Home Furniture Design and Fabric Selection

Home furniture design and fabric selection are very important to a modern homeowner, whether male or female. Nobody wants to choose the wrong furniture or home fabrics, and although the furniture might appear the more important of the two, the wrong fabric selection can completely ruin an otherwise well-designed room.

So what do you do? Leave it to chance and hope that your untrained eye is as good as that of anybody else, or hire a professional to help you? In fact, your own opinion about how to decorate and furnish your home is likely to please you just as much as that of a professional interior designer. Most people who worry about such things are trying to please friends and visitors rather than select what they personally like.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, because most people do not make the best decisions when it comes to home furniture design and fabric selection. While there is no procedure you can follow to come up with what is best for your home, here are some guidelines on how to go about selecting your furniture design and how to make the correct fabric selection to go with it.

Decide on a Theme

You cannot even begin to consider furniture without deciding on a theme for your home - or even for each individual room. Very few people furnish and decorate their entire home on one single theme, but tend to mix them. Thus, many people love to have at least one themed room in their home: an Egyptian room or a room based on Ancient Rome, Classical Greece or an Asian, Wild West or Native American theme.

None of these is suitable for general household furniture, of course, or for the normal fabric selection you will find in your local sores. However, it does show that your whole house doesn't have to be decorated the same way. So when you decide on a theme, your living room, dining room, kitchen and bedroom can all be based on a certain home accent - even a traditional one.

For example, you can use antique style furniture and fabrics in your lounge or living room, with sofas and perhaps a chaise longue in the classical French style. Your dining room might be either contemporary, with a black glass-topped dining room table or one in beautiful glossy French polished walnut or mahogany with Queen Anne legs. The chairs might be traditionally webbed and sprung, and then upholstered in tapestry or velvet fabric.

What this is inferring is that you should decide on a general them for each room before you decide on appropriate home furniture design, and then choose the furniture and a fabric selection appropriate to that theme.

Home Furniture Design

As stated, the design of your furniture should go with the theme: contemporary, antique, Georgian or art nouveaux for example. Furniture makers such as The Custom Shoppe can help you design your own solid wood furniture, offering a choice of designs and woods appropriate to your general theme.

You may have chosen a Shaker theme with simple solid wood furniture. Shakers used what was available locally, such as pine, birch, cherry and poplar, and some even used maple or beech. You might prefer something more European, with stained dark oak, walnut, or cherry veneer or the exotic cinnamon-colored Asian teak or solid mahogany which has a beautiful deep red shade. Rosewood is another beautiful wood suitable for most forms of home furniture design.

Traditional American furniture, such as that available from American Craftsman, could be fashioned from light oak, apple or cherry, and black American black cherry is very much in vogue. So is Maple, although the wood you choose should be appropriate to the rest of the furniture in your room.

Home Fabric Selection

If you choose light oak for your dresser or armoire, a walnut or mahogany chest of drawers or table would not go well. This is where advice on home furniture design would be worth seeking. The same is even truer when you consider your home fabric selection. This is where genuinely serious mistakes can be made.

It would be far better if you could find somebody well versed in interior design, and while you might think that it doesn't really matter - it does! If your drapes, rugs and upholstery fabrics all match, and the colors and designs were appropriate to the type of furniture you have chosen, then an OK room could be converted into a fabulous room.

Get It Right - For the Cats, Kids and the Visitors!

Keep in mind that not all fabrics are cat-proof, and many are also not child-proof. What that means in general terms is that you should be practical when choosing fabrics, and understand that what might be perfect for occasional dinner parties might not be so suitable for general use in a household with kids and a colony of cats with blunt claws needing sharpening!

Space planning, home furniture design, fabric selection and all the rest that make a room what it is, should be thought out and complement each other. You will get your reward when that first visitor walks into your room and gasps 'WOW!' That is why you should make a serious effort to get these things right.

Top Design Influences for Italian Furniture Designers

What have been some of the influences on top Italian furniture style in the world? Going back to the late 15th century, the Renaissance period brought major influences from around the world, including Japanese furniture designers. Ancient Roman and Greek art designs began to show up in furniture designers' work. Yet, the Renaissance soon made way for more contemporary furniture designs influenced by local culture.

Shortly after the Renaissance, the Catholic Church's influence grew to much that modern architects brought a new look to modern furniture style revolved around the influence of the Church. The Catholic Church led a revitalization and redesign of Rome that spread a Baroque influence throughout Italy followed by Europe in the 17th century.

As new forms of woodworking flourished in Rome, cabinets, bookshelves and other modern furniture styles were embellished with Baroque accents. Famous Italian furniture architects created gilded frames, Italian chests, Florentine consoles and cabinets as well as lion commodes all with creative and extensive carvings to create a majestic and royal design.

While these were large, dominating pieces, the Baroque period turned to what is known as the Empire and Neo classicism style where shapes and forms began to dominate the work of famous designers. Contemporary furniture style were skilled in their design technique that had been passed down. In the 19th Century, Italian furniture designers returned to their Renaissance roots with Gothic influences. Oriental, in particular, Japanese interior design began to influence Italian design. Italy is known worldwide as a premier hub for fashion, design and creativity.

Gio Ponti is one of the most famous Italian furniture designers of the modern world. While he was primarily an architect, Ponti brought great influence to modern furniture styles. Ponti was best known for his chairs, in particular the Distex armchair, his "Due Foglie" sofa, glass bottles and unique lamps as well as ceramic accessories and a line of home furniture. His Superleggera (SuperLight) chair was also another well-known design created by this furniture designer.

Ponti, however, is only one of many Italian furniture designers that have influenced modern furniture designers. A strong focus on detail, quality and design bring strength to Italian furniture. Italian furniture, with its Baroque accents, is still popular with Classic, Tuscan, Renaissance and modern contemporary architects the most popular today.

Trends in Home Furniture Design

Trends in furniture design have seen significant changes over the last several years, as more people look to increase the value of their life at home. Some want new furniture to compliment the home improvement projects they've undertaken to improve the resale value of their homes. Others are looking for ways to make home life more comfortable and convenient. Whatever the motivation, a desire to add luxury and personality is evident in trends in home furniture design.

Luxury Modern

The emerging Luxury Modern design style features the clean lines, open feel and spare color palette of contemporary decorating styles, with an emphasis on luxury materials. Quarry tile work is preferred over laminate or vinyl, leather fabric over synthetic textiles, and gold-toned metallic accents over chrome. While the house furniture retains the sleek, unadorned lines of contemporary decorating styles, natural materials, such as wood and leather, are more likely to be featured. Glass is frequently used for coffee, dining room and end tables, primarily to better showcase statement decorative objects.

Eclectic Style

With the eclectic style, the focus is on rich colors, materials and textures, rather than on adhering to any single period decorating style. Furniture may be purchased in sets, but it is unlikely that the set will be grouped together. Instead, the pieces may find their way into different locations throughout the home, serving as unifying elements that tie the design together. Whereas in most decorating styles, the intent is to present a cohesive whole, in the eclectic style, each individual piece provides visual interest.

Furniture for an eclectic room may feature an unusual design, fabric or shape. When shopping online or brick-and-mortar home furniture stores for the eclectic style, look for lush fabrics, decorative detailing and interesting forms. Search by color and material, not simply by decorating style.

Old World Style

The continuing trend to present interiors that look as if they have been assembled over time has many homeowners turning to the Old World decorating style. This style features quality house furniture that looks as if it has been handed down for generations. In home furniture, leather is the star of the Old World style. Furniture like sofas, loveseats, ottomans and chairs crafted in fine leather add a feeling of history to home décor.

An earth-tone palette is favored in furnishings in the Old World style, with surfaces such as wood, marble and leather that offer depth and texture, rather than gleam and shine. Textured walls, fine upholstery and heavy fabrics for window treatments are hallmarks of the Old World style.

Trends in furniture design are leaning towards styles that allow personal expression, with an emphasis on quality materials, fabrics and construction. Searching online home furniture stores for the latest trends in furniture may be more convenient than wandering through warehouse furniture stores. Browse stores today to discover that latest designs!

The Influence of Japanese Furniture Designers

The interest in Japanese furniture designs has drastically increased since Japan opened its trade borders in the 19th century. The desire to create a simplistic, relaxing home environment surrounds the entire concept of Japanese home and interior design.

The Japanese use the concept of "ma," the distance or space between two objects as the core of their designs. Ma is also described as a consciousness that imparts a feeling or particular sense on a person entering a room.

Contemporary designers in Japan use ma to design a room. When a piece such as a chair, sofa or bed, is placed in a room, a Japanese designer will focus on the space around the item to create the ambiance for the room. This technique is particularly useful in Zen design where simplicity and technology meet art and function.

Japanese designers tend to wrap their designs around simplicity. Primary materials used in top furniture designs are wood, rattan and bamboo. Darkwood is extremely popular, and wood is primarily used because of the clean lines and shapes produced. Furniture is generally kept to a minimum, particularly in a bedroom where ambiance, space and simplicity take over. Japanese designs with a Zen-like influence have taken over the Eastern world, with the demand high for contemporary furniture designers' work.

Top furniture designers, even in America, have begun to focus on Japanese or Zen designs. One of the most influential Japanese designers was Kappei(Katsuhei) Toyoguchi who was instrumental in creating furniture standards that have been built into the Japanese Industrial standard.

Another modern furniture designer who has influenced Japanese trends is Watanabe Riki who helped start the Japan Design Committee and the Japan Industrial Design Committee. He was also in charge of the interior design for some extremely infamous Japanese buildings using modern furniture design such as the Tokyo Hilton. He is also noted for designs that were works of art but yet affordable furniture and materials. In the 1950s, Riki came to America to study and began influencing and add Japanese designs to American furniture designs. These days, many modern furniture stores carry style that have been influenced by Riki or Toyoguchi. When designing, consider using some of the Japanese furniture designs to create an element of ambiance to your room.