What Colors Decorate Well With a Red Sofa

Black

• Black walls paired with a red couch brings a bit of Gothic decorating drama to a room. Walls painted shiny black set off the red couch. However, without balance this room looks understandably dark. To alleviate this a bit, paint the trim white and put down a white carpet. Play off the red a bit by positioning red candles in the fireplace opening and hanging sconces on the wall with red candles.

Pale Blue

• This color combination brings out the red of your couch in an unexpected way. Although you may not think red and pale blue would work well together, this color combination brings a modern flair to a space. It's reminiscent of the bright colors of old-fashioned comic books but with a sophisticated flair. Paint the walls pale blue, and add blue throw pillows to the couch, including some pillows that feature both colors in them to tie the look together. You can also replicate the color combination in accessories like lampshades or artwork to further strengthen the visual tie between the two colors.

Tan

• Tan represents a common color in Asian-style decorating, and the red couch will stand out in the room if you feature few other accents in red. Instead, feature decorative accents like Japanese shoji screens, woven floor mats placed in front of the red couch and a black lacquer coffee table. When you're selecting your couch, choose one that features a simple design if you've opted for the Asian decorating motif; many Asian styles have minimal decorative adornment.

Red

• Within reason, you can pair a red couch with red accents, but you must factor in one thing. Red on the walls in a room tends to cast a red glow on everything, so if you're concerned with how an all red room will look, keep red on the walls to a minimum. Instead of painting all the walls red, paint one accent wall the same shade of red as the couch's red. You can position the couch near the red accent wall to draw the eye to that area of the room. The wall will serve as a visual anchor to reinforce the drama of the red couch without overpowering it in the way that four red walls would. Place a white or tan area rug in front of the wall, and flank it with the couch facing the wall. Add accessories like a coffee table and arm chairs in the other colors you've featured in the room.