Decorating and Design - Wall color with dark purple furniture?

I just bought a solid dark purple sofa and a chair and ottoman that is dark purple with a pattern that has burgundy, navy and dark green. I love the furniture but I can't figure out what color I should paint the walls. I first tried a color called Violet Ice- NO WAY, too violet. I think light grey is too blah. The color I like best so far is a tan (I've got a test spot of it on the wall). But I feel that there must be something better. I don't want the walls to be really dark since the furniture is so dark. It is a long narrow room. 11' wide by 23' long. Does anyone else out there have dark purple furniture? Or does anyone have any good ideas?

-afuller

I am designing my living room around 3 colors, hunter green, cobal blue and burgandy. I am keeping my walls a light color but still a color not white or at least not just white. I choose a pink as my base color and I am going to rag it with a white. This way I create depth with the pink and keep it soft yet it blends with my other colors. I agree, going dark on the walls would be dramatic but most of us want to live in a brighter more cheerful enviroment. Why don't you go to the paint store and take a look at paint chips that have about 5 different colors on them, one color on the strip should be the color of your sofa. See how you like the lighter of the colors with your sofa. As for the tan, how about taupe? Its a tan with a purple tone. Happy hunting.

Have you thought about sponging your walls, or at least a "modified" sponging? The tan you like could be your base color, then use two or three of the other colors in your furniture to add splashes of color to your walls. An excellent source of inspiration is wallpaper books. Find a free form pattern that is used sparingly over a solid color base. You could also use a feather, small piece of cloth, sponge, fan brush or even a piece of wadded up paper to put on a bit of color. Good luck!

Thanks for the suggestions, I went with taupe. It looks great!