I just moved into a loft where the downstairs is one big room for the kitchen/living area and I am having trouble figuring out how to make the couch and kitchen island work together. I have a black stenstorp kitchen island from IKEA ( http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30219832/) as well as the soderhamn sofa in natural ( http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S99902251/#/S39902249). I have no other furniture downstairs other than those two pieces right now.

Do I need to buy a black coffee table, shelves or end table in order to make the island work in the space? I'm not really a fan of black furniture and I'm at the point where I feel like I might have to paint the island white, which would be a shame because it actually comes in white!

I've had this problem with one piece of black furniture before, and I have never been able to use small accents such as black frames to make it work. The one piece of black furniture just ends up looming in the room and bringing everything down with it.

Any suggestions or example pics on how I could make this work? Or is painting the island a better option? And would a white kitchen island look too country for a loft?? Getting rid of the island isn't really an option since I have so little counter space.

Thanks for your help!