I had the same feelings as boxer. I thought lighter at first but then when I looked back at your room I changed my mind. I think you can totally make either work though, depending on how you accessorize.

I like all of the colors, but with your walls the darker would look better. I think you either need to go really light - as in a light cream sofa or dark. Otherwise you're sofa will just be blended into the walls.

If you like one of the other sofa colors, then you may have to repaint your walls! :-( But you can wait and see how it looks once it gets here.

That's why I've always painted last, it's easier to pick a paint color to go with fabric, than the other way around.

I definitely like the darker color. I can't tell from the picture...it looks like there is a box pattern on it? If there is, then great. If not, find something else that has a pattern.

The sofa you chose is lovely and you really want that piece to stand out, not blend in with the other furniture!

Justin

Darker brown would be my choice, too. With the right accessories, I think that color would work best and be very striking! I love that sofa!

Thanks! I've kind of been leaning towards the dark also. My original plan was to have the wall color be the darkest thing in the room and I was going to decorate with lots of light accents, but I keep getting drawn in by darker colors. Do you think it would look funny it I went with off white linen curtains with the darker sofa?

There is a slight pattern/texture to all three patterns. I specifically sought that out because I thought it would help hide things.

Laurie

Let me ask another question. If I wasn't working about the wall color, would you like the sofa in the lighter color or the darker?

Laurie

Are you keeping all the case goods you have in the room?

I agree that to work with the wall color, of the choices you have given, you need to go to the darkest one or the couch will blend into the wall.

But doing that dark brown with all the dark wood pieces will make the room feel very heavy, imo, and the couch will blend into the wood pieces.

I think you need a much lighter color in the beige family, or a subtle pattern, or perhaps go into the green family if you would consider that. Right now I think you are heading toward a sea of darker brown - and I don't think that fits your personality or the feel you want from the space.

I like the darker fabric in your room with the wall color, it adds a richness. when the time comes to putting in your new floors though, you might want to go lighter than your original thinking. If you keep the dark wood pieces you have now it would be too much dark in your room, unless of course you added a light area rug, which I think you didnt want to do. Contrast between light and dark shades imo is what makes a room.

Les - I'm not sure what case goods are :) Is that the tables? If so, I am planning on keeping them. I'm starting to think I should quit worrying about which one looks best with the wall color since that can be changed in the future, although I won't be doing it anytime soon. That being said, I still don't know which color I like best and which one offers the most flexibility.

Laurie

Laurie, yep, case goods are the tables. :-)

Here is a thought. How about taking the fabric swatches to a fabric store and buying a larger piece of fabric that mimics the colors of the ones you are considering? Doesn't have to be the same quality at all, just the colors. Then drape the existing couch in a sheet or something to take away the effect the existing couch fabric might have on your color choices. Put the fabric pieces near the case goods as well as the wall, maybe even shoot a few pix for perspective. Sometimes our eye sees better that way.

Finally, take into consideration what kind of lighting you will have in the room. Right now you have one small lamp, and I am sure you plan on adding more ambient lighting in the future. Turn off the overhead light.

If you'll have a light floor, then I'd go with the dark brown for the sofa. As for the case goods, you can accessorize with light colored objects.

Does the sofa come with pillows? If so, get them in a light fabric with a touch of the brown to lighten the overall look.

I second Les's idea of trying a piece of fabrice in the color/s you are looking at.

I was convinced I wanted a lovely sage green sofa and loveseat in my FR. I had a nice little sample of it and several little coordinating pieces for pillows to look at also. Something just kept me from committing to it. So, I had a pair of sage green tab top panels in the DR. I took them down and completely covered the back and seat of the sofa - knew right away I wouldn't be buying me a green sofa.

That little trick can really help you.

Laurie- go with the lightest one, pictured in the sample photo. It's what you really wanted. :)

I don't think you can go wrong, but I kind of agree with loribee. It is what caught your eye initially and you keep going back to it. In addition, I have seen lots of tan sofas and tan carpet against tan walls, and thought the contrast is not severe, the difference in lighting and textures and planes (as in wall to floor, seat to seat back) creates a difference. I would definitely charge it up with other color pillows and accessories. I think the darker fabric, though lovely, will remind you too much of what you have now which-- though lovely--- is not appealing to YOU.

What do you think of the brown with light pillows?

Laurie

Now that I see that, the pillows may be too light, so what about this?

I like it- esp love the patterns on the top pillows. Will you be happy??

i like the dark brown...the pillows, imo, need to have a deeper color in the mix too...above is too much beige with that sofa.

I think I can be happy either way. There is still a part of me that wants to go with the lighter sofa since that's what I fell in love with. It's the practical side that's telling me to go with the brown. I just want to make sure I can still introduce some off white into the room if I go with the brown. I'm truly back and forth. One minute I think I'm going with the lighter and the next minute I'm leaning towards the darker. I do eat on my sofa and I have a dog, so that's why I keep thinking the brown is more practical. Could you picture these drapes in there with the darker sofa or would it look funny?

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Laurie

I think it also depends on what kind of look you are going for in the room.

Personally, I like the lightest shade. But right now I am all over that look. I loved Allison's daughter's light sofa and walls with her punches of color and the funky pillows. In Southern Living and BHG mags this month - there is a similar room in each. Turquoise or aqua accents. I'm seriously thinking about going there myself, but waiting a few months, looking around and thinking things through. LOL

Good luck - I do love that sofa style!

tina

Hey Laurie!
Going along with Les' idea......how about draping a drop cloth over your current sofa. They are about the color of your lightest option and live with it for awhile....dog hair & eating. Give it about a month & see how it wears. Pugs (I think that is the cutie on the sofa) are about the color of a drop cloth!! Might just blend in!

I know you want new sofas.....but if the drop cloth works, I could see making a slipcover for your existing sofa (esp. since your mom is a wonderful seamstress.) You could have an upholster make one long seat cushion to change the look of the sofa a bit, adding some down. I personally like one long cushion on a sofa so nobody is in the cracks!! You could even add a bit of fringe or a different welting to the sofa cushion to change it up even more.

Then you could splurge on different pillow fabrics and change the feel of the room often with new pillows and accents.

Smiles:)

I am having a hard time seeing the fabrics well in the pic. One thing I would do is not put them against the sofa because the colors of the sofa influence how you are seeing those fabrics. Place them on a more neutral background for a better feel of how they will look and take a closer pic. I know you just painted recently, but it is hard to match paint to fabric. Paint is the one thing that you can change easily and is less expensive. Scooby's idea of covering the sofa with a lighter fabric to test out is a good one.

I think Les & scooby are right on

The lighter fabric featured will just blend right into the wall and carpet color - Darker fabric will make the whole space feel very heavy.

Your orig inspiration has been white/cream - The drop cloth idea is a great one.

About those curtains with the darker couch...yes, I think it works. I have the same thing going on in my family room. In fact, I have those exact curtains in Ivory. I LOVE them. Also, I have a darker color couch. Here is a picture (I apologize for posting this pic again, but I thought it might help you)

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By the way, I HATE the couch, bad quality, terrible loose pillows that lost their shape after 5 minutes, but I do like the color and hopefully it gives you an idea of how the darker color and lighter drapes work. Cannot wait to replace the couches!

If you want to see more pictures, my original post is linked below.

Here is a link that might be useful: My post

Agree with jejvtr, scooby and Les on this one. A sofa is a long term purchase so I'd try not to choose it solely based on your present paint color. As it does not look as it your room gets a lot of natural light, I'd try to keep it lighter. Art and other items can add a lot of interest and having less contrast may actually make your space look bigger and brighter.

Oh, I'm so torn! What was that quote "live for the life you have not the life you wish you had". Even though I want the off white, that quote keeps going through my mind and telling me to get the brown. I think I will see if I can find a similar fabric that's not too expensive. Something like a white sheet wouldn't work, because the sofa has a texture that will be more forgiving than a normal white.

jillinnj - Thank you so much for the picture! That does make me feel better if I decide to go with the brown.

valinsv - I've had such a hard time finding art I like. Well, I finally found two pictures and wouldn't you know they're both dark. Why is it that I want this light airy room, but I keep finding myself drawn to dark colors.

Laurie

I'm confused. Why do you think that the off white sofa won't work? Children or pets? If you are drawn to lighter, airy colors, have you considered slipcovering what you have now? The dropcloth slipcover idea of scooby's is a great one! What are the pictures you are considering?

I think you may be inadvertently headed into a very monochromatic color scheme. I would not use any of the fabrics shown with your walls. The picture of the sofa shown in one of those colors looks so good because of the contrast with the red walls. . . . Just another opinion.

I am going to be honest. Seeing the couch you picked in the dark brown, I have to say I think it looks very outdated, like something my parents had in the 50's.

I think you lose the details in the couch that make it appealing. And I am still seriously concerned about the dark couch with all the dark wood, brown walls, brown tile, brown carpeting.

Surely this manufacturer has other fabric choices, if these colors aren't working? And as kswl wisely pointed out, part of the appeal of the picture of your original color choice is the room in which it sits - tons of light, red walls, lots of white woodwork.

valinsv - I'm worried about the lighter color because I eat on my sofa and I have a dog. I figured I could keep a throw on the sofa and put it across my lap when I'm eating, but if my dogs feet are dirty and I don't catch it in time, I might end up with little doggy footprints. I had thought about slipcovering what I have, but my cushions are attached, so I don't know how to make that work. Here's the two pictures that I've ordered. I just got the first one in and I'm still waiting for the 2nd one.

My first thought was to put picture #1 over my sewing machine with some white plates over it like this:

Then I saw this picture, so I thought about doing this over my sewing maching and putting the above picture in the kitchen. The horse/dog picture would go behind the sofa.

kswl - I actually don't mind the monochromatic look. I've heard that it can work as long as you have different textures. I haven't exactly figured out how to do that, but I'm sure I'll be back here asking that question before it's over. I've decide to not pick the color of the sofa based on my wall color since I can change that. I'm trying to figure out which color I like and which one is more practical and that's where my dilemma is.

les - I've looked through all the fabrics and these are the ones I like the best.

Laurie

Laurie, I love your inspiration pic, and that would look great over your sewing machine. My dogs are the reason I went with a tightly woven patterned tapestry fabric on the fainting couch, and I've always been glad I did. But aren't those micro-suede fabrocs supposed to be pretty easily cleaned? Or, try a velvet, or less formal, a chenille weave. Pretty tough stuff. I haven't done the micro-suede, but have done the others and they wore well.

All I can say is if you have a dog DO NOT get the suede/velvety soft microsuede! I have a green couch in a beautifully soft and cozy microsuede and it attracts hair/fur like a magnet! Especially during the cold months with all the static electricity. It is easy to spot clean, but the fur just sticks! Wouldn't be so bad if my dog were green like the sofa but she's a yellow lab! Lesson: match the sofa to your dog, lol!

Laurie, deciding what you really love and want is the best way to decorate---once you figure that out things seem to fall into place. It's not an easy process! I love your wall color and the right fabric will make it sing... good luck, agree that your inspiration picture is fabulous, you won't go wrong with that end in mind :)

I suggest going with your first choice in the light color (could you have the fabric pretreated?) and painting your room either the gorgeous blue in the plate pic or the creamy color in the mirror pic! You could bring brown in in a million ways then if you like.

I know, no help...

What color is your dog's fur?

I vote for the lighter couch. I agree with those that think it just is more attractive in the lighter fabric. I don't know why that is...but I just love it in that color - and it sounds like you do too. For what it's worth, I have a "tan" living room with tan love seats. I also have a tan (different color) family room with a darker brown couch. They both work...but I like the tan w/tan the best. In fact, I chose paint to "match" the sofas. I've pulled in some soft colors with a rug and accessories, and am able to change them up whenever I like. Very peaceful.

I am already looking to replace the darker brown couch...it has faded to "frumpy" rather quickly!

HTH,

Lucy

I would go light as it was what you truly wanted. Get it treated, use your throw, add cute pillows and ENJOY!

catkin - You can kind of see my dog in the first picture. She's a light colored Pug and her hair is probably close to the lighter sofa. So, my choices are the lighter sofa where the hair doesn't show or darker sofa where the dirty pawprints don't show :) What a way to pick furniture. I haven't checked to see if the fabric can be treated, but you would think that would be an option. I also didn't know if that was just a way for them to tack on some extra money or if it really works.

Y'all have me thinking about the lighter one again! The plus side is the lighter one is cheaper, because the brown one is a special order.

Laurie

Sorry if I missed this, but are you eliminating the loveseat and replacing the sofa, are you replacing both?

I don't know if you like the comfort of your current sofa, but if so, it is so similar to the one you're looking at (differences that I see being the T-cushions and different legs), that I'd think if you had it slipcovered and different legs put on, you could have the lighter fabric and not have to worry about doggy messes. It might be expensive, but probably not near as much as you would spend for the new sofa.

I really think the sofa loses something with the dark fabric. I can't put my finger on it, but it looks so much better to me in the lighter color.

Good luck! I can appreciate your angst, since we just had our sofa and loveseat reupholstered and I was a basket-case over it for a while!

You know, when I scroll back up to take a closer look at your current sofa, it is very similar to the one you are looking at to buy! The only real difference is the new one has a tight back! I would slipcover it also. All that money and you'll end up with essentially the same sofa! Slipcovers don't have to have a skirt that comes to the floor. I saw a really pretty slipcover with a cute pleated skirt on this blog below:

Here is a link that might be useful: slipcover ideas

:)

I'm planning on replacing both. Another reason I'd like to replace the one I have, besides the fact that I now hate the burgundy that's in it, is it kind of smells like dog. I used to have a bulldog and she was one of those kind of dogs that would get that dog smell.

Loribee - Where did you find that picture? I love it!

I've changed my mind about 5 times in the last couple of days, but as of right now, I'm going for the lighter one!

Laurie

If they don't offer some type of fabric protection, do you think the stuff you can buy really works?

Laurie

Late to the party, but I'm liking the dark brown one. Your room is so spacious and open that I dontt think the darker color will overwhelm or weigh the room down.

Did you fall in love with the sofa because of the color or in spite of it? Would you still love it if it you originally saw it in, say, eggplant LOL? The reason I'm asking is because you had mentioned that " There is still a part of me that wants to go with the lighter sofa since that's what I fell in love with. It's the practical side that's telling me to go with the brown." You have a pug. A pug that sheds no matter what (ask me how I know). And she probably occupies the sofa as frequently as you do. And hopefully she'll be around for a while ;o) The lighter color will be a bear to keep clean (ie. dirt) while the dark one will need constant attention with regard to vacuuming. But the darker one will look better for longer.

It's a big purchase. Don't let the price of the fabric be the deciding factor unless the difference is enormous. Sit on it and wait for a few weeks, if possible, before making the purchase. We took almost a year deciding on the sectional we wanted and that's including the fabric and color. One piece of advice I can give you is to get a fabric that is "forgiving" when it comes to showing marks, pulls, etc. A textured chenille is a great fabric for hiding a multitude of sins.

I can tell you what works for me and I can tell you what I like...and what I really like is your beautiful pug. She looks absolutely precious!

I'm torn between the dark and the light one!
I think both would work very well and you can add pillows to punch it up and add some contrast.

I must say that my first instinct was the light one...it's a beautiful sofa as showing in your 1st pic.

Go with your gut:)

mrsmary - It was the style and color that I fell in love with. I love all the "white" rooms and decor I've been seeing in the magazines lately. Of course, what's pretty in a magazine isn't always practical in real life. I used to have 2 pugs and 1 bulldog. Talk about shedding!

Thanks, Lisa. I just finished looking at your beautiful white sofa on your picture post. Do you have dogs or kids? Just wondering how you feel about living with a light colored sofa?

Laurie

Thanks Laurie. No kids, but a very hairy Chocolate Lab that sheds like crazy. Not too mention her love of rubbing along the edges of the sofa...can we say dog grime??

I have to say though that I've found these white sofas easier to care for than any other sofa I've had....
That's the beauty of slip-covered sofas. I pop them off, a little bleach and clean again! At least not so much washing now that she's pushing 14 yrs old and no longer can climb on them!

I love the sofa in the lighter fabric with the dark woods pieces & wall color you have going on. You could even do a drape in a taupe/brown & white pattern to tie the wall color & sofa together. Such a pretty room & I think it will be stunning with the lighter sofa. I think the sofa shows off it's beautiful lines more in the lighter color.

Good luck & please post pics after you finish...!!

Does your dog have dirty feet often? I would think that would also be a problem with your carpeting which would probably absorb the dirt before he gets a chance to jump on the sofa. I have three kids and also deal with the inevitable mess and spills that is part of life. I find that I can get most stains out with a good spray upholstery cleaner and even my moss green sectional shows the dirt. I'd rather have something where I can see the dirt and clean it up. If you like the lighter sofa, I'd go for it. If you look closely at your fabric swatch it looks like the threads are not all uniform in color but have some variation which will also help should you have trouble completely removing a stain. I think the more monochromatic look will really draw attention to your art and the lighter colored sofa will allow for more options with decorative pillows and/or a throw to bring in additional color.

The pic came from Traditional Home, April 2008- cover story. Just happened to thumb thru it before work and saw that lovely room. It immediately reminded me of your quest! The wall paint appears a bit darker IRL- BM coastal fog.
Hope this helps...good luck with your decision~~~

For those that think the details are lost on the darker sofa, do you still feel that way when you look at this mockup suero did? I wasn't sure if it was the darker sofa or the fact that the picture was looking straight on instead of at an angle like this one.

Of course, it would be brown instead of green.

Another thing I thought of is I could buy a throw in the same color as the sofa where my dog lays and then I could wash it if it got dirty, but would that look strange? I've seen throws across the back of the sofa, but what about on the seat of the sofa?

Laurie