How to Style a Blue Sofa

A blue sofa is a hot trend at the moment, for good reason. They instantly inject personality and creativity into your space. There are also so many different ways you can utilize a blue sofa as a design piece: to create luxury, to add a bold pop of color, to create a dark, cozy ambiance. Plus, blue is a timeless fan-favorite color for people of all ages. Whether you go with a rich, saturated blue or a soft, playful blue, a blue sofa completely enhances the mood and ambiance of a space. Here are 7 ways to style a blue sofa!

1. Go Big or Go Home

Design by Garden Variety Design.

Design by Todd Alexander Romano.

A huge trend right now is creating spaces entirely with one color. Blue is a great choice because it is gender-neutral, transitions well into different seasons, and is perfectly mellow — it’s not too loud or bright but it isn’t dull or boring, either. This design approach envelopes you in this delicious color, instantly warming your heart. Plus, having an entirely blue room is sure to be a show-stopping feature of the house. In the projects above, the blue sofas coordinate perfectly with the blue walls. Warm wood floors help to break up the blue. ProHINT: Be sure to introduce warmth into a blue room by incorporating warm metals, rugs, and floors.

2. Comfy Casual Blue Sofa

There’s something about a blue couch that is incredibly comforting. Going with an upholstered blue couch makes a space feel casual and laidback, perfect for informal spaces and family-friendly homes. An upholstered blue sofa is also a great alternative to lighter sofas because they’re very forgiving of stains! ProHINT: When going with an upholstered blue sofa, it is that much more important to accessorize with throws and pillows to break up the blue. Be thoughtful with your accessories — do you want to reinforce the “comfy” look of an upholstered blue sofa, or do you want to elevate it with more luxurious materials?

Design by Summer Thornton Design.

In this colorful and sophisticated mid-century home, we paired a Room & Board sectional with side tables from Dot & Bo and a chartreuse armchair from ABC Home. The blue sectional, paired with the ottoman and rug, creates a comfy ambiance. Details like the throw, pillows, and paintings help to cohesively tie the blues and greens together. Design by Decor Aid.

The blue sofa below was custom-made by Moss Studio. Blue is a wonderful neutral for a family space — and the dark color can hide a multitude of sins.  When choosing a sofa, it is important to know all the ways it will be used. Kids? Crypton or solution-dyed acrylic fabrics. Lounging and casual television-watching? A little bit deeper, a softer seat cushion, soft and low arms for resting heads comfortably and an all-down blend back cushion with lots of pillows so that every member of the family can get completely comfortable. Cocktails and grown-up entertaining? 36” depth max, the pitch of the back should be a little more formal and a tight-backed or tufted upholstery style works well. Design by Carolyn Rebuffel.

Image credit: Pinterest.

3. Luxurious Velvet Blue Sofa

Image credit: Pinterest.

Design by Amy Kartheiser Design.

There’s nothing quite like the luxurious feel of a velvet sofa. While you can’t go wrong with any velvet sofa — pink, green, any velvet sofa is stunning! — blue is a wonderfully moody choice that instantly elevates a space. In this classic home, the velvet blue sofa is truly a focal point in this white palette. It instantly plays up the white accent chairs because of the contrast it provides. Plus, velvet adds visual interest to the sofa because it is a material with lots of dimension — a great option when you’re going for a large sectional! ProHINT: Use a fluffy white pillow or throw on a velvet blue sofa for an instantly luxurious impact.

4. Cool Curves

Design by Eve Robinson Associates.

Design by Jen Talbot Design.

The curved silhouette of this velvet blue sofa is truly what makes it memorable. Opting for a curvy blue sofa is a great way to soften a space, especially a living space with lots of hard surfaces and harsh lines. Its interesting shape adds visual interest to a room and makes it appear more extravagant. While blue sofas can be very heavy pieces — sofas are already typically visually heavy and the blue color enhances the amount of space a sofa takes — opting for a curvy silhouette helps to make this piece of living room furniture appear to have a smaller footprint. We LOVE how classic and regal this velvet blue sofa looks! ProHINT: Since curvy blue sofas typically have a lower back, keep pillows minimal and make sure that they’re scaled nicely.

5. Best of Baby Blue

Image credits: Dixie Sofa from Loaf.

Design by Amy Kartheiser Design.

Design by Summer Thornton Design.

Baby blue is too cute of a color. Let’s be honest: we’ve all claimed baby blue as our favorite color at one point in our lives. A baby blue sofa is a fun twist to your typical blue sofa. They are great for light spaces, and we all know how on-trend all-white palettes are these days!

ProHINT: If you opt for a lighter blue sofa, go for muted colors and pastel shades. Lavender, cream/beige, mossy greens, and silvery grays are great complementary colors. You can also go for lots of baby pinks to create a pastel palette — we love how the icy blue Dixie sofa from Loaf looks against the blush tones! Of course, white is a fool-proof color to pair with a light blue sofa. As you can see in the projects above and below, designers opted for white cushions, rugs, walls, and lampshades.

Design by Summer Thornton Design.

6. Crazy for Coastal

A fun variant of the blue sofa is the coastal blue sofa. Here, a patterned blue sofa is the perfect addition to this casual, laidback space. The marine tones perfectly mimic the sea and sky in this beachy house. Patterned sofas are great for larger spaces like this one because they don’t look busy in large, expansive spaces with tons of natural light. Design by Summer Thornton Design.

7. Rustic Surprise

Design by Jeff Troyer.

Design by Tilton Fenwick.

Although velvet sofas are typically used in more luxurious spaces, they can also be used in more rustic spaces for a fun and whimsical effect. They are a playful surprise and enhances the warmth of wood or brick walls and flooring. ProHINT: Pair dark sofas with warm colors such as a dark red or burnt orange to create an appealing contrast. To tone down a blue sofa, especially the shine of a velvet blue sofa in a rustic setting, pair the sofa with organic materials like jute rugs, accessories, and window curtains. Metal or dark bronze accessories, like mirrors, frames, lamps, side tables, and even candlesticks and paperweights, will also pair nicely with a dark blue sofa. Lastly, a rustic coffee table will help to tie in a blue sofa with the rest of the space.

Design by Crowell Interiors.