What Color Rug Goes With A Grey Couch

Interior color schemes are constantly changing and these days almost nothing is more popular than grey. We’re using it in the kitchen, bathrooms, on the walls, as a siding color and even in our living rooms. With so many shades and styles to choose from it’s never been easier to find a grey sofa. The hard part is choosing the right area rug to go with it. So what color rug goes with a grey couch?

Gray sofas are a neutral which makes them a very versatile choice. But some rug colors look better with a gray couch than others. If your like me then you don’t just want a rug that goes with the couch. We want our homes to be beautiful. The couch and area rug along with a coffee table, end tables, lighting, accent pieces, window treatments, etc. are all a part of an overall interior design and color scheme. They all work together to hopefully create a beautiful room you’d be happy to bring guests into and spend time in yourself. Gray, tan, cream and other natural colors are some of my favorite rug colors to pair with a grey couch. They’re also neutrals which means it’s easy to work them into an overall design.

Ahead we’ll look at a bunch of example pictures of beautiful rugs with grey couches. We’ll discuss not only the rug and couch colors but also the entire room and how everything works together.

Which Is First? The Couch Or The Rugs?

Which do you choose first, the couch color, or the rug? And which color is more important? Most people I talk to say the couch because it’s a major piece of furniture and typically more expensive than the rug. Others already own the couch and are looking to freshen up the room by changing the rug color. I don’t disagree with either of these answers but as a designer I look at it a little differently. Because I typically design an entire room from scratch I like to choose the rug color and couch at the same time. In understand most of you are probably here just looking for rug color ideas but keep this point in mind if you ever design an entire room where everything is brand new.

If you have an existing grey sofa and are just looking to find the right rug color then consider the following:

If your sofa is grey then consider yourself lucky. Grey is a neutral that’ll look great with a wide variety of rug colors so it’ll be easy to find something that works. But since you’ll have so many options it can be hard to narrow things down. Consider the overall color scheme of the home and what else is in the room. All that has to look good with the rug too.
When you’re choosing a rug to pair your sofa, you should consider it’s texture, size, pile depth, and pattern too.

What’s the tone you’re trying to set for the room? The feel? All of these factors come into play when choosing the right rug color. Remember it’s not all about working with the grey couch unless that’s all you have in the room.

Beautiful modern style living room with warm grey sofas and matching grey area rug in front of a gas fireplace.

Grey Couch & Rug

One of the most popular area rug colors we use with a grey couch is actually grey. Monochromatic color schemes are super popular right now and it’s an instant match. You don’t have to work that hard finding two greys that go together. But when you start getting matchy with your colors you really need to follow that through to the rest of the room. As you can see the fireplace surround is also grey and so are the couch blankets, pillows and chairs. Any the room itself has a modern black, grey and white color scheme so pairing a grey sofa with a grey area rugs makes sense here.

Here’s a few points to pay attention to when you design your room:

The sofas have a smooth texture so that’s offset by the more plush area rug. It’s a good idea to create a bit of contrast between the rug and sofa.
Always keep in mind the actual color grey your using. Grey is a very broad term. The sofas here have a bit of a reddish tint while the rug is more blue. Contrast is a good thing here too. Just because a room is monochromatic doesn’t mean the colors should be exactly the same.
Pay attention to temperature. The couch has a warm undertone while the rug is a cool grey. Here’s another area you can add some contrast.

Contrast between the rug color and sofa color, texture, temperature and value are important. Variety helps them both stand out a bit more.

Light gray area rug with a medium gray sofa and light brown chairs.

Light Grey Rug With Medium Grey Sofa

Here’s another grey on grey color combo in a room that’s styled on the warm side. A lot of people have the misconception that using grey makes a room feel cold and uninviting but that’s not at all true. If you see a room with grey that feels that way is probably do to poor design and not the color.

This light grey area rug has a soft feel which contrasts nicely with the medium grey sofa. As we mentioned in the previous example you should try to create contrast on multiple levels. He we see light against dark in terms of color and value as well as contrasting textures. When you do this it keeps the room interesting.

What I really love about this room is how grey offsets the earthy color scheme and warm feel found throughout the room. You wouldn’t expect to find this much grey in a room like this and that’s why I like it.

Modern living room with a steely grey color scheme. Grey sofa with a light grey area rug.

Modern Steely Grey Sofa & Rug

What color rug goes with a grey couch? More grey. I love the look of playing with different values and tones of the same color. It makes my life as a designer easier and the results can be beautiful. And luckily grey is so in style at the moment it’s really hard to mess up if your designer a living room by yourself. What’s hard about using variations of the same color is making sure they work within the larger picture. This living room is very Modern with an overall grey, muted and pale color scheme. The black framed windows and doors are perfect and so are the hints of gold and cream colors plush chairs.

This is one of my favorite grey couch with grey rug combos. Both have a sheen to them that gives off a metallic steel quality. Generally I stay away from furniture with a sheen but grey is an exception for me.

Also notice how the rug color actually has a two tone effect. The darker shade matches with couch color almost exactly. That’s a small detail I really love. I like to connect elements in the room together with some color or texture. Also the sheen on the couch matches the lighter color found in the rug. It’s like the two were designed as a pair.

Grey sofa paired with a natural fiber woven area rug with wood floors and furniture.

Grey Couch & Natural Woven Area Rug

Another fantastic rug color we use a lot with grey couches is completely natural. Woven rugs made from a variety of fibers come in all sorts of colors like, cream, tan and beige. Natural fibers are tightly woven together to form beautiful area rugs without any added coloring. These rugs a great for high traffic areas of the home because they’re very durable. Although they do have a totally different feel from softer synthetic fiber rugs.

One of the best things about pairing a grey couch with natural materials is that they’re both muted and neutral. Like using grey on grey, this color combo is extremely versatile. But unlike grey on grey they’re two completely different colors which expands on the number of styles you can use them in.

Try this grey couch and natural rug color combo with the following other elements:

Wood. Floors, furniture and wood tables are all great pairings with a grey couch and natural woven rug. The coloring found throughout the rug works so well with other earthy materials.
White. A naturally colored rug adds some warmth and depth to an all white room. White isn’t a color found in nature so surrounding it with natural materials breathes some life into the home.
Black. This is an especially good color to add into the grey and natural combo if your colors are all on the pale side.
Cream. This is a heavily underused color. Even a little bit of warm cream on a light, pillow, or blanket can go a long way.

Another great thing about natural woven rugs is the texture. Most grey couches are smooth and plush so it’s a really nice contrast against the much rougher rug.

Pro Tip: Notice the throw pillows have a texturing that mirrors the rug. I recommend using elements on the couch that tie into the rug if you can. It’s called a unified design and it looks great if you can pull it off in subtle ways.

Living room with 4 plush grey chairs over a sisal woven fiber rug and cream colored ottoman.

Grey Chairs With A Sisal Woven Rug

This casual area rug is made from soft yet durable natural fiber yarns without any additional coloring. Natural rugs are beautiful when you pair them with grey couches and chairs. This sisal rug has a medium thick weave. I recommend using a medium to thick weave in a living room. The extra texture is nice and it has a softer feel to walk on.

Look closely and you’ll see the rug is made from alternating rows of light and medium dark fibers. This type of rug design adds a little something extra to the design and makes it easier to match other colors throughout the room to it. Check out the lighter cream colored pillows and the darker lamps and baskets. All three have colors that tie back to the rug.

Check out that beautiful wood ceiling with a herringbone design. I love anything naturally colored with grey sofas. The mix of warm earth tones against grey is one of my favorite color combinations which is why we use it so often inside and out of the house.

Modern home with thick sisal woven rug and a light grey sofa.

Thick Sisal Woven Rug With Grey Sofa

This is probably my favorite of all the sisal rug and grey sofa combinations on the page. I like the look and feel of a thicker rug. Not only does it feel better but all that added texture is a big plus. And it contrasts nicely with the sofa material. In this case the couch has a slight texturing to it too but it’s a very tight weave.

The home style is called Transitional. It’s a mix of traditional and modern design. One of the hallmarks of a Transitional home design are the black frame windows and doors. If your designing a home like this then a grey sofa paired with a natural sisal woven rug is the perfect color combination. All the white, grey and black needs the warmth a natural rug color brings.

Pro Tip: If you’ve got a slightly textured or smooth grey sofa then a thick woven rug is a great match. It not only has a more luxurious feel on your feet but also contrasts the couch material. I try to use the thickest area rug I can get for around the couch. The added depth of color found within the rug changes at different angles and in varying lighting conditions. It’s a really nice effect. And with a natural rug the color variation is totally random so no two rugs will look exactly alike.

Rustic styled living room with cream colored plush area rug and grey sofas.

Plush Cream Rugs With A Grey Couch

Warm cream is a really nice color to use with a grey couch. Cream brings just the right amount of contrast and warms up the room. It’s also very easy to work into other accessories like a few throw pillows, lamp shades, or even cabinet paint. That’s exactly what you see done above. In a rustic living room like this one cream is a fabulous shade.

I really like how the grey couches are on the warm side too. This is why I always recommend styling a room with an overall color scheme. This is warm country home with lots of real stone and wood so cool grey sofas would look out of place. It’s also about creating an inviting and relaxing space to sit around the fire. This plush cream rug and warm grey couches definitely add to that effect.

In this design the room has a harmonious color scheme. The rug color contrasts with the couch in terms of value and texture but not warmth. You’ll see how this same basic design is done slightly different in the next example.

Modern style living room with a light gray couch and warm cream rug.

Warm Cream Rug With Light Grey Couch

This living room is using the same basic design as the previous example only with a modern twist. The couch is a light steely grey along side a warm cream area rug. The overall color color scheme in this room is cool so the rug provides warmth and a nice contrast. Notice how the rug color is found throughout the fireplace stone. As we’ve said throughout the page, try to tie different elements of the room together through either color or texture.

A rug this plush not only feel fantastic on your feet but also contrasts the flat textured finish of the couch and chairs.

Pro Tip: I really like the two toned look of the rug. When you use a rug with this effect make sure both shades work within your design. People tend to match the darker color and forget about the light one but what you’ll see most of the time is about 50/50. In the store or catalog the fibers may all be in one direction with a more solid coloring but that will never be true in real life.

Light grey couch with a cream colored thin composite fiber rug.

Light Grey Couch With A Cream Colored Thin Composite Fiber Rug

Most of the rugs we’ve talked about so far have been medium to thick and more natural. But there are some really nice thing composite fiber rugs on the market to. This warm cream example looks great beneath this light grey couch. The grey here has a blue tiny and a subtle sheen that’s mirrored by the rug. If you want a rug with a sheen then composite fibers are best.

I generally like the lighter color to be the rug with the darker color used for the couch. It doesn’t have to be a huge difference but I think the couch should always be just a little bit darker. Especially when the flooring is very dark like what you see here.

Pro Tip: If your using a couch and a rug that both have a sheen then make sure to coordinate them. If I use something with a sheen then I want it to be subtle. The last thing I want is a shiny couch or rug. Just a little something that looks natural. Like the look of freshly washed hair. And I like to match the couch and rug. I don;t want the shine to be overwhelming or even that noticeable. Just a little something subtle is more than enough.

Traditional style living room with a thin light grey rug and purple dark grey sofa.

Light Grey Rug With Dark Grey Sofa

Here a beautiful living room design that we a lot of in tract homes like Toll Brothers. They do a lot of great room style living rooms with vaulted ceilings and a fireplace. The rooms are always really big, open and hard to furnish because there’s never a good TV wall. If you’ve got a room like this that your trying to decorate then consider the couch and rug color scheme used about.

Light grey rug with a purple grey couch. The rug is very light but darker than the chairs. That’s what I’m talking about when I recommend using subtle variations. You don’t have to use something dark against something light to create contrast. Sometimes just small difference are more than enough.

The light grey rug is a big difference from the sofa. Here the contrast is much more pronounced.

Living room with two light grey couches above a tan area rug.

Light Grey Couches With A Tan Rug

This traditionally styled living room is furnished with matching light grey couches and a thin tan area rug. I love the look of a grey couch with a tan rug. It’s such a nice contrast and in this case the grey is actually a bit on the warm side which matches the rooms coloring.

Tan and other warm natural colors are some of my favorites to go with a grey couch. while I don’t use many thing rugs this one is really nice. I like how it’s a mix of light and dark tan and has a slight sheen. The couch has a little bit of sheen in it too. If I use a sheen on one I typically use it on both. Since the rug and couch aren’t tied together with color the sheen can be a good common element.

Deep blue gray couch with a light gray patterned rug.

Pattern Rug With A Gray Couch

So far every example we’ve looked at has been a solid color rug. But what about patterns?

It depends on the pattern but I love pairing them with a grey couch. But it does make finding the right rug color to go with your grey couch a little bit harder. Now you’ll have to consider not only finding the right color rug but also the right pattern too. There are plenty of patterned rugs on the market with nice coloring but an ugly pattern. And vice versa. This article is all about what color rug goes with a grey couch though so we’ll focus on that.

Assuming you find a pattern you like then the same rules of color apply. Here we see a thin light grey rug with a slight sheen paired with a deep blue grey couch. The colors are harmonious and fit within the rooms color scheme. Overall this living room is on the cool side but the warm wood floors and coffee table ass some much needed warmth. As do the pots, fireplace surround and other furniture.

Modern living room with pale grey couch and pattern rug, black frame windows and doors and a pale wood floor.

Light Grey Pattern Rug With Light Grey Sofa

This is an interesting example because the rug color is almost exactly the same as the couch. Normally this isn’t a good idea but since it’s a patterned rug you can do it. All the additional colors found throughout the rug give it a completely different look and break up the color so much that it still stand out. That’s why we don’t use matching color after all. It’s not that the color doesn’t look good on both the rug and couch. It’s because if they match then there’s no contrast and the design can appear flat. A pattern rug prevents this from happening.

Notice how all the accent colors tie back to the rugs pattern. It’s a smart way to design a room but to do it you have to pick out the rug early on. What we do is the following:

Pick the rug and couch colors at the same time. They’re the two main elements so the colors need to go well together.
Once the rug and couch are selected we pick accents. The pillows, coffee table decorations and even the art all tie back to the rug.

Pro Tip: If you want a monochromatic color scheme with matching color rug and couch then consider using a pattern. Even though the main colors are the same by using a pattern both the rug and couch will stand out.

Summary: What Color Rug Goes With A Grey Couch

If your looking for the best rug color to go with your grey couch then I hope some of the info and example pics we’ve shown will help. These are some of my favorite examples and the color schemes I use in my own interior design work. If you have any questions or comments e-mail us any time. We’d love to hear from you.