A room that feels the best to me is a room that strikes a nice balance between wood and textiles. A room with too much wood feels cold and hard. In a cabin setting, an abundance of wood works just fine. But in the average home, it helps to incorporate rugs, window treatments, and upholstery to help soften and showcase the wood pieces in a room.

Below are some ideas to solve for two rooms that frequently have wood overkill.

Dining Rooms: If your dining room has a wooden table and chairs, a sideboard, and a buffet/server/china cabinet, and wood floors, your room is definitely in need of textiles. The fix:

• Consider swapping out your wooden chairs for upholstered chairs.
• Make sure you have a rug under your table.
• Add draperies to the windows.
• Add shades to the chandelier if appropriate.

Bedrooms: Some bedrooms have not only a wooden bed, but also matching bedside tables and dressers.
The fix:

• Think about purchasing an upholstered bed. The more modern lines and soft fabrics are a great buffer in between two wooden bedside tables.
• Put an upholstered chair and ottoman in a corner of the bedroom.
• Add in painted wood pieces. If you have a chest with great lines, paint it an accent color. This also helps break up the wood in a room.
• A rug and window treatments are also helpful in bedrooms, as well as updated lampshades.

My experience has been that a keen balance of wood and textiles in a room make it feel both welcoming and comfortable.