Renting a new apartment and need ideas for living room furniture

sophie8695 · 2025-05-21T18:38:28+00:00

There was an error rendering this rich post.

Hi! I'm moving to a new apartment (small) at the end of June and am struggling to figure out how to furnish the living room (boy/girl decor). Here are screenshots of the living room with staged furniture, but I'm trying to avoid a white/beige couch because of constant upkeep and staining (lived experience). I've also attached a CGI version of the living room. In addition, I have to choose a sleeper sofa for when family comes over and also hope to add an accent chair. Please help with overall color scheme. How would you decorate this LR? What color sofa should I get? What color should the other furniture be? The rug? I usually like a modern look but with pops of color, or a staple color piece. Thanks!

Find more posts tagged with

Apartment

Modern

Mid-Century Modern

Living Room

NYC

Comments

Zephy

I love color questions! This is my favorite thing about decorating. Looks like you have a clean slate here — a neutral shell (wood floors, white walls), so you can really do anything you like. So, what do you like?

My suggestions are:

Don't think you have to pick certain "acceptable" colors for couches or walls or whatever. If you're ho hum about a color but think it's how things should be done, you'll still feel ho hum about it on your wall or sofa. If you pick a color you think is pretty, it will be pretty on the wall or sofa too.
We have a lot more practice picking colors for clothing than we do for homes, since we choose clothing every day. So think about your sofa color as if it were a pair of slacks or a skirt, and think what kind of tops and jewelry you'd pair with it. Sofas are often neutral colors (because they're large and you hope to keep them for years and have them work in many different homes), sort of like jeans or trousers. What do you like to wear with your jeans — a white T? plaid flannel? black cashmere? red shirt? floral blouse? You'll probably like those kinds of colors and fabrics in your decor too.
Shortcut — find some object with multiple colors that you think is pretty, like a glass vase, a painting, a scarf, a rug (bonus points if you'll actually use it in the room). Then match your decor to the colors in the object. For example, you could paint the walls the lightest color, put the darker and medium colors on the furniture, and use the brightest colors as accents (pillows, lampshades).

Have fun! I think once you've made 1 decision, other things will fall in place around it. And don't feel like you have to buy everything at once and be "done." Take your time and figure out what you need and what you like as you go. Some people say you should live in a place for a year before you start to decorate it. You need some basic stuff to start (place to sleep, place to eat and work, places to store your stuff), but after that see how things feel and decide what you need slowly!

Have fun!

heyjudith

I like Zephy's comment. Don't be in a rush, and don't feel like there is some rule you have to follow. Take accurate measurements of the space/s a couch could possibly go - this is vital, as most couches are HUGE. I actually went with what they call an "apartment-sized" sofa, and it's large enough to stretch out on. It's an oatmeal colored Chesterfield. Since your space is small, you must take care to acquire pieces that are of the right scale for the room. There are plenty of options for pull-out sofas; some very pretty ones that I have been seeing lately come in colors and a velvety upholstery. Pick a color you like, and your rug and other decor can take shape accordingly. To get ideas, go to Pinterest and enter "navy velvet sleeper sofa," (or whatever color you like) and see what comes up. You can do this with different colors and begin to get an idea of how a certain piece and a certain color will look in the room, as well as how others have paired sofas with other furniture. Whether or not you end up with a light-colored piece, treat it with Vectra to help keep it clean. Very best wishes to you in your new apartment, and have fun putting it all together!