White interior design can be gorgeous, warm and inviting, but nailing the winter white look isn’t easy, and takes a bit of thought and smart decor planning.
The challenge lies in making white interesting, and yes, keeping it clean, but that just comes with the territory. Words like bland or monotonous are the scariest label someone could brand your all-white room with. The wash of white should be a brilliant and inviting idea, not boring or bland. We’ve all seen a certain reality star’s all-white home, and her empty, haunted museum vibe isn’t exactly something most people want to recreate.
The success of a white room in the real world, in a real home, hinges on the incorporation of texture. Fur, corduroy, boucle and plush fabrics are your friend. Texture adds depth, warmth, and a bit of variety to the space. Unless of course you do want to relax in an armless chair with a stone slab to rest your feet or beverage on. To each their own!
Contrary to what the color-confused masses may believe, there are so many shades of white. Ivory, cream, snow, coconut, pearl, alabaster, bone, linen, and many more. They all have different undertones and light reflectance values, and hues.
Light reflectance value, or LRV, is just a technical way of describing how much light a specific color reflects. The higher the LRV, the brighter the white. This value scale is most often used when choosing paint colors, but can be applied to fabrics as well.
Undertones are easier to understand. Is the white more blue, or more yellow? An easy way to determine this is to compare the fabric or finish to a sheet of white printer paper. This will give you a rough idea of the item’s hue and undertones, but keep in mind this might be more or less obvious depending on lighting! When choosing furniture, AFW encourages shoppers to take a pillow or cushion outside to see what it looks like in bright outdoor light versus the light of the showroom.
Now to the really important stuff - What style of furniture lends itself to an ivory setting?
While almost any design style can be achieved when using white furniture and decor, some styles just work more easily than others.
Rustic styles work really well with warmer whites and create a casual atmosphere, while keeping it light and bright.
A Modern design concept is an obvious choice for white furniture, and clean lines and structured accents contribute to a crisp, airy and bright feel.
But you can wash your walls, floors, furniture and lighting is white, any way you wish! By shopping at American Furniture Warehouse, you can make your winter white home beautiful, for less!
