What Colors Should I Paint a Wall With a Burgundy Couch?

Neutrals

• You can always stick with white. If you're an anything-but-white person, many other neutral shades will harmonize with the burgundy without being too risky. Grays, tans, khakis and beiges all work without overpowering the sofa. You can use throw pillows, rugs and other accent pieces to insert smaller blocks of color into the room that blend with the burgundy.

Muted Colors

• Muted, soft tones allow you to incorporate color without making the space too dark. Any color on the red spectrum is a potential match for burgundy. Rose, pale pink, or even a pinkish lilac could work well. If you want soft tones but don't want to incorporate pink or purple, look for something in the yellow, green or gold family. These tones are opposite burgundy on the color wheel, so give you high-impact contrast without high-volume hue. Specific hues to consider include marigold, butter or mint.

Rich Colors

• Burgundy is a very rich color, and you can play it up by choosing other deep hues for your walls. Burgundy's red-brown tones come alive when paired with rusts, deep mustard golds, chocolate browns, cranberries and other autumnal hues. These colors can make a room quite dark, and this can make it look smaller. For bold color without narrowing the whole room, paint only the wall behind the sofa as an accent look.

Tips

• If you can, bring a pillow from the couch to the paint store with you when you pick out chips. Once you have a few potentials, hang them next to the sofa and evaluate them over 24 hours. Some will be a definite no. When you've narrowed it down, paint poster board with the potential colors. Choose the winning hue based on the larger swatch. In general, warm colors make the room inviting but can make a room look smaller. Cool colors lend a relaxing hue and open up smaller spaces.