When faced with a blank canvass in a room, a grey sofa is a good place to start, as it is a neutral colour that allows you to introduce plenty of other colours and patterns, but it is a surprisingly versatile colour in itself. Grey appears to be the colour that is standing its ground in the new Millennium, while various shades of beige were the go-to colour prior to that. But grey has plenty of variety to it, which allows you to create edgy and modern interiors or go for a calm and soothing look instead.
The design you go for will reflect your personality of course, but grey is a great base colour with which you can accessorise, and that is when you can really put your personal touch to a room. With a grey sofa you can introduce cushions, throws, a floor rug, art prints, vases, candles, lamps and bookshelves to balance a room with colour and bring out the best of your sofa. But what options do you have?
- Different shades of grey: Maybe not fifty, but there are plenty of variations to grey itself that will allow you to create subtle contrasts against a sofa. This can make it cosy and inviting, with chunky and soft cushions in slate grey, against a lighter grey sofa, and with a different shade of grey on the walls or with matching lampshades. You can also add art prints to create a cool industrial or minimalist look.
- Bright colours: Adding one bright colour onto and around a grey sofa is really simple, but effective. This could be yellow, red, blue, green or even turquoise, but as long as you are subtle about it and not OTT, it will create a good balance and add warmth to the room.
- The rustic look: A wood effect with accessories can add some warmth also, for a Scandinavian look. You can achieve this with picture frames, a coffee table, trunks, baskets and with matching coloured cushions. This is soothing and effective and works best with a lighter grey sofa.
- Floral patterns: Again, it is important you don’t go too far with this, but some sparse accessorising with floral patterns against a grey sofa creates a bright, modern look, when perhaps you were expecting an outdated or more traditional look. You can achieve this with cushions and wall prints quite easily, but you might also be able to upcycle your own lampshade or even a floor rug to match.
- White walls: A lighter grey sofa against white walls allows you to then introduce a third colour to tie-in your accessories, which could include different textured cushions to add some variety even if they are the same colour. This could be royal blue or a darker brown colour, or even a bottle green. This has an effect similar to the bright colour suggestion above, but needs to be a more understated colour that blends in more easily.
A sofa is a critical investment in a room as it dominates and provides the centrepiece, but some clever accessorising can really bring the room to life, and this applies particularly to a grey sofa. And while grey remains the colour of choice for many households, it pays to shop around, use your imagination and accessorise with style. This will get the best out of your sofa and ensure your investment is the main feature for many years to come.
