The Rug that Changed Everything

Hello Christine,

 

I have thoroughly enjoyed your blog and appreciate your straight forward advice.

 

My sweet husband surprised me with a Turkish rug for Valentine's day. Actually I was quite horrified that he'd make a purchase like that without my approval! But, I'm trying to let go and make it work in our bedroom that I was in the middle of re-decorating. I'm so lost. The rug has a very fancy design and I'd like another pattern or color but don't how to make them work together.

 

So, could you please give me some advice? Curtains & Throw Pillows - What color or pattern? And any other suggestions.

I don't even know if I can turn this room around or not. It's really thrown me for a loop. However, the rug feels AMAZING under my feet :)

 

Thanks,

Ann

Ann-

You need to have a careful talk with you husband.  One of those genius conversations where you go away with him not being offended- and yet he understands that he is never to do this type of thing again.  Good luck.  ;-)

Power up the pattern.  This example is just like one that I had in a recent post where the patterned rug was not fitting into the room, simply because the room didn't have enough other strong patterns to balance it. 

Go with patterned bedding.  The one above is from Martha Stewart. 

Replace the wrought iron over your bed with a piece of art work that brings in more color.  Bring the eye up to the focal point- which should be your headboard area.  This piece is from Uttermost.

Your nightstands are too small, as are your lamps.  Replace your night stands with some Bombay chests, and get some lamps that are closer to 36 inches in height.

I like it when the lamp shade contrasts in color with the wall color.

Add more balance to your pattern with patterned drapes.  These are from Horchow.  A heavier color will also help. 

Replace your contemporary ceiling fan with a beautiful chandelier.  This will really change the mood of the room. 

After that all you need to do is replace your carpet with wood floors and then change your wall color.  Your husband will be thrilled to find out that the rug made you replace nearly everything in the room.  Perhaps it was a little more generous gift than he thought.  ;-)

Liz's Bedroom

This post is a continuation of Liz's posts here and here. 

I am also hoping that you can help me with my bedroom.  The walls are painted "Sea Haze" and the bathroom that is visible is "Camouflage".  I have a white dresser that I really like and a white bed frame.  I would really like to dress up the bed.  I was originally thinking all white, but ultimately it leaves the room a little boring.  Please help!

Thanks so much, Liz

Hi Liz, let me start by saying that it is not a need for color that is leaving your bedroom on the dull side, but rather texture and pattern. This is so common that a room isn't feeling right, and someone will think that what they need is more color.  It is simply not true.  You can want a more colorful room, but that is different.  You can have an a amazing room in all white and "sea haze". 

1.  You need to make your bed better.  ;) Look at this post.  (By look at, I mean read and study. :)  In that post I go into specifics on bed making.  I'd like you to have a minimum of three distinct TEXTURES on your bed alone.  They can all be white and off white if you choose.  You could also introduce some sea haze. 

2.  Never have your paint color be found only on your walls.  This leaves quite the disconnect in the room.  This is also a big reason why I decorate before painting.  Now you have the job of finding some sea haze to bring into the room.  This can be a throw,  a pillow, art work... the pillow below is from Dwell Studio.  I like how it unifies the wall color with the bedding color.

3.  Add more pattern and texture in your window treatments. I would pair some drapery panels like the ones below from West Elm, with some natural woven roller shades, about the color of your lamp shades- or a gray tone. 

4.  Your focal point is weak.  The first problem is that you have a door on the same wall as your headboard.  This might not be avoidable.  But if it is, I would rearrange today.  The headboard wall is always the focal point wall, and when that wall is broken up with doors- it is hard to make it really perfect.  Now- how can we make it a stronger focal point?  Would I hang art over your headboard?  I don't think I would with your particular headboard.  However- I would add something over each night stand.

If you are able to give the headboard a wall of its own- you can also consider changing the wall surface of the entire wall.  You could change it to antiqued mirror squares, wood, paneling, upholstered wall squares, something entirely different.  If you find that you have more room, you could also have larger night stands, and larger lamps.  The current night stands fit perfectly, but I love the look of larger bedside tables- perhaps a chest on one side and round table on the other. 

Getting Ready for House Guests

So- anyone have house guests coming into town for the holidays? I do- and I am really looking forward to it. Do you need some new bedding- I wanted to introduce you to a line that I love. The company is called "Echo." They have such a crisp fun feel that is just the right mix of modern and transitional. For bold patterns that might not be what you are hoping for in a master bedroom- the guest room is the perfect spot. What do you think? Do you like it? Not? Have a favorite?

70's Floral

Ovation

Lucy Bloom

Fan Floral

Delano

Jaipur

Bed Making 101

I want to take a break from Sonia's bedroom to address in detail- how to make a bed. There are many good and "correct" ways to make a bed- and putting into words "how" to do it has taken some thought. I am not going to discuss the specifics of hospital corners- Martha Stewart can teach you that- click here. But rather- I want to show you what to do with your bedding. There are a few little things that can help you to have a really beautiful bed- in many cases without purchasing anything- but rather just making your bed differently.

1. Puffy Pillows. I already went into detail on your pillows in this post. In addition to that advice on pillows- I also want to mention that your pillow puffiness makes a huge difference in the overall look of your bed. Look at Sonia's pillows. Those are what I call "dead fish" pillows. (No offense Sonia- lots of people have pillows like yours.) Now look at the pillows above- what a difference. I hear people say- "Oh, but I love that pillow- I can't sleep without it.. blah blah... " If you insist on keeping your pillow- but still want your bed to look better- you could hide your flat pillow under a more significant pillow. If you have "dead fish" pillows- new ones are the place to start.
2. While we are talking about puffiness- let's go to your duvets out there. My sister-in-law is a "stylist," meaning that she makes beds for Pottery Barn and other magazines to prepare for the photographer. She told me once that they frequently will use two inserts in a duvet cover. Let me tell you what I did- and let me know if it sounds at all familiar to any of you. My DH and I moved up from a queen to a king. With this came the expense not only of the mattress, but also the furniture, and of course, the bedding. When it came down to it- I had spent and spent- and when it came to the down duvet insert- I had no money left- and so I went to Target and purchased an inexpensive one. This was about two years ago. Today- the down is mostly at the end of the comforter. Even with pounding- it doesn't last a week. The down is also shrinking-(at least it seems like it)- there is no padding at all on the left eighteen inches of the insert. I need to go out and get a nice quality insert. A little trick I learned from my mom is to sew little ribbons onto the corners of the insert- and also on the inside corners of the duvet cover- tying them in place so you don't get the undesired movement of the insert- leaving a flat left side, or top side- etc. OK- now that we have fluffy pillows and comforters- let's go on.
3. Wrinkles are not pretty- ever. I used to have some "Calvin Klein" sheets that I hated. Let me describe them to you. They had a thread count of 275 (not especially high). I personally am not really concerned about thread count- but rather the look and comfort of the sheets. Anyway- these sheets were chronically horribly wrinkled right at the top of the flat sheet- where you wanted it to look good. They were not especially inexpensive, and I loved the color and pattern of them- but the wrinkles... UUGGHHH!! I hated it. I found myself trying to take them out of the dryer sooner- still wrinkled. I would flatten them by hand and then hang them to dry- still not really flat. I would frequently find myself ironing them. I have four kids, a house to maintain and a job. I don't have time to iron sheets. My new sheets are great- I love them. They have a higher thread count- and whereas they are not perfect- I don't have that unhappy "I need to iron these sheets" feeling. You do not have to pay a lot of money for sheets that don't wrinkle- jersey knit and Kimlor sheets don't wrinkle- and they are very affordable. Now you have the correct pillows, your have a fluffy bed where it is supposed to be fluffy, and your bedding is not wrinkled. OK- now let's go on.
4. The rule of thirds. Many of you are aware of the rule of thirds. Wainscoting- I have addressed before- looks better at 1/3 up the wall or 2/3 up the wall. The third looks good. It is visually calming. It doesn't draw attention to itself in an unpleasant or uncomfortable way. You don't have to divide your bed into thirds to make it look great- but it is something that I frequently do with clients, and have done in my own home. Let me show you a few ways to do this. Keep in mind that we don't need to pull out the tape measure with this- approximately 1/3 is fine. Sometimes this is done by pulling down the top third- this can be done by pulling down the sheets and everything, the blankets, just the spread or duvet- it depends on your colors and patterns of your bedding- and what look you are going for- but the point is you pull it down 1/3. The second way to do this is by folding a quilt, duvet, or matelasse, and laying it at the bottom 1/3 of the bed. Look again at Sonia's bed. The quilt at the bottom of the bed is more like 1/4- whereas being exactly 1/3 is not important- it is important to be close to it. Can you see how her quilt is folded too narrowly? Compare hers to the picture below- where the quilt is closer to the 1/3. Can you see how it is nicer visually? You can also divide your bed into thirds by doing both of these things- 1/3 down from the top- AND 1/3 placed on the bottom. Look at the bed at the very top of this post- here is a good example of the 1/3, 1/3, 1/3. So- look at the beds in this post- are they 1/3- 2/3, 2/3- 1/3, or 1/3- 1/3- 1/3. Sometimes your 1/3 at the top can be all pillows. I love the look of lots of pillows- but have found that most people don't really want to deal with these on a daily basis. I like to use this look in a guest room.

   

Check out the photos in this post. Notice how Caitlin's folded piece at the base of the bed is too small, and notice also how the Land of Nod bed has a terrific 1/2 - 2/3. The photo above- 1/3 - 1/3 - 1/3. I think that in the photo below- it is a little too close to 1/2. I would pull the turquoise up a little.

Check out Laurie's bed in this post. There is no break up of the bed at all. I would say that 95% of the time- that is not the ideal. Check out the same situation in Sara's bedroom. The photo below is 1/3 - 2/3 with the top 1/3 in pillows.

Would I ever break this rule- and not break up the bed into thirds? - Sure- there are definitely exceptions. Daybeds are always exceptions. And then there are custom spreads like the ones below- you can take one look at it- see that it is a fantastic look, and yet also note that there is no break in the bed at all.

So- there you go- my longest post ever- and on something as every day as making the bed. I hope I don't have you snoring. :) Congratualtions to all of you who made it to the end of the post. To me- this is like the difference between just throwing forks and plates on the table and actually taking the time to set a beautiful table. Create something beautiful and instead of a chore it is a creative beautifying experience. Look at the photos in the post and see what speaks to you- do you have a favorite look? Now- go make your bed.

XOXO

Christine

Photos from Elle Decor and Veranda

Sonia's Bedroom Part I

Hi Christine,
Attached are some pictures of my 15.5 x 16.5 master bedroom. I feel it's pretty blah right now so I wanted to hear your opinion as to what you think I need to do. Other than the furniture having to stay I am very open to all your suggestions. I also love the painting over the bed and I really don't want to move it if you think it's a good scale. (FYI: I AM trying to negotiate taking the elliptical out of here (wish me luck!) so you can just ignore it if you can. : )

1) We had thought about getting a new flat screen to mount on the wall above the dresser. However our budget is not going to allow that for a while so I was thinking about switching the armoire to the wall where the dresser is and hiding the TV in it. (The wall where the armoire is is just wide enough to fit the dresser, it would be almost at the edge of the trim on both sides but it would fit.) I just didn't know what to do on the spaces that would be left on either side of the armoire if I switch to the bigger wall, or do I even have to center it on the wall?.

2) What to do with the empty wall spaces above the nightstands? armoire? dresser? and doors? I feel it looks odd to look at just wall but can you hang anything that high? Or do I do something to the wall itself?
3) Window treatments - do you think long panels hung high? or any other ideas?

4) I can easily fit something in front of the bed but what? bench? chairs? rug? (Can I put area rug on top of carpet?) Space is about 90 inches between the foot of the bed and the edge of the dresser.

5) The ceiling fan I hate (who doesn't?!?!) but not sure what style of fixture would be best.

6) I am trying to think of the variety you always talk about so I would like a mirror somewhere and a picture gallery.

I like Pottery Barn, ZGallerie, Uttermost stuff a lot. I like neutral colors, and warm colors for accents. Thanks to your blog I am now open to patterns (which always scare me because I get tired of them easy...) I also love wood moldings. What would you do in this room to give it character?

Thank you!!!

Sonia

Dear Sonia,

With all of your questions- you didn't mention your bedding- however- that is where I want to start. Your current bedding is putting me to sleep. I love your horse picture above your bed. I think it is fabulous. Your bedding should pop more- bringing out the wonderful gold in the picture.

Let's help Sonia select some new bedding- here are a few to choose from:

Marimekko Madison yellow- from Crate and Barrel.

Organic Bloom by West Elm.

Pine Cone Hill Fanny quilts.

Austin Horn Collection- Coronado Bed linens.

Legacy Home Assaria bed linens.

Rose Tree Linens "Audubon" Bedding Collection

What do you think? Have any favorites? Help a girl out and give her some feedback.