How to dress a sofa using different design techniques

Learning how to dress a sofa may be a small part of home decoration – but follow these simple ideas and yours will soon become a colourful, stylish focus in your living room

Introduce pattern and colour

Opt for a plain, or neutral fabric for the upholstery of your sofa. Grey or taupe like the sofa shown top are good practical choices, they don't show the dirt and are accepting of all sorts of other tones, allowing you to change the decoration in a room easily.

Plus, as explained in the how-to video above, you can easily ring the changes by adding cushions, throws and accessories to create comfort and interest and make the look unique to you. Look for textiles with plenty of texture or opt for colour and pattern. This is easier if you repeat other shades in the room, for example picking up on the colour of an upholstered chair, or a wall colour. Alternatively pick one fabric for a decorative cushion and pick out colours within this design for the other textiles you use. A loose-covered sofa will appear more relaxed, can be dry-cleaned or even machine-washed (check instructions) –  whereas an upholstered piece can appear more formal, smart and traditional.

Fabrics

Another way to display your favourite fabrics is by mixing together different styles – checks, stripes, weaves, prints and patterns, for example, all together on one sofa. Choose a linking colour, or style to make this work. For example, the dark grey Gower sofa (pictured above) from the Country Living Collection exclusively at dfs has been dressed with a mix of botanical printed designs which pick out other colours in the room; whereas the blue plaid wool sofa (one of our designs for the Gower) has a varied assortment of cushion styles which pick up the heathery tones in the wool plaid.

Throws

A throw is a good way to break up the blank expanse of a sofa, as well as introduce more texture to a room. If you are going to use a throw to cover the whole sofa it needs to be a really good size. A sofa covered with a throw will always look relaxed but can look messy unless you are prepared to re-arranged it frequently. A machine-washable throw is ideal, will save your upholstery and be a great choice if you have pets that are allowed up onto furniture. An old-fashioned linen dust sheet (try Baileys) makes a good washable throw as do heavy vintage French linen sheets. You can find these in specialist textile shops or antique markets. Add colour and texture with faux flowers, stylish prints and lots of textiles, as shown in the how-to video above.

 

 

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How to dress a sofa using different design techniques is republished from COATSVIY