System

Materials

• Plaster, limewash or matte paint, warm white
• White oak, oiled or matte lacquer
• Wool — flatweave or low pile
• Linen and linen blends
• Bouclé or tight-weave upholstery
• One metal only — blackened steel or copper
• Unglazed or satin ceramic
• Leather, left to patina

Do

• Hold one long, low horizontal line — usually the sofa.
• Leave air: one wall or corner deliberately empty.
• Keep wood to one species, two at most.
• One metal in the room. Copper or blackened steel, not both.
• Warm light only: 2700K, dimmable, below eye level after dark.
• Choose one object to carry the room, and let it.

Don’t

• No gloss finishes on walls or large surfaces.
• No matching furniture sets.
• No cool-white (4000K+) bulbs in living spaces.
• No chrome.
• No open shelving filled for its own sake.
• No more than three textures competing at eye level.