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PaintHome DecoratingDesign Dilemma
miriam_dobosova

What do I do with these colours?

Miri D
3 years ago

Hello everyone,

my long story short, I had to rearrange some furniture around the house and ended up with this sofa bed, against this wall.



Basically the sofa-bed has to stay put as it won't really fit elsewhere - it is marine green velvet.

I love both colours (the green and the terracotta) separately but together, I'm not sure they work.

I am trying to stay away from having to repaint the walls but this view is giving me a headache so I will repaint if I have to.


There will also be a wooden bench on the left, in the bay window, with some wicker baskets underneath, for storage. The original theme in this room was going to be 'nature' i.e. muted greens with bamboo, rattan, wicker, etc.


Does anyone have any ideas please? What would you do here to break up the colours? Or if you would repaint, what colour would you go for?


Any ideas at all are welcome - thank you very much :)

Featured Answer
  • PRO
    Riches Interiors
    3 years ago

    Hi Miri! I can see your dilemma here. Dark green and terracotta can be a winning combination but here you have 2 large statements and nothing breaking it up. It does appear quite a bright wall colour, but there are ways of calming it down. I would suggest changing the rug, to a neutral woven large rectangular option to cover much of the floor space. I would also suggest bring in some bamboo tones on the walls through either statement mirrors or hanging wall art. I would put something large on the back wall (maybe a mirror with bamboo style frame?) above the sofa and maybe some artwork down the right hand wall. some greens and lighter terracotta colours would work well. You don't have to follow the line of the paint colour either, you could hang something the sits over both paint colours too as then your working with the design. Neutral and textured throws and cushions would help to break up the strength of the green and will add softness and depth to the space, but I would also be inclined to get some sort of terracotta colour into the soft furnishings to pull it together. Then some potted plants and coffee table and you could definitely make it work! pop a lampshade on too, and add a floor standing lamp or table lamp somewhere to create a bit of atmosphere. Hope that helps!

    • Comments (25)

    • Daisy England
      3 years ago

      Doesn’t work for me. Look more like orange than terrocotta. I’d change it.

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    • keiblem
      3 years ago

      Truth be told I am not totally won over by the paint colour with the sofa but it is difficult to know without seeing the whole room.

      Before you go all out and paint over it perhaps try cushions the same colour as the wall to link the two. Or if you have some spare paint then paint a few sheets of card the size of cushions and try them out for size.

      If you do decide to get the paint brush out then perhaps paint out the two side walls first leaving the back wall as a feature wall.

      Miri D thanked keiblem
    • Wumi
      3 years ago

      I think the feature colour goes too far up the wall and the ceilings aren’t high so it’s overwhelming. I would reduce the height and place things on the wall above the sofa. Large mirror landscape mirror, shelves, artwork.


      A rough example -





      Miri D thanked Wumi
    • Sonia
      3 years ago
      last modified: 3 years ago

      My screen is showing a grey sofa, but it is pretty rubbish with colour! Even still the terracotta is overwhelming. I think the cheapest option is to paint over it, maybe in a much lighter, paler terracotta like F&B Setting Plaster. The curve of colour doesn’t do it for me either I would just paint the wall. Then you can dress it with natural wood, wicker and a nice rug.





      Miri D thanked Sonia
    • Jonathan
      3 years ago

      I’m sorry to tell you that I’m also don’t like the terracotta. I know it was supposed to be an on trend colour for last year but it feels really 80s and I didn’t like it then either.

      If it were my room I would paint the wall a neutral that goes with the sofa. I would be trying testers of Farrow and Ball James White, French Grey etc to find one that sits comfortably with the sofa. I would then get a rug and soft furnishings with a subdued red (as opposed to this terracotta which on my screen feels like an in your face orange).

      I would also be thinking about furniture placement BEFORE you build the window seat. Assuming you are going to put a tv in there it seems to me that the TV might be best placed opposite the window in which case the sofa (which will be undoubtedly more comfortable than the window bench) should go opposite. I would the put a smaller piece of furniture (perhaps an arm chair) where you have your sofa now. In my opinion if you don’t completely fill the space where your sofa is now your room will look bigger.

      I would also be tryin

      Miri D thanked Jonathan
    • Loki
      3 years ago

      Love the colour and love the way it’s been painted

      We have green walls and an orange sofa, but the sofa is placed in front of the white bay window, so it breaks up the colour.

      I would put a throw over the back cushions as a start; something neutral

      Miri D thanked Loki
    • Miri D
      Original Author
      3 years ago
      last modified: 3 years ago

      Hi everyone,

      thank you all so much for all your comments and thoughts, they are all appreciated and have been very interesting to read.

      I feel I didn't do myself a favour by taking the initial picture at night - which ultimately skewed the colours and I can see why you'd think the walls are orange and the sofa is grey. Purely for clarity, here are the actual colours in this room, taken from the websites rather than my snaps (wall paint, sofa, rug - left to right)


      @Riches Interiors, thank you very much, this was so helpful and provided some really great ideas for me to work with. I completely agree on the rug and as you can see in this post, it already is neutral and woven, so I was pleased to read this. We went for a circle because this is a very old cottage with the walls not being completely square, so we didn't want to draw the attention to them by placing a right-angled rug in here.


      @Sonia, I must say, I really like the setting plaster colour you've suggested. I am a little worried it would be too similar to our floors, but it looks lovely in the pictures you've attached. Definitely something to consider :)


      @Jonathan, great point with the furniture placement needing considering first, to avoid more headaches in the future :) As this is a guest room, there is no plan for a TV here and the sofa kind of needs to stay where it is, due to the size of it when it's made up into a bed.


      @Loki, thank you :) I really wish I could move the sofa in front of the bay window. We have a metal support beam running about 10cm off the floor level, across the bottom in the bay window though. It would be next to impossible to make a sofa bed work here.


      With all your suggestions in mind, I tried to put together a quick (graphically terrible, I apologise for that) example of what this could look like. These pieces are not definitive, I was just trying to establish if it is at all saveable in its current colours or if it absolutely needs a repaint. Happy to hear your thoughts on this one too :)



    • Sonia
      3 years ago

      Like all your accessories. That curve still looks rather odd though, sorry! Could it be painted straight like the rest of the room maybe? 😊

    • Miri D
      Original Author
      3 years ago

      @Sonia, thank you :) The curve definitely makes the placement of the accessories on the wall a bit trickier. Might have to be removed if it proves too difficult to work with.

    • Fiona Millar
      3 years ago

      Just another vote for the colour and I love the curve! Nice to see something a little different.

      Miri D thanked Fiona Millar
    • Miri D
      Original Author
      3 years ago

      @Fiona Millar :) thank you very much - this was very nice to read

    • Wumi
      3 years ago

      Looks great with all the accessories! Also a fan of the colour and the curve - I love interesting colour blocking.


      The windowsill would look great with a whole bunch of plants. I’d add in some some brassy/gold elements as well (e.g plant pot, ornament, picture frame).


      What are you thinking for window treatments? Linen Roman blinds maybe?


      Miri D thanked Wumi
    • PRO
      Riches Interiors
      3 years ago

      Love what you have come up with Miri! possible the shape of the mirror is not working but you are heading in the right direction, It looks great. try a bit more of a display like the gallery wall above the bed where the mirror is. Maybe add a big old mirror behind the sofa? Well done!

      Miri D thanked Riches Interiors
    • Jennifer Li
      3 years ago

      I love it. With the placement of all the bits and pieces I think the curve and colour works well. did you use software to do this? i am rubbish at the placement of finishing touches

      Miri D thanked Jennifer Li
    • Miri D
      Original Author
      3 years ago

      @Wumi, thank you :) there are definitely going to be many many plants in this room soon and I love brass so that might just happen too :)


      There already are pleated blinds in the windows - with a slight 'basket weave' pattern, which I'm really enjoying :)

    • Miri D
      Original Author
      3 years ago

      @Jennifer Li, thank you so much :) I know what you mean, I find the finishing touches so tricky to get right.


      I only used PowerPoint for this - there is a function which let's you remove the background from images, so I just used that & pasted various products on top of my original photo. It is not perfect but it is fairly quick and it helps to envisage how things work together or not.

    • Sarah Lockhart
      3 years ago

      I was apprehensive when I first saw the sofa against the terracotta walls, but with your anticipated accessories it looks great now, so go for it. I say keep the curve , its fun and different.

    • Juliet Docherty
      3 years ago

      I've seen terracotta work brilliantly with white carpets in mid century houses, and I do quite like it. For me, the reason I find it a bit unsettling is that when you look at the image, the curve on the white wall is the focal point, not the beautiful velvet sofa. This is because we see strong contrasts first and the sofa blends with the terracotta, whereas the orange and white curve is stealing the attention. I agree that a dirty pink might work or a olivey brown like Mouse's Back or something similar.

    • Lydia James
      3 years ago

      I think you have the makings of an awesome room there! You just need to make the curve look like it is meant to be there and not just an accident. You could think about adding a couple of paler, smaller colour blocks like the setting plaster and maybe bring a green in. See this for some inspiration :) https://www.audenza.com/blog/house-tour-retro-vibe-colourful-interiors/

    • weaselj
      3 years ago

      For me personally, I think the walls would look better toned down as it looks like they are draining the attention away from the beautiful sofa and accessories. Some of the colour way options that have been posted look stunning because the paler terracotta walls act as a backdrop to show off the stunning sofa and accessories. Against a softer background, pops of hot terracotta and chilly pepper and turquoise, bamboo and vivid green would look beautiful in patterns for cushions, throws, glass bottles, plants around the room as this would help to layer the colour shades to provide a depth that would showcase what’s in the room, rather than drawing the eye away from them to the walls.

    • Umi Sinha
      3 years ago

      I also think the terracotta toned down would work better but it could work as it is. I think your pictures are too small and bitty. You need a really big picture above the sofa - or maybe a wallpaper panel - maybe of something like bamboo or trees that combines the green and terracotta/brown in leaves and trunks/stems. It would be bold but could work. I also think maybe pull the rug out further into the room so it's not under the sofa so that end of the room doesn't look so full and rest empty, and and have another armchair or something to balance it at this end if there's room. Of maybe a tall plant.

    • Shani Botteau
      3 years ago

      I actually quite like the colour combination.. Its earthy and cosy. I think your decorative choices just need the correct balance of colour, shape and size.
      If the mirror is true to size perhaps have it landscape above the sofa to bounce light.. Or place a large weaved Marcrame hanging there in the lighter colours of the room. It would breakdown the mass block of terracotta.. Also maybe place the plants on a small side table with a bamboo chair on an angle where you have the mirror. Add a funky weaved cushion..
      Good luck

    • Megan
      3 years ago

      I like the colour combination! What, I think, makes it look jarring is the white above your terracotta. If you want to keep that effect could you repaint the white a sage green - like the cushion on your window seat - or a more chalky off-white?
      Great tip re PowerPoint! The mirror would work well horizontally and picture frames on rear wall with natural (rather than painted) frames would look great. Very bold and creative.

    • Joanna Biddolph
      3 years ago

      I have terracotta walls in my sitting room and plan to have either peacock or green sofas so we are on the same page! I am struggling a little with the curve - because I love straight lines - but the way it looks in the room you have accessorised shows it doesn't need to be changed. With the accessories I'd be bolder and put something large behind the sofa, not several pictures making a gallery wall - it looks a bit fussy. Or turn the whole wall into a gallery wall with some bigger pictures and some less big. Can you have a rectangular coffee table, too - rather than round? And the same with the rug - a rectangular one would be better I suspect. Overall, though, my view is stick with the colours! There is too much greige in our world and terracotta is such a warm, welcoming and cosy colour.

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