How to Choose a Color Scheme

You don't have to be an artist to use color effectively if you understand the relationship of colors to each other.

	Monochromatic Scheme Select variations in lightness and saturation of a single color from the color wheel. This look is subtle, elegant and sophisticated. It is a calm scheme that forms an excellent background for accessories and collections.
	Related Scheme Choose colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. Decide which color will be dominant and use the others as accents. A related scheme using cool colors is restful, since there is not much contrast. On the other hand, a related scheme can also become quite exciting when violet and red or pink and orange are combined.
	Complementary Scheme Complementary colors are those opposite each other on the color wheel: red and green, yellow and violet, blue and orange. Complementary color schemes are uncommon, can be very lively and often are accented with white.

How to Incorporate Neutrals

Neutrals include grays, beiges, taupes, off-whites, stark white and black. Depending on how they are used, neutrals can balance strong colors or be incorporated as effective contrasts and dramatic elements.

Use Color to Maximize Space

Lighter colors are expansive, making the room appear larger. In some cases, you may consider using a combination of colors to create an illusion. For example, if the ceiling is too high, paint it a darker or brighter color to contrast with a lighter or cooler wall color. The reverse will make ceilings appear higher.

Armoire
from the French, a cabinet originally used for storage of armor; now a tall wardrobe, often painted or carved.

Bachelor's Chest
small scale chest with drawers or doors.

Bail
reverse arch handle or drawer pull hanging downward from pins attached to a backplate.

Bamboo Turning
a wood turning to simulate natural bamboo that originated during the 18th Century.

Beading
classic ornamentation using small, half-round molding.

Bentwood
wood softened by steam for bending into curved shapes.

Bergére
a French armchair with closed upholstered sides and back.

Bombé
a surface that swells outward; typical of French chests and commodes of Louis XV.

BouIle
a French cabinetmaker who developed a special inlay technique called Boulle Work, utilizing tortoise shell, silver, brass or pewter. A sheet of metal and a sheet of tortoise were glued together, and a design was cut out of both at the same time. The cut-out piece of one material was then reinserted into a corresponding opening in the other material.

Bracket Foot
right angled foot, with each inner end curved.

Buffet
French term that refers to a sideboard for china, silver, linens, with a top surface used as serving counter.

Bunching
Furniture pieces that fit flush with each other to create unified wall arrangements.

Bun Foot< /br>a foot that resembles a slightly flattened ball.

Bureau
low chest of drawers usually for a bedroom, often with a mirror, originally a desk or table with drawers.

Burl
beautiful mottled veneer, produced by slicing cross-sections of abnormal tree growths.

Cabinet Wood
fine quality wood that is used for exterior surfaces.

Cabriole Leg
an S-shaped curve, bowing out at the knee and in at the ankle.

Campaign Chair
from British chairs used by officers, a sling seat supported by a collapsible scissor structure.

Campaign Chest
from originals used on fields of battle, a fairly low, small chest with metal corners and flush hardware.

Canted
a piece with an oblique surface, slanting backward at the sides from the central section.

Casegoods
non-upholstered furniture such as tables, dressers and bookcases.

Chest-on-Chest
a chest of drawers in two sections, usually a smaller one on top.

Cheval Mirror
free-standing mirror swung between footed posts.

Claw-and-Ball Foot
a bird or dragon claw grasping a ball.

Club Foot
a flat, round pad, usually at the bottom of a cabriole leg; also known as a spoon or pad foot.

Cocktail Table
a short-legged table usually positioned in front of a sofa or within an arrangement of chairs and a sofa or loveseat.

Commode
a low, small chest, usually with drawers or doors.

Corestock (or Core)
the center layer of a veneered wood.

Credenza
in the home office, a long piece used behind the desk with a knee hole space; often used for a computer and monitor.

Crossband
layer of wood between the core and the face ply of a veneer. Its grain is at right angles to the grain of the face ply in order to strengthen the veneer.

Deck
the surface directly under the cushions of an upholstered chair or sofa.

Director's Chair
named for its long use by Hollywood directors, a folding armchair with sling seat and back.

Distressing
a treatment sometimes called antiquing, designed to make new woods look old by means of markings.

Drape
the way a fabric hangs; this influences its ability to shape well, particularly in an upholstery skirt.

Drawer Guide
strip of wood, plastic or metal under a drawer that serves as a guiding track for opening and closing.

Dresser
from the French term, dressoir, originally a table used to dress meats that evolved into a cupboard for utensils and dishes. in the United States, the word describes a chest of drawers with a mirror.

Dry Sink
a low, Early American two-door cupboard with a sink or with an open top lined with zinc or copper.

Egg-and-Dart
a classic carving motif of ornamental molding in which an egg shape alternates with a dart.

Etagére
from the French, a series of open shelves for displaying books or objects.

Figure
the pattern or design in wood created by the growth of the tree; abnormal growths produce unusual figures.

Finial
terminal decoration used on upright posts, often of metal.

Flitch
any part of the log which is sliced into veneer.

Fluting
parallel channels, usually cut vertically; used for columns and legs.

Gesso
a plaster-like material used to make a raised design on furniture; it is often painted or gilded.

Gilding
ornamenting with gold leaf or gold dust.

Grain
the fiber arrangement in wood, giving the appearance of markings.

Hand
the way a fabric feels, refers to its resilience, drapability and flexibility.

Hardwood
a general term for wood from broadleafed trees.

Highboy
very high chest of drawers, taking its name from "haut bois" meaning "high wood" in French.

Inlay
a design is cut out of the surface and a piece of another material cut exactly the same size is inserted.

Ladder Back
back posts joined by horizontal cross-rails in ladder effect. Also called Slat Back.

Laminate
the process of bonding or gluing together layers; the final product may also be referred to as a laminate.

Linenfold
a carved motif that looks like a scroll of linen.

Low Relief
a form of decoration in which the design is only slightly raised from the surface.

Man-Made fibers
this term refers to all synthetic fibers.

Marquetry
a decorative pattern made by inlaying unusual woods, mother of pearl, etc., into a veneered surface.

Modulars or Modular System
a collection of multi-purpose units.

Molded Components
sections of furniture such as decorative panels or legs that have been molded of plastic.

Molding or Moulding
a narrow, decorative strip, recessed into or projecting from, a flat surface.

Motive or Motif
the theme or dominant feature of a design.

Natural Fibers
all fibers that occur in fiber form in nature.

Nesting Tables
set of occasional tables, in graduating sizes so that one slides under another.

Overlay
decorative veneer that is appliquéd rather than inlaid.

Patina
soft, mellow color and texture of a wood surface resulting from age, wear or rubbing.

Pedestal Table
top supported by one or more heavy, wide-based columns.

Pie Crust Table
a small table with carved or molded scalloped edges.

Pile
a fabric with a surface of upright ends, cut or looped, like velvet.

Reeding
close, parallel rows of convex moldings. The opposite of fluting.

Scroll
spiral-shaped ornamentation.

Secretary
combination slant front desk and bookcase.

Serpentine Front
chest, dresser, etc., with undulating front surfaces.

Settee
the forerunner of today's sofa, a long seat with side arms and back, sometimes upholstered.

Slub
a thick, uneven nub in yarn for a textured effect.

Sofa Table
a long table as tall as the sofa to place behind it.

Softwood
a general term for the wood of trees that remain green all year.

Spade Foot
rectangular, tapered Foot separated from the rest of the leg by a slight projection.

Stacking Furniture
pieces designed so they work together and can be super-imposed on each other for unified wall systems.

Stretcher
crosspiece connecting and bracing legs of tables, chairs, chests, etc.

Strié
a streaked or striped effect produced with yarns of varying tones.

Synthetic Fibers
manufactured fibers resulting from chemical synthesis.

Texture
the feel and appearance of a surface; also refers to the grain of wood.

Turning
an ornamental or structural part of furniture made by rotating a cylindrical piece of wood on a lathe and shaping it with cutting tools.

Veneer
a thin slice of decorative wood applied to another wood surface.

Welt
a strip of fabric, resembling a cord, sewn between two pieces of upholstery fabric to give a more finished appearance to the seam; usually made by covering a cord with a tube of fabric.

Windsor Chair
a country-style chair with a solid, shaped seat connected to the legs and chair back with round or flat shaped spindles.