Furniture color: different wood colors and how to combine them

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It is difficult to live without the use of wood in the construction and furnishing of a home. Even if all the supporting structures are made of metal or concrete, finishing materials made of wood will still be used, or the furniture will be made of wood. Today you can purchase almost any wood, including valuable species, so it’s a good idea to understand the color palette.

Different colors of wood

Furniture colors

The decision on choosing the color of furniture depends on many parameters: the size and purpose of the room, its design and color palette. To make an effective choice, it is useful to get an idea of ​​the range of materials presented in furniture stores.

In a gray interior Source tobiaszmeble.lh.pl

When assessing the options, you should also understand that cabinet and upholstered furniture made from natural solids are less varied than products made from natural or painted veneer. Color solutions for veneered MDF include dozens of shades, some of which are quite unusual.

Catalog fragment Source xcm-models.com

Interior design

Wood in the interior is the easiest and most practical way to create an original design. There are main types of design: classic, elegant, modern, high-tech.

If the classic consists of a large number of wooden products, then high-tech is more universal.

Classic design

Classic style presupposes rigor, a minimum of decor, and natural shades. Lots of white is a timeless classic. The classic look also includes mahogany trim. If white color gives lightness, then red gives sophistication and shine. The style does not imply a large number of decorations and frilly products.

When decorating a classic bathroom, remember that this room is wet.

The best material for finishing walls, floors and furniture is MDF board with water-repellent impregnation and a uniform texture, as well as wood-look wallpaper. A wooden partition will look good. Stone as a wall decoration will also be an advantageous option.

Wall decoration for a classic kitchen can be done with wooden wallpaper with a smooth texture; saw cuts, metal products as decorations, aprons made of small or large stones, a wall made of tiles imitating brick can be used as decoration.

For small kitchens, it is better to use light-colored wood, such as oak, as well as furniture with glass inserts. The best color is white.

For the classic interior of a living room, children's room, hallway, bedroom, products made from natural wood, preferably oak, are best suited. The living room has parquet floors and a beamed ceiling that goes well with a forged metal chandelier; walls covered with natural wooden wallpaper, simple furniture - all elements are made in shades of the same color. Well-thought-out details: a fireplace lined with natural stone and brick, picture frames and windows.

The hallway goes very well with white details. Decor made from sawn wood will look beautiful when creating an interior in a classic style for rooms.

Sleek design

The design assumes the presence of sophisticated decorative products. Very stylish aged wood in light or dark shades. Only natural materials, such as oak, are used in finishing.

In the bathroom, aged wood on the floors, walls, and furniture will look luxurious. As decoration there are gilded handles and taps, wooden figurines, and forged metal lamps.

A beautiful kitchen interior will be created by beams - ceiling beams made of light wood. Parquet floor with beautiful texture. Chests of drawers and cabinets, antique or made to look like old wood with carved handles and legs, including metal ones, will look elegant in the children's room and bedroom. In the nursery it is better to use light wood.

The living room and hallway can be finished in dark oak or mahogany.

In the living room it is better to use empire style mirrors, candlesticks, and figurines. Coffered ceilings will complement the interior. The walls in the rooms do not need to be covered with wood. The elegant style is characterized by arches as doorways and window frames.

An elegant style is also appropriate in a country house. A design made in white will add lightness to the interior of the rooms and expand the space. The ideal setting is a fireplace that combines masonry made of natural or artificial stone or brick.

Art Nouveau style

The Art Nouveau style is characterized by smooth transitions, asymmetrical lines, and soft decor. The interior is most similar to the style of the early 20th century. Materials for manufacturing should be used from softwood. Pastel colors or just white will look more advantageous.

Parquet floors in the living room, bedroom, nursery, kitchen and bathroom should not have clear geometric patterns.

The “old” floor will look great in the kitchen, living room and hallway. In a children's room, the interior in the Art Nouveau style will benefit from a ceiling with floral patterns. Panels made from saw cuts of various types of wood work well as decorations in the living room. Stonework in the bathroom will create the feeling of an old, medieval home.

For a country house, you can choose accessories and products from good, valuable wood with an ideal texture.

A coffee table with carved legs and a glass tabletop, a fireplace decorated with artificial brick, a section of a wall or an entire wall can look great in stone, sawn partitions painted in natural colors are an excellent combination for a living room. The combination of three elements - fire, water and stone - is a brilliant option for a house outside the city.

High-tech style

High-tech is a style in which there is nothing superfluous, all details, decorations and accessories are thought out to the smallest detail. High-tech design involves a combination of wood, glass and stone in one interior. Especially if there is a lot of glass and stone, also brick. The tree comes more as an auxiliary element. The color is cold.

High-tech tile floors in the bathroom, combined with stone walls.

The use of wooden products in the design of a children's room will dilute the coldness of the high-tech style. The floor and walls for a high-tech kitchen without a pronounced wooden texture; it is best to use regular wallpaper or with a blurred wood pattern. A high-tech style bedroom involves an interior using partitions, wardrobes with glass inserts.

The high-tech decoration of the living room and hallway will be a laminate floor or cool-colored tiles, metal accessories, and walls lined with stone or brick.

Light furniture

Thanks to furniture in pastel shades, even a modest-sized room is filled with light and seems more spacious. Light colors furnish classic and minimalist interiors and are a common choice for the bedroom or kitchen. Light furniture is made from the following types of wood:

• Shimo ash. There are several types of material: milk, cream, coffee. A characteristic feature is distinct tree stripes.

Bedroom in a modern style Source bedroom.adstores.ru

• Karelian birch. It has a patterned texture with a beautiful pattern reminiscent of marble. The background is white, light yellow or brownish sand. The pattern is darker - brown to black or with a reddish tint. A unique feature of Karelian birch is its moire pattern, when dark fibers are visible through light ones. The color of their birch furniture is characterized by a glowing effect, giving it a luxurious look.

From solid Karelian birch Source euromebelshop.ru

• Light beech. The structure of the wood is uniform, so the color is distributed evenly. The shades are quite varied: whitish-gray or beige with a pinkish, yellowish or brownish-reddish tint.
• Pine. Material with a pronounced amber texture and brownish-brown stains. Sometimes products are deliberately given a more saturated, almost orange hue.

In addition to the main varieties, light varieties include acacia with a yellowish-gray surface, gray-pearl or matte beige milky oak, alder, apple, and pear.

Pine set

See also: Catalog of companies that specialize in the construction of turnkey country houses

What is veneer and what colors does it come in?

Natural veneer (translated from German “spene” - “chips”) is a light and thin material, one of the types of wood sheets. It is glued over furniture made from composite materials to give the products a natural look, almost indistinguishable from solid wood. The colors of wood for furniture covered with veneer are also varied - there are covers made from chestnut, apricot, oak and many other trees.

From veneer you can create artistic facades like this

Most often, thin wood sheets are made from the following species:

• Oak _ It has many types, and they all have different shades - from almost white to chocolate. In addition, certain sections of the trunks are used to create veneer, so the shades and structures are even more diverse. Oak veneer is used not only for furniture, but also for doors, parquet and other items.
• Walnut . Despite the large number of varieties, it is predominantly dark brown.
• Maple . Wood and, accordingly, veneer from this species can have either an almost white color or different shades of brown.
• Cherry . Differs in red-brown tone. Cherry wood is used to create luxury furniture. Veneer from this tree is also highly valued.
• Wenge . Also used to create furniture, doors and other items. Color varies from brown to black.
• Pine . Furniture veneer is also made from this species - one of the most affordable. It has a light beige-yellow tint.
• Karelian birch . It is easy to recognize the veneer made from this wood - it has a unique marble pattern and the color of honey.

Furniture covered with veneer is almost indistinguishable from solid wood furniture

Intermediate colors

When figuring out what furniture colors there are and how they fit with a particular finish, many people pay attention to furniture in intermediate shades. It is valued for its ability to fit into interiors of different color palettes. Often it serves as a compromise for small spaces, when it is important that objects do not look bulky, and white interiors are not liked. Almost all intermediate shades are warm; items are made from the following types of wood:

• Oak. The name rustic oak is often found; means a medium brown shade, close to the color of chocolate or hazelnut shells.

Retro-style bedroom Source russdveri.ru

• Cherry. Includes a whole range of shades from golden to reddish-red and dark red. It is valued by designers for its structure reminiscent of noble mahogany.
• Alder. The wood can have a rich honey, beige-red or reddish tint.

In the green dining room Source i.pinimg.com

Tips for choosing colors and the best combinations

In well-lit, spacious rooms with large windows, you can safely put dark things of any size. If the room is less than 17 meters, it makes sense to think about a mixed option. For example, black and white facades, where there is a lot of white. Or find reddish-brown things. They will add comfort to the home atmosphere.

Designers advise decorating small living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens only in pastel colors. Against the background of peach, milky, blue walls, a cabinet made of light beech or ash will look almost airy.

It is easiest to combine finishes with them and add bright details to the design. In other cases, this should be done carefully so as not to overload the space. If you want to create a strict design, look for inspiration in a cool palette. In warm weather, when there is not enough sun in the home.

Dark colors

Furniture in a dark, rich palette gives the interior a touch of respectability. It is used to create a wide variety of interiors: classic, rustic, chalet and modern. Dark furnishings eat up space, but individual dark objects can be included in the interior of small rooms. Dark tones include:

• Nut. Popular dark brown color, with chocolate, reddish or gray tint. The texture is heterogeneous: beautiful winding stripes, dark veins.

On a light floor Source st.hzcdn.com

• Red tree. Among the various names for furniture colors, this is most often associated with luxury. Several species fall under the name, including sandalwood, mahogany (tropical species), berry yew, padauk. The wood is red-brown or dark cherry in color; The texture and degree of saturation differs among different varieties. Natural wood darkens over time.

How to make your interior truly stylish Source 1.bp.blogspot.com

• Wenge. The color of mature wood is unusually decorative and varied; the palette includes blue-black, chocolate, burgundy tones with black or golden veins.
• Ebony. Depending on the breed, the color can be deep black, dark brown, with a reddish tint, with grayish or beige stripes.

In wenge color Source 4.bp.blogspot.com
See also: Catalog of companies that specialize in interior redevelopment

Combination with stone and brick

Combination with different materials in the interior: glass, stone, plastic, gives a different end result, but what remains the same is that wood is a universal and popular finish.

Stone and wood in the interior as two natural materials complement each other. Warm and soft wood with strong stone are indispensable for creating eco, Provence and country style. Pebble mosaics and plank floors, decorative stone fragments, parquet boards and beams combine perfectly and are suitable for any interior.

Brick and wood in the interior or imitation brickwork is suitable for the corridor, living room, stairs.

Brick can be bleached, aged, plain or of different sizes; such variations create a different image of the room. The use of wood in an interior with brick is necessary to create an unusual design for a country house: wooden frames and doors, stairs, partitions and redwood floors in combination with antique chests of drawers.

How to combine wood in the interior

In any interior you can find many wooden components. This is not only a cabinet or table, but also flooring (laminate or parquet), a door, a mirror frame. To create a harmonious interior, you should focus not only on the colors of the furniture and their names, but also on the color of the surroundings; The following tips will help:

• When choosing the color of furniture, it is important to consider what kind of interior it is intended for. There are interiors (usually modern) where the accent is important, and its role can be played not only by the closet or doors, but also by the floor covering. In classic interiors, coherence and color harmony are more important.

In the office Source static.wixstatic.com

• Accent. In most interiors, the emphasis is on furniture, with the floor and walls serving as the background. Therefore, it is important that there is a contrast in color between the set and the decoration. In this case, doors and baseboards should match, but doors and floors should not.
• Limitation. It is recommended to limit yourself to two shades of wood in one room to avoid chaos. Three colors are allowed if one of them is white.

On a white background Source st.hzcdn.com

• Combination. There will always be a good result if you combine only warm or only cold tones of wood.
• The shades should not be related, differing by a tone or two - you will always get the impression that you tried to choose a color, and it didn’t work out.
• Unity of texture (pattern). If the surface of the floor or doors has a noticeable ring pattern, furniture, regardless of color, is also chosen with a bright texture. Textiles are chosen using the same principle - colors may differ, but the print must be repeated.

Unity of texture Source veloxng.com

• Unity of finishing style. Harmony will be preserved if all wooden surfaces, regardless of color and species, are processed in the same way: deliberately rough or, conversely, carefully polished.
• Separation. There are two equally disastrous situations: when, for example, the table merges with the floor covering, or when they do not combine in any way. In both cases, a carpet can save the situation. It will separate the table from the floor, creating a distracting color accent.

In the hallway Source dekormyhome.ru

About painting technology

In addition to the correct choice of paint color for wood, painting technology is of great importance. Only in this case the paint will not peel off several months after painting.

Choosing color and painting wood

When painting externally and internally, you will have to choose between glazing and covering compounds. The former protect the wood from moisture and insects, but the texture remains visible. As for covering compounds, they form an opaque layer on the surface.

The choice of paint color depends on many factors; when painting surfaces inside the house, the color scheme of wood paints is selected taking into account the overall design of the room. For example, when decorating the kitchen of a timber house in the Provence style, preference is given to light shades, but dark shades (mahogany, ebony, wenge, etc.) are not used at all.

In the photo - a kitchen in Provence style

When painting the exterior of a house, there are more options, such as:

• light, calm colors (beige, white, etc.). Finnish houses are usually decorated in exactly this color scheme;

Note! When using light shades, you can combine it with dark inserts. This will make the house look more impressive.

• it is allowed to use rich shades, for example, the color of teak wood will give a reddish tint after painting;
• You can use other shades, for example, green. You just need to take into account that the paint consumption should be higher so that the wood texture does not show through.

Greenish tint of the house

Also, when choosing the color of wooden houses, you should take into account the surrounding environment. If the colors of neighboring buildings are in calm, light colors, then it makes sense to choose the same shade. In this case, using bright colors will be unnecessary; the house will simply look ridiculous against the background of its neighbors.

As for painting wood with your own hands, when doing exterior work you should adhere to the following recommendations:

• do not quit work halfway, then the border between areas will be noticeable;
• paint under normal conditions - low humidity, direct sunlight does not fall on the paint;
• Before applying the next layer, wait for the previous one to dry.

It's better to paint the whole house at once

When working inside the house, the instructions require:

• provide good ventilation;
• thoroughly sand the surface before painting;
• in order to prevent the paint from being absorbed into the wood, it must first be primed;
• To obtain an even, rich color, 3 or more layers of paint may be needed. The drying time for each layer depends on the type of paint.

It is important to understand that the final result largely depends on the type of surface. For example, the color walnut applied to a board with an expressive texture in 1 layer will give an interesting effect - the texture of the wood will be visible, so it will seem that the board is really made of walnut. But if you apply paint to a sheet of chipboard, you will get a solid, even color.

Experiments with paint

Sometimes the desired effect cannot be achieved by simply painting or applying varnish to a wooden surface. In this case, you have to experiment and combine different compositions.

Note! It is advisable to carry out experiments on an unnecessary piece of wood. Otherwise, the price of such creativity will be too high.

This technique is often used when it is necessary to age wood or achieve the effect of bleached wood.

To get the desired effect you need:

• first brush the wooden surface with a wire brush to remove soft wood fibers;

Removing soft fibers

• clean the surface of small sawdust;
• then the fun begins - apply 1 thin layer of light paint, wait until it dries;
• protruding hard fibers will remain unpainted, imitating an old surface. A couple of layers of varnish can be applied on top to protect the surface from abrasion and fading.

Result of effort

A combination of shades for the same purpose is also possible. This does not mean mixing different colors, but sequential coloring in different shades. Any colors of wood paints can be combined in this way, the main thing is to ensure that one shows through from under the other, creating the illusion of wear and tear received over years of use.

Features of the material

Birch wood has a fairly uniform structure, there is practically no resin in it, which allows the furniture to withstand heavy loads. At the same time, the material is plastic, malleable to processing. All these properties make it possible to create interior items that can last for several decades. Main characteristics of the birch tree:

• after drying, its density decreases slightly and is about 650 kg/m²;
• belongs to soft wood species, is not subject to splitting, does not crack;
• in the production of furniture, the viscosity and elasticity of the material reduce the cost of its processing;
• Birch is a coreless wood species, that is, there is no dark spot in the center of the cut, the raw material is homogeneous in structure.

Any material of natural origin requires special processing or painting. Birch is one of the exceptions. Due to the fact that it has a smooth structure, furniture made from it does not need to be painted. You can get by with only a slight protective layer in the form of varnish. Sometimes wood can be bleached, which will emphasize its interesting structure. Painted raw materials are similar to other types of wood: pine, oak.

Birch processing occurs in a certain sequence:

• drying;
• gluing;
• polishing;
• coating with impregnating substances;
• final processing.

Before using wood in production, it is well dried. This procedure prevents possible deformation of the furniture and the appearance of fungus. After this, the bars are glued together into panels of a certain thickness and then polished. Any wood is thoroughly impregnated with special solutions, which increases its shelf life and slightly changes its shade. Then the raw material can be subjected to additional processing: grinding and steaming (as, for example, legs for rocking chairs are made).

The highest quality furniture is made from Karelian birch. It is believed that a bed made from this material can last up to 30 years, and a set even longer.

Which furniture is better - pine or birch?

We agree that furniture made of natural wood is the choice for those who care about their health, safety, and want to create an environmentally friendly environment in their home. But which solid wood is stronger, birch or pine? Let's take a look.

Pine has more pronounced fibers, it is more difficult to process, but it copes better with the effects of increased dampness. Therefore, it is more suitable for the kitchen. And due to the resin content, pine releases a special pleasant aroma into the air, neutralizing kitchen odors. However, pine is inferior to birch in attractiveness. The latter will decorate any interior, while solid pine is chosen for country and country properties, to recreate the style of country or rustic design. When choosing furniture, you should also focus on the features of the room.

Pine furniture is less durable, more susceptible to mechanical stress, and scratches appear more easily after careless handling. Therefore, we do not recommend choosing it for a child’s room.

Birch furniture is more durable, so if long service life is your priority, choose it. Interestingly, the power elements in pine furniture are often made from birch to improve performance parameters. However, birch is more expensive than pine, the difference is from 30 to 60%, which for some buyers becomes a decisive factor.