Color Palette
Color Palette: I think what overwhelms many people when beginning to decorate their space, is identifying a color palette. Many designers have different ways of doing this, but a common jumping off point is the rug that will ground the room and anchor pieces together. If you are starting a room or space from scratch, the rug can be a good place to begin, and draw your colors from.
I think this is true even if you are using a neutral rug with a minimal palette. Another jumping off point is drawing colors from whatever existing pieces you are incorporating into the space, whether it’s a piece of art, an antique furnishing, or the existing flooring in the space.
In our Zurich apartment, we needed to work with the gray stone floors and counters. Because the apartment is modern and gray is a cooler color, I really wanted to warm up the space with natural materials that added warmth: wood, leather, jute, wool, and marble, as well as warmer tones, like creams, tans, and browns.
Another point to consider, all of the existing materials in the apartment are very flat and have no sheen (think honed stone vs polished), so having some reflective materials would help bounce light and warmth around. I tried to bring in reflective surfaces in my floor lamps, mirrors, and shiny side table from Zanotta. You could also add reflective votives.
Rug as foundation of color palette:
We started with the living room rug from Overstock.com:
The Sofa as part of the color palette:
The next big piece to choose was the sofa. I love B & B Italia and the Atoll sofa was it for me for several reasons… I love the lines of it, the back isn’t too high, the base/ frame is open to the floor (which is ideal for a small space as it looks lighter than a sofa whose frame rests on the floor, like a skirted sofa), I prefer less seat cushions because it is easier to keep clean, less places for crumbs to fall, and looks tidier to my eye.
I also love the rolled arms as is softens the rectangular shape of the sofa, room, and apartment. And I love the length of this sofa. I placed mine in front of a large window, so I didn’t want a high back that blocked the view, but also the length fills the space nicely.
There are many configurations of this sofa available. I do love the full leather, but this was not in my budget. Here are the materials I chose, with an active family in mind. It is good to understand the fabric ratings, which test the durability of a fabric. The Spruce has a good description of how fabrics are tested.
Because I chose the rug and sofa as my focal points, I wanted to keep the remaining furniture pieces more neutral, but add interest with different textured materials. This is why I chose the two off white leather chairs (Room and Board) and the boucle daybed by BYYU. Finally, we added a caramel colored cowhide ottoman to tie in the tans in the rug and the leather on the sofa.
Another important consideration is the negative space around your furnishings… you want to be able to move easily and see openness, so pieces have room to breathe. This will also mean when you have guests over, there will be plenty of room for them to move around as well.
And here’s how it came together:
I hope this is helpful as you navigate your spaces. Just take your time, order lots of samples, and have fun!
