20 Living Room Design Ideas for the Gray Sectional Owner

Learn how to style your ultra-versitile, statement living room piece with these helpful ideas.

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November 17, 2020

By: Allie Holcomb King and Maria Conti

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Style With Metallic Accents

Soft pinks and purples, like dusty rose and blush pink, pair beautifully with gray. The muted hues add a touch of femininity without overpowering the design. Metallics often complete any color palette, adding a chic touch of glamour to the overall look.

From: Kara Thomas

Choose a Cozy Rug

Don’t underestimate the power of a comfy area rug. Sometimes a little fluff underfoot is the what makes a design feel welcoming and lived-in. Rugs in neutral tones, like cream and white, work well with gray sectionals.

Add Splashy Color

Gray is an all-star neutral, serving as the perfect backdrop for bold, vibrant color. Just be sure to balance loud color with understated pieces, like the acrylic coffee table pictured here.

From: Claire Paquin

Go for Wallpaper

Who says your sofa needs to be the centerpiece in your living room? Interior designer Annie Lowengart uses a smoky sectional to provide a neutral base for this electrifying orange and cyan living space. The unembellished sectional makes sure all eyes remain on the true stars of the living room show: the graphic trellis wallpaper and vivid abstract painting.

From: Ann Lowengart

Select a Cozy Material

You want to make sure you and all of your guests are greeted by a cozy looking sectional. Here, a welcoming velvet gray sectional creates an inviting place for guests and pets to gather and relax.

From: John McClain Design

Work With White

If you own a charcoal gray sectional, opt for a high-contrast look by surrounding it with bright whites. White walls or crisp, white shelving will achieve the look.

From: LABLstudio

Take a Modern Approach

Love a modern aesthetic? Pair your sleek sectional with other sculptural pieces. Search for chairs, ottomans, coffee tables or light fixtures in interesting, modern shapes. By focusing on one or two statement pieces, you’ll keep the look clean and fresh.

From: Emily Basham-Hoelscher

Accent With Tile

Your gray sectional may not be the most exciting part of your living room, but it can provide the perfect accent to a dazzling tiled wall. The fireplace in this living room features a gorgeous graphic tile with the same gray seen in the sectional.

From: Erica Bryen Design

Pair With Punchy Curtains

While the sofa is a neutral gray, the bright blue drapes add color to this living room, making the space something to be remembered.

From: D2 Interieurs

Opt for Meaningful Artwork

A gray sectional can serve as the clean backdrop you need to display meaningful artwork or family treasures. The living room, which is often the hub of family gatherings, is a great place to do that.

From: Benjamin Cruz

Layer Textures

Bring dimension to your smoky sectional with a mix of cozy accents in luxurious textures. The designers at Think Chic Interiors add drama to this heather gray linen sofa with a fluffy faux fur throw and blush velvet toss pillows nestled in each corner. Other textiles to consider? Silk, suede or cashmere.

From: Think Chic Interiors

Wrap With Color

Designer Brian Patrick Flynn envelops this cozy sectional in color with sage green walls and ceiling. Apply a similar, earthy hue to the walls and ceiling surrounding your gray sectional, to create a jewel box effect in the space and balance the cool undertones of the gray upholstery. Round out your lounge with rustic wood accent furnishings, buttery throw blankets and a pile of plush accent pillows.

From: Brian Patrick Flynn

Pair With Jewel Tones

Jewel tones, like chartreuse, amethyst, garnet and sapphire, breathe life into this otherwise streamlined charcoal sectional. The pros at Zoe Feldman Design flock the expansive sofa with a fringe trimmed throw blanket and modern, geometric toss pillows that coordinate with five oversized scroll paintings hanging overhead. A lively ottoman invites guests to kick off their shoes, while a pair of midcentury globe sconces create moody lighting on the wall above.

From: Zoe Feldman Design

Frame With Millwork

Neutral? Yes. Boring? Never. Interior designer Marie Flanigan proves all you need to enhance your gray sectional with classic flair is handsome millwork added to a statement wall. The white woodwork, featured in this space, provides a clean backdrop and accentuates the sofa’s heathered upholstery for a soft and sophisticated end result.

From: Kirsten Holmstedt

Add a Colorful Ottoman

Pair your gray sectional with an eye-catching colored ottoman to bring extra seating and cool contrast to your space. Kate Lester Interiors nestles a denim ottoman against a dove gray sectional, yielding a space that feels put together and welcoming.

From: Kate Lester Interiors

Play With Patterns

If you’re a fan of pattern play, go for it! Gray is a friendly neutral, after all. High-contrast patterns, like the black and white wallpaper pictured here, will help to bring out the dark and light tones in your sofa’s shade of gray. Just be sure to stick to a general color palette when mixing patterns so your look doesn’t feel too chaotic.

From: WAKE + LOOM

Go Classic

Achieve a curated and classic look by pairing your gray sectional with neutral, tone-on-tone accents. Use this elegant living room by designer Marie Flanigan as your muse. Flanigan weaves a mix of taupe, tan, ivory and smoky amethyst textiles throughout the space, yielding a soft design steeped in elegance.

From: Marie Flanigan Interiors

Embrace Warm Woods

The warmth of wood helps to balance out the cool tones often found in gray, so embrace wood where you have it. The coffee table and chair legs in this living room provide just the right accent the room needs.

From: Steele Street Studio

Perk Up With a Houseplant

Nothing will bring your gray sectional to life quite like a leafy houseplant. A potted tree — like the ever-popular fiddle leaf fig — is a great way to bring height and texture to an empty corner.

From: Susan Galvani

Employ Electric Accessories

Embrace your sofa’s cool undertones with lively, beachy hues woven throughout the space. Icy blue and chartreuse toss pillows pop against the mist gray cushions on this contemporary sectional, while a brilliant blue abstract painting ties the space together with coastal flair.