White with wood furniture is easy on the eyes, and for many, that’s a relief. For the uninitiated, the mash-up suggests a sort of split personality. There’s definitely a bit of retro going on, whether it’s Art Deco, midcentury modern or Scandinavian style that’s informing the latest designs. Wood in all shades from blond to the darkest brunette is cohabiting with white surfaces, drawing new admirers.
White can add a fresh feel to decor, one reason that snowy slipcovers are perennial favorites, as classic as crisp white bed linens and shirts.
But when it comes to case goods (tables, consoles, everything not upholstery), white isn’t the usual go-to choice — unless it’s in a beachy or country cottage setting or, for more drama and edge, ultra glossy white, which is especially in synch with mirrored pieces in Hollywood glam interiors.
For some, white, no matter how transitional, is too stark, too casual or too over-the-top. Wood in a variety of flavors is preferred for the visual strength or even elegance that it lends. Some are die-hard enthusiasts for a particular species, such as cherry, particularly in period styles, while Arts and Crafts aficionados can’t get enough oak.
Wood-hue preferences, both natural and stained, also go through cycles of popularity.
Most recently, there was a spate of espresso, partly launched at the high end by the French designer Christian Liaigre, whose fondness for nearly black wenge wood eventually trickled down to big-box stores, where it still exists, even in bathroom vanities. Then there were the limed or whitewashed woods, all taupey or grayed with grain showing through, a look hugely embraced by Restoration Hardware, where it even translates to outdoor furniture.
Now comes this hybrid: a dramatic teaming of wood offset with white or ivory frames generally expressed in contrasting doors, drawers or tabletops. The white may be painted, lacquered, stained. Or it may be applied to the surface with leather, fabric or some other material.
Wood plus white has been a staple of midcentury modern style, but it seems to be showing up in a wider selection of designs. At the Maison et Objet show in Paris, the look even spread to outdoor furniture, where white teamed with teak seems sooo chic.
“White gives the eye relief in a sea of brown,” says New York-based designer Jena Hall. “It lightens up a room.”
White can ring a casual or luxurious note, with a range in materials that includes laminate, painted metal, fine wood and even exotic covers like shagreen (stingray or sharkskin) or vellum (fine parchment made from the skin of lamb, calf or kid). Julian Chichester, a designer whose eponymous furnishings company is based in London, is known for distinctive surfaces and for some time has manufactured cabinets clad in faux shagreen or vellum.
Those materials have roots in Art Deco and the modernist style of Jean-Michel Frank, who loved to team wood with creamy skins in the 1930s and 1940s. Even earlier, with a fancier aesthetic, Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann embellished his pieces — often crafted from exotic woods like macassar ebony or amboyna burl — with vellum.
What the newest designs have in common is simplicity in form: mostly boxy, distinguished by either the legs or base used (pedestal, square, tapered or even a hint of cabriole) and, of course, by the materials, which offer matte, a slight sheen, glossy or textured finishes. And these mixed-media pieces are designed to be used eclectically, which is the trend for most furnishings today — not decorating en suite, where every piece is the same style, same finish or from the same collection.
In addition to a formidable choice of styles, there’s a considerable range in prices, up to several thousand dollars, depending on materials and craftsmanship. But some modular pieces start at under $30.
To be sure, some of the mixed-media designs are clever enough to make us forget the ubiquitous spare laminate kitchen cabinets with oak reveals that were so trendily modern in the 1980s.
Ultimately, it’s the design tension between the warmth of wood versus cool white and the play on contrast that sells. Even if the graphic punch is one that’s more than a little familiar.
“What’s old is new again,” says Jena Hall about the newest crop of white-with-wood furniture. “There’s certainly renewed interest in anything 20th-century: Art Deco, midcentury modern, Scandinavian. And the white is so appealing against darker pieces. Today, people like eclectic decorating. A good designer is looking at multiple influences — from movies, TV, books, constantly absorbing the culture around us. This (trend) is just another way to stay fresh.”
