How to Decorate With White Appliances & Knotty Pine
Knotty pine is used as a design element in traditional American homes and in homes designed to have rustic appeal. The knots in the wood act as focal points drawing the eye. Knotty pine does not fade into the background like pedestrian oak or maple wood cabinets and furniture. Modern stark white appliances are an element that does not naturally complement rustic pine. Adding certain paint and decorative touches can bring these two disparate design elements into harmony. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Harmonize Your Knotty Pine and White Appliances
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Understand that for decorating purposes your pine is not a neutral wood. Pine is an unusual wood in that it does not read as brown to the eye--it reads as yellow with a hint of green. To work with knotty pine choose colors that complement greenish-yellow, which include blue, blue-violet and violet.
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Know your whites. Modern appliances are made with bright whites that generally include a bit of blue. Blue-whites are the brightest possible whites and further limit your color pattern. Blue-whites are best paired with cool colors (like the blues and violets mentioned above). They look cheap when paired with warm colors like red, orange or brown.
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Avoid additional high-contrasts. Stark white appliances, greenish-yellow knotty pine and their mix of modern and rustic styles, is enough contrast for one room. When choosing other features, always select the subdued option. Select matte, eggshell or frosted finishes in all cases. Soft finishes in paint and on metals will contribute to toning down the contrasts in your environment. Pick paint in pastel or near-pastel shades. Chose metallic elements like drawer pulls, plumbing fixtures and lighting fixtures in matte finishes; shiny elements will be wholly out of place when mixed with knotty pine.
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Choose flooring that matches either your appliances or your knotty pine. Again, avoid contrast. Wood, laminate and linoleum all come in pine or faux-pine patterns. White flooring is also an option; however, white flooring is very difficult to maintain in households with children or pets. Consider subtly patterned ceramic Mexican, Italian or Spanish tile with a white base--particularly if the tile features a chosen paint color.
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Use circles as a design element. The knots in your knotty pine are, to the eye, a repeating pattern of circles or swirls. Repeat this circular element in your room through the use of circular drawer pulls, circular faux-paint or wallpaper patterns, round rugs, round place mats, fabrics with round patterns or round lighting fixtures. The use of rounded shapes will help to offset any of your modern white appliance's harsh angles.
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Tips & Warnings
Diffuse light sources to further soften the contrasts in your room.
