Have you always wanted to set up your home as you saw it in our catalog or as you envision it in your sweetest dreams? The online configurator from CraftinLearning.com offers you numerous options to let your imagination run wild. To steer your creativity in the right direction, we have prepared a few tips and tricks for you that professional furniture makers swear by. Discover the secret of how to skilfully combine colours, shapes and materials!
Tip 1: White is not always white
Brilliant white is one of the most popular color tones for furniture decor and for furnishings in general. It is not for nothing that the classic white cupboard is one of the products that our customers order most frequently. Surfaces in white look fresh, bring lightness into the room and can be excellently combined with different colors and materials. But watch out: There is a surprisingly large variety of white tones, some of which differ significantly in their effect. You can find these white plain decors with us:
- White
- Satin white
- Pure white premium MDF
- White high gloss
- White super matt
You also have the option of providing your cupboard or shelf with a lacquered surface in super matt or high-gloss piano lacquer. The differences between the RAL white tones can be illustrated here based on their proximity to different color families:
- Pearl white, ivory & light ivory are located in the beige and yellowish tones
- Creamy white has a reddish-brown undertone
- Off-white and signal white go in the greyish direction
- Pure white and traffic white are kept rather neutral
- On the real glass fronts, snow white glossy and snow white satin are very bright and radiant, white glossy and white satin look a little warmer
This is how you combine white and white correctly
Due to the different undertones and gloss levels, not all types of white decors and finishes can be combined with one another. For example, if you want to configure the cabinet front in high-gloss white, the body should not have a different glossy finish. Instead, a contrast program in the form of White Supermatt comes into question.
In general, if your furniture has two different white surfaces, they should differ enough to really look like different decors. If you choose a fresh, neutral pure white or white super matt for the body, a lacquer finish in ivory or light ivory in super matt or high gloss will go with it. Of course you can also make the body shine with white high gloss. Then we recommend a matt front in pearl white or cream white.
A simpler solution is to design the body and front in the same color tone: For example, choose our pure white premium MDF for the body and combine it with a lacquered front in pure white. Or opt for a decorative frame front in white with a white body to create a harmonious look with country house flair. Decide on a uni decor or a RAL color for a uniform look. For a little more variety, you can plan one surface matt and the other high-gloss.
Extra tip: Order selected sample decors and our color fan to take home to test the effect of the colors and structures on site.
Tip 2: Set highlights with gloss effects
Whether you’re a fan of the Scandi style or you like to set up in the linear Bauhaus look : A few reflective elements look good in every home. Not only do they look modern and high quality, but they also enhance natural and artificial light sources. This makes rooms appear livelier, friendlier and even larger. There are the following options for creating moments of brilliance in your four walls:
- Configure your made-to- measure furniture with high-gloss plain decors or lacquered surfaces
- Choose glass doors or frame fronts with glass panels for your cabinet
- Equip your shelf with glass shelves
- Add mirrored doors to your made -to-measure cabinet
- Place glass decorative elements or mirrors on your sideboard or in the shelf
Cabinets with mirrored doors are extremely practical, especially in small, narrow rooms such as hallways or bathrooms. They make the room appear larger due to the light reflections and save you having to set up a large mirror. On the other hand, fronts made of glass are well suited for displaying personal souvenirs, high-quality crockery or other valuables behind them. In combination with fitted glass shelves, they also give large cupboards and cupboard walls an elegant lightness. Also see small wall clocks.
Extra tip: Use mirrors and glass in your home consciously and in a reduced manner. Too many reflections bring unrest into the room and can disturb your well-being.
Tip 3: Create harmony through symmetry
You may have heard that we humans find symmetrical faces particularly attractive, because symmetry signals health and vitality. As crazy as it sounds: When it comes to the design of our furnishings, we feel very similar. A certain uniformity in the arrangement of furniture looks calm, orderly and simply aesthetic, even if your belongings stored there are rather mixed up. You should keep this in mind when planning your new furniture.
An example: You are configuring a cabinet with two elements, of which the left one has three drawers. In order to ensure harmony, you should not suddenly place four or two drawers in the right element, but also exactly three. The situation is similar with a living room cabinet with a TV compartment. The TV should be placed in the center while being evenly framed by the surrounding elements. If you are looking for bedside tables, you should plan them in a uniform shape, size and color so that they can be placed on the left and right of the bed.
Extra tip: Unlike the furniture design, your decoration can be a little asymmetrical. It is more interesting to the human eye when decorative objects such as small figures or tea lights are arranged in groups of three or five.
Tip 4: Use hanging shelves and wall cabinets as practical eye-catchers
Especially in smaller rooms there is not always enough space to place cupboards or chests of drawers on the floor. On the other hand, spacious rooms often have the problem that their large walls appear somewhat empty and desolate. There is a solution for both problems: hanging boards . This practical piece of furniture creates storage space on the wall without taking up any floor space. At the same time, they look light and airy and are multifunctional. While you store toys, crockery or hats and scarves inside, for example, you can place decorative objects or a bowl for your keys on top. And of course it is always useful to have furniture that you can easily clean underneath.
The hanging shelves from CraftinLearning.com are available with one to four doors. You can set the width, height and depth yourself, as well as the number of shelves – you can of course do without. In addition, the front and body can be designed in one or two decors of your choice. Decide between classic plain decors and warm wood decors. You get even more design freedom if you plan a flat cabinet and note in the comments field at the end of your configuration that you want to hang up your cabinet. Then you can use our entire range of wood and plain decors as well as lacquered fronts for the design.
Our recommendation: a hanging shelf in all white or a combination of a black body and white front.
Tip 5: Upgrade furniture with handles
The choice of handles is an underestimated but important part of furniture configuration. After all, you not only want to open the doors of your new wardrobe easily, you also want to round off the look successfully. Therefore, grip selection should come at the end of your planning process. It all depends on the living style in which you have designed your furniture.
- Country house style: Matt or brushed button handles go best with this
- Boho style: A retro copper handle rounds off this look
- Scandinavian style: A curved handle, short miter handle or a handleless push-to-open mechanism go particularly well with it
- Industrial chic: Variants such as the square bow handle, the polished designer handle or a bar handle emphasize the robust effect
