Painting to Match the Hottest Furniture Trends

Gone is minimalism: glamor is in in 2014.  Current furniture trends include bold color accents and clean black lines, and a tasteful, but definite incorporation of gilding: a little bling here, some frills and ruffles there.  People in Washington, DC and Northern Virginia are ready for a touch of the extravagant in their interior decor.

Neutral silver-gray paint enhances glamorous sunburst mirror centerpiece
Neutral silver-gray paint enhances glamorous sunburst mirror centerpiece

To create an interior painting strategy that compliments this trend, you have to think about balance.  An enclosed space needs a certain amount of visual action: too much, and the space looks cluttered or busy; not enough and it creates an impression of scarcity.  If your furniture incorporates splashes of wild color, pleats and ruffles, gold and crystal trim, then you may want to consider simple, universally appealing paint colors.  Beige, tan, cream, silver-gray, and white are all excellent choices for providing a neutral, elegant background to glamorous furniture.  And you don’t need to fear that the neutral palette is ‘limiting’.  While the variation between, say, a cool silver and a warm cream may seem subtle on the color samples, the difference in the results when painted on an entire room is startling.  A warmer tone makes a room look grand and rustic, like a historical palace or a duke’s lodge, while cooler colors paired with the same furniture create an edgy modern glamor.

Cool, neutral silver-blue enhances warm wood and designer furniture
Cool, neutral silver-blue enhances warm wood and designer furniture

Also, since the ‘glamor’ look usually (but not always) involves deep, heavily saturated hues and/or darker tones, going light and airy in your paint choices is a good strategy to provide visual balance.  Unless you want an extremely dramatic room (and remember, you may have to live with that extremely dramatic room for a little while), bright or dark paint colors will be too much for your modern glamorous furniture.  Lighter colors create visual space, and bring attention to the furniture, which acts as a focal centerpiece.  Light colors also let you experiment with lower lighting, which often looks elegant with nice furniture.

Neutral background shows off frilled canopy and pleating
Neutral background shows off frilled canopy and pleating

So always remember, think about the whole room when choosing your paint colors: not just the walls themselves, but also the furniture, decorations, lighting, and even the people who will be using that space.  If you need any help choosing colors, feel free to peruse our decoration blogs, or request an estimate for a free color consultation.

All photos from Blue Door Painters customers.

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