but that's just me, I can't ever make those colors work but hope it all works out for you.

Thank you, Beckysharp. I’ll update when I get the rest of the sofa!

How fun. I hope you love it. I think it looks fine with the rug too.

Thank you, cat_ky! I can’t wait to take a nap on it. :)

following

It looks okay on my monitor too. I was thinking more of adding navy and maybe some green rather than more from the orange/red family.

Don't add more orange or red! Pull colors from the rug - blue and green are my suggestions for main pillow colors. Don't do solid, but pretty patterns.

It doesn't have to match, it has to go...and it looks to go just fine. If you want to make it blend better, I'd pick out some other colors in the rug to use for throw pillows instead, like the greens and beiges.

Lascatx, Allison, and Annie... very true, I know greens and blues are the direction I "should" be going, but I can't bring myself to like them in the room. (Wish I could change my brain! I like green in my DR-- I have a pink and green rug in there.) I like them as they are in the carpet, and that's it! Most of my lampshades are black, and I have some black Chinese plaques on the wall above my sofa, and a black piano, so even though there's no black in the rugs (I have 2 in the room that are right next to each other), I keep using it.

Annie, yes, matching was never my goal... but I do need it not to clash, which is what I am feeling is going on.

I wish I didn't like red so much! It's such a hard color to work with, esp. since the colors it looks best with is MORE red (or corals/pink if it's the right red to being with) and cream or black. (And grays and blues and greens... but I don't like any of those much.) Ideally, I'd have a coral/pinkish or cream sofa, but both of those won't work for my lifestyle. (I have slipcovered Ikea couch/chair now and I am done with them!)

A few of you have mentioned pillows with patterns. If you have any suggestions, please throw them my way. I don't like anything modern.

Thank you to everyone for taking the time to weigh in!

Oh, and the other issue... now I need a new chair, too! Ugh. It has to be a lower profile one (right in front of the window) and comfy, as it would get used all the time.

I think I am going to have to settle for "good enough" soon.

Throws, afghans, big things! I was trying to envision a rug beneath the sofa to give a sort of demilitarized zone between the sofa and the rug LOL, but I can't quite "see" it. Maybe occasional tables, big coffee or cocktail table Etc. I do love that rug!

Sylvia, you are too funny!!!

OK— sofa is here. I do like it a lot more now that I see the whole thing.

The rug— some of you will say to move it so that it’s centered, but I have a horribly awkward room. I will come back to explain why I can’t.

I know my plaques don’t “go” with the rug either. The table with the lamp usually goes by a different chair. Here temporarily. A lamp is missing from the tea table.

OK, those are my disclaimers!

Wow, that looks perfect! I think you were worried for nothing. I see why you wanted that sofa. It's very pretty!

Thank you so much, Olychick!!! And the sofa was cheap!!

Looks great to me too! Get some coordinating throw pillows on that and it will be awesome!

It looks fine. Now choose some pillows that are NOT red!

Looks perfectly fine to me. The rug has so many shades of red -- from pink to dark red -- that the sofa blends in with them. Nice buy.

Nicely done!

Looks great, enjoy!

Looks perfect to me. I would pull some dark blue from the rug for accent pillows and a throw.

Classic but WOW!

Lovely sofa! I think it looks great with your rug (and this is coming from someone who does not like/use red/orange). Seriously, I really like the sofa with the rug; BUT i do think you need to pull some blue into the mix or you are going to have too much red. Blue, cream (or tan) pillows. And yes, I'd go for small prints or at least one small print and a solid. I can't remember all the color ways the betwixt fabric comes in but I do believe there is a tan/khaki color. Visit one of the fabric sites online and browse. GREAT FIND and definitely not a mistake!

I think it looks great as well. It's such a marvelous piece though that I want to climb into the picture and give it a little bit of breathing space by moving the two tables away from it just a bit. Can the two tables change places?

Looks like a perfect match!

Thank you, arkansas girl, Anglophilia, dedtired, Carrie B, beckysharp, Rory, roarah, tinam61, blfenton, and natesg!

For those of you suggesting blue... I know it looks good, but I am just not a blue person, at ALL. If I have to pick between green or blue, I pick green. Can anyone give me ideas of actual pillows? I don’t mind if they are vintage— in fact, I prefer it. And I ALWAYS prefer velvet. :) (Solid velvet, I’d buy new.) BUT, I will do my photoshop attempt at blue if anyone finds some good ones, even though I really don’t want blue.

blfenton, here’s the story on the tables. No, here’s the unwanted novel about the tables!

The black table... I am sure is no one’s taste. 1970s wannabe barley twist. But I found it at antique mall and fell in love. It used to be next to this chair in the pic. I had the matching IKEA sofa. The other table is an English tea table... it was going to be the only table by the sofa.

Anyway, the IKEA sofa is only 84” so there was plenty of room (given my terrible room layout) for the tables, sofa, and chair. New sofa is 94”. I almost didn’t buy it for that reason, but again... could not help myself. So, now there is barely any room for ANY chair. The chair I get will have to be a micro chair. In fact, I found one... a vintage Chinoiserie chair that is a mere 22” tall!! (Fabric doesn’t match but someday I can reupholster.)

The black lamp table looks so much better with the plaques than the English tea table. But I have nowhere else to put the tea table! Nowhere. And it would have worked if the new sofa were not so long.

Down the rabbit hole of home deco.

Just for reference, my room is 22ft long. There is a FP that juts out so that in the middle of the room, it is 8 ft wide. YES. EIGHT FEET WIDE. The room has several entrances... front door, DR, and sunroom. Floor vents. Windows. The FP. There is no way to center the couch in the room because it would cover the entrance to the DR. It’s basically a nightmare of a room.

DISCLAIMER... I have fabric to make curtains but still haven’t done it. Sad, sad. I will be painting the bookcases to match the wall color this spring or summer when I can do it outside. Chair will no longer live here now that we have the new sofa. Cannot put the piano anywhere else. I’ve looked and tried and pushed it all over. It gets used daily. Ditto for the bookcases. The other half of the room is unusable, essentially, because of the entrances to the DR and sunroom. Could not get a rug that was long AND wide enough to span the room. (8 ft and 22 ft long doesn’t exist except custom) and I refused to get a new one... only wanted old Persian. So it’s far from perfect but I had to make compromises.

World Market had some solid-color velvet throw pillows on clearance -- sold out online, but if you have one nearby, it might be worth checking. Their pillows were large, and I'd picture them as a backdrop for smaller pillows with patterns. For the solid pillows, I'd go with one of the accent colors in the rug, and the patterned pillows could be something like medallions; patterns that are reminiscent of the Middle East, in a nod to the rug, but shouldn't try to copy it.

Love the sofa. I love red and have some red, in almost every room of my house. Along with the ever present turquoise, of course. I can see you having a great nap on that couch.

Thanks for the information on the tables and hopefully it wasn't a repeat and I missed the first story. So, I like the wannabe barley twist and I happen to think it looks great on the rug and with the sofa. Just a couple of inches further away. :)

Love the rug. Love the sofa. Love red. Love your dog most of all. We have a Golden, too. They just assume, like a child, that any picture is about them and they're right.

It looks great!

If you want to blend it in a bit, pillows with that red and the taupe from the rug in a paisley, floral or something.

Red and black are classic, we love the color combo and use it in our house. Embrace it. Not all reds go together, but your couch seems to go with the rug. There are other colors in there for accent, taupe comes to mind.

I think the pieces with the lamps on either side of the opening would look best on either side of the new sofa. You could move to of the black pieces either side of the doorway and the other over the piano. Add some drapes and style your bookcases and you are done!

Also if you scoot the bookshelves closer to the window edge and add a small bench under the window, it will look like an intentional built in. The white chair could go in front of the window to the right of the fireplace...just throwing some ideas out there.

MotherofGiants, thank you for the ideas and I will check those out!

Cat-ky, thank you and I’d love to see pics of your home!

blfenton, you didn’t miss the story... the layout of this room has been a thorn in my side! The black lamp table isn’t staying there anyway because I don’t think it works with the tea table on the other side.

Dragonflywings42, isn’t that the truth??? I’d love to see a pic of your dog. We have two now but the other is a naughty puppy who has to be highly monitored at all times! My older dog is his uncle.

Lazygardens, thank you and I like the ideas.

i pinkmountain, I’d love to see pics if your house. Yes, red and black work so well together. Taupe is on my list, thank you!

kourtneydixon, thank you for the ideas! White chair is too big for the space by the window by the sunroom. (Floor vent and sticks out too far.) I’ve been on the hunt for a chair or bench for that space for a long time. Has to be lower than the chair too since it blocks too much light there. I had the tables by the sofa a long time ago but honestly I think they fit the entrance to the sunroom so perfectly and I like the option to light up all corners of the room. I would put a bench in near the sofa as I do think it would look good... and have considered that... but we have 5 kids and need a more comfortable option. I am looking for a smaller chair. The plaques are going to stay over the sofa for now... I have looked for yrs for something else. Can’t be anything heavy and has to be vintage or antique. And very affordable. Thought about a tapestry and have one, but the one I got is from the 1800s and I just can’t risk my dogs (puppy!) pulling on it so it’s going over the FP instead. Don’t want a tapestry with people on it. (Mine is one of mythological creatures.) Gallery wall will take yrs to build. If you have any ideas for an alternative for over the sofa, I am all ears. Oh and can’t put anything on either side of the doorway because this mirror is here now. (Sorry, other pic was old.)

I just want to say, I love red, and those are beautiful reds...together, in the same room. I love the look of the pillows Roarah posted upthread, either black or navy and white.

Anele if I show pictures of my house, I would have to clean it better. I keep saying that is going to happen . . .

May be too formal, but perhaps something like this?

Hi, Linelle— nice to know you are a red fan, too!

I pinkmountain... you don’t have to clean the whole house! Just show me a corner!

Teeda, thank you! It’s so helpful to see a setup like that... makes it so much easier to visualize!!!

I got my 22” chairs today! One of them will be going near the window near the FP. Gotta get my old sofa out before I figure it all out! Trying to make that side of the room a little more useful.

On my monitor your colors look good. I have no idea what your style is but I'd use matlasse coverlets to relieve some of the red. My home also has oriental carpet and red couches and I would do the same thing all over again. I cover different areas on the couches...some covers on arms, or seat, or back and seat. My look is very casual, yours may be more traditional...great purchase.

Quirkycabin, I love the idea of matelasse throws. I need something to protect it from my dog jumping on it, too. May I ask what color your wall is? I have the urge to paint my walls a deeper color that would work with the trim and reds but my family loves the calm of the cream and begs me to keep it. (Which looks better IRL than in the pics.)

I'm going through a major living room rethink right now too. I guess I should take before and after pictures. Swapping out my old worn out couch for the futon with the red futon cover, to match my red oriental carpet. It will take a while though. I have black and cream colored Japanese prints with black frames for the art. My side comfy chair is red too, but my floor and walls are cream and builder's white.

I live in a log cabin so the logs are stained a lovely warm golden tone. My rug is a gigantic 17 x 10 oriental estate piece which has a plethora of colors to play with. I see you have some gorgeous green and teal colors so I get the temptation to use them, and I would for pillows etc. Depending on the amount of light in your room would dictate whether to go a little bold with color or stay with your cream. I think my choice would be to stay with your cream color. Please don't take this the wrong way , but I love to see the slight wearing ....Is this a family rug you have been lucky to acquire? Mine is actually my husband's, who played on it in the family dining room. It is quite worn in spots and I love every one of them. Please post when you are finished.

You're almost there! It's looking great. Go all out:

I pinkmountain: Yes, please take those before and after pics! I find I learn so much from my photos anyway... though often things looks better IRL than in the photos. I love Japanese prints. I considered getting some woodblock prints from the 1800s... they were very small and I didn’t have a little nook for them, so I didn’t get— but still regret.

quirkycabin: Your home sounds gorgeous. I would sit on your rug all day! What a cherished item to have in your home... beautiful memories. I am not offended at all by your comment about worn spots. I adore worn spots on old rugs. To me they give the item life and a story! Sad to say but I don’t know the stories mine has to tell since it was not passed down like yours. My family didn’t have those kinds of things to pass down. As for the light in the room, it can get cold because it is north facing. The trim is dark... I’m not a fan of the contrast esp since the crown molding and trim around the windows and doors is too thin. I’ve been tempted to at least paint the crown molding so that it blends in with the ceiling and doesn’t call attention to itself. Please share photos of your home if you are able.

FinallyHome: Thank you for the encouragement and photo. I love studying the mixture of textures and patterns. It helps so much to see the finished product!

Found a chair... onto curtains and bookcases!

Much ado about nothing! Your sofa and rug look great, your room is coming along.

Thank you, Cmarlin20! Since I buy almost only used goods I always feel like I have to make snap decisions within my “plan,” which is why I sometimes panic. (And when I’ve hesitated, I’ve lost out!) Makes it harder in some ways but I guess in other ways, at least forces a decision!

Found some possible bookcases and going to see them tonight. They are wider and a little taller but most importantly, real wood. I’m not sure if I will paint or not but should be easier to paint the wood vs my laminate ones.

Funny about your "used goods" comment. I recently stayed in Palm Desert for a few months and visited some consignment shops. One shop had many nice pieces for a good price. They were very high quality and some more interesting and unique than I see in other shops for much more money. I'll be moving soon and plan to visit some nice consignment shops to see if I can get some nicer pieces for less.

WIN WIN

Best of luck on your move, Cmarlin20! Yes, consignment shops are a wonderful resource! I hope you will post pics of your new home and its evolution.

I did get the bookcases... again, hope it was the right choice. Turns out they are wood but then covered with another piece that is laminate or veneer. Same thing? I don’t know. Shelves, too. But they are much nicer quality than my current bookcases.

Hopefully I will be successful in painting them. Going to use the same color as my walls. Then maybe the back, I don’t know. Different paint color? Wallpaper? I don’t think fabric. In any case, the shelves I can do soon since I will do them inside. The rest will have to wait until warmer weather is here.