Designing custom office furniture can be an excellent capital investment. To ensure longevity and the ability of the design to work well with changing schemes, many industrial designers look to neutral palettes. Neutral palettes are soothing to the eye and promote calm. They tend to project an air of establishment, class, and longevity.
Neutral palettes tend to be colors found in nature, and they work well when mixed with other color schemes. Neutrals range from whites through creams and ivory; brown neutrals move from golden camel to khaki to deeper wood colors, such as walnut. Greys can move from pale silvers through pewter and steel shades, to deepest charcoal. Some designers also consider Navy blue and black as neutral colors.
When considering how to neutral palettes with other colors or each other, designers use several properties of color to find good mixes. Colors can be warm or cool and light or dark within the same color family. Staying within cool or warm tones, and using dark tones of similar colors for accents- such as using silver gray on walls, pewter and steel tweeds on furniture, and charcoal art frames and vases- keeps visual interest while maintaining a soothing, professional look.
Another factor when considering textiles for custom furniture is using textures and patterns within the neutral color scheme. Textured fabrics can combine colors and provide visual interest, and patterns woven in several neutral colors can work well with a changing design scheme.
Most complimentary colors work well with basic neutral palettes on furniture. Consider first the primaries- red, yellow, and blue, and then secondary colors for a more unique look. Shades of olive green, as an example, work well with both the ivory/camel neutrals and silver grays. Violet blues, as well, can be an interesting secondary accent color for both ivory/camel neutrals and the various shades of gray. By using secondary accent colors for the less expensive office decor, such as pillows and vases, a redesign can retain the classic neutral as a base and avoid an expensive redesign of custom office furniture.
Consider the beautiful range of rich neutral palettes for a custom office furniture design project. We would love to work with you on your office furniture design. Please get in touch!
