20 Brown Sofa Living Room Ideas
There are many ways to make your living room stand out. However, if you want to make a bold statement, the best way to do it is to use brown sofas as the main furniture.
Brown is a strong color and when paired with the right accessories and decor, your living room will stand out. This will show that you have an eye for design and are proud of it.
Earthy Color Palette
If you are a fan of an earthy color palette, then this brown sofa living room idea is perfect for you.
The brown sofa is accented by the dark brown coffee table and the brown and white area rug.
The white walls are the perfect backdrop for the earthy brown color palette and the greenery in the room.
The greenery adds a pop of color to the room and makes it feel fresh and inviting.
Neutral Accents
When you have a bold brown sofa in the room, you can use neutral accents to help tone it down.
In this living room, designed by Leclair Decor, the white walls and window treatments help to keep the focus on the brown sofa and the other colorful accents.
The neutral rug, coffee table, and floor poufs help to ground the room and keep the sofa from feeling too heavy.
Other neutral accents, like the plants and some of the throw pillows, add a little contrast without taking away from the sofa.
Textured Throws and Pillows
If you’re ever feeling like your sofa is just too brown, add some color and texture with pillows and throws. This will change the whole vibe of the room, and it’s a quick and easy fix!
This living room designed by Elizabeth Lawson Design features a gorgeous brown leather sofa with a variety of textured pillows and throws.
The different shades of brown, paired with the soft pink and blue, create a beautiful color palette.
Wooden Coffee Table
A wooden coffee table is a classic choice for a brown sofa living room. The wood adds a nice touch of warmth to the space, and it can be styled in many different ways.
You can go for a more traditional look with a solid wood coffee table, or opt for a more modern design with metal or glass accents.
No matter what style you choose, a wooden coffee table is a great way to bring some natural texture to your living room.
Leather Brown Sofa
Leather sofas are classic furniture pieces that can be found in many living rooms. This brown leather sofa is paired with a lighter brown leather chair to create a cozy conversation area.
The sofa is decorated with a variety of throw pillows that add texture and color to the space. The black, white, and brown color scheme is carried throughout the room, creating a cohesive and inviting space.
Green Plants
Green plants are a fantastic way to add color to a brown living room. You can choose a variety of plants and place them on the floor, a coffee table, or a shelf.
Here, a large plant is placed in a basket on the floor, and a smaller plant is placed on the coffee table. This is a great way to add some color and texture to the space.
Warm Lighting
The warm lighting in this living room by Heather Hilliard is the perfect complement to the warm colors throughout the space. The light brown sofa and area rug are brightened up by the light streaming in from the window, and the brass floor lamp and sconces add even more warmth to the space.
The gold accents in the room are even more noticeable thanks to the soft brown, cream, and white color scheme, and the pop of blue in the pillows adds a nice contrast.
Patterned Area Rug
If you’re not quite sure what to put on the floor in your living room, consider an area rug. This is a great way to add color, texture, and pattern to the space.
The brown sofa in this room is matched with a large area rug in the same color. The rug features a pattern of diamonds in various shades of blue, which helps to bring in the color of the sofa. A rug in a pattern is also a great way to hide dirt and stains.
Gallery Wall
Create a gallery wall of black-and-white photos and prints to hang above your brown sofa. This look is timeless and chic and is perfect for a more formal living room space.
Choose a variety of prints and photos in different sizes and styles to create your own gallery wall. Be sure to lay out the design on the floor before hanging anything to ensure you love the look.
Cozy Reading Nook
This living room has a cozy reading nook that’s perfect for curling up with a good book. The brown leather sofa is the perfect spot for a post-reading nap, too.
The built-in bookshelves and window seat are the stars of this space. The bookshelves are filled with books and decor, and the window seat is topped with comfy cushions and throw pillows.
Rustic Decor
Adding a brown sofa to your living room doesn’t mean you have to go all in with dark colors. If you love a light and airy feel, you can still make a brown sofa work in your space.
This living room, for example, features a brown leather sofa and a few other brown accents. However, the space is kept feeling light and bright thanks to the white walls and large windows. A jute rug, wood coffee table, and wood ceiling beams add warmth and texture to the room without darkening the space.
Metallic Accents
Metallic accents are a great way to elevate the look of your living room. In this space designed by 2LG Studio, the gold and silver accents add a touch of glamour to the room.
The brown sofa ties in well with the other earth tones in the room, like the rust-colored throw pillows and the beige rug. The sleek black coffee table and sideboard add a modern touch to the design.
Boho Style
The brown sofa in this living room designed by Arent & Pyke is the perfect foundation for a bohemian look. The warm leather material adds a cozy feel to the space, while the layered textiles and pops of green and blue keep things fresh and interesting.
A large area rug helps anchor the seating area and brings in even more color and pattern. And we love how the design team used a mix of pillows and throws to give the space a collected feel.
Modern Minimalist
A brown sofa can be the perfect starting point for a modern minimalist look. In this living room from The Designory, the sofa is the only piece of furniture with visible wood, which helps it stand out.
The sofa is flanked by a pair of black occasional chairs, and the coffee table is made of black metal and glass. The rug, artwork, and accessories are all in a soothing neutral color palette, which gives the room a cohesive look. And there’s not a throw pillow in sight.
Complementary Artwork
When you have a bold piece of artwork, it can be easy to feel like you need to design the room around it. But that’s not always the case. This room shows how you can use your favorite piece of art as inspiration for the color scheme in the room.
The bold, abstract painting above the sofa features a variety of colors, but the room is designed around the blue and brown tones in the art. The abstract shapes in the painting are echoed in the throw pillows on the sofa, and the blue is used as an accent color throughout the room.
Vintage Elements
Vintage decor is a great way to add character to your living room, and brown sofas are a great foundation for this look. This living room from @thevintagerugshop uses a brown leather sofa to create a vintage-inspired space with a modern twist.
The brown leather sofa is a classic choice for vintage and farmhouse-style rooms, but the modern silhouette of the sofa gives it a fresh update. The sofa is paired with a mix of vintage and modern decor, including a mid-century modern coffee table, a vintage rug, and a leather butterfly chair.
The vintage elements in this living room are balanced with modern and boho touches, like the black and white wall art and the pampas grass. The black and white color palette of the wall art is repeated throughout the room, adding a sense of cohesion to the space.
Multi-Toned Brown Scheme
This living room has been designed to use a variety of different tones of brown. The walls are a light, creamy brown, which is a great way to bring a light color into a room that is mostly made up of darker colors.
The brown sofa is a classic choice, and it has been paired up with a light brown area rug. The floor lamp is a darker brown, and the wood flooring is a medium brown.
It’s a great example of how you can use lots of different shades of brown in a room and it still looks cohesive.
Natural Fiber Rugs
Natural fiber rugs are a top choice for layering in living rooms with brown sofas. They add texture and are a great way to define the seating area in an open concept space.
Natural fiber rugs come in a variety of colors, but the most popular are jute and other neutral shades. They also come in different weaves, with some being softer than others. Check the rug’s description to make sure it will be comfortable on your feet.
If you want to add a pop of color to your living room, consider layering a natural fiber rug with a vintage or colorful option. The natural fiber rug will add texture and help the bolder rug stand out.
Contrasting Light Walls
When decorating with brown, it’s important to keep your wall color in mind. Light or white walls can make a living room feel larger, but if you’re not careful, they can also make a brown sofa look out of place.
In this living room, a colorful rug is used to break up the white space and add some contrast. The rug includes shades of brown and teal, which are used throughout the rest of the room to tie everything together.
Mix of Textiles
With a cozy mix of textiles, like the throw pillows and area rug in this living room by Studio McGee, a neutral color scheme feels anything but boring.
The key to mastering this look is to choose textiles that have a variety of weaves and textures. A chunky knit throw, a luxe velvet pillow, and a shag area rug bring warmth and dimension to the space.
Conclusion
Even if you have a small living room, a brown sofa can be incorporated. You can add a bright accent color to your brown living room, or you can go for a room that uses all different shades of brown. If you need help planning your dream living room, check out our post on how to plan a room.
We hope you have been inspired by these beautiful brown living room ideas. Let us know which one is your favorite in the comments below.
