I have a living room sofa wall needing some decorating today, this room done in navy and white/gray neutrals. It is rather hard to find art that has some navy blue without going nautical, but I did find some good options for this wall above the sofa.
Oh, and since they had a new, bright kitchen just adjacent to this space, I added a few more ideas for furnishings to tie the two rooms together in this post.
Here’s the wall that needs some art.
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And here’s the new kitchen! They did a great job.
Here’s the wall opposite the sofa, with a tv and French doors opening out to the back patio.
Option One - Minimal update with new art
In this first option, I just wanted to show an option for art where I am just filling in that wall and selecting something that works there, with minimal changes.
This is a large, horizontal piece of art in the same color palate as their room. It is 72” w x 36” h, so it will almost span the width of the sofa. Most sofas are 7-8’ long, so this scales about how I mocked it up, below.
I did feel like it would help to fill the wall out with some more furnishings, a beefier lamp (love the blue color there) on the end table and then a floor lamp in that natural wood finish, with a plant in the corner. These will just make the wall seem more complete.
I also changed out the coffee table, as I thought they needed something to relate more to the kitchen in general there. This is a visually light, nesting table pair in white and brass.
I think these all work together well and the only items to be removed were the coffee table and the brass lamp.
I have one more option for art here in this scenario, this is a trypych and more of an organic look. These would lay out around 5’ wide x 26” tall.
Obviously, there is no need to do the extra things if they don’t want to, but since the kitchen was definitely more transitional overall with the seating and lighting there, I felt a few updates here could be suggested for on down the road.
Option Two - New Rug Option
Again, this is just a suggestion, but if this was my client, I would put forward an idea to bring some warmth into this space. I like navy and gray, for sure, but sometimes that palette needs some warm color to make it feel even more comfortable and inviting.
They’ve already done that somewhat with that caramel colored pillow there on the navy chair. That color really appealed to me here. It would also relate to the tile floor in the kitchen.
What if we put that color as a rug on the floor, something not that pricey, like a seagrass or natural woven type textural rug? I think that would add a fresh look here and be a good contrast to the navy and gray.
I also like the idea of getting away from the mahogany wood in the side table there and going with a warmer toned wood end table with some straight lines. It would also work to echo that color in a wood coffee table.
Now, the navy art I’ve already suggested would be fine, but this large art piece is nice as it mixes in some of that warm color here too. Add in a two more pillows in a graphic warm toned pattern, and this has found a nice balance, I believe.
I added some navy drapery there on the windows next to the fireplace, to bring that navy color around the room.
Now, for the opposite wall, I think going with a warm wood tv console might be better than the tall, dark wood cabinet they have now. It feels a little crowded there in that corner so a lighter toned piece, that didn’t have the upper section, might work best in this scenario.
I do like the navy draperies here, the textural, warm toned rug, and lastly, a gold toned piece of art above the fireplace, with a navy bird. I just think the white and gray fireplace surround looks even better with the contrast of the gold art.
And here is the refresh….
I so appreciate all the questions and images sent in for these Q&A’s! I am loving doing these mock ups. I tend to get a little carried away, even though my photoshop skills are quite rudimentary. :-)
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This blogpost was thoughtfully written by me, Carla Aston, and not by AI, ghostwriters, or guest posters.
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