Design Dilemma: The Black Leather Sofa!

I have to be honest with you…..It’s a designer’s worst nightmare to walk into a consultation with a client, and be informed that their black leather sofa set from college has to be  a part of the new decor!

A few years ago I received a call from a newly wed couple in their early twenties. Such a cute couple they were. They had just bought a home, and of course just paid for wedding, so their budget was very limited. They wanted to have a nicely decorated home since they entertained a lot. Most of their furnishings were hand me downs in different styles from different design periods, garage sale finds, and stuff left over from college. Of course, my ultimate nightmare….a black leather sofa, loveseat and a reclining chair to match! Being the fabulous decorator I am, I accepted the challenge :-) Since they were on a tight budget, I just helped them to come up with a decorating plan that they could tackle in phases on their own, and of course work around the black leather sofa set. I don’t have photos from that project, but I pulled some photos from various sources found on the internet to illustrate some of the ideas I shared with them to address their design dilemma.

So if you are the proud owner of a black leather sofa set, don’t lose hope…..Every design dilemma has a fabulous solution. Follow these five tips to making black leather look intentional and work in your home beautifully.

1. Offset the darkness of the black leather with lighter colors. Paint the walls a soft, warm white or a soft taupe or gray. Add lighter colored throw pillows in a nice mix of patterns and textures to breakup the large expanse of black leather. If you already have occasional tables in a dark finish, consider painting them a lighter color as well. Add a patterned area rug to pull some of the focus away from the leather goods. It also helps if the predominant color of the rug is a light color.

This sofa is a bit more elegant than the one we had to work with, but the same principles apply.

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2. Playup other focal points in the room and shift focus away from the black leather. You can do this by adding large scale and colorful artwork on the walls, adding a tall bookcase that is styled very well, adding drapery panels in a great fabric, or highlighting the existing focal points in the room, such as a fireplace.

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3. Consider using just one piece from the collection and moving the other pieces into another room. Not because they were purchased as a set doesn’t mean they have to stay together forever. It is very overwhelming to have a room full of matching black furniture. Breaking up the set will give the room a more collected and homey feel with a lot more personality, especially if you are working with hand me downs and pieces from different styles and periods. Just maintain a common color theme to tie it all together.

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4. Consider re-covering the seat cushions. This solution probably won’t work with every sofa, but if you are going for a more traditional look, and the sofa isn’t too contemporary and streamlined, this might work great. Check out the remnant section of your local fabric store and choose an upholstery grade fabric with a color and pattern to complement the room. Find a good upholsterer and have the sofa cushions re-covered with a zipper opening for easy cleaning later. Re-covering the cushions will help break up the large expanse of black leather. Then add your throw pillows and a throw blanket to finish off the look.

These examples are dark brown and not black leather, but will hopefully give you an idea.

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5. Color change or dye the sofa. Believe it or not, you can actually change the color of a leather or vinyl sofa to an easier color to decorate around, like dark brown or tan. I have never done this or commissioned this myself, but have found information than it can easily be done as a DIY project. (I am therefore not endorsing this method, but giving you food for thought). Here’s a link to a video I found that explains how.

Of course there is the option to completely reupholster the black leather sofa using a great fabric. From my experience, however, it can be just as expensive, or even more than buying a new sofa. If the sofa frame is of quality construction, then it may be a cost effective method in the long run and the options are endless to customizing the fabric. A master upholsterer can even change the shape and size (within reason). Care should be taken when selecting fabrics for upholstery. You can read my recent blog post about “How To Look For Quality Upholstery” here

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As you have just learned, there are definitely clever ideas you can use to breakup the look of black leather and make it feel like it belongs in a beautifully appointed room. Leather does have great benefits like being easy to clean and comfortable for the family, so if function is high on your priority list – you can certainly have the best of both worlds!

Please don’t forget to comment and share :-)

****Reposted 1/24/14

Be Inspired!

Veronica Solomon

Veronica Solomon

 

 

 

 

79 thoughts on “Design Dilemma: The Black Leather Sofa!

  1. Nicely done! I actually had a cream colored leather sofa when I was younger, but I think you would have approved because the carpet was quite a dark color…. Maybe I’m not too far off?? ;)

  2. I love the black sofa thing. I have seen many pictures of black and white rooms with splashes of color all over the place. That is something my wife and I are trying to achieve in our home. Thanks for this post. Nice.

  3. Great I enjoyed reading this post,
    Very insightful I would put a few tips to practice in my lounge as well.
    Thanks for the pictures too it brought it all home to me…

    I love creativity!
    Keep it up

    • Heather, if it is a dark color like black or dark brown, you can take some of those ideas and change up the look a bit. Microfiber is definitely a warmer look than black leather, so it’s a lot easier to decorate around

  4. Talented!! I prob would have had all different kinds of furniture and decor in my room that would not match, but clash… you have a great eye!!

  5. WOW! I had black leather when I lived in Tucson. Used yellow as the accent color. I wish I had your eye and expertise all those years ago!!

  6. Pingback: I Am A Top Mommy Blogs Blogger! Yay Me! | The Naked Decorator

  7. As Queen of Green, I LOVE how you gave new life to the black leather sofas. It really IS “easy to be green,” with your great design tips! Of course, we could donate the sofa, but why not keep it when, with your ideas, it’s really “new” again! Thanks. I had to share this one for my “green” audience!

  8. I love reading your posts – you have great ideas and I love the great tips you provide as well as photos to really give us the complete picture! Nice work!!

  9. That is such a great idea! I have often wanted a darker sofa to hide all the messes from the kids, but didn’t want my house to be too dark. I love the tip of accentuating the room with a lot of light colors to offset the darker one.

  10. You have some great looking ideas. Some people just have the talent to figure out what goes and what doesn’t. Me not so much. Haha

  11. I actually love black for my house but then again, I am not a designer. I find the color black so easy to match with other things that have a splash of color. I love what you have done with the furnture and accessories in your pictures.

  12. This is such a great post. I’ve always wanted a leather sofa but the SO doesn’t like the idea of sitting on them during the winter or hot weather lol. I love the idea of putting throw pillows to add some colors to it. I’ve also checked out the video you linked on how to change the color of leather. I went to the thrift store and they had this really ugly looking sofa in this dark brown color, wish i had the room for it now that I know I could have change the color. It would have looked amazing with a purple color and some bling lol

  13. I’m a fan of black leather couches myself *sorry* hahaha but I just love the look of sophistication it adds. Great, great tips. I’m planning on buying a new couch so I’ll use some of these to add some color & contrast!

  14. We used to have a black leather couch. I really wish we still did. Who decided to buy a green couch after owning a beautiful black leather couch was not me.. but I miss the black leather! It went so well with so many designs!

  15. Love how yu get your design ideas across using photos that you have or find. Great blogging style as so many of us are visual. My son has a black leather sofa set they bought when they got married. 10 years later it has held up and threy move the sectionals around to different rooms for various purposes.

  16. These are great ideas – we had a similar dilemma as we have 2 dark brown leather sofas and finding a color scheme that doesn’t just get overwhelmed by the dark color of the sofas has been really difficult. We stuck to pale walls with accents of duck egg blue and lime green – not to mention a couple of nice home made throws over the back of each sofa to try and dilute their presence! I wish I’d had you on hand when we were doing it though!

  17. I was really struggling with what to do with my black leather sofa and love seat. You have definitely provided me with new ideas and hope for my home to look beautiful as I embark on my decorating journey. Thanks for the great advice!

  18. Amazing ideas and actually now I am more positive towards black soafs. But what happens when, the carpet and the only wall in the room that you can actually put the sofa, are dark collored?

    • Thanks for your comment Ani. You definitely need to lighten up a black sofa against a dark wall on dark carpet. Pillows on the sofa and artwork on the wall will definitely break up the dark on dark appearance. I am not a huge fan of layering an area rug on top of carpet, but there are certain situations where it works, and this is one of them. Also a lighter color on the occasional tables and accent chairs in the room will help to lighten things up a bit as well. Bring in some fresh flowers, some decorative books on top of the cocktail table for a hint of femininity

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