Design Basics: Working with color wheels
Filed under Understanding color wheels
Color can be so confusing. For something routine and ever-present in our lives, color proves to be complex and even a bit mystical when you try to tame it. After all, you’re really dealing with light, electromagnetic radiation from the worlds of Albert Einstein and Sir Issac Newton.
Sir Issac, in fact, invented the color wheel, used every day by every home design expert.
What is color? Think of it as light. The measure of light reflectance value (LRV) shows how light or dark a shade will be. Lighter colors reflect more light than darker colors, making small rooms seem larger. The reverse with darker colors in the same hue. If you want to lower a ceiling, for example, paint it darker to discourage reflection.
Primary colors exist in their own worlds. They are not the products of combining colors. Typically, primary colors are red, green and blue (RGB). “Pure colors” (or “ideal) usually are listed as red, green, blue and yellow with black and white thrown in for practicality.
Secondary colors are produced by combining two primaries.
Tertiary colors combine primaries and secondary hues.
Another important concept is that of “additive color” and “subtractive” color.” Subtractive begins with white and adds degrees of darkness as it moves to black.
Additive color method begins at black and moves to white. Colors are thus “added” as black is the absence of light.
Warm colors usually are from red through yellow with browns. Cool colors are blue green through blue violet.
These dynamics all play out on color wheels.
About designers’ color wheels: Modern designers and artists use color-circle software for complicated work. There are various color systems and color wheels for different activities, such as painting or printing. All web site designers use online-friendly color circles and “hex codes.” Interior design consultants use them daily.
The color wheel is attributed to Sir Isaac Newton, although the concept has been expanded and adjusted in every century since Newton’s days. The history of color wheels stretches through the centuries.
One way of using a color circle is to draw a straight line between a color on one side of the wheel and its 180-degree match on the other side. These colors are complementary. That relationship can produce harmony or strong, tense contrasts, depending on the situation and your viewpoint. You as an individual have your own sense of “complementary colors,” so the result of this wheeled geometry may not be ideal for your home.
Medium contrasts are achieved by picking colors that result from a tight triangular pattern (split complementary). Colors that are next to each other on the wheel offer the lowest contrasts and are the least problematic to match, although the results may not be particularly vibrant.
The more you know about colors and their relationships, the more likely you’ll be able to successfully direct your custom furniture builders.
How to pick furniture colors: the basic
Filed under Picking furniture colors
The application of color in any artistic endeavor — including home decorating and furniture selection — can be tricky and sometimes downright frustrating. That’s one way interior designers earn their pay.
Your common sense and experience go a long way while selecting the colors for furniture and rooms, of course. But no matter how good your instincts, it helps to know a bit about how color works.
Here are some tips on selecting colors for furniture, walls, accents — and even the light itself!
- Some smart furniture shoppers keep a color wheel in their purses. You never know when a professionally designed restaurant, lounge, museum, office or retail store will offer some on-the-spot lessons in color selection. That knowledge can be a big help in dealing with custom furniture craftsmen. (Read our report on color wheels and furniture shopping.)
- One approach is to begin a room with the rug. Use the dominant color on the rug for your wall paint. Then use a less prominent color on the rug to inform your choice of upholstery.
- An area rug can make big changes in color dynamics at a reasonable price point. Be sure to deal with a merchant who allows multiple take-homes or at least workable swatches.
- A good way to matching existing elements and new purchases is to work with less obvious colors, not the dominant ones of the room or furniture.
- Paint manufacturers and fabric makers often sell sample kits to encourage the proper choices for the home environment. Any store selling high-quality paints should be able to give you an exact match working from a piece of fabric.
- Try to make your colors “flow” from room to room as you move about. That doesn’t mean contrast is bad, but the rooms should feel as if they come from the same planet!
- Of course, you could always go with contrast, using upholstery or rugs to dramatize the wall color. The choice of colors should always proceed from your design goals for the room or house.
- Spot colors (adding accent colors in items such as pillows or candle holders) can be quite effective in making furniture work in a room. Use the color two or three times in order to integrate the piece.
Furniture size and color: The size of furniture has a direct effect on the resulting look and feel of a room. The bigger the piece, the more the visual impact from its upholstery, stain or even accent pillows. Smaller rooms often do better with larger pieces of furniture, such as elegant couches and sofas, in order to cut clutter. But the resulting dominance of your bigger pieces of designer furnishings must be taken into consideration.
The color of light: Remember that colors are sneaky when exposed to different lights. You’ll want to consider how a room subtly shifts its colors as light changes throughout the day. Think of how clothing can look one way in your bedroom and quite another in the bright sunshine.
Your indoor lighting’s “color” is an essential consideration. This refers to how warm or cool the light source appears to be. Yellowish white light is typically warm while blue-white light is cool.
View all design elements under your room’s lighting color, if possible. This process can be as complicated as building a light box to carry about while shopping, or as simple as bringing home some fabric. (Learn more about combining furniture fabric and lighting.
Upholstery texture and color: Texture also plays a role in color appearance. Choosing a flat weave (satins, for example) or a pile weave (velvet) for upholstery, pillows or curtains will have a noticeable effect on how that color plays out in your room.
What’s that color called? Anyone can name a color, and so there is a universe of names out there. One way to decipher a furniture maker or designer’s color reference is via the Online Color Thesaurus.
Furniture-Buying Advice
Filed under Furniture-buying advice
Furniture buying can be equally exhilarating and exhausting. You will, after all, be living with the decisions you make for at least several years — or even through several generations!
Bringing new furniture into a home usually is a special experience. The care you put into selecting those furnishings will be reflected in a perfect synergy of room environment and decor.
Here are some basics of buying furniture. This list is designed for less experienced shoppers, but almost anyone can benefit from a refresher on how to make the most of your furniture purchase:
Set a realistic budget: When buying furniture, it’s always best to set a budget for all of the items you desire and for the specific goods. For example, you know you have $3,300 to spend on dining room furniture, so roughly $2,500 goes to the table and chairs, and $800 goes for lighting. Don’t be tempted to get too far out of range in either category, especially if financing comes into play. On the other hand, don’t budget too low and have to adjust the overall figure on the fly. Be sure you know what quality furniture costs and be realistic in the initial budgeting process.
Match up cost and longevity: Smart shoppers have a vision of how long each piece of furniture will be in their lives. Patio tables and chairs would be a good example of goods with a relatively short life. Proud parents often overspend as they put together baby’s first room, only to find baby doesn’t pay much attention to his surroundings for the first year, much less his room’s decor. High-ticket items, on the other hand, can be passed on through the generations. A dining room table and chairs would be a great example of this. These can be powerfully sentimental heirlooms, if the high quality is there from the beginning. You can’t get that at IKEA.
Always measure with care: As with a furniture budget, you need to know what sizes will work for your rooms. Tight fits often become “no fits.” Be sure to take into account any elevators, doors, stairwells and hallways the delivery men might encounter. Returning furniture because it won’t fit through the door is among the worst experiences in furniture buying. A high-quality couch cannot be forced through a tight space.
Envision the room: One way savvy new-home buyers get a grasp of what is needed and which sizes will work is via home furnishing software. A good example of this is the Better Homes and Gardens Home Designer Suite
Take digital photos of the actual rooms and print them out for any shopping expeditions. With an experienced furniture salesperson or designer, these can be quite helpful. Even a short video captured on your cell phone can help a furniture consultant envision your living space. Of course, boutique-style one-on-one furniture consultations can be extremely helpful, especially if you’re buying numerous objects and spending a lot.
Know your manufacturer: Many of the important elements of furniture can’t be seen by shoppers. With living room or dining room chairs, for example, there could be any combination of straps, fabric webbing, cushioning padding, springs and support braces. Few shoppers will know much of anything about these elements. Relying on name manufacturers (big or small) who have a reputation for quality and worksmanship can make all the difference. Dynasty Designs Furniture works exclusively with furniture manufacturers and builders of the highest quality. Visit our online boutique furniture showroom to see examples of their work.
Interior design sites or furniture-related forums can be helpful for gauging manufacturers’ reputations, although be aware that every business comes in for criticism on the web. Your cell phone or iPhone’s browser will help you make spot checks on the makers of furniture you’re considering.
Pay attention to delivery terms: Furniture delivery usually entails either freight or “white glove” shipping, depending on the distance and cost factors. With freight, you’ll usually have to do the unpacking and set-up yourself, although some deliverymen can be quite helpful with the promise of an appropriate tip. White glove movers will unpack and assemble the furniture, relieving you of the hassle and risk of doing it yourself. If the furniture is heavy and awkward, have a plan for moving it through the house once the delivery is made.
Have a rough idea of what it costs to ship and deliver furniture. There are shipping calculators available online, such as those for UPS Stores and FedEx. These may or may not be helpful, depending on the size of your goods. The cost of shipping should be part of your price deliberation. Make sure your retailer is competitive on shipping and delivery options.
Many buyers try to close a furniture buy with a demand for expedited delivery. While these techniques may work with discount furniture operations, most high-end retailers run on tight schedules with little room for exceptions. In some cases, the cost of delivery can be negotiated, but as often as not you’re just working with the seller’s margins on the goods. You might want to specify, however, that the delivery men haul away their packaging or even used furniture (such as mattresses) and get that in writing.
In some cases, as with custom-made and imported furniture, the delivery times are subject to factors beyond the retailer’s control. Working with a service-oriented furniture seller that has close ties to the manufacturers — such as Dynasty Designs Furniture — can be a big help in getting accurate information on shipping and delivery times. Overseas shipping requires patience, plain and simple.
If you’re buying from an online furniture retailer, provide a link with directions to your home using one of the map services found online, such as MapQuest.
Custom Furniture Basics
Filed under Custom furniture basics
Custom furniture making ensures that you, the buyer, are the principal influence on the final product that enters your home.
Custom furniture shopping has a reputation of being expensive, but it often is reasonable and sensible.
In most cases, the customization is not top-to-bottom: The buyer works within the basic framework of the custom furniture maker’s product lineup. This ensures that the individual piece fits as well as possible into the consumer’s living environment.
Simply designating a choice of fabric, wood stain or furniture color is a routine form of customization that shouldn’t prove too costly or time consuming.
Then there are customers who require furniture made to exact and unique specifications, down to the type of fasteners used. This is a far more involved and costly way of buying custom furnishings.
Here’s a way of looking at the cost of customized furnishings: Built-to-order eliminates the exhausting process of looking in showroom after showroom for complementary furniture. Sometimes in vain. Time is money.
Why buy custom furniture?
There are many, many good reasons for going with custom furniture. Here are a few:
Some buyers simply do not want to invest in a piece of expensive furniture that can be viewed in several showrooms in their hometowns. Someone with a significant investment in a piece of furniture wants to hear oohs and ahhs from guests — not the news that a friend of a friend just bought the same piece.
A dream of handing down a family heirloom rarely dovetails with cookie-cutter designs. Furniture passed on from one generation to the next can have powerful associations with the original buyer. All the more reason to customize. If furniture is art, you are the artist.
Sometimes, the buyer needs to match a challenging room or home design scheme. Or fit the piece of furniture into an awkward space. Other customers want to create a mate or accessory for an impossible-to-replace piece of furniture. Or work with a specific type of furniture wood.
Sometimes the custom-furniture customer has practical needs related to health or mobility. For example, seat and back cushions could be filled with non-allergenic blends not usually offered by the manufacturer.
Furniture customization in practice
Few pieces of custom furniture are actually made from scratch to fit the customer’s unique design — although you can always find craftsmen who will undertake such a project.
Typically, customized furniture is a personalization and modification of an existing product line. You’ll want to build from an existing piece of furniture that’s close to the size, shape and appearance of what you envision. This helps hold down costs — and can be a big factor in the final quality and durability of the custom furniture you bring home.
Custom upholstered furniture can be created any number of possible combinations of fabrics, woods, molds, arms, feet, cushions, frames, springs, paints, wood stains — the list of variable elements goes on and on.
In some cases, simply having elements of one piece moved onto another will satisfy your needs. Taking the feet off one designer couch or sofa and attaching them to another, for example.
Upgrading elements of an existing product is another form of custom furniture making. A leather couch could be fashioned from a higher-quality hide. Intricate etched glass from a third party vendor could replace simpler panes in a classic dining room cabinet. Almost all custom furniture makers will work with customers in this fashion.
Having a custom-furniture consultant take you to the makers’ shop often is a good way of ensuring the final product is perfect.
Customization as collaboration
Some versatile furniture shops will re-create pieces seen in old photos, or they will build to match existing antiques. The best custom furniture artists will involve the customer in the creation, sharing photos of the construction process.
Keep in mind that a shop that specializes in, say, dining room and kitchen cabinetry is not likely to retool in order to realize your vision of the perfect baby crib.
Wait times for custom furniture
Made-to-order furniture makers work at their own pace, resulting in a wide range of turnaround times, but in most cases three to four months would be the outer limit. Of course, if you want something very specific and challenging out of a very busy shop, the waits could be much longer.
Availability of raw goods can affect the ultimate delivery date as well. If a fabric choice is backordered, for example, the furniture buyer might want to consider something more readily available. Importing materials almost always creates delays.
Returning custom furniture
Some makers simply refuse to accept returns on custom furniture unless there is an undisputed defect in materials or workmanship. Others will take back goods that are resalable, with a restocking fee that could be anywhere from 10 percent to 50 percent. In general, “not liking” furnishings made to suit your vision is an expensive proposition.
Price quotes
Some custom shops do not offer catalogs or pick-and-choose pricing schemes. Good shops will provide quotes based on your measurements and specifications within a week. Allow more time for furniture-building price quotes based on your drawings, photos, etc.
Deposits
Expect to pay more than you’d expect as a deposit. A 50 percent deposit is customary. Paying the majority of the final price up front is not unusual.
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