Design on a Dime....

Christine,

I just stumbled onto your blog from PW. I love your posts and they are full of good ideas. My problems are brought about by hand-me-down furniture. I am not spending much money on decorating right now, but I want a room that is pulled together and comfortable. Is there hope for me without a shopping spree to Pottery Barn?

My main issues: Cohesion. It is a too cluttered feeling with all the different colors of wood.

Curtains. I have a door to the patio, a 9 foot window that I need to be able to cover, and a 3 foot window.

Accents. I love dark red and want to incorporate the color with an otherwise neutral color scheme.

Thanks for any help you can give me!



Alysun













Dear Alysun,



I wasn't kidding when I said in a previous post that "designing on a dime" is not my strong point. But I like a challenge :) Let me do my best!

• Rearrange your furniture. It is hard for me to see the whole situation, with only one picture, but here is where I'd start- move your sofa away from the wall. See if you can put the sofa facing the large window.






• I would have to say the recliner and coffee table have to go. There is no hope for them :)




• Go to a super inexpensive source, like Overstock.com. The chair that I found (at the top of this post) above was only $209, with $3 shipping. I would get a couple of chairs to put across from your sofa. The chair fabric will give you a color pallet to use on your furniture. Go to the paint store next- (I like Dunn Edwards and Sherwin Williams' colors) Find some paint colors that look great with the fabric. Stay away from bright- go to the muted neutral section. Find a red, find different shades of beige and green and gold- when you fan out the samples, they should look great together- some lighter, and some darker, but none of them overpwering the others. This is the most important part- selecting a great fabric, from which to select great colors.



• Go garage saleing, or steal from your grandma- find a large old cool trunk and put it under the window. Your room needs something like this for balance. Your sofa is visually heavy.



• Still garage saleing? (I look for large neighborhood sales in wealthy areas.) Find a set of square end tables that are a cool style, paint them one of your colors that you selected, and use the two end tables as a coffee table. I bet you could also find a deal on a sofa at a yard sale. In college I got a nice unstained off white comfortable sofa for $35 at a yard sale. Does your area have Craigslist? - another good place to look.



• Find a small round end table, decoupage it with pictures from a cool calender.



• Paint your armoire- a different color from your pallet.



• Paint your wood on your sofa- not brown color- use green or red or something other than a shade of beige or brown. Can you sew? Re-cover the cushions on your sofa. Your sofa could be a fun look with a fresh coat of red paint and new upholstry. Your room could also use more pattern. Find a large pattern fabric that coordinates with your chairs and add some throw pillows on the sofa.




• Pull the small child's rocker out into the room- it is cute. Paint it a color from your pallet as well. Then put a very small decorative pillow on it.



• Your collection of pictures on the wall is too small. Hang more pictures. Paint all the frames the same color (but a different color then everything else you've painted). I would move the small shelves to a smaller wall in your home. Fill the wall with lots of photos.




• Keep your eye out for good deals on drapes from JC Penny's closeout section- these are only $34! You can combine something like this with bamboo shades form Target or Lowes.
  
  




• I would also, of course, give your walls some color from your pallet, not too dark- consider the color Blond from Sherwin Williams.




• Paint your mouldings as well- (baseboards, window mouldings, doors, everything). Choose a great color like dark beige or khaki. Consider adding a very small piece of moulding about 5 inches above your base boards, and painting the entire area the darker color. It will look like you have 9 inch base boards- it would look fabulous!
  
  
  
• Your hardwood floors are great! Show them off by finding a new rug. I would suggest an 8 x 10- (don't go too small on your rug). The one in the photo below is from Overstock, an 8 x 10 for $249. For a hand made Durry, that is a great look and a great price. This would add a lot of color and style to your room.

Add a plant in the corner- a nice big one- in a cool large pot, with an uplight on the floor, on a timer. This will help you to have some "ambiance".

I hope I was helpful! Good luck with your project!

Have a great weekend!
- Christine