The right stuff

Furniture design plays a pivotal role in any home. Where you set up a table, or how you place your chairs can make or break the complete look and feel of your house. Choosing the right furniture and placing it properly adds visual appeal to the space. Therefore, while choosing furniture, it is of paramount importance to work with appropriate material as it adds a fresh look as well as sophistication to the room. Meticulously putting together the dcor and the furniture is central to the art of arranging any living space.

Without apt furniture, it is difficult to realise the dream home you are looking for. The furniture should reflect the age, personality and lifestyle of the person using it.

As an interior designer, it's not only important to emphasise the design of the furniture, but also the process of manufacturing them. The choice of materials used goes a long way towards producing great furniture that looks good and has some intrinsic value.

The quality of the wood used, the application of veneer as well as the final polish are as important as the design itself. These processes add to the value of the furniture. With the growing use of new technology, materials like wood-paper, steel, silver and experimental glass are increasingly being used for adding innovative elements to the dcor. Before designing anything, be it a sofa, a centre table or a bed, always give a thought to how the furniture will contrast with the ambience of the house.

While solid wood furniture adds warmth and durability, mirrored furniture adds opulence and sophistication to the area. Correct proportions as well as the quality, durability, finish and great craftsmanship are the things that ensure that your furniture will last a lifetime while giving your home a comfortable and stylish appearance.

Here are two quick tips on arranging furniture:

1. Mirrors play a huge role in creating space as light bounces off the reflective surface and makes a room appear larger.

2. Placing furniture at an angle or with central seating adds sharpness to a room.

Furniture should not only be comfortable, but also look great. Disparate furniture pieces should not necessarily have the same detail. They should be given individual design treatments and yet hang well when placed together. Then the furniture should also compliment the colour of the wall, floors as well as the ceiling of the room.

Just like fashion, interiors today follow trends that change from one year to another. Undoubtedly, this does not replace timeless designs, but nowadays we have trendsetters who weigh in with design with respect to furniture. For example, the trend that took the world by storm five years ago was the minimalist modern look. Today, this has been replaced with the contemporary classic look.

The best way to incorporate such trends is to use them to colour your designs. Mirror furniture is all the rage today. The mirror is not used to simply act as a reflecting surface, but also as a canvas. Thus, you have etched mirrors, or hot favourites like mirrors with Swarovski elements. The use of stained wood polishes and metallic finishes on wood has added a vibrant new look to the furniture you get nowadays. Of course, it's also quite trendy. Similarly, semi-precious stone inserts, as well as encrusted jewels and silver in your furniture works brilliantly.

At the end of the day, there really are no rules to designing and styling furniture. You can get your designer to make Victorian and Persian furniture if you want class, or work with Mediterranean themes if you want an exotic look. You can even select a season like autumn and get your entire room, including its furniture designed around it. So, go ahead, give your imagination a free rein.

- Anjali Goel is the Owner & Founder of La Sorogeeka, India's premier design and lifestyle furniture store