Throw pillows for brown couch: colors, patterns, materials, and styles

hackrea / May 25, 2021

0 favorites

346 views

Couches in brown tones are a kind of universal solution for both classic and modern design. At the same time, designers know firsthand that brown is one of the most challenging colors for any palette. The reason for its ambiguity lies in the incredibly complex fusion of subtones in its different shades. Because of this, it is tough to determine not only the color temperature of your chosen tone but also its “behavior” depending on the lighting and combination with other colors.

At the same time, it can hardly be denied that a well-chosen brown sofa makes the most pleasant impression. In certain shades of this beautiful color, nobility, respectability, homeliness, and the desire to warm the surrounding environment are felt. So if you still consider a brown couch as the central element of furnishing a living room or sitting area, take the color and texture of the upholstery as seriously as possible – and decorative pillows will do the rest perfectly. Let’s take a closer look at what throw pillows will be a great addition to a couch in brown tones.

Why it is worth complementing the brown couch with throw pillows: here are the arguments.

We will not argue with the fact that a quality brown couch can be good on its own. So is it worth spending time looking for and selecting additional decorative elements? Believe me, it’s worth it – and we’ll be happy to tell you why.

It helps to create a complete and cozy interior. The brown sofa does not always provide the necessary coziness. It would seem that it is enough to buy an elegant or, on the contrary, a relaxed and soft model – and it will be pleasant to be in the room. However, an unfortunate mistake with the intensity or shade of brown – and the atmosphere becomes unnecessarily cool, austere, and even slightly gloomy. Throw pillows add texture and volume – and, therefore, visual warmth.
Hassle-free accent. Regardless of the depth and gradation of tone, brown couch upholstery becomes the perfect tone for bright and rich colors and unusual expressive patterns. Just a few spectacular decorative cushions are enough to solve a severe interior problem.
Integration into style. Modern sofas are mostly neutral in terms of design – and brown turns most of them into a kind of blank sheet on which you can depict anything you want. So, add bright burlap pillows – and a brown couch becomes the perfect furniture for a loft. Throw some accessories with shiny sewing and sequins on the couch, and art deco fans will appreciate the precision. Take a closer look at fur and knitwear and enjoy the flawless hygge style.
Easy changes. Thanks to accent pillows, you can change the seating area’s look at least every month, and each time your brown sofa will look different. At the same time, it is entirely unnecessary to experiment only with color. Texture, shape, size – the number of pillow compositions on a brown couch tends to infinity.

However, there are models of couches that seem to be reasonably self-sufficient. This statement is especially true for the famous classic Chesterfield sofas with brown leather upholstery, wide-rounded armrests, and capitonné pattern. Such products do not require additional decor, but if you still want to add charm-filled details to the recreation area, choose expensive, custom-made throw pillows – cheap cushions are strongly discouraged here.

Throw pillows for a brown sofa: selection tips and rules

As with any couch color, spontaneity when choosing throw pillows to match brown furniture is far from the best tactic. Even if you have selected a very simple sofa in the spirit of minimalism, you will not be able to grab everything you like in the store and randomly scatter accessories over your couch.

In fact, the brown palette is extremely capricious to the colors and textures that are in direct contact with it. Therefore you will have to proceed a little more carefully when choosing suitable pillows for a couch with upholstery in any shade of brown. The rules for selecting accessories, in this case, are by no means secret, and you can easily use them:

Feel free to use bright and light shades. This is especially true for cushions for a dark brown couch, for which colorful throw pillows will provide an exquisite and casual look.
Consider the texture of the fabric. Below we will talk in more detail about materials for throw pillows for a brown sofa. However, looking ahead, let’s say: it is the properties of fabrics that help integrate furniture into a particular interior, and therefore do not take this aspect lightly.
Estimate the size of the sofa and the size of the pillows. So, there can be no more than four of them on three-seater couches – both different and the same. For small two-seater models, three decorative cushions are enough, and you can determine the number of accent pillows for huge straight and corner sofas based on the size. If you want to add more accessories, use smaller ones.
Symmetry is fundamental. If you use multiple colors of pillows or combine monochrome accessories with patterned decor, try to place them at a certain distance from each other, creating a symmetrical and balanced composition. Of course, this rule is valid for a couch of any color – however, brown as a powerful background for bright accents is incredibly demanding for this.
Experiment with shapes. A brown couch is by no means a hindrance to experimenting with throw pillows of various shapes – round, square, bolsters, or ordinary rectangular ones. The optimal solution, in this case, is a combination of one or two forms within one sofa to create a revitalizing, but by no means excessive, accent.
Don’t be afraid of catchy decisions. Brown is a color that is exceptionally enthusiastic about any shine and bright details. Silk and satin embroidery, rhinestones, and sequins – throwing whimsical reflections on the brown couch, the decor allows your furniture to look more effective and elegant.

What color throw pillows go with a brown couch?

Before we talk about throw pillows’ colors, which have every chance of creating a great partnership with a brown sofa, it is worth talking about options that will be one hundred percent hit. In this case, we are talking about three groups of colors:

Additional. These colors are located next to each other on the color wheel. In the case of brown, these are orange and red. Depending on the upholstery’s shade, you can use both soft and muted tones and bright and rich tones of these two colors.
Color triad. A triad is a combination of contrasting colors equidistant from the color wheel. For brown, green, and blue become partners in the trio – and we will talk about the selection of their variations for couch upholstery a little later.
Color tetrad. This is usually the name for the colors that are distant from each other on the color wheel so that the points in their sectors form a regular geometric figure – a square or rectangle. With two pairs of analog and two pairs of complementary combinations, you can quickly achieve dramatic contrast or create a lovely accent color. For cushions for a brown couch, choose mustard yellow, blue, and turquoise – these colors are the ones that make up a TETRAD with shades of coffee and chocolate.

So, on what colors of decorative pillows to focus? If you don’t really want to think for a long time, we have already decided. And now – let’s talk more in detail about other popular colors.

White

The combination of white pillows and a brown sofa looks great in most cases. It was not by chance that we made this reservation: in fact, not every white is combined with brown.

So, designers strongly recommend avoiding dazzling and cold shades that can make a brown background too strict and unfriendly. You can reduce the risk by choosing throw pillows with a velvet or fur texture or choosing warmer, softer tones of white – ivory, jasmine, or gardenia.

Another way to make your brown couch even more stylish is to choose cushions with black and white prints for it. The balance of dark and light, clothed in a spectacular and fashionable design, can turn the couch into the model of the year!

Grey

Brown and gray are known to be very friendly to each other, and therefore you can safely use them in combination with each other. The only caveat is to avoid the dark gray pillows on the dark brown couch: you don’t need extra gloom. As a last resort, choose satin textures and do not hesitate on accessories with rhinestones and sequins patterns.

Beige and cream

Accent pillows of this color are a much more practical solution than white ones. You can try accessories in different shades of cream or combine plain pillows with patterned options. The result will delight you: you don’t want to get up from such a couch as long as possible.

Brown

Brown to brown can turn out to be a pretty good attempt if you show your taste and imagination. Match cappuccino-colored throw pillows to your chocolate sofa or find exquisite mushroom-colored accessories for caramel-colored furniture. Combine embroidery and elegant patterns like ikat or damascus with monochrome. With the right approach, you can create a harmonious composition without any contrast.

Blue

We talked about the relationship between brown and blue within the color wheel earlier. We can only add a little advice: try to choose bright and dusty tones of blue for a dark couch, light and positive for a light one. The whole gamut is at your disposal – from turquoise and periwinkle to waterloo and sea blue.

Green

By playing with the shades of green pillows, you can achieve a wide variety of results. So, accessories of emerald and pine needles color – falling into classic luxury, shades of mint and sage – into exquisite modernity.

Yellow

Yellow cushions for a brown sofa are an extraordinary warming move. You are practically unlimited in the choice of shades; both warm and saturated and cooler ones will suit you. Another nice plus is the ability to combine them with orange and red accessories. This will make your sitting area look incredibly positive and refreshing.

Purple

There is a stereotype that brown is not very friendly with purple. However, the truth is in the details: avoid dark, bright, and saturated colors, and everything will turn out just fine. Your choice of color for the throw pillows is lavender, mauve, lilac, periwinkle, amethyst, and pansies.

Metallic

The gloss of fabrics with a smooth surface or a variety of sequins favorably sets off the brown couch, giving the furniture an elegant, to some extent even luxurious look. Gold, brass, and copper will be a fantastic option – steel and silver are rarely used, because these tones “cool” the brown color, making it more severe and austere.

As for the prints, their choice in the case of a brown couch depends on the style of the interior and your wishes. It can be paisley and geometry, plants and flowers, inscriptions and abstractions – you can be sure that there are no prohibitions whatsoever.

Materials for decorative pillows for a brown sofa: what to choose

Depending on the upholstery’s shade and fabric, you can combine the brown couch with decorative cushions in a wide variety of materials. Among the most popular:

burlap and flax;
smooth synthetics;
fake fur;
jacquard and tapestry;
flock, corduroy, and velvet;
knitted fabric.

Cushions for brown couch: Conclusions + Photo Gallery

The selection of accent pillows for a brown sofa is a fascinating process. Feel free to try different options within the designers’ framework and do not be afraid of mistakes: in the end, this decoration option is the least expensive.