A large piece of patterned furniture quickly dominates the room. Unlike a smaller accent piece, like a pillow, a checkered couch demands you decorate around it. How you do that depends on your personal style. Some people are comfortable with contrasting patterns -- just use a light touch as too many patterns make for a busy room. Other people only want one patterned focal piece and will decorate around that. Fortunately, blue and white work well with both neutral tones and other colors. Does this Spark an idea?
Rugs and Floors
A dark, wood floor gives a wonderful offset around blue-and-white checks in the couch. Whether you're using hardwood or laminate, look for a stain that's a deep brown or cherry red. Both complement the checked pattern colors. Stay away from floors or rugs that are too light or in the white family. Chances are it will be hard to exactly match the white in the couch and that can make white or off-white floor coverings look dingy. If your room is carpeted, consider a silvery gray or pale yellow to help the couch pop.
Other Furniture
Too many patterns will make your room look disorganized and thrown together haphazardly. Allow your checkered couch to take center stage and use the other furniture as the supporting cast. For example, match the blue in the pattern with a solid color, upholstered chair in the same hue. If you don't want a plain chair, look for textured upholstery, such as subtle pleats, that provide a fancy touch without clashing with the couch. Other furniture, like coffee and end tables, can be light or dark wood, depending on your taste and floor covering. If solid tables aren't your style, simple wrought iron tables with glass tops keep the focus on your couch while avoiding bulky furniture.
Walls
As with the other furniture, too much of a pattern on your walls can make your room look too busy with the checkered couch. Instead of wallpaper with stripes or flowers, consider painting the walls a contrasting, solid color, like yellow. Or opt to go bold by matching the paint to the blue in the couch. If you go this route, avoid situating any chair of the same color against the wall as the chair will blend into the decor when your goal is to have it pop. Also, keep other blues in the room to a bare minimum to keep from overwhelming the space with blue. Distressed wall paint also can provide a good backdrop that isn't too boring but won't detract from your couch.
Decorations and Accessories
Silver is a great complement to both blue and white. Silver picture frames, vases or knickknacks will nicely offset your couch without clashing. Accessories also can have blue undertones to provide a subtle match. For example, buy or make distressed picture frames that have blue undercoats so the blue just shows through the distressed cracks. Blue and white also are reminiscent of the beach and sea, so embrace the trend with driftwood accessories, like a driftwood candle holder.
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