Today’s color dilemma…
We recently purchased this tangerine sofa and wanted to know what would be the best color to paint the walls? – smoov22 (picture on roomvues.com)
Kate suggests…
My first thought is that what probably attracted you to this sofa was the bold tangerine color and interesting shape so play up those features.
I would make your sofa the focal point in a room decorated in rich neutrals as shown below.
A mid-tone warm beige would look great with accents of cream and either deep chocolate almost black brown.
You could also use black but to keep it up-to-date use a soft black; think of how black appears if wood is stained rather than painted or when painted has an aged look.
I would find a tan that blends with the tan in your carpet. It appears that the only light in the room is from the sliding doors so I am suggesting a color a bit lighter than shown above since with limited light it will appear darker.
It is difficult to tell from the photo exactly the color of the carpet but a couple colors that you might want to consider– Valspar Churchill Hotel Maple #2008-8B, Sherwin-Williams Sand Dollar #SW-6099, or Benjamin Moore Brookline Beige #HC-47 or Shaker Beige #HC-45.
I would not over use orange within the room but let the sofa carry the color and only show hints of orange in the accessories, artwork or other elements.
If you want to add hues other than the neutrals I would suggest selecting colors that are closely related to the tangerine color. Maybe go a bit deeper or more gold but basically stay with color familes that are adjacent on the color wheel as shown above.
The room below is from Pottery Barn although an entirely different style shows orange used with closely related accent colors on the walls and in the artwork.
The most successful color schemes balance the warm colors of orange, yellow or golds with touches of cooler colors such as blue or green. You don’t need too much but a few items can give your room the feel of being professionally decorated.
The glass top on your coffee table will help balance the warm palette with a bit of cool since this will read slightly blue green. You could also use silver for metallic objects rather than gold, which will also work well with your more contemporary style.
Live green plants add a natural element to the room and add contrast both in color and texture.
Resources:
- See the reader’s sofa in the Makeover Gallery at RoomVues.com
- The top two sofas shown are from Furnitory
- The bottom sofa is from Pottery Barn
- Type in your zip code to find your local Valspar retailer
- Type in your zip code to find your local Sherwin-Williams
- Type in your zip code to find your local Benjamin Moore retailer
**Please note: Due to individual computer monitor limitations, colors seen here may not accurately reflect the paint colors. Please refer to an actual sample of the paint for an accurate rendition of the color.
Have an idea of what might work with the tangerine sofa? Please share it with us in the comments.
