Who says refreshment says paint, who says paint says color and who says color says KARINE MATTE of Matte and Glossy. It was impossible for us not to think of Karine when we started thinking about this blog post topic. Just check out her incredibly diverse Instagram account to see for yourself her talent as a stylist and decorator.
So we picked up the BEST to help you make better wood and color scheme decisions, because if you already follow us a bit on social media (Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest) you've probably noticed that we're not the color professionals (haha)!
Without further ado, we leave our pen to the talented Karine so that she can guide you through your next home design choices!
The magic of color
When I started my job as a stylist 2 years ago, I was afraid to dare to use color on my client's walls... Even at home, probably because of a lack of confidence, white was everywhere. With white, you can't go wrong!
Before launching myself into the wonderful world of color, which is now an integral part of my DNA, I obviously tested (a lot) on the walls of my home and mainly in my dining room!
A Pinterest image came to haunt me one day and without much thought, I painted the main wall blue! And it was on that day, without knowing it, that I learned so much about the power of color and its environment! Oh how beautiful it was! But my eye was telling me otherwise... something was wrong... My inspiration photo was far from the reality that lay in front of my disappointed eyes...
Ta daaaam!
When we think of wood, neutral colors come to mind and we often don't think of this element of nature when creating our decor. Wood, whatever it is, has natural colors, from light beige to dark brown and even red, orange or even yellow!
If I go back to the chromatic circle theory, the secret of creating a harmonious decor is in the complementary color combinations! Yes, there are also monochromes, analogies and triads but my example of the blue wall is related to its complementary color: orange! A little reminder from art classes Circa 1984; complementary colors are two opposite colors on the chromatic circle: blue and orange, red and green, yellow and violet.
Back to the big problem (futile, I know!): in my new dining room, I had a huge crush and a big disappointment...
Let's start with the positive! I have two beautiful teak furniture pieces leaning against the blue wall! To my delight, the orange wood essence stood out even more!
Wow!
And the negative? My floor!!! I hated my floor since I bought the house... The finish was turning orange and that's why I changed the decor of the house so often; to forget it! But with the blue wall, without knowing it, the wood essence that had turned orange was even more 'in my face'! The horror!
And here is the magic of complementary colors! Two complementary colors side by side are enhanced! They feed off each other and become even more vivid! You will understand that my orange floor had become fluorescent! It was too much, it was time to sand it!
It is therefore essential to choose the right wall color or decorative accent, considering the type of wood chosen!
Here are some examples of successful combinations to match the color with your beautiful wood furniture:
Light wood (maple and natural oak): white, ivory, black and pastels like old pink and mint.
Golden wood (natural oak or hickory): emerald green, mineral blue, carmine red.
Orange wood (teak or cherry): teal blue, amethyst purple.
Dark wood (walnut or stained oak): All variations of white.
A little friendly advice: check the background color of the wood species (whitened, golden, orange), it will influence the color of your walls!
