Redecorating a room can be an expensive proposition. Replacing everything from the wall color to the flooring to the drapes to the furniture can really take a toll on your budget.

In an effort to save yourself money, look around the room to see what pieces you can keep in the new decor. Large pieces of furniture are often the most expensive, so if you cannot afford to replace your plaid sofa, consider keeping it. With their multitude of colors, it is often easy to match and coordinate colors with a plaid sofa.

Color Collection

A plaid sofa usually has numerous colors to choose from when decorating. The best way to pull colors from the sofa to use on the walls and in other areas of the room, is to get a variety of paint chips and compare them to the sofa colors. From there you will be able to determine which colors will work best. Do not overlook any of the colors, but match everything from the palest yellow to the deepest blue. Also keep in mind that there are many different plaids on the market, and each one will come with a different undertone and dominant color.

Selecting the Wall Color

It is important to correctly match the undertones in the sofa colors with the undertones in the paint. If the sofa colors are very cool and the selected wall color has a warm undertone, the sofa will look out of place in the room. Since most large paint manufacturers now offer small sample bottles of paint, it is easier than ever to try out a paint color on your walls before investing in a gallon.

From the coordinating colors that you pulled from the plaid fabric, select the top three contenders for the wall color. Purchase samples and paint two-foot by two-foot squares of paint in a row along the wall. Be sure that you push the sofa against the wall so that you can get an accurate idea of what the plaid fabric will look like against the different colors. Once you have selected the color, prime and paint the walls.

Accessories

It is also important to consider the colors of the accessories in the room. Everything from the side tables to the hassock to the side chair will be influenced by the colors in the plaid and you can pull accent colors for these pieces from the color collection that you created. You may be able to use some of your existing furniture and accessories to reduce costs.

In addition to other furniture pieces, think about the colors of picture frames and other wall art, as well as other accessories. Wood furniture and many accessories can be painted and new fabric for window treatments and chair pads can coordinate with the new look as well. To make the room inviting, it is important to create a cohesive look and ambiance.

Matching paint colors to a plaid sofa will make the redecorating budget go down. It will also keep usable furniture from winding up in a landfill. If your sofa is in great condition, but the plaid fabric is just not a look that you want to carry through into the new decor, invest in a slipcover that will hide the plaid and create the new look you desire.