We just moved into a house - and had medium to dark hardwoods installed. We have existing dark furniture (espresso colored) media cabinet, side tables, and accents like frames etc.

My question is this....we don't know if a brown leather couch will be too much BROWN in our family room. Is it brown overload? Or should we get the black leather couch?!?! So torn and need advice - this is keeping me awake at night ;) I know we can use color accents - but wondering if too much brown is a bad or good thing. The black couch would be a bit starker/colder - but at least it would break up the brown.

THANKS!!! I'll try and post pics.

(a little history...need a leather couch since baby is on the way and don't want to deal with microfiber or cotton for cleanup. Also, don't like light color leather. So only choice is chocolate brown or black leather couch)

BTW, this is definitely not something to lose sleep over....war, hunger, disease, suffering, sure....brown sofa, not so much.

I do think a brown or black sofa would be overload on darkness and it will eventually drive you nuts! Not even throw pillows will lighten up the room.

Can you show a picture of the room?

Annie - Is your paint color in that room Philadelphia Cream? If not, can you share the color? Is your trim white or cream? The room is light and very pretty!

I'll post pics later. Does anyone have instructions on how to post pics...sorry, i'm new to this.

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

My living room is a dark brown leather sectional, dark brown hardwood and various other beige shades and textures mixed in. We love the room. I should add that the room has white cabinetry and gets plenty of light, so it doesn't ever feel too dark.

The walls are BM Wilmington Tan, the ceiling is BM Powell Buff and the trim is BM Bone.

The way I post pics is to copy the image address... such as xxx.jpg .... and put it in a phrase as follows, replacing the ( ) with the pointy brackets ... less than and greater than signs... instead

(img src="xxx.jpg")

if the picture comes out too wide, then add a width parameter as follows

(img src="xxx.jpg" width="500")

When I bought new couches I went for a cognac/camel color which you say you do not like. I would say that if you can have a pale area rug so the dark couches are not resting on the dark floor to make a sea of brown, and/or the couches are not so large they really overwhelm the room, you will be OK.

1. See the gray box under "Post a Follow-Up?" If your picture is downloaded on your computer, click on "Browse" to the right of the gray box. It will bring up all the pictures on your computer.

Then click on the picture (maybe a double click) and the jpg will appear in the box.

Click on "Preview Message" so you can see if the picture shows up.

Unfortunately, doing it this way you can only add one picture to a reply.

The other way I know is Photobucket, where you copy the URL and add it to your post.

This photo is an example of the light rug contrasted with dark floors and sofa - not exactly the same colors you're talking about, but you get the idea.

I think the key here is a big rug and lots of other colors though. I'm spending a lot of money on a sofa and just want it to be right, so maybe I'm over thinking it - the sofa came in brown and black. Maybe a black leather sofa would be a nice alternate?!?!

Appreciate the feedback.

Brown is good if you like it and can be used as an effective backdrop for color. It's not so good if you don't like it.

I like the combination of brown and black but I think one needs to use a lot of white with it. A patterned fabric with brown and black would help marry the two.

In your situation where the brown wood tones are very dark I think I'd choose a medium brown sofa and use a color on the walls such as sage green, gold, or even a greyed blue tone. Before choosing wall color find a patterned fabric with cream background and color of your choice and coordinate wall color to that.

BTW a good quality microfiber is very easy to clean and doesn't absorb spills or stains. There is a lot of poor quality microfiber around tho and that's why it gets a bad rap.

I currently have dark brown leather LR funiture, couch and chair and when I'm ready to get new furniture I plan to get brown leather again, just a different style.

Vaulted ceiling

Couch. We've had THREE couches in this den in 9 years :o
The first leather sectional broke (handle) and was replaced under an extended warranty. The second leather set, I never liked. It was uncomfortable and too formal looking for our room. The third time was the charm and it's NOT leather. It's our favorite by far! We have two grandchildren that are here as often as they can talk their momma into letting them come over LOL At least 3 days a week. Even tho food and drink isn't allowed in there and shoes are supposed to come off at the door, stuff happens. Hands don't get wiped or they'll sneak a leaky sippy cup in there while I'm not looking. This is some kind of microfiber that at first glance and especially at a distance, looks like leather. A wipe with a damp microfiber cloth is all it takes to clean it. It's definitely a miracle fabric :) And the baby on the couch...he's the best accessory :)

Just so you know, the leather you have on your current sofa has some value, tell your upholster you want it back.
We covered our small chair in the FB with the leather we stripped off our old leather sofa.

This is the chair we re-upholstered in the leather from our old sofa. The chair is 100 yrs plus.