30 Creative Tips for Covering & Dressing Up Your Sofa (1)

The sofa marks the conviviality of the living room. It also brings the cocooning touch, and because it is an imposing piece of furniture, its visual impact is strong. The centerpiece of the living room therefore deserves your attention.

1. Make the diagnosis before covering the sofa

make the diagnosis before covering the sofa (1)

Are you fed up with your sofa, but fed up with what? The question deserves to be well analyzed to make the right transformations of your sofa.

2. Cover with sofa covers

cover with sofa covers (1)

The idea is to very easily cover the sofa either to refresh it, or to opt for a more trendy color and better matched to the environment of the room, or to change your style, for example a natural, romantic spirit, 70s …

3. Cover the sofa to protect it

Cover the sofa to protect it (1)

The sofa protector plays roughly the same role as the cover on the makeover side, but usually shows the original sofa upholstery in places. As a bonus, it has the advantage of being designed specifically to protect the coating (pets, children, etc.) and of being easily washable.

4. Cover with a sofa throw

Cover with a sofa throw (1)

The sofa throw is another formula, even easier to cover the sofa. It offers a smoother and softer look than the slipcover or sofa protector.

5. Superimpose the layers

superimpose the layers (1)

It is the big fashion of the moment: to add one, or better, two or more comforters on the sofa . Warm effect guaranteed for a cocooning lounge. We choose them plain or patterned, we play on the colors to create a harmony with the rest of the decor.

6. Cover the sofa with cushions

Cover the sofa with cushions (1)

It’s one of the first things that comes to mind when giving a sofa a makeover: adding or changing cushions. The recipe is particularly effective: inexpensive, especially if you only buy the covers, warm, and very decorative. Basically, you have nothing to lose, and everything to gain!

7. We bet on plaids

We bet on plaids (1)

Like cushions, throws have the almost magical power to change the look of the sofa. They are plethora of all decoration brands.

8. Play on seasonality

play on seasonality (1)

They are changed according to the season: cozy for the winter, flowery, colorful or marine for the summer.

9. Dare to wear faux fur & faux animal skins

Dare to wear faux fur & faux animal skins (1)

Faux fur is still all the rage this year, we take the opportunity to create a cozy and cocooning interior.

10. Decorate with trimmings

Decorate with trimmings (1)

Ties, piping, fringes… The passementerie offers various very decorative products for furnishings. Fringes can hide feet you don’t like , while also bringing in the trendy Art Deco look. Contrasting colored piping creates graphic lines of modern spirit.

11. Customize the legs of the sofa

Customize the legs of the sofa (1)

An operation easier to perform, but the result of which is sometimes surprising. Worn sofa legs are a bit like old shoes: the killer detail, which we see like the nose in the middle of the face! So get your brushes!

12. Dye the fabric or the leather

dye the fabric or the leather (1)

But yes ! It may seem a lot more risky or complicated than painting a structural element . However, today there are specific products that users are delighted with. For leather, the paint is very covering, it can also be aged .

13. Change the place of the sofa

Change the place of the sofa (1)

It is a choice or an obligation, depending on the configuration of the premises. But also according to the aesthetics offered by the back of the sofa. 

14. Play with the paintings in the living room

play with the paintings in the living room (1)

If your space is very open and the free-standing sofa is a transitional element, your back will need to be treated. If the sofa leans against a wall, keep in mind that the backdrop against which it is placed plays an essential role . It can either help to enhance it, or on the contrary to make it more discreet.

15. Hide the sofa on the supporting wall

Hide the sofa on the supporting wall (1)

The color of the supporting wall behind the sofa can enhance it or, conversely, visually weaken its presence. It contributes in all cases to the balance of the decoration of the living room.

16. We take into account the visual impact

We take into account the visual impact (1)

Similar to color and paint, wallpaper designs can swallow the visual impact of the sofa if they are strong.

17. Forget the sofa with panoramic wallpaper

Forget the sofa with panoramic wallpaper (1)

To hide the sofa in the living room decor, we put here on the panoramic wallpaper!

18. On the contrary, we make it stand out

On the contrary, we make it stand out (1)

On the contrary, fine patterns whose colors echo those of the sofa itself or of the cushions, will create harmony without encroaching on the presence of the sofa.

19. Light up the sofa

Light up the sofa (1)

As in the whole house, the lighting of the living room area is both essential and sometimes difficult to achieve. In the environment of the sofa, a floor lamp is of course very useful. Like the coffee table, it also gives style to the living room. But depending on the desired effect, we will choose either to focus the light beam on the sofa itself, or to direct it towards the background, or even towards a decorative object. Unless the luminaire itself is the most attractive object of the decor …

You can also create beautiful effects without a floor lamp, with one or two table lamps. In this case, the background can be relegated to the supporting role, while plaids, cushions or knickknacks will be the stars of the setting. Unless you put the lamps behind the sofa.

20. Look away from the sofa with a pendant light

Look away from the sofa with a pendant light (1)

The pendant light catches the eye in the living room, thus reducing the visual impact of the sofa that we are trying to cover or hide.

21. Decorate the walls around the sofa

Decorate the walls around the sofa (1)

Tables, mirrors, hanging weaving… Placed above the sofa, so at eye level, they catch the eye. They are therefore chosen according to the desired effect. Discreet if you want to emphasize the sofa, more conspicuous otherwise. We can also seek balance with a trendy wall decoration to constitute an overall warm setting.

22. Hang mirrors above the sofa

Hang mirrors above the sofa (1)

An accumulation of mirrors to decorate the living room wall, and no longer pay attention only to the sofa.

23. Reinforce the usability of the sofa

reinforce the usability of the sofa (1)

Adding a seating element can transform the look of the sofa . The effect is particularly significant if the sofa is too small and seems to have been placed there by chance, in an unsuitable space.

24. Harmonize with complementary foundations

Harmonize with complementary foundations (1)

An armchair, an ottoman, matching or on the contrary in an offbeat style, a chaise longue or an additional module of the same model as the sofa give strength to the decor and increase the atmosphere of conviviality.

25. Play with the carpets

Play with the carpets (1)

The rug brings a touch of warmth to the living room area , but not only that. Its size, color or design, more or less marked, play a role very similar to that of wall decorations . With which, of course, it forms a whole , the sofa being visually the transitional element.

26. Modulate with the coffee table

Modulate with the coffee table (1)

She is inevitably part of the game. Like all the elements that surround the sofa, we rely on its more or less strong impact to modulate that of the sofa as desired.

27. Vegetate the atmosphere

Vegetate the atmosphere (1)

Plants, in touch or in mass. They naturally find their place in the living room where they bring a natural and lively touch to the room. Their great advantage is that depending on the desired effect, they can be used very lightly or on the contrary in “virgin forest” mode. The look of the sofa is transformed in any case.

28. Accessorize with XXL objects

Accessorize with XXL objects (1)

To catch the eye. And that’s good, because the oversized style is particularly in vogue this year. Maximalism is part of the decor trend for this year. A huge fake cactus, a giant apple on a pedestal table, a monumental vase, a huge floor lamp or an XXL pendant light, and here is the sofa that disappears, while remaining very present. The stores also offer discount of decoration, accessible and XXL, to place next to your couch in the living room.

29. We live … without a sofa!

We live ... without a sofa! (1)

And finally, in the age of minimalism, we can ask ourselves the question: do we really need a sofa? And if your answer is no, how can you create an inviting living room without the traditional sofa? It’s possible ! It is even a real trend, to bring closer to the wave of minimalism. We call it “furniture free living”. Clearly, the decrease in the number of pieces of furniture blows a wind of freedom, space, openness in the house.

The fact remains that despite everything, the comfort and atmosphere of an interior can suffer from the absence of certain pieces of furniture , in particular the sofa. Not to mention the practical aspects of their presence : it will undoubtedly be difficult to make the children’s grandmother sit on the floor!

30. Replace the sofa with ottomans

Replace the sofa with ottomans (1)

Poufs deserve a place in this list of options to replace a sofa. There are simple models that can also serve as a coffee table or storage, or XXL models to chill in the living room.

Bonus: Stack the sleeping pads

Stack the sleeping pads (1)

A stack of floor mattresses and cushions, a sufficient number of armchairs and ottomans, visually lighter than the sofa, can replace that sofa that annoys you.

However, let’s keep the measure and let’s not forget first that the ergonomics of the seats is essential for our health . We can like the idea of ​​a beautiful mattress placed on the floor itself that would replace your old shabby sofa. But when it’s time to watch your favorite TV series or to cocoon on Sunday afternoon with a good book, our vertebrae are likely to quickly feel an unsuitable arrangement …

The comfort is also involved heavily in usability . And in the living room, it matters! It is easy to imagine that our friends will extend and multiply their visits to you all the more if they know that they will be well installed in a soft sofa.