Ever wondered how you can decorate a dark brown leather sofa or sectional? So have I! We have a dark brown sectional in our family room and for the longest time, it sat without any type of throw pillows or styling because I didn’t know what to do. It seemed like every couch I saw online, in magazines and on TV was white or light-colored. I was just left feeling like I either had to purchase a new sofa that fit the latest trends, or I’d be stuck with a sofa style I didn’t really like. Thank God I snapped out of that! Really, my budget did it for me. A new sofa was out of the question, so I focused on what I really wanted and that’s a super-cozy and stylish family room. And let me just say that I’m really happy with how things turned out. I can’t wait to share my tips on how you too can turn your dark brown leather sofa into a stylish sofa you love. But, before we get started, go ahead and join my FREE Decorating Made Easy Challenge. You’ll learn the tricks to easily decorate your home, even if you don’t have an eye for design. Now let’s get started.
The Advantages Of A Dark Brown Leather Sofa Or Sectional
I want to take just a few minutes to talk about the advantages of having a dark leather sofa because I believe leather furniture tends to get a bad rap. I just read a comment on an online forum that said, quote-unquote, people should just stop buying leather furniture. Really?! Here’s why I totally disagree with that blanket statement. First of all, quality leather is super durable. One of the reasons why my husband and I have always had a leather sofa in our house is because we wanted the ease and convenience that comes with keeping it clean. Whenever food or drink spills on your leather, you simply wipe it up and go about your day. You’ll never worry about hosting family and friends or even relaxing on a lazy Saturday morning while eating on the sofa and watching TV. In our case, we also choose our leather sectional for sentimental reasons. This happened to be a hand-me-down from my husband’s Bible study group. The men sat on this sofa in someone else’s house for a year and study of The Word together. When the host couple became empty nesters and moved to another state, they downsized and weren’t able to take the sectional with them. The last benefit that I’ll share about a leather couch is that it can be a beautifully dramatic statement piece to go with any decor. A tufted formal style can go well with a traditional or glam vibe. A streamlined sofa works with a minimalist vibe and a taper-legged design goes well with a mid-century modern design style. Basically, a leather sofa can make its place in any home. Please don’t underestimate or discount this baby. With that said, I know they can be a challenge to decorate, so let’s dive right in.
The Best Throw Pillows For A Dark Brown Leather Sofa Or Sectional
Let’s be honest. Leather furniture can have a tendency to look dark, cold and uninviting. The best way to fix this is to add some color, texture, and warmth to it. The chocolate brown or black leather can have a tendency to make the rest of the room look dark, too. The way around that is to choose a lighter colored pillow to go with your sofa. I did this in my home by purchasing custom pillow covers from Pottery Barn. I chose Washed Velvet pillow covers in Ivory with monogrammed stitching in Carbondale, which is a mushroom color. It was a good blend of choosing lighter colored pillows while using the monogram as an accent color to tie in with the rest of the sofa.
The reason why velvet works is two-fold. For one, throw pillows made of satin fabric don’t work well with leather. Do you know what happens to satin throw pillows on a leather sofa? They slide! It’s the most annoying thing. No matter how you try to place them on the couch, they just won’t stay put. So, going with a fabric that has some texture is the way to go. Which leads me to the second reason. Texture ads a warmth to any décor, especially leather, that’s hard to beat. Velvet, suede, Sherpa, or any other texted material will help soften-up the coldness of the leather.
Yep, the first things about throw pillows on leather furniture is to make sure they have texture. You want texture of the exterior fabric – so don’t use silk, satin, or other slippery pillow covers. And you also want throw pillow inserts with some weight. I highly recommend using down filled throw pillows. They’re a bit heaver so they hold their shape and are less likely to slip and slide on your sofa. Plus, these pillows allow you to do the “karate chop” you see in professional styled spaces.
What Color Throw Pillows Go With A Dark Brown Leather Sofa Or Sectional
The reason why I chose ivory pillow covers is because I wanted an overall lighter color for my sectional and the entire room. Even though my family room has white trim, and I would have loved to go with that, using a bright white color on my sofa would have been too stark of a contrast for me. Using ivory as a softer white also added warmth to the sofa.
When you get ready to select your throw pillows, choose colors that have the same background colors of any throws. The example I gave above is the cream/ivory colored throw pillows that I purchased. The throw blanket that I selected also has cream and mushroom colors.
How To Embrace A Dark Brown Leather Sofa Or Sectional
Even though I just shared the best ways to lighten up a dark so, what if you want to embrace the dark color? I say, embrace it full-out! I might be in the minority on this topic, but I believe that you can have a beautifully decorated dark brown color sofa by choosing other dark colors when decorating. This color choice will just impact the mood of the room differently than if you were decorating with lighter colors.
How To Decorate A Dark (Brown) Leather Sofa Or Sectional
We just went over several ways to decorate a dark brown leather sofa or sectional. From experience, I shared some of my best tips to help you see that yes, you can turn your unappealing leather furniture into one of the most stylish pieces you own. Since there are many benefits to owning leather furniture, I wanted to tell you about the ways you can decorate it. Whether you choose to lighten it up or embrace the dark color, I want you to walk away knowing that your leather furniture can be a super-cozy and stylish sofa you love. If you’re ready to take the next step to finally decorate your leather sofa, then go ahead and join my FREE Decorating Made Easy Challenge. You’ll learn the tricks to easily decorate your home, even if you don’t have an eye for design.
And please, take a few minutes and leave a comment below and let me know how these tips have helped you.
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Thank you so much! We have such a sectional and like how we get the most sitting space with the smallest footprint. But, alas, it is dark brown and we are moving and hoping to go with a more Scandinavian theme to our home. Everything else in the space is light coloured though so I think we can make it work. Looking forward to decorating with lighter pillows and throws in all kinds of textures!
I bought leather furniture last month & it arrived damaged on left side, where no one can really see, by forklift tongs puncturing it! Need to fix or somehow do something to disguise it & make uniform on both sides. Any ideas?
Oh gosh! I’m SO sorry to hear about this. I have heard of leather repair kits, but I haven’t used one in a looonnnnggg time and I know that they vary in quality. My recommendation is to check with your local furniture store or sofa manufacturer and see who they recommend.