Should The Couch And Chairs Match?

When decorating your living room or family room, some of the most exciting purchases you will make are your couches and chairs. When it comes to buying them, however, your excitement might be accompanied by a little trepidation. Knowing whether or not you need to buy all identical furniture or how to match furniture from different sets can be intimidating. We've done the research on this topic so you don't have to!

Your couches and chairs can all be part of matching sets, but they certainly don't have to be. You can mix and match your furniture to achieve a very effective and attractive aesthetic that fits your personality perfectly.

While that may sound easy in theory, in practice it can be much harder, so keep reading for a few examples of the different options available to you, and we'll answer some additional questions you may have.

Couches And Chairs

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When it comes to decorating, there are very few hard and fast rules that must be obeyed. However, there are many different guidelines, so it can be hard to figure out which ones are guidelines and which ones are merely opinions. Here are a couple of solid tips to help you out while you try and plan your new setup!

Pick a specific aesthetic or decor style to work around. Wood? Metal? Leather or cloth? Minimalism or industrial design? This will help you narrow your options down to specific kinds of furniture and decor that you can incorporate.
Try and decide on a color palette. Once you know which colors you want as a part of your room, it will be easier to select the couches and chairs, whether they're part of a matching set or not.
Consider the available prices and corresponding quality. How long will your furniture last? Does it come with a warranty?
Last but most certainly not least, pick your furniture because you like it, not because it's trendy or popular. Overall, your room should be a haven and a place of comfort.

Matched Set Examples

In the end, you will essentially end up with two options. Are you going to purchase matched sets of furniture, or will you mix and match different kinds? Let's go over some of your options for both categories so you can figure out which option best suits your personal aesthetic.

1. Off-White And Wood

These matching couches are a great example of how cohesive a set of furniture can look together. These white couches with their different brown and white accent pillows not only match each other but the other decor in the room as well, like the coffee table and the painting on the back wall.

2. Matched Set

If you're wanting to make sure everything matches, you can't go wrong buying a matched set. This low profile light grey couch and love seat are accented nicely by throw pillows that incorporate and complement other colors included in the surrounding decor.

3. Toned Down

This matching chair, couch, and love seat showcase just how put together your room can appear when you use a completely matching set of furniture. The plush cushions and curved armrests help offset the harsh, bleak lines that the grey walls give the room, while the accent pillows help tie together the rug and the art on the wall.

4. A Plethora Of Pleather

The use of leather, whether real or fake, is highly debated in the world of interior design. How much is too much? As you can see here, you can certainly have an all-leather ensemble complete with couches and chairs. Paired with other, darker furniture like a coffee table and bookshelf, the look is complete.

Leather Couch

Click here to view this couch on Amazon.

How Do You Mix And Match Couches And Chairs?

Not sure how to best mix and match your furniture? Let's go over a few different tips you can use when shopping for different chairs and couches.

Incorporate your personality. Mixing and matching is the perfect way to incorporate something that is uniquely you.
Select a color palette. If you're working with solid colors, this will be easy! You will also have options like stripes and plaids. Knowing what you're looking for before you go shopping will help you narrow down your products.
Mix up patterns and textures. A brown leather couch with a plaid woven chair? Those two things, while very different, could fit perfectly into a farmhouse aesthetic. Feel free to experiment!

1. Different Colors

Each item of furniture in this room is not only a different color but a different shape and style as well. One chair is a dark grey and the other a creamy yellow, while the couch is a light grey. What makes it work? Each item of furniture has something in common with the others. In each of the designs, wood is incorporated in some way, while the throw pillows incorporate the different shades that are being used.

2. Two-Tone

This brown and burnished-gold room just overflows with character. A rug that compliments the room as a whole, complete with throw blankets and accent pillows that highlight both main pieces of furniture bring the entire room together. Something like this would be hard to pull together using a matched set of furniture!

Throw Blanket

Click here to view this throw blanket on Amazon.

3. Little Changes

You don't have to make every change a big one! It's very easy to mix and match furniture in subtle ways that very obviously complement each other. This large sectional provides all the seating that a couch and loveseat would normally provide, and the chairs are simple frames that would fit in with a large variety of furniture.

How Should You Arrange A Couch And Chairs?

There are several ways to arrange a couch and chairs. We'll show you some of the most popular methods.

1. Front And Center

When placing your furniture, you should consider where you will be facing when you are sitting down. Will it be easy to have conversations with the others sitting down? What are you trying to face? Many people will pick an object to center their furniture around, such as a coffee table or a TV. Placement of a couch in front of the window is always a popular choice as well.

2. Section Off Space

In this room, the person who arranged the furniture clearly values conversation, as the furniture has been arranged to accommodate guests. If you have the room, furniture doesn't have to be pushed up against walls. It can actually be used to section off different parts of the room instead of using walls.

Can You Mix Leather And Fabric Furniture In The Same Room?

Absolutely! When it comes to mixing and matching furniture, using leather and fabric together is essentially just mixing up the available textures and patterns, both of which are fantastic ideas! Here are a few examples to give you some ideas.

1. Neutrals

Most leather furniture comes in shades of brown or black, and both of these options are neutral colors. This means that they are easy to match with! The white cream color of the chairs perfectly complements the brown leather couch.

2. Blue And Brown

Using throw pillows is a great way to give aspects of one couch to another. The brown leather throw pillows on the blue couch help bring things full circle!