Decorating Help

lovemesomemonster

We are working on renovations in our new house and I'm trying to make it more "us". I like a lot of different decorating styles and need a little bit of help! The house was built in 2000, it is not super "modern" but not really "rustic" either, just a normal house I guess. It is all neutral right now, every wall is the same off white, carpet is neutral, and hardwood (even our furniture is wood and neutral color fabric). In the master we have a large platform bed frame we built with matching nightstands in a dark stain. We are working on the bathroom right now and I like the darker fixtures so those are going in with dark hardwood looking floor. I want to bring some color into this house but I don't want every room to clash if that makes sense? Right now the upstairs guest bath I did all white vanity, and a "distressed concrete" color vinyl flooring so it's a bit more "cottage" than the darker downstairs. If I end up doing all of these different colors/feel for each room will this look off? I don't want everything totally matching but I want it to all work together.. thoughts? Can a more "masculine" rustic work with a cottage feel? 

I have been playing it safe and keeping everything in the "brown" family but I really need to branch out! 

BlueBirdMB

I don't think it's smart when people pick colors out of their head or a picture without going shopping first.  Most of us don't have an unlimited budget, so we need to shop smart.

You 100% need to incorporate color.  We had a very neutral, builder-like, colonial when we bought it.  Every thing was beige or wood.  Think about it as a great canvas.  Now you need to add color to each room.

I personally hate beige and am not wild about brown.  So we painted all the walls some shade of gray.  Gray looks awesome with every color- actually it's the only color that looks good with every color besides white.

Then I went shopping for fabric.  I sew, so I knew I wanted to incorporate color in curtains and pillows I could sew, but I also knew I couldn't afford to buy just any fabric, only discount fabrics.  If you want to buy discount fabrics, you can't have anything specific in mind.  I went out and I found what I liked in fabric, then I designed the room around it.  

Every room can be different.  If you have a very open concept living space, then the living space needs to coordinate.  We have, what I'd call, a semi-open living space, so the gray tones unite all the spaces and then I've used different colors for each room.

Living room: Coral and yellow with touches of teal

Kitchen: yellow

Family room: Red, blue, and yellow

Dining room: purple

But each room has gray, so it all flows.

Even if you don't sew, you should go out to discount stores to see what's available, then just pick colors you like.  If the rooms are separate, there is absolutely no issue with the rooms clashing. 

I'm going to say what I always say to my husband about these types of things:  You are thinking too literally.  Art isn't literal.  Home design is art.  am an artist so I can say that creating art is about thinking fearlessly and generally.  Trust your gut.  Enjoy.  Most things aren't permanent, so if you don't like it, you can change it.

lovemesomemonster

Thanks for the great advice! I agree, I'm totally over thinking this! I decided to pull a gray wall color into the upstairs bathroom that is mostly white and blue and a purple with a beige undertone into the master bathroom. You made me feel confident enough to just go for it, I had visions of each room that I loved and needed the push to say they didn't have to match each other! 

Side note: I love the fearless colors you have gone with! Come decorate my house!!

BlueBirdMB

Post whatever you'd like here and I will totally give you my opinion!  I love decorating for others!

lovemesomemonster

Thanks to your lovely advice we have ONE ROOM that is NOT beige anymore

I was so inspired I spent all night painting and we now have a guest bath that instead of just getting new floors (a distressed concrete vinyl with blue/gray tones), we now have a guest bath with new white trim, gray walls to compliment the floors, and white cabinets (they were oak), and navy blue and white accessories! You also inspired me to take the plunge on a purple I had been debating for the master bath and that will go up this weekend! 

I will ask your advice again for another room though as I move through the house.. My man has nicknamed me Rooster so we seem to get a lot of rooster things for the kitchen, I even got a hand stitched rooster tapestry to hang when I was in Singapore. So the bright color right now in the kitchen is red. It is partially open to the living room which is currently (you guessed it) beige. I want to bring some color into it and I was thinking of using the red as an accent with another color that would compliment the kitchen.. thoughts on that? We also have very high vaulted ceilings and there is a catwalk upstairs so if you start painting one wall it runs into the rest of the house, any creative wall ideas for this?

DancinMama15

As you're working on each space in your home create a board or something where you can look at everything together before painting or putting it in, and look at it in comparison with other rooms. It's ok for things to be different but you still need some cohesion. Otherwise it will begin to look like a big messy hodge-podge.

On a side note: the home I rented in college had a rooster themed kitchen. We affectionately named it "the cock house". I now have a soft spot for them! They also are supposed to be good luck or something like that!

lovemesomemonster

DancinMama15 said:

As you're working on each space in your home create a board or something where you can look at everything together before painting or putting it in, and look at it in comparison with other rooms. It's ok for things to be different but you still need some cohesion. Otherwise it will begin to look like a big messy hodge-podge. On a side note: the home I rented in college had a rooster themed kitchen. We affectionately named it "the cock house". I now have a soft spot for them! They also are supposed to be good luck or something like that!

This is a good plan.. we went from 1100sqft to 3100sqft so this is going to be slow going but I can't STAND the blah of our house anymore so I need color! Our house is just super open with really high ceilings so I think most of the painting will happen in the bedrooms and bathrooms...

BlueBirdMB

lovemesomemonster said:

Thanks to your lovely advice we have ONE ROOM that is NOT beige anymore

I was so inspired I spent all night painting and we now have a guest bath that instead of just getting new floors (a distressed concrete vinyl with blue/gray tones), we now have a guest bath with new white trim, gray walls to compliment the floors, and white cabinets (they were oak), and navy blue and white accessories! You also inspired me to take the plunge on a purple I had been debating for the master bath and that will go up this weekend! 

I will ask your advice again for another room though as I move through the house.. My man has nicknamed me Rooster so we seem to get a lot of rooster things for the kitchen, I even got a hand stitched rooster tapestry to hang when I was in Singapore. So the bright color right now in the kitchen is red. It is partially open to the living room which is currently (you guessed it) beige. I want to bring some color into it and I was thinking of using the red as an accent with another color that would compliment the kitchen.. thoughts on that? We also have very high vaulted ceilings and there is a catwalk upstairs so if you start painting one wall it runs into the rest of the house, any creative wall ideas for this?

Awesome!!!  I'm so glad you took the plunge and it all worked out!

I'd suggest paint the living room and kitchen the same wall color so it flows better.  I like the idea of red in the living room too with another color.  I love going with primary colors together or doing a strict black, white, and red theme (with wood tones and metallics).  Those are my favorite ways to use red.  

My family room is red and yellow right now- I'm moving away from the blue, although I liked the three together.  It's just the way it's unfolded.  My guest room is the black, white, and red.  I'll share pictures when I get home.

BlueBirdMB

Here's my family room (still planning on hanging those little canvases vertically instead of staggered.  I just rearranged things) and our guest room all with the red tones.

lovemesomemonster

BlueBirdMB said:

Here's my family room (still planning on hanging those little canvases vertically instead of staggered.  I just rearranged things) and our guest room all with the red tones.

I love your family room, it is so pretty and put together and yet still inviting. I really like the yellow with the red and that might work well for us with the art we have in the room right now (so I just may have to borrow your color scheme )! We currently have some metal art and a scenic picture FI took and we put on a 3 panel canvas. 

Poaula

Another interior design idea would be to make the mirrors in your home more than something you want to look into, make them something you want to look at! Go beyond their initial and practical purpose and treat them like something more than a functional reflective surface you use in the bathroom each morning. They reflect light, expand rooms, enhance design and can be great conversation pieces or even works of art. Take a look at Interior Design site if you are looking for a good designer.

StetChedman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ub9_RppARvA