homes.
The color of the sofa is determined by what colors are already in the decor of the walls, windows and floors, and what kind of lighting should be in the room.
The neutral black or dark color of the sofa allows you to use any colors for the surrounding decor.
It is safe to have such a sofa if there are children in the house who can (and will definitely take advantage of this opportunity) spill or scatter something on the sofa. Pets leave fur and marks on the upholstery, and dark colors are, of course, more beneficial here.
Before choosing a sofa, think about how the room is currently used, rather than how you plan to use it. Pets often choose a place to rest in the living room, in which case it is worth choosing washable materials for upholstery.
Endless design options for black sofas make it possible to choose a design suitable for any room and for different purposes. A small two-seater black sofa is located in the hall or reception room; more solid objects in this style are used in living rooms and children's rooms.
To visually hide the massiveness and weight of this solid piece of furniture, designers use wood and metal as materials for legs or buttons on the backrest and pillows.
Various upholstery textures, from black leather to cotton and velvet, will give this piece of furniture a sober and elegant look or an ultra-modern look.
Dark sofas in different interior styles
Numerous photos of dark sofas show a variety of options for placing such furniture in loft, modern, Scandinavian, retro, and modern interiors.
It is especially interesting to see a black or dark gray sofa in a classic interior.
Scandinavian style with black sofa
A Scandinavian-style living room is a treat for the eyes. This is a modern and relevant style. Features such as attractive patterns, metallic accents and handcrafted hardware can create a look that is both rustic and modern.
You can instantly add color to a black leather sofa with bright decorative pillows and a blanket, or place unusual floor lamps or metal candlesticks nearby.
A painting or decorative panel on the wall will also help to “lighten” the space in accordance with the style requirements.
What interior items can highlight a black sofa?
The aquarium is perfect for the office. It will effectively complement the decor, especially if the room has high ceilings.
For a loft style, an excellent addition to a black sofa would be colored posters, as well as brickwork on the walls.
Loft with black accent
Distinctive styling touches include chrome details, rich colors, live plants and leather upholstery. A corner sofa is suitable for receiving guests and parties with friends.
A contrasting white pillow thrown into the center of the sofa will enhance the feeling of masculine severity and practicality of the room.
A plain gray table with chrome details will come in handy here. To create a more masculine atmosphere, natural shades, stucco and neutral paintings or posters are used.
Color accents in a black and white living room
A living room in black and white, with all its style and elegance, is rarely complete without catchy details. Bright accents can not only decorate a monochrome room, but also give it the character that is inherent to the owners of a house or apartment.
In such a palette, any bright spots will be harmonious, but it should be noted that there should not be too many of them, so the selection of such decor should be approached carefully.
- Most often, the black and white interior of the living room is complemented with a couple of red touches . This stylish trio looks not just bright, but also extravagant. It is often used in the style of pop art, art deco, hi-tech, minimalism. Details such as a pattern on the curtains, a lampshade of a telescopic floor lamp, a painting on the wall, or one chair can be red.
- Grass green looks great in a black and white living room . The same bright details that are traditionally used for decoration will be appropriate. But a more harmonious and elegant option is living greenery - plants in tubs, entire walls or partitions entwined with flowers. Animal figures made from bushes or climbing plants around a frame look original.
- Orange looks just as rich as red . It adds warmth and cheerfulness to any interior. As a rule, such accents are applicable exclusively in modern settings.
- Another warm and sunny color can transform the design of a living room in any style . The yellow palette, even in the smallest elements, makes the monochrome composition rich and positive.
- Blue details fit well into the white design of a contrasting room , if it contains more light surfaces of the cold spectrum. Multi-colored glossy surfaces are harmonious, but in a matte finish the blue palette will be more organic with a deep gray palette.
In black and white, the interior can be self-sufficient, but most people strive to make it varied and more emotional. That's when catchy accents come to the rescue.
Black sofa in a natural interior
This style is suitable for nature lovers. Green plants are the best way to decorate your living room in a natural style.
A large black sofa in such an interior will become a backdrop for many green plants. Bright vases, colored lamps and chairs will dilute the greenery.
Upholstery materials for a sofa in black
For a sofa, it is important what upholstery fabric the item is presented in in the interior. Upholstery materials for a black sofa are most often anti-vandal fabrics:
- Velor, giving the furniture softness. The material is easy to clean and care for at home. The downside of the fabric is that it wears out quickly.
- Jacquard is a dense and expensive material with a relief pattern. It is durable and easily holds its shape.
- Flock is a material that is pleasant to the touch and look. Resistant to moisture and temperature changes, which characterizes it as practical. The disadvantage of upholstery fabric is static electricity, which attracts dirt and dust. Cleaning the surface with chemicals is contraindicated.
- Chenille is a type of jacquard fabric. Thanks to the ornamented pattern, the upholstery turns the simplest sofa into an elegant piece of furniture. The material is environmentally friendly and wear-resistant. Easy to clean and wash.
Related article: Light wallpaper and dark furniture in the bedroom - an idyll of contrast
Nowadays 3D design is relevant, which is achieved through complex weaving. The pattern on the fabric looks three-dimensional.
Feminine living room style with black leather sofa
A sparkling chandelier and a vase of fresh flowers will add bright touches to a room with a large black sofa.
A corner or long black sofa will allow you to organize a girls' party, and you won't have to worry if lipstick or mascara falls on the sofa!
Pink pillows on a black leather sofa create a fun and feminine living room. Peach shades are also suitable for blankets and pillows.
Fresh roses and floral prints will be the finishing touch to create a feminine living room.
What to combine with a black sofa?
The black color itself may seem oppressive and repulsive, but if you choose successfully matching elements for the sofa, the interior will become incredibly attractive.
- Wallpaper. Despite the fact that white walls are considered the ideal backdrop for black furniture, a variety of wallpapers can also be used in decoration.
- Curtains. Textiles on the windows either serve as a background for the sofa - and then light white fabrics are chosen - or echo the upholstery with decorative elements or tone.
- Pillows. A classic companion to any sofa. Contrasting light, bold red and gold - they will decorate simple furniture and help easily transform the interior.
- Blankets, bedspread. Textiles that are pleasant to the touch will soften the impact of dark tones and add warmth to the atmosphere.
- Carpets. A constant companion to upholstered furniture, it brings its share of comfort and color. An unusual solution would be to use a carpet of rich colors: red, yellow, blue.
- Floor. A black sofa goes with any floor surface - from tiles to wood.
- Armchair. It can be included in the same set with the sofa, or it can be contrastingly different from it.
The photo shows a successful combination of a velvet sofa with black and white patterned wallpaper.
In the photos of the interiors it is easy to notice that the black sofa confirms the status of a universal piece of furniture. It can harmoniously combine any of the shades of the spectrum.
The photo shows a yellow plaid cape that acts as a pop of color in a neutral Scandinavian style.
Elegant style
Create an elegant look for your living room with a beautiful chandelier and a fluffy rug. Wooden decor and furniture details will make the space visually lighter.
A few velvet pillows on a black leather sofa will add grace to the decor.
Photo gallery: black furniture in the living room interior
Below is a selection of the best designer interiors with black furniture.
Right choice
The sofa is an important element in organizing your home space, so you should choose it carefully. Like other major furniture purchases, a new sofa will serve its owners for many years. This large and comfortable piece of furniture in the living room can influence the choice of colors for the rest of the room.
The secrets of designers that we have revealed for you in this article will help you decorate a living room or room in your favorite style.
Where to put black upholstered furniture?
A large sofa with dark upholstery is a self-sufficient element of the interior:
- in the manager's office;
- in a lobby, recreation area, large reception area of a commercial firm or public establishment;
- in the large living room;
- in a small private office;
- in a studio apartment or a house without walls.
Advice: Never place a black sofa next to photo wallpaper with the illusion of absorption - it creates an unpleasant impression that you are being sucked in. You shouldn’t place it opposite a mirror either - the dark spot will double. Ideally, a black leather sofa in the interior is well perceived next to light curtains and tulle stretched along the entire wall using a ceiling cornice.
In a minimalist interior of a living room or bedroom, where there is little furniture, velvet upholstered furniture on a podium or in the form of an island in the center of the room looks luxurious. A hospitable atmosphere will be provided by a chandelier with crystal balls hanging from the ceiling above the coffee table - between the sofas and armchairs.
Note!
- Custom-made furniture: the benefits
- How to clean a leather sofa at home
- How to choose children's furniture
Black sofas are often used to zone space. They are in harmony with modern household appliances. But you shouldn’t overload one corner with dark furniture and a huge plasma panel, adding black shelves, shelving or other elements of this color.
Such an impromptu “cinema” in the corner is diluted with large plants and a green rug.
Attention: The black rug looks elegant, but be careful not to overdo it with this color.
Lighting plays an important role. The best solution is to use colored lamps and LED strips, which will relieve the living room of obsessive gloom.
Photo of a black sofa
Designer furniture of dark color in the interior
A dark designer sofa will be a unique example of modern style embodied in furniture. Unusual ideas combining a leather seat and original trim can uniquely decorate your interior.
They can have unusual shapes in different styles, but more often in the minimalist style.
Of course, such furniture will not look good without adequate furnishings. It is ideally paired with other items made from interesting materials, such as dark wood. One of the most important additions is the seating. This set will suit dark or dark brown armchairs with classic lines. Adding contrasting colored pillows gives a nice contrast and breaks up the obvious gloom that many of us can find depressing and sometimes off-putting.
Black furniture will go well with other bright colors. For example, red in the hall will create a contrasting and stylish combination with black.
Thus, the classic black color, despite its apparent gloom and monotony, can help create a very interesting and stylish design. In some stylizations, for example, such as high-tech, it is generally irreplaceable. The key role in achieving success is played by the remaining elements, namely their color. The general color proportions, texture of materials, as well as the size and shape of the room, the conditions of its illumination with daylight and artificial light are also important.
“Black sofa: coming up with combinations”
The first thing you need to do is to collect a palette suitable for black in order to freely navigate in choosing the decoration of the room. Secondly, think about accessories.
"Black + white"
Often the ideas that come to mind first are the most correct. It is very easy to create a black and white interior - it doesn’t matter whether it is ascetically simple or overloaded with details and semantic hints. We will show both simple and very ambiguous spaces; the choice is yours.
“Black sofa in a minimalist interior”
- Scandinavian style - white ceiling and walls, simple whitewash, no wallpaper. The floor has laminate or parquet in the color of natural wood. Such a room seems echoing and fresh, the furniture for it is selected accordingly - compact, modest, ergonomic. The exception is, perhaps, the sofa and armchairs - cozy and with a pretense of decoration. But this can also be achieved with accessories, and the basic colors are chosen: white, gray or black. If you profess Swedish coldness in design, the black sofa is for you.
- The impression is enhanced when it was decided to leave the floor white too. This is really radical, no doubt about it. Sleepy snowy silence requires dilution - a little shapeless, warm, contrasting. A black sofa and a couple of light pillows on it are quite enough to smooth out the impression. And the fact that in such a room both the mind and the eye will rest like nowhere else is beyond doubt.
- It’s very easy to come up with an addition to a black sofa in a minimalist design – any simple, non-massive furniture will do. The last characteristic is very important - black already gives the impression of a heavy, dense stain, so it is important not to overdo it with the congestion of the room. Ideal neighbors are glass tables, cabinets without doors, low coffee tables and the like. Black chairs will be too much, replace them with white or gray ones.
- Remember - if there is a black sofa on one side of the room, then you need to come up with something matching on the other wall. A black pouf, a chest of drawers, and finally a TV with a black frame are necessary. Contemporary art will also come to the rescue - for example, a large poster in a graphic style.
“Oriental interior with a black sofa”
- Here is another example of minimalism, but not Swedish. For a home in an oriental style, Chinese or Japanese, black furniture is even more natural. In this case, the sofa should not be soft, but leather - we remember the Asians’ love for lacquered furniture made of dark wood.
"Black sofa and fusion"
- If you decide to create something controversial, where many prints, textures and style elements should coexist, black in the room will help you maintain some balance. Even mixed stripes, oriental patterns, flashy roses and a baroque frame are kept within the bounds of decency by simple decoration and a solid black sofa. If you're letting out your unpredictable creative demons, you can tame them with a conservative leather sofa.
“Black sofa + colorful details”
Yes, it’s not easy to compete with a rich black sofa - objects that are a little duller and “quieter” in appearance will simply get lost. It is not recommended to place a black sofa in the interior surrounded by pastel colors - pink, blue, yellow, lilac and so on; neither one nor the other will benefit from this.
What action would be correct from a design point of view? Put black in such conditions where only worthy rivals will be around him. With achromatic colors everything is clear and simple; black and white are created to complement each other in the interior. The situation is much more unusual with bright colors. Black enhances the sound of some colors many times over, while the manifestation of others, on the contrary, suppresses. Let's turn to color theory and figure out which color of walls and textiles a black sofa should be combined with and which not.
"Black + gold"
- The black and gold color of the sofa in the interior is an exciting, bold, almost primitive combination on which you can build both classic and bohemian design! Both textile and leather coverings are suitable - but in the second case, make sure that the shine is not excessive. If desired, gold in the interior of a living room with a black sofa can be replaced with bronze or copper shades; the overall feeling of luxury and prestige will not go away. In the best Baroque traditions, a black sofa can be decorated with heavy bedspreads with gold fringe and soutache-embroidered pillows.
"Black + green"
- Black and green are not an easy combination; you need to match the tone very accurately for it to look decent .
Your goal is to choose the most noticeable shade of green from those offered; it can be emerald, blue-green, piercing herbal, bright light green. Or the material should have a slight shine effect, similar to gold. In the photo below, the corner sofa is shaded with such pillows - however, smoky gray and dove have been added to them. We managed to move black into the background a little, but behind this there is a lot of painstaking work.
"Black + pink and red"
- One of the boldest and most captivating combinations is black and pink. You can use both soft pearl and flashy cherry, the effect produced will be equally strong. To prevent the composition from looking flat, you can use pink in prints, like in the pillows in the illustration below.
- But you need to be careful with the red color, even if there is a great temptation to make the interior with a black sofa energetic and original. We will give you advice similar to the one mentioned in the article about the brown sofa. Use more interesting and complex shades than pure red - terracotta, tomato, salmon. A luxurious wine color, like the curtains in the next photo, would be a good alternative.
As you may have noticed, in all the examples given, the designers invite us to pay no less attention to decorative textiles than to the sofa itself in the interior. It is better to follow this advice, because this is how you can link all the details of the decor into a unique ensemble, and the black sofa will become a real decoration of the room, and not just a fashionable but meaningless novelty.