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From the Design Files of Heather B – Daughter’s Bedroom Paint Color

Monday, September 20th, 2010

Design Question

We are remodeling our home and are building a bedroom (11′ by 15′) for our 8 year old daughter upstairs. The room gets somewhat low natural light from a fairly big window on the north wall. The ceiling is flat, but then slants down on two sides and has a natural (somewhat lighter) pine (wood) on it (pine looks a bit darker in photo). We put a forest wallpaper mural (all trees-lots of different greens) on one wall. Some of the greens in the mural are very bright green, which doesn’t exactly show in photo (a bit more yellowish in photo than what it actually looks like).

We are trying to decide on a color to paint the other walls. We are thinking green, only because green would be best with the mural (I think?), although I’ve gotten suggestions of beige instead of green. I would like it to be something more “grown up”, and not look like a little girl’s room. I’d like something that will not need to be changed as she gets older, yet she will like. We are going for a “nature” or “forest” feel for her room. I don’t want it to be too dark or too bright and I want to be careful that it is not too dull of a color. My daughter wants either green, or the color in our living room which is a brown called “County Cork” by Ralph Lauren. I think that brown is too dark for her room (especially since the trim is kind of dark – no white in the room) and I don’t know if it goes with the mural.

If green is not the way to go, I would be open to consider another color. I’ve looked at lots of greens and some beiges and none of them seem right. I’d like it to work with the mural and the pine ceiling. If I go with beige, I don’t want it to be too close to the color of the pine, as I’d like the pine to stand out somewhat from the wall color. I don’t know if green or beige is better or if I should do one wall green and the others beige? The focus is the mural, so I don’t know if it would look right to have 2 wall colors?

I have gotten samples, put on big poster board and held it up on different areas and nothing I’ve gotten seems right. I have also gone to the Sherwin Williams and Behr websites and put in a photo of the room and tried different colors on the wall, but again cannot find anything. If you could give me any suggestions, I would appreciate it. Thanks!

Design Answer

What a great space! Many parents choose themes and colors for a child’s room that will “grow” with their children so that they do not have to constantly redecorate. A forest theme is a good choice. The room is such a beautiful shape and where you’ve chosen to put the mural provides the perfect accent.

That is the tricky thing about trying to look at colors in photos or in online color visualization programs; other factors come into play, including your computer monitor, settings, etc. Speaking of colors in photographs, I am curious about the green that is on the vents in the first picture. In the photo, it appears like it would be a good candidate for your daughter’s bedroom.

I don’t know which specific greens you were looking at but I selected four that I thought would go well with the forest mural. This palette I created uses greens from Sherwin Williams. You most certainly can use two wall colors in a room. The darker colors like the “festival green” or “pickle” would make great accent wall colors.

Depending on the intensity of the color, if you would like to use beige I would go more brownish than grayish. I would have to see how it works in the room, but I would tend to use cream instead of beige. Again, I selected some creams from Behr you might consider for your daughter’s room. I personally love the “pumpkin cream” because since green is a cool color, I thought that the orange (warm color) hue would provide balance. You’ll have to do your poster board test to see, but the orange cream might make the pine appear too orange. It might work as an accent color, though.

Thanks for writing in. Let me know how it turns out. Come back next Monday when I answer another interior design question. Keep sending me those emails and don’t forget to include pictures if you can.

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Posted in Bedroom Furniture & Design Ideas, From the Design Files of Heather B, Home Decor and Design Ideas, Home Decor Design Ideas, How To & DIY Furniture | 6 Comments »

Eclectically Speaking – The Bedroom Room Eclectic Style

Friday, September 10th, 2010

An eclectic style bedroom contrasts new with old; trendy with classic; distressed finishes with highly polished surfaces. It has the feeling and appearance of being transitional in nature. Eclectic style has the added advantage of being totally unique to you; the embodiment of your tastes and experiences. It’s also about layering and the use of different textures for maximum effect, which is perfect for decorating a bedroom, because it’s such a personal space.

When decorating a bedroom eclectic style, the spotlight is on you, the person doing the decorating. Since it’s all about mixing and matching different design and style elements, start with furniture ideas you like or plan to buy two or three new pieces of furniture in different interior design styles you enjoy, like a transitional style platform bed, a contemporary chandelier or floor lamp or a traditional nightstand. In addition to grouping furniture pieces of different styles together, an eclectic décor also gives you the freedom to use accent furnishings in surprising ways. Putting an accent chest like the Butler Specialty Artists’ Originals Console Cabinet in Tiger Stripe Finish in the bedroom is bold and dramatic.

While an eclectic style bedroom should look mixed and matched, it shouldn’t look cramped, cluttered or jumbled. Ultimately all elements – walls, furniture and accessories – should be balanced to make your interior design individualistic yet warm and comfortable. An easy way to accomplish this is to pair each element with its opposite. For example, each antique or reproduction piece in the room should be matched with something contemporary or retro. If you would like to create a really dramatic mood in your bedroom, use contrasting elements instead of furniture pieces and accessories that complement one another.

Carefully combining traditional, transitional and contemporary styles together will create an eclectic look and feel that is sophisticated and trendy, while being totally unique to you at the same time. Don’t forget that this is the one room of your home that should be a sanctuary; while it should be visually interesting, it should also be designed to relax and refresh. When decorating a room, but especially when decorating a bedroom, a particular mood is largely due to the delicate blending of soothing neutral and earth tone palettes with splashes of bold or unexpected color. Because of its diverse nature – a less formal approach to the use of color and shape – eclectic style possesses a casual elegance that is ideal when decorating a bedroom.

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Playing the Decorator’s version of Hide and Seek

Wednesday, September 8th, 2010

If you’re like most of us, especially if you live in a smaller sized home, condo or apartment, you are constantly looking for ways to make the most of what little storage space you have. Particularly at this time of year when we’re on the cusp of summer and fall, soon it will be time to put away summer clothes, beach stuff and other miscellaneous items we probably won’t need from another year. But where are you going to put it all? And how can turn inadequate storage into storage solutions that will work for you and your living space? Even if it’s not possible to tear down a wall or two to make more room, there are still things you can do to get more mileage out of your current storage situation.

Storage Solutions for the Living Room

Take inventory of any units in the room like an entertainment center, end tables, coffee tables or cabinets with open or enclosed shelves. Wherever possible, add baskets, drawer organizers, organizational caddies or pull-out trays.

If you’re in the process of or you are about to buy new living room furniture look for pieces that are dual-purpose like a hallway bench with hidden storage or a coffee table with drawers or shelves.

Add extra seating to your living room in the form of a storage ottoman or a coffee table ottoman.

Storage Solutions for the Bedroom

Bedroom benches are typically placed at the foot of the bed, providing somewhere to temporarily put clothes or laundry or as a place to sit when putting on shoes. Choose one like the Somerton Enchantment Bedroom Bench that has drawers and a small cabinet. Other types of benches have a lift-top or removable lid.

To increase your storage options in your bedroom closet, sometimes it’s a simple matter of freeing up floor space by eliminating the clutter with a shoe rack or stackable shoe cabinet. Especially if you‘re sharing a small-sized bedroom, and by default, a less-than-ideal closet, consider configuring the space to both your requirements with some type of closet organizer.

Utilize the space under the bed with some kind of underbed storage. There are several types of under-bed storage, including storage boxes, storages bins, a rolling box or a set of drawers on casters designed specifically for storing items under the bed.

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From the Design Files of Heather B – Small Teen Bedroom

Monday, August 9th, 2010

Design Question

My daughter wants to redecorate her room. My dilemma is that the bedroom is small. The dimensions are 11′ high ceilings, in a 13′ x 11′ room. One wall has sliding glass doors that lead out to the pool (we live in FL) which she rarely uses. Another wall has the room entrance and a large four panel louvered door closet, which basically leaves two walls with a corner in between to place her bed, dressers, desk etc. We have used in the past probably every possible configuration we can think of, so I was looking for some help or new ideas.

The furniture pieces involved currently are a dresser with a mirror, a lingerie dresser, an oversized night table, a corner desk, and a wrought iron full size bed. All the furniture is white. The walls currently are chocolate brown. Can we place the bed in front of the sliders? Or is that a just not done? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Design Answer

Arranging furniture in a small bedroom can be tricky, but not impossible if you follow a few general guidelines.

  • When redecorating a bedroom, the first thing to do is to decide what the focal point of the room will be. Typically in a bedroom, it is the bed. For a cohesive bedroom interior design, the other furnishings should be arranged around the focal point. Once you have chosen the room’s focal point, you can then decide how to arrange the furniture.
  • Start with the largest bedroom furniture piece in the room, which in this case from the great detailed description you gave will be your daughter’s bed. Choose the wall that will best accommodate the bed.
  • Make sure that your daughter will be able to move around each piece of furniture easily without bumping into something else. Ensure that doors and drawers can be opened and closed without impeding the room’s traffic flow.

There are no rules about using the sliders as a “wall” for the bed. As long as it is not one of the house’s escape exits in the event of an emergency, there’s no reason that the bed cannot be placed in from of the sliding doors.

If your daughter doesn’t use the sliding doors, another option is to put the corner desk in the corner formed by the glass doors and the wall, and then place the bed on an angle in the corner that was occupied by the desk. Sometimes placing the bed on an angle in a small space opens up the room by altering the focal point. See if this little trick will work in your daughter’s bedroom.

Hope this is helpful in giving you a workable solution. Thanks for writing in. Come back next Monday when we tackle another interior design question. Keep sending me those emails and don’t forget to include pictures if you can.

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From the Design Files of Heather B – Vaulted Ceiling Paint Dilemma

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

Design Question

Hi, I have a master bedroom that I just don’t know what to do with. The main problem is choosing color for the walls. My husband and I have a great master bath which is relaxing and soothing in color (light blue) but I am stumped on color for the bedroom. I feel if I could just get some ideas on color than the rest will fall into place. I want a relaxing/romantic feel for our bedroom. I have attached two pics. I tried to show that we have a vaulted ceiling as well.

Any suggestions are most appreciated. Thanks!

Design Answer

.Especially a bedroom with a vaulted ceiling, the instinct is to paint the entire room white or some other neutral color like beige, light tan, cream or gray because these colors on ceiling give the illusion of more space. You don’t have to stick to neutrals, but it would be wise to pick a softer shade since a richer color on both the ceiling and the walls has a tendency to make the space feel claustrophobic or too dark.

You like the color in the master bath; I would start there. See if you can find a varying shade of the blue in your bathroom that would suit your bedroom. You also said that you would like to give your bedroom a romantic feel, which typically means softer tints of purple, such as lavender or lilac or deeper shades of pink like rose.

Another trick for helping you to decide what paint color to choose, is to start “backwards.” Go shopping for new bedding or select a favorite bedding set. Pick out some colors that you like and search for comparable paint chips at your local hardware store. It doesn’t have to be a bedding set; you can take your color inspiration from a colorful print or painting; a treasured memento or an upholstered accent chair. I love the curtains; blue is actually a complementary color (the color directly opposite on the color wheel) of gold.

Once you have a specific color in mind, don’t forget to take the room’s natural and artificial light into consideration. You will want to invest in a little paint sample you can actually apply to the wall and see if you like the color you have chosen in all types of light from the sun coming into the room (if the room faces east) in the morning to how it looks in early evening and then again how the color appears in the room when a lamp is lit or the overhead light is on.

I hope this has been helpful. Thanks for writing in. Stay tuned next Monday when we tackle another interior design question. And don’t forget to keep sending me those emails!

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Posted in Bedroom Furniture & Design Ideas, Home Decor and Design Ideas, Home Decor Design Ideas, How To & DIY Furniture | 1 Comment »

Inspiration from the Tropics for a Master Bedroom

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

For many of us, the bedroom is the one room of the house where we physically and mentally shut the door on a busy world that constantly demands our time and attention. The master bedroom especially should be a retreat that will relax, refresh and revive you. Don’t let space and your budget, (or lack thereof), stop you from designing the master bedroom that you deserve. There are ways to create the look of a luxury tropical resort without spending a lot of cash. When decorating a master bedroom, the overall look should be tranquil, comfortable and luxurious, so taking inspiration from the tropics makes perfect sense.

Traditional style as adapted by colonists, particularly British colonists of the Victorian Empire is the perfect example of how tropical materials and motifs were incorporated into bedroom furniture construction and design for a look that spells the ultimate in style and sophistication. The Tommy Bahama Home Island Estate Barbados 3 Drawer Chest brings a tropical feel into the bedroom interior design through the use of leather wrapped carved wood posts made to resemble bamboo. The lamp has a woven rattan shade, a common material found in tropical areas of the globe. It’s the little details that add up to a master bedroom that will be your own personal tropical retreat.

In a master bedroom, the bed will be the natural focal point of the room. Popular choices when choosing a bed for you master bedroom are the four poster bed, the canopy bed or the sleigh bed. Because of their imposing and commanding profiles – soaring posts for the poster and canopy beds, a covered frame top or draperies for the canopy bed and the sinuous “S” curves of the sleigh bed panels – any one of these types of beds will provide the perfect stage for layers of pillows and accent cushions in exotic fabrics silks and brocades. Ditto for when choosing bedding to dress the bed. Bedding and upholstered accent chairs or bed benches can also include exotic animal prints.

For a master bedroom to be inspired by the tropics, bedroom furniture should be constructed of tropical woods such as teak, mahogany and ebony or have rich, medium to dark finishes. Case goods like dressers, bachelor chests and nightstands commonly include pineapple motifs, faux bamboo posts and cane or rattan panels. Bedroom furniture accent pieces, including bed benches and armoires, can have louvered or open lattice doors or accents. Do you ever dream of retiring to your own tropical island? Well, just open the door to your bedroom.

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Country Living Cottage Style – Cottage Style Bedroom Ideas

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

Interior design for a bedroom should be soothing, comforting and inviting, which makes cottage style perfect for the room that is the place where you relax and restore yourself after a busy day. A cottage style bedroom has a lived-in look that shares many similarities with both shabby chic and casual country. But cottage style has that little extra something else that reflects the timeless charm of a seaside inn or the nostalgic memory of a long-ago family vacation by a mountain lake.

Start with the walls. Colors typically found in a cottage style bedroom include the yellows of lemons, buttercups and sandy beaches; the blues of a summer sky, a seascape and twilight witnessed from winding country road; and the greens of summer grass, forests and country apples. Soft pastels in milk paint are a good choice. Using painting techniques such as glazing or stenciling are also some other ways to give the room a cottage style atmosphere with a little touch of country thrown into the mix.

The cottage style palette can also be brought into the room through furniture pieces like the Riverside Furniture Splash of Color California King Panel Bed. Cottage style furniture is commonly made of wood. Beds and other types of bedroom furniture like dressers or a chest of drawers might have beadboarding, decorative molding or scalloped aprons. Headboards and footboards commonly have round finials. Finishes are often distressed for an antiqued or lived-in appearance. While wood is the construction material of choice in a cottage style bedroom, a tufted headboard in off-white, cream or a soft pastel such as rose or mint would not be out of place.

When choosing fabrics for dressing the bed, window treatments and/or an area rug and accessorizing, cottage style does possess a certain country air. But expanding on traditional country choices, cottage style fabrics are a happy mix of fabrics: ginghams with silk, wool with velvet, plaids with patterned or striped linens. While they can also include classic floral motifs, cottage style bedding colors tend to be brighter and more intense.

The time to really solidify the cottage style look is when accessorizing by adding those details that matter. Use ceramic bowls to hold jewelry; spare change or small miscellaneous items. Select lamp shades with a floral pattern in pastel shades complete with ruffles or bows. Include candles or hurricane lamps for that real cottage style touch. Mirrors should be decorative with molding or metalwork accents. Cottage or country artifacts like enamelware jugs or porcelain wash basins are perfect cottage style accessories.

Visit again next week for the final part of this mini series where we’ll take a look at the cottage style dining room. Also if you feel so inclined, send me some interior design style suggestions for upcoming min series: I’d love to hear what styles you would like to explore further.

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From the Design Files of Heather B – Tight Space Studio Apartment

Monday, July 19th, 2010

Design Question

Hi Heather, I have just moved to a studio apartment in the city and I’m tight on space. As you walk in the door, to the right is the kitchenette and to the left is the bathroom. Straight ahead is the bedroom area and it’s all in one space. The furniture I have is a double bed, wooden chest, a bedside table and lamp, a computer desk and chair, a small table for 2 along with a bamboo mat.

I want a Japanese style because of the lack of space in the unit as its size is of two normal sized bedrooms. Can you help me with any ideas?

Design Answer

The first trick to decorating a small space is to think cozy instead of small. You don’t want too much furniture in the space, because that will make it cramped. But you can err on the side of caution, too, but having not enough of the “right” kind of furniture; by that I mean the right number and right type of furniture pieces that will make you comfortable and your home welcoming.

The second trick to decorating a studio apartment is to choose furniture that is in scale. Many people make the mistake of thinking “small” instead of compact. When buying bedroom furniture or living room furniture for small spaces think dual purpose like a futon, which can double as a sofa and a bed; entertainment center, dresser or armoire, as focal points in the room. Make sure that you have enough room to move around each piece of furniture; that you will have enough room to pull out your desk chair when sitting at the computer; opening drawers; or accessing cabinets, etc.

More Tips for Decorating Small Spaces

Japanese style is a great choice for studio apartments, because lines are simple, walls are typically unadorned and colors are earth tones or soothing neutrals.

Add a large framed mirror directly opposite either the window or the door; this will help to make the space appear larger.

Select furniture that includes some type of open design like chairs with ladder backs; headboards with a lattice or openwork pattern; open style bookcases or storage shelving units; or tables with glass tops. By selecting furniture that isn’t “solid” (as in dense) looking will also help to make your living space look larger.

Thanks for writing in. Stay tuned next Monday when we tackle another interior design question. And don’t forget to keep sending me those emails!

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Making Apartment Living Work

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

For many of us living in apartments we sometimes end up with living spaces that aren’t exactly to our liking. Whether it’s because we can’t paint the walls a bright red or there’s wall-to-wall carpet when we’d prefer hardwood floors or the furniture started out as hand-me-downs and now really needs to be replaced but there’s no extra cash, apartment dwellers often “settle” for lesser-than interiors. But even if you live in an apartment and are on a budget, there are things that you can do to breathe new life to the rooms of your home to really make them shine. Decide what is important to you – for example, spending money on one or two expensive furniture pieces might be more of a priority for you than buying a new area rug or perhaps comfort is more important than style: take into account what you like and the space you have to work with. 

Take Inventory

Do a room by room inventory. Pretend you are a visitor and are seeing the apartment for the first time. Then make a list of what you liked about the room. Take note of what you’d like to change. Examine the inventory list you made for each room. Make an action plan for pieces of furniture you no longer like or would like to recycle or move to another room in your apartment. Recycle could mean anything from giving it away to painting it or repurposing it to actually disposing of it in the appropriate manner. 

Work with the Things You can’t Change

Work with what is around you and accept the things you can’t change. Apartment living is often governed by rules we have no control over. If you are unable to paint your living room or bedroom the color you would like, you can brighten up the walls in other ways. Choose larger framed pictures or prints that are colorful. Or picking frames in bright colors for black and white prints will create interesting contrast while adding some color to the walls. You could also select multi-colored window treatments with a detailed pattern or pick an area rug with bright shades. 

Change the Things You Can

If you never liked the couch that your aunt gave you after she bought her new leather sofa, now is the time to take action. Especially if the hand-me-down furniture you inherited was originally bought for a house, replacing specific furniture pieces that are in scale for apartment living will not only lend the room a new look, it will also give you more room to move around. When you can’t buy a new sofa or dining chairs, consider purchasing a removable sofa cover or adding seat cushions in a fresh color.

Sometimes simply rearranging the furniture can improve the atmosphere of the room by making it more functional or esthetically appealing. To rearrange a room so that the space is optimized:

  • Select the biggest piece of furniture in the room
  • Pick a wall that will be the best one to accommodate it
  • Pick a focal point for the room: a bedroom’s focal point, for example, is the bed
  • Arrange the rest of the bedroom furniture in the room around the chosen focal point
  • Make sure that you can move around each piece of furniture easily and that you can open doors, drawers, etc. without bumping into anything else

Find ways to de-clutter; getting rid of things that you no longer use is particularly vital to successful apartment living. The look of a room can be greatly improved by replacing outdated lampshades, accent cushions, bedding, etc.

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From the Design Files of Heather B – Small Apartment Help

Monday, July 12th, 2010

Design Question

Hello! I ran across your post about interior design help from the Interior Design Forum.

I am getting my first apartment in August so I have no idea how to best decorate a small room. Attached is the basic layout of the room I will be living in (unfortunately, that is the only perspective I was able to find) and the picture has been taken from the entryway.

I know the trick to make a small room to appear bigger is light, neutral colors, so I was thinking of maybe painting the whole room as such, or maybe have an accent wall behind my bed frame (the bed will most likely be rotated – vertical rather than horizontal) or the small portion of wall behind the desk.

I am currently a college student so a space promoting “concentration”, edgy but fun, or a mixture with sophistication would be great. I am really open to any ideas/themes you might have, so if it would be no trouble, I would love an input from you. Thanks!

Design Answer

The picture is fine – good enough to give me an idea of your new living space.

You’re right about the tricks to make a small room seem larger: maximize the source of natural light in the room and ensure there is a balance of task and ambient lighting; paint the walls a neutral or light shade; and use mirrors to “move” light around the room. I would choose deeper neutrals or earth tones over lighter shades. You could also go light shades of cool colors such as pale blue or green. Your instinct regarding pairing a neutral color with an accent shade is a good one. If you go that route, though, plan on using a bold or intense warm color (reds, oranges, browns, purples).

Match one or more colors in your bedding, curtains and area rug to the accent color you chose for the wall. If you decide not to use an accent wall color and you stick to neutrals, this will give you the opportunity to bring color into the room when dressing the bed and accessorizing the other parts of the bedroom.

The fact that the room already has mirrors in the form of closet doors is a plus. To get maximum mileage from these mirrored doors, place large framed (larger than the ones currently on the wall) pictures or prints with lots of lighter colors directly opposite. This also will help make the room appear bigger.

To attain an interior design look that mixes edgy and fun with some sophistication, selected contemporary bedroom furniture with clean lines and a smooth, darker finish like espresso, chocolate or cappuccino. Another tip to keep in mind when shopping for bedroom furniture for smaller spaces is to choose furnishings that are dual-purpose, like a platform bed with storage drawers; a bed bench that allows you to store extra bedding or seasonal clothing; or nightstand that can hold magazines or books.

Hope this is helpful in giving you a starting point. Thanks for writing in. Let me know how it turns out.

Come back next Monday when we tackle another interior design question. Keep sending me those emails and don’t forget to include pictures if you can.

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