Less Really is More

For anyone who still thinks (after this post) the best way to have a beautiful red bedroom is by painting the walls red- I thought I'd show you this great bedroom I found on Home and Garden.  What a fantastic throw. 

INTERVENTION!

My sister Kim called today- she purchased some paint, and wanted my advice.  I just hate telling people that something they just purchased is a poor choice, and so usually I don't.  If it's already purchased, I say, "Hey, that looks great!"  However- in this case- it is purchased, but not yet painted-and she did ask- so- here I go. 

First- her kitchen.  She wants to paint it an orangy red. 

INTERVENTION!!!!   I think this is a horrible idea.  No- no- no- please don't do it.  Can I just save you some time- and tell you right now- that it will not look good.  I like the white walls with the dark wood cabinets. Look around the room.  You have no pattern.  You need a unifier.  What you really need is something that will bring the two colors together a bit more.  I don't see your windows here- but surely you have some. 

Let's bring the colors together with window treatments. 

 The crisp white in the fabric, along with the chocolate brown, will help to pull it together. You can make cafe curtains, or you could have chocolate brown woven woods, and just add a trim with this fabric.  If you have a slider- use full drapes. 

I would also cover your chairs while I was at it.  They area easy to recover- you can easily do it yourself.  I would use a fabric like the one below- and then add a vinyl coating to it, making it easy to live with. 

If you want to continue to pull the room together- I would get a white lamp- this one from lamps plus was only $149.  When you look at the light fixture, you see the dark fixture- with dark cabinets behind it.  The bright contrast- would be much more effective.

Kim actually didn't ask me about those items, she was considering painting the beams an off white.  No.  I like the wood, it goes well.  Embrace the chocolate and white.

Fabric from fabric.com

Color in Your Walls

After a post last week where I explained that the trend was to have light neutral walls- Jen (and her men) asked: "Will you show me some good exceptions please?"

So- Jen - Of course- there are always exceptions- and MANY wonderful ways to decorate a home with colorful walls.

Exception #1- Wallpaper. Bold wonderful patterns. I love it!

Green

Gold

Red

Yellow

The trend is the trend- but that certainly is not what you should always be following. See this post for a good example of outdated trends. Decide what it is that you really love. Then your home will be an extension of yourself. It won't be so likely to date itself so quickly. If you love colorful walls- you should have them. A note with colorful walls. Look at the photo with the red walls. The crisp white wood trim everywhere helps the red to really look great. If you have color in your walls- and although the color is great- you feel like something is still missing- look at your trim. Is your baseboard only 3 inches high- and your windows are un-cased? That is why the red in the magazine looks so great- and your walls.... well- you know what I mean. It is the contrast of trim and walls that really help the walls to look wonderful.

Beautiful Beams

We are remodeling our house, taking down walls in the living room to make it into a great room that flows out to the kitchen. Here is a pic of the vaulted ceiling in the kitchen with exposed cross beams. I would like to make the beams stand out by leaving them white. Any suggestions on the color of the ceiling and triangular far wall? Any help is soooo appreciated.
diane
toronto, canada

Hi Diane,

Let me say that I cannot begin to select a paint color for you. I can't see enough of your home. I could say- "orange" or "gray"- I could say just about anything. It looks to me like you have hardwood floors, and I see a little stainless and white... yeah- that's not enough to go on. What color are your kitchen cabinets, what colors are in adjacent rooms, what colors are you drawn to? Check out this post, and this post- which discuss selecting a color pallet- if you have yet to do so.

If having the beams stand out is the only goal- let's do something to the beams. Your beams look a little small- you could wrap them in wood- adding to their bulk as well as adding color.

Keep your white walls and update the beams with a great wood finish. Check out the beautiful rooms in this post with their wood beams. Wood beams are not just for the traditional interior- I can see that you lean more modern- which many of the photos in this post do as well.

The wood finish helps the beams to not only be highlighted, but also add a richness and texture to the room.

They also help to bring nature in. In large quantities they are sometimes too strong- a lodgy feel.- But most of the time, they look great in wood.

What do you think? Can you picture it?

Beautiful wood beams can be the perfect update for your home. Or- you can send me the info I asked for above- and I will help to select a paint color. Read this post before you ask for a paint color. :)

Photos are all from Vernada magazine.

Those Orange Walls

Catch up with the orange walls here.

Anna,
I found another orange wall picture- and wanted to run it by you- what do you think?

Picture from Veranda