Modern Furniture

If you love blue, this is the year for you. Furniture and accessories are dripping with style in hues from blackened indigos to aquamarine. A color loaded with possibilities, blue remains on the top of the list this spring and summer. The bright blue of seasons past is still popular, but it is morphing into aqua jewel tones and ocean shades as we head into 2009.
Blues are partnering with more neutral and subtle tones like dove gray and stark white, strikingly contrasted to strong colors. Different, stronger blues are edging toward a more sophisticated
palette, not a traditional one, but more sophisticated nonetheless.
This spring hue will be awash in many patterns and textures. Look for aqua blue in combos of chartreuse green and chocolate browns. Bold plaid patterns and modern swirls showcase the color ensembles in accessories and rugs. Blue painted furniture adds eye-popping color and visual interest to your room.
Whatever blue hue speaks to you, let color play a dazzling role in your home decor this year!

Layering different shades of a single palette creates a multifaceted and engaging color design. Tones of blue, green, and lavender can be easily combined if they have a predominantly blue base in common. The same goes for citrus hues: lemon, tangerine, and lime green all blend well if based in yellow. Any combination of shades with a similar base tone can create a pleasing colorscape.

Like human moods, colors change throughout the day and are more interesting when they register subtle variations. Combining true blue with lavenders and green-tinged blues creates dimension and presents a palette reminiscent of sea and sky. Light, both natural and artificial, plays an especially important role, transforming a room as it changes from morning through night. Early light is clearer and brings out the crispness of blue. Late light is warmer and emphasizes depth.

Conventional wisdom has it that blues, greens, and violets are calming, while bright colors are energetic and stimulating. But modern furniture and bedrooms don’t have to be painted in soft colors to feel relaxing. An unexpected color choice adds interest to a space and turns color theory on its head.

While you can add color to the bedroom in many ways - through accessories, bedding, or just a few pillows - don’t underestimate the power of painting a focal wall. A brave color on a single wall can transform everything around it. Especially in modern spaces, a subtle palette can seem too weak. Vivid colors add life and stand up to strong design.

Restful shades of ocean blues and sea greens call to mind peaceful afternoons at the shore and turn a simple country bedroom into a tranquil retreat. Capture the spirit of water and sky with an aqueous palette that subtly shifts with the day’s changing light.

The colors you choose for a room immediately establish its mood. In a bedroom, color - especially on the walls - can mean the difference between creating a tranquil sleeping space, a romantic boudoir, or a vibrant morning room.
When selecting colors for a bedroom, don’t worry about rules. Each of us has an innate sense of color, rooted in personal history and geography. Trust your instincts.

While a single color palette employed throughout the house can give it overall harmony, the hues you choose for the bedroom don’t need to be perfectly matched to be complementary. Nor do they have to be the colors you’re “supposed” to use for bedrooms or with certain architecture or modern furniture. A neoclassical bedroom suite can be accented with bright fuchsia. A contemporary set can look crisp against restrained, classic colors. A country cottage bedroom can splash out in a modern palette of blues.

Blue is the color most often associated with tranquility and serenity, desirable attributes in a sleeping space. Begin building your palette with the palest blue that appeals to you and use that color for your walls. This gives you the freedom to use deeper hues as accents.

Blue is one of the most popular colors for bedrooms. A single hue might have felt too strong in this low-ceilinged room, but layering blues, whites, and greens throughout lends a comfortable sophistication. A collection of old bottles, right, adds interest without detracting from the sense of serenity.

Vividly colored accessories give an all-white bedroom fresh appeal. Brilliant red against bright white creates crisp contrast. Even in small doses, bright color can make a big impact.

Adding color to an all-white room is as simple as painting on a blank canvas. By gradually layering elements onto a neutral background, with a single color or a palette of hues, you can see how much color is just enough. Begin with bed linens or small accessories that can be easily changed. Once you have a palette that pleases you, continue to add increasingly larger doses of color a bit at a time: on mouldings, a chest of drawers, or the inside of a closet door.

Choose shades that are in harmony with the tint of white in the room. Bright white is best offset by cool blues and greens, or by very saturated colors. Ivory goes beautifully with warm tones such as amber or ochre.

When selecting a color scheme for your bedroom, let personal taste guide you rather than current trends. If the bedroom is predominantly one color, vary the textures to add interest; for example, combine a smooth, crisp chintz fabric with a textured linen.

Keep in mind that walls, floors and other elements in a bedroom also have textures that add to the ambience of a room. A smooth brass headboard contrasts nicely with a tapestry bedspread. Polished hardwood flooring provides a beautiful surface that sets off a plush area rug perfectly. Effectively combining patterns to create a desired bedroom decor can be a bit confusing and somewhat intimidating. Today, many textile manufacturers are making things easier for their customers by offering such coordinating elements as fabric and wallpaper together, to make the whole process easier.

One way to successfully combine patterns is to use one fairly large design and contrast it with a geometric pattern, such as stripes, a plaid, checks or even polka dots. The patterns should coordinate with each other through color or tone with subtle contrasts of scale or proportion. It is best not to use more than one large-scale design in a room. Try using several different small-scale patterns with a larger design.

Patterns are incorporated into design schemes in a few different ways. One way is to use plain, unpatterned walls, windows and furnishings with muted colors to keep the look simple. A Shaker motif would be one example. Another approach is to use pattern throughout, on the windows, the walls, even on the furnishings.
When mixing patterns in a bedroom, use only one bold pattern throughout so that it dominates the design. You can then begin adding smaller-scale patterns and prints. A third choice is to use patterns with plain color together for a balanced look. A larger pattern on a window treatment or walls gives the room a sense of balance if other items in the room, such as the blinds, upholstery, pillows or cushions, are kept as simple as possible.

Similar designs in the same colors work well together, as do similar designs in two different colors. An exception to the rule of not using too many patterns together can be made with patterns that have similar color and scale of design, such as plaids or paisleys.