How to Choose Paint Colors to Complement Furniture

Most people already own furniture before deciding to paint and repaint. Choosing a color that complements the furniture you already have only makes sense. Knowing how to choose the right color, texture and pattern of paint can be quite a challenge, though.

Complementary Color Matching

The first step to choosing color for your home should be to find a family of colors that complement your furniture colors. If you’re lucky enough to have neutral colors for your furniture, such as tan, white or black, then you can choose almost any color scheme.

For everyone else, you’ll want to visit your local paint store and choose some sample color strips in a variety of choices. Find one that is as close to the color of your furniture as possible. Now, turn to a color wheel to find complementary colors.

If you have an accent chair or pillow in the room, choose one of the minor, lighter colors in the pattern to paint your walls. The best colors will be directly across from and in the same row as your color. Remember that you want contrast. Everything shouldn’t match exactly or your room will look flat.

Opposites Attract

If you have darker furniture, brighten up the room by adding lighter or “happier” paints. However, there are a few neutral dark colors that don’t dampen a room’s ambience when there is dark furniture as well. Grey is a versatile paint color that coordinates well with many hues and adapts to different lighting.

Choosing an adaptable paint color for your walls makes it easier to change your furniture whenever the need (or want) arises. You can still add personality to your room with splashes of color through throws and pillows.

When and Where to Use an Accent Wall

Is there a wall in your home that you want to draw attention to?

Make sure the color you choose doesn’t clash with any art or furniture on that wall.

This is also a good opportunity to use more than one paint color and add glossy stripes in the same color, texture, sponge painting or other specialized techniques.

In a larger room, it can be tempting to add a lot of special details, such as a textured wall. However, this can be quite time consuming on a large wall. Instead, consider adding these details to just a small area, such as over a fireplace.

Just keep in mind:

·         If your furniture is modern, stay away from antiquing styles or texture. Stick with smooth surfaces and geometric patterns.

·         If your furniture is antique, stay away from geometric patterns and modern designs.

Keep Your Lifestyle in Mind

Ultimately, the paint you choose has to fit in with your everyday life. For example, it probably isn’t a wise decision to choose paint that doesn’t wash easily if you have small children. Maybe you even want to consider using chalkboard paint for kid’s room walls.

Consider all the factors involved in making your house look great, including using multiple textures, complementary colors and adding detail to draw attention. If you take your time and choose based on all these elements, you’ll have freshly painted walls that you’ll enjoy for years to come.

BIO: James works in construction and blogs in his free time at Homey Improvements. He also enjoys hiking, photography, and buying new gadgets. Follow him on Twitter @DIYfolks.

Karttell Stuns Me

I wrote last about the 10 most expensive furniture brands. This morning I received an email with this picture:

When I previewed the email, Bev was standing right by me. I saw the breasts and "eros" and thought, "Whoa someone just sent me porn."

Like any male, I waited to look until Bev moved to another room.

It was an arresting ad from Kartell about the new egg-shaped chair named Ero/s/. They got my attention:

Most Expensive Furniture Brands in the World

Insider Monkey has a list of the ten most expensive furniture brands in the World. The list contained two surprises for me. How about you?

#10 - French Heritage - Each chair and tables are crafted to perfection to match up the mood of your home. French Heritage gives you a taste and feel of casual contemporary style. No wonder why they priced a chair for $4,173. Smooth and silky chair.
#9 - Christopher Guy furniture offers a wide wild variety of luxurious deals: from headboards to gold-worth sofas, from trendy office furniture to luxy upholstery
#8 - Henkel Harris - Mary and Caroll Henkel put up a small manufacturing pant together with their designer friend, John Harris. They pledge to create only a masterpiece of design.
#7 - Fendi Casa - Offers an iconic collection perfected with a feel of contemporary era.
#6 - Kartell - It’s about time where creativity and glamour meet innovation.
#5 - Boca do Lobo - By getting their limited-edition products, sure that you’d feel all the passion and love of the designers with the work of art they have completed.
#4 - Poliform - They revamped the classy style to the modern age, making the best of both worlds when it comes to getting your furniture done! 
#3 - Edra - Their best practice is combining the traditional to modern which is just way too cool. It was founded in 1987 in a city full of art appreciation and traditional culture
#2 - Restoration Hardware - Surprised? It’s known for providing comfortable yet pleasurable designs of furniture. 
#1 - Henredon - I knew the furniture was high-priced, but one of the most reliable and yes, most expensive furniture brands in the world? No.

Can any of these brands be found in Portland, Oregon? 

French Heritage - J. Garner Home Seattle

Christopher Guy - Neiman Marcus

Fendi - Saks San Francisco

Poliform - Architectural Resources Ketchum, ID

Restoration Hardware - 315 Northwest 23rd Avenue

Henredon - Parker Furniture

Incorporate Interesting Decor for Vacation Getaway Spot

Photo By ep_stock

Jennifer Kimrey shares in the Houston Chronicle that"Decorating and furnishing a vacation home can be very different from decorating and furnishing your first home or primary residence.

A prevalent trend that has lasted years is decorating your second home to honor its location, but that doesn't mean everything has to be "beachy" everywhere - moderation,please.

A great way get more enjoyment out of your second home is upgrading the outdoor areas. Cozy outdoor sitting areas, for example, allow homeowners to extend their indoor living space to the outdoors and have become a popular focus of second-home redecorating.

"Patio furniture trends have shifted away from traditional iron patio furniture to contemporary plastic wicker furnishings. This style is very popular. For a more 'designer look,' many of my clients purchase their outdoor furniture and have custom pillows made to match their decor.

The outdoor kitchen is another popular feature. "In addition to your standard grill, it's also very popular to have an ice maker, refrigerator and smoker as fixtures in your outdoor kitchen. We also see many homeowners choosing wood-burning pizza ovens. Another popular feature is a built-in fireplace or fire pit.

Ultimately, the best decorating decisions you can make for your second house are ones that make you happy and give that property a cozy feeling of home.

Your Clients Are Getting Younger

More than one-in-three American workers today are Millennials (adults ages 18 to 34 in 2015), and this year they surpassed Generation X to become the largest share of the American workforce, according to new Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.

What’s Hot in Outdoor Furniture

Kim Cook at The Reporter describes what's hot in outdoor furniture "Outdoor living spaces have come a long way from the days when “outdoor furnishings” meant a few inexpensive folding chairs around a flimsy plastic table. 
[...]
"...manufacturers are offering new furniture, textiles and materials that resemble indoor furnishings yet can withstand the elements.
What will we see in 2015?

• Vintage modern and ultra-modern - Watch for midcentury modern styling in outdoor pieces to coordinate with this popular interior style. Luxe looks evoking old Hollywood are also in.
• Global Style - Asian, Moroccan, Mediterranean motifs, and Silk Road accents
• Flexible use - a trend toward “chat and chill” configurations of furniture used both indoors and outdoors or comfy seating for both areas; portable fire pits.
• Color is in - Deep indigo looks fresh and new, and so does coral and dark blue. The natural neutrals — sand, mocha, charcoal, cream — stay strong for 2015. Their versatility makes them good choices whatever the climate.

Brown Jordan’s Marin lounge chair in flame suede with leather pillow, designed by Michael Berman, is an example of an outdoor furniture piece that could easily work indoors. The blurring of lines between indoor and outdoor furnishings continues to be a strong trend for spring/summer 2015. Courtesy Brown Jordan, Roger Davies

• Patterns - all kinds of bright patterns
• Rustic Contemporary -  like chicken-wire doors and weathered-look metals with contemporary seat materials and colors.

Update: Top Reveal just published a comprehensive article, called 20 DIY Outdoor Furniture Ideas that are Pure Genius which can give your readers some valuable insights.

You can check it out here: http://topreveal.com/diy-outdoor-furniture-ideas

Chris Soderberg Chosen For Pearl Re Design

photo by Amy Ouellette 

Realtor Sasha Welford of Debbie Thomas Real Estate (402 NW 13th Ave, 503-226-2141), who sold Scott Showalter, the new president and CEO of the Oregon Symphony, his 11th-floor condominium, then referred him to Chris Soderberg Design (1110 NW Marshall St, 503-206-4096). Debbie Thomas and Soderberg have collaborated many times over the years. Both were part of developer John Carroll’s team during the Pearl’s first building wave, nearly 20 years ago. And recently, Soderberg remodeled Thomas’s Pearl District real estate offices, as well as the lobby of one of Carroll’s first buildings, the McKenzie Lofts.

“We’re seeing a whole second generation of Pearl buyers,” Soderberg says, “many of whom are making Portland their second home. They’re tearing things up—getting rid of granite and adding quartz—and they want to customize their spaces.”

Soderberg and Showalter hit it off immediately. “We walked through together and were both speaking the same contemporary language,” she says. “I felt strongly right away that we needed to go in a gray direction. His art has a lot of color.”