With a black leather couch, you can go in any number of directions. Do you have a photo of the couch? What are your style preferences? Contemporary, Modern, Transitional? Not sure? I surely would go color and brighten up this space. Need some lamps and art probably too. Let me look around and find some ideas but a photo of what you have would be helpful so we can assess what you like a bit better.

Room with black/ light in patterns, and shot of red/ idea:

How does this color palette strike you? Black sofa, wood end table, bright yellow rug and pillows along with some gold and other black accessories, glass coffee table. Young, bright, energetic!

You could also go black and white combinations. Help us by letting us know what looks appeal and we can go from there.

I don't quite know why, but I keep seeing yellows and golds and blacks with some wood!

Roman shades in blackout [for good sleep] could be good....this rug maybe with wood/stained cabinets.... ??

So you like everything!! Oh boy. Why don't we start with rug then we can pull colors with that in mind. I am i'll post some and you can indicate which ones appeal more than others.

Both you and everdebz have given me so much food for thought.... I am very grateful! We are looking to add warmth, as the the (open) kitchen is gray/white and modern (this is a brand new apartment). I don't want to clash with that, but we are looking to inject a bit of traditional or transitional in there. I love that shot of red in pic #2, as well as the gold (yellow was a bit too yellow) in #5! Wall art is surely a must...we have a few pieces already and the blackout Roman shade is requisite as well. The carpet in the pic is great, as long as we can add something just a little different for the chair....or a pillow set. Thanks for the lovely pics and suggestions!

I will take this info and put together a "idea board" for you. Be back later.

You should start with an inspiration piece.....

either one piece of large art that speaks to you.... or a great pillow fabric, and let things flow from there.

You can look on designer Houzz sites to start an "Ideabook" which will indicate what colors you gravitate toward.

Hope this helps?

Here is a "idea board" that incorporates the colors you mentioned and just some pieces that could be used to warm up your space. I selected a piece of art work, but since art is so personal, you will have to hunt up your favorite look. As Transforming Rooms mentioned above, it is a good idea to start with something you love and pull ideas from that. I can be a treasured item, a piece of art, a rug. I like to start with the two hardest things to get, because pretty much everything else has a lot of options. Art is hardest, followed by rugs. Once you find a piece of art, then colors can follow along with finding the right rug. But here is a start. You can search on Houzz "photos" by putting in search words and living room and you will pull up a lot of photos. You can "save" each one you like to an "idea book" which you can name and save. Then you can go back and begin to see visually, what you gravitate toward. Here is my first little idea board for you.

The art incorporates your red, a little gold/yellow (but not too much!) black and white and some cream. It is framed in a narrow black frame. I used the black leather sofa as your main piece. Not sure what yours looks like so I just used a generic black leather sofa. The a lighter rug with some gray geometric to soften and add warmth along with wood coffee table, again for warmth. Drapes can be another print (geometric) of a different size and they can be lined with "light blocker" to help darken room when needed. A tripod lamp with wood legs and a creamy shade all help bring softness but keep it young and modern. A couple of texture surface pillows with black white and some soft fabric complete this board. See if this is heading in direction you like. Also, do some "artwork" searching here on Houzz so we can have a good idea of what you like. Enjoy!

I also felt the space doesn't have a lot of natural light, which lead me to lighter pieces and your walls seem to be an off white? Of course, we can add more personality with end tables, accessories, etc. This is just to start the process for you.

I'm not big on mirrors, but to repeat cool-ish of grey and black, what about mirrored end table... any children there oh yeh it's a studio! just remembered.

Or is your general direction rustic wood/leather instead of modern mirror/glam ??

Depends. 2 for $30... would the shade provide the interest??

updated board with a few more ideas.

With a studio, I assumed a smaller space so I found this chair in cowhide that would be nice compact scale but bring another "texture" into your space. I found an interesting end table that is black and could hold books. I like to have multi-use for every piece in a studio. A complimentary lamp in black and gold. Along with a few accessories. Of course, all these element are just "concepts" and ideas, that you can adapt to your own style and taste. Anything you like, or don't like, and I can change or do something different.

We have a couple of different concepts for your here now, so give us some feedback so we can take a more focused direction for you.

Obviously there are others [$65] - I meant to post the black and its shape - if it would repeat a shape there, or you love it....

If you could post the dimensions of this "living" space, I could do a layout for you so you know what sizes of pieces to select for the space. Usually, people don't measure and then buy stuff and of course, "it looked good in the showroom"! But doesn't fit the space at all. I would need the sizes of the sofa you have too. And sizes of pieces you want to put in the space. Let me know and I can whip up a scale drawing rather quickly.

Unbelievable! People are so kind and helpful here, and we are benefitting from everyone's expertise! I will be posting pics and measurements tomorrow and Thursday when the sofa and bed arrive. We did measure before we bought, but I know we probably went a bit over on the couch. Many, many thanks for all your time and thought!

Well, the basic pieces are here. As you can see we have limited space but a few possibilities regarding what to do with color and texture. The only place we are a wee bit stuck is the bathroom, as the curtain was a personal choice (The Odyssey) and I don't think it's going anywhere. Towels and wall art could help, right? Also, the raggy futon in the corner is not a factor, as it is clearly garbage-bound...it provided a place to sit while waiting for furniture deliveries. Dimensions for the space we have to work with are 17 feet long by 15 feet wide, with the kitchen and bathroom occupying their own spots. The delivery people put the sofa adjacent to the bed, but it is not staying there. Many thanks in advance for everyone's help and suggestions!

coffee table: This is also going in. Post holidays, we will make order.