let’s talk decorating!

April 17th, 2008 @ 10:23 pm | domestic, home | Post a Comment

If that cheesy title doesn’t draw you in, I don’t know what will! I’ve been wanting to talk more about home décor for a few weeks now, but honestly, there hasn’t been much to say. The master bedroom is closer to being done, but I’m not ready to show the “after” pics yet. The “loft” is also in progress, but progress is slow because I think I need to hire painters for the high ceilings. And I can’t hire painters because we are refinancing the house (already! I know!) and that’s kinda sucking up every last penny until we get our tax refund, and damn this is getting boring real fast.

So! I would like to talk about the only remaining clean-slate, plan-free room in the house: the 2nd bedroom. Also known as, where you will sleep if you come stay with me. Didn’t you know you were invited? Well, most of you, at least.

Anyway, here is what the room looks like now. It’s not pretty.


2ndbedroom.jpg

Here’s my thinking. Every other room in the house will be painted either robin’s egg blue, light gray, or dark gray. I chose these colors to give the house a modern and clean feel, even though the house is about as far from modern as possible. (It’s 99 years old!)

But I think I need to make the 2nd bedroom room a little warmer, a little more feminine. What do you think of PINK!? Don’t be scared, I don’t mean cotton candy pink or fuschia or anything. I just mean a nice, crisp, lavender-y pink. With white, brown, yellow, gold, and/or green accents. My inspriation is this:

Just thinking out loud now, here are the steps I think I need to take:

  1. Clean and conquer! Not all of the things currently stored in here need to stay in here. The room is actually quite small so I want to keep the storage items elsewhere as much as possible. Uhhh, not that we have room elsewhere, but that’s another story.
  2. Paint. I am leaning toward a color like Benjamin Moore Pink Innocence because I’m so inspired by Nicole‘s home.
  3. New curtains! I have some crisp white IKEA ones (master bedroom rejects) that could look really nice in here. And they’re already paid for.
  4. Give the chair a new look. I’m thinking white glossy paint (like the famous yellow sofa) and new cushion covers. Maybe using the Amy Butler fabric in the photo above?
  5. Make the bed a focal point. The room is so small that the bed is going to be a focal point no matter what, so I should make it a good one. It needs some bedding (even if I keep the quilt in here) and a headboard.
  6. Something on the walls. But I have NO IDEA what! I am totally stumped here.
  7. One last thing. I think I need a nice little nightstand area with a small table, a lamp, and some books or a vase.

What do you think? Am I on the right track? Is my husband going to veto a pink room? Do I care? (kidding, love you honey, but you got your HDTV, I can have a pink room!) Anyone want to come over and help?

**********

On Friday I am a guest editor over at the fabulous site Rare Bird Finds. Nic introduced me to the site a few years ago and I was addicted from Day 1 (just read their About page and you will love them too, I promise!) Please head on over and check out my Fab 5 Friday finds. And if you feel compelled to purchase any of the items for me, I will immediately issue you an invitation to stay in the Lincoln 2nd bedroom. But, uh, you’ll have to paint.

comments

  1. I can’t wait to have my own place. Well, I can wait… for now. Whenever I do move out, I want to decorate on my own. Not too sure if I can handle painting walls on my own, but maybe I’d enlist the help of family or friends for the task. As for the actual task of decorating, I had this book called “Shelter Now”… no idea who wrote it, but it was all about interior decorating. Go check it out for ideas.

    written by cristina

    April 18th, 2008 @ 12:11 am

  2. I think with the right accessories and fabrics on the bed/chairs, the pale pink walls could totally work. As for WHAT to put on the walls, I’d stick with basics. And stay away from too many out-there things, because the room is going to be pink already!

    (I totally am coming to you for style advice when I get my own place. Your ideas always look fab!)

    written by alyndabear

    April 18th, 2008 @ 2:45 am

  3. I need to know why you are refinancing!!! Am I missing out??

    written by Erika

    April 18th, 2008 @ 6:57 am

  4. Argh, we are so jealous that you are refinancing. No banks would do that for us!

    And the idea of a pink room scares the crap out of me. But that’s just me.

    written by RA

    April 18th, 2008 @ 8:51 am

  5. I think that color is lovely and I am eager for you to ramp up the boldness- especially in what i unofficially consider the Peterdorf Room. (it sounds luxurious, doesnt it- think Waldorf and meets…Danish people!)

    I love all your sample photos equally. Happy Friday!

    written by Alexa

    April 18th, 2008 @ 9:14 am

  6. hmmm. while i love pink, i don’t know about putting it up on the walls. but i think with bold, dark accents (like the brown you mentioned) it could work.

    good luck and i can’t wait to see how it turns out!

    written by Michelle & the City

    April 18th, 2008 @ 9:32 am

  7. That color pink is very close to what we have in our living room. Totally not scary and actually pretty subtle.

    written by rachel

    April 18th, 2008 @ 9:55 am

  8. I’ll be honest…I’m not a fan of pink rooms..BUT I love that chair you’re using for inspiration. I’ve seen the pink/green/brown combo before and I think it’s darling. If I did pink walls, I’d have to go all out for the accents. And must.find.that.chair!

    written by Marriage-101

    April 18th, 2008 @ 10:37 am

  9. A color I love is peach. My room here is sort of peach-colored and I love it. But maybe pink would be better, particularly thinking of the other colors you will be painting your house in.

    written by Viviane

    April 18th, 2008 @ 10:50 am

  10. I LOVE the pink. I would totally use your tea cup/saucer inspiration and hang pretty plates on the walls.

    written by Aimee

    April 18th, 2008 @ 11:31 am

  11. Hmmm, pink? I mean, they do say everyone looks good in pink. But, I guess I never imagined painting a room that color, unless you’re talking about a 4-year old girl. However, based on what you’ve done with the rest of your home, I’m sure you’ll make it work! Yeah!

    written by Nilsa S.

    April 18th, 2008 @ 12:00 pm

  12. If the wife wants a pink room, the wife gets a pink room. That’s just a fact.

    written by Larissa

    April 18th, 2008 @ 12:14 pm

  13. I love the color scheme you are thinking of…and that fabric is to die for. Go for it! You could possibly even incoroporate some “manly” elements to balance out the feminine colors. I’m thinking a bedspread in white with tuxedo pleats or something. Or maybe a soft wool throw that looks like an old men’s blazer.

    written by Chiada

    April 18th, 2008 @ 12:38 pm

  14. I think the pink might be a little much… especially if guys might stay in that room. But I think if you made the room brown and white with some bright pink or robins’ blue accents, it would look good. Maybe tan walls with a coffee accent wall, dark brown or white furniture with clean white bedding and pink or robin blue accents like pillows.

    I love this but just think of the water as the wall: http://www.westelm.com/online/store/CategoryDisplay?storeId=17001&lang Id=-1&catalogId=17002&viewSetCode=E&identifier=WE-SH1TREPOL&top=N&reta inNav=true&pageNumber=1&cmtype=nav&highlightCategoryId=11813
    Or this:
    http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/small-cool-2007-entries/east-semifi nalist-1-rons-hotel-sweet-022909

    If you go to bedbathandbeyond.com request to be on their mailing list. They will send you 20% off coupons every week that you can use at Bed Bath and Beyond and Linens N Things and they NEVER expire (even though they have expiration dates). You can use one coupon for every item you buy and save tons of money
    .
    http://www.apartmenttherapy.com has great pictures of real homes for inspiration.

    written by Heather

    April 18th, 2008 @ 1:22 pm

  15. I think a light pink wall will work if you incorporate some other colors in there like the green. So exciting!

    written by katelin

    April 18th, 2008 @ 1:36 pm

  16. Glad to hear you will be joing Rare Bird! Love the pink.

    written by Diana

    April 18th, 2008 @ 2:03 pm

  17. Sorry, I’ve been “lurking” for a while now. Just wanted to give my blog a fresh start before I posted anything. Anyway, I love all of your decorating posts. I love the pink room idea. I think it could be VERY gender neutral if done correctly! Good luck convincing your husband!

    written by BBMG

    April 18th, 2008 @ 2:45 pm

  18. I love the pink room and I ESPECIALLY love the chair makeover–I think it will look splendid.

    As for the art, have you considered a poster size version of this? http://seriouslyomg.com/?p=7903

    written by Laurel

    April 18th, 2008 @ 4:01 pm

  19. I really love the pink.
    We always have a pink room where we live. Mind you both in this house and in our condo we went with pale pink powder rooms. It’s beautiful!
    I painted a room fuschia and purple once – that didn’t work. But, pale pink love it.
    And I love the chair fabric!

    written by Laural

    April 18th, 2008 @ 4:25 pm

  20. I don’t see anything wrong with a pink room! I like the color in that swatch there. Plus I think the quilt is just darling!

    written by Keer

    April 18th, 2008 @ 6:37 pm

  21. I’d be afraid to put pink on the walls, but the color you picked looks really pretty, and with the color scheme you have up there, it looks fabulous!

    I want to buy ugly chairs off Craigslist and make them cute and modern. Can you teach me? DO I need a sewing machine?

    written by Operation Pink Herring

    April 18th, 2008 @ 7:28 pm

  22. I love your decorating posts! There’s a very pale pink room in this month’s Domino that I love. It’s Farrow & Ball’s color Calamine, which you should be able to duplicate with another company. I don’t know that the bed needs a head board, I think it might be too much in the room. I think if you painted the room pink, it would be SO cool if you did a white wall sticker, like the branches or hydrangeas from Ferm LIving. I love the Amy Butler fabric, as always, but I think it’s a really big impact in a small room where you want the bed to be the focus. I would do BIG pillows on the bed and I would go with a smaller scale pattern on the chair. It’s going to be gorgeous.

    written by Nic

    April 18th, 2008 @ 10:29 pm

  23. Oh, I think that this type of wall thing would be cool ((I had it bookmarked because I loved the colors) http://brownturtlenecksweater.typepad.com/brown_turtleneck_sweater/200 7/02/sigh.html

    written by Nic

    April 18th, 2008 @ 10:32 pm

  24. As the co-owner of said bedroom, love, I must register my EXTREME opposition to such a heinous looking room!!!!

    written by LoveIsNOTPink

    April 18th, 2008 @ 10:53 pm

  25. Haha… Loving the last comment. Touche!

    written by alyndabear

    April 19th, 2008 @ 4:50 pm

  26. I am loving the idea of a soft pink room; personal favorite accents are bright yellow (because I love yellow), crisp white and perhaps a little bit of gray. And I love love LOVE that fabric in your inspiration photo…I would totaly live in a room with that fabric. I think pink walls with green, burgandy-reddish and brown accents with crisp white trims would be g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s.

    I am so excited for this makeover! And yes, I will totally come help! :o )

    xox

    written by heidikins

    April 20th, 2008 @ 6:04 pm

  27. I think pink would be a lovely color for the guest bedroom. I don’t think your husband would mind, because it’s not like it’s his “chill room” or whatever. :)

    written by Zandria

    April 20th, 2008 @ 8:44 pm

  28. I found this great site with color combinations that you can use as inspiration: http://color-stripes.blogspot.com/

    written by Heather

    April 22nd, 2008 @ 10:14 pm