Your Interior Decorating Style...

[eloes]

This may be kind off off-topic in a fashion forum, but I figure that all of you have good taste. I really need help decorating my bedroom(s) Odd, I know, but I do have two--my parents are divorced. This should be fun because I can try out different styles, but doing two at once can also be kind of overwhelming...which is why I'm seeking help!

At Mom's, my room is small and square with white walls (to be painted) and an offwhite/cream carpet. I already have furniture that fits and is arranged very well (ash) as well as a quilt that I like (kind of patchwork, but pretty neutral). (The window is across from the door with an easel in front of it. ) The walls are bare, though (colorless and decoration-less ). It's an extremely cosy space that I love, but it needs more of my personality.

At Dad's, my room is rectangular (long but narrow) with the door at the end of one of the long sides. My bed is at the short end farthest from the door. The floor is this cool wood that's almost white, and there is a row of lights kind of like the lights used for stagework (turnable) along the long wall that the door is on. The opposite long side is made up of windows (with blinds), and the ceiling slants down from the lights to the windows. My furniture is pretty utilitarian, but that could work with a variety of styles and various pieces could be replaced...if only I knew what I wanted to do! At least here I have stuff on my walls (drawings, pictures, collages, prints--but I would like more), although they're painted white. Overall, the room really needs color.

Both rooms are quite dull and boring, and I just can't seem to get them decorated. At Mom's I have more of an excuse because we just moved, but it's still a problem whether or not I have a reason. Sorry for the uber-long post, but I was really hoping that some of you might have suggestions as to how to start, ideas for types of 'looks,' names of stores/places to find cool things...

I really don't like traditional looks as much, either. I'm sixteen with a lot of personality, and I want my living spaces to show it! Then again, I want them to be somehow put-together-looking so that the overall effect is cool.

Ok, guys...think fab five! Please offer any thoughts, tips, etc that come to mind, even kooky ones (wait, especially kooky ones!). Thanks sooo much in advance.

 

[wyatt.]

i would suggest ck sheets. they're awesome.


check out design within reach. good modern furnite. www.dwr.com

and uhh...burnt orange. good color. signing out.

 

[ultramarine]

You may try one of the rooms a bit risque with multi-color vertical stripes ..either on pastel colors or bright ones ... its bold and if you lack of artwork, the wall treatment will suffice ...
the smaller one should keep the white theme ... it'll make it look bigger.
BBC has this show called "Changing rooms" ...they have a great sample in this link

 

[eloes]

Thanks for the tips loserunit and blumarine .
Loserunit: Ooo, I like that furniture a lot... I actually really need a blanket/quilt/something for my bed at Dad's, so the sheets are a good start.

Bluemarine: That show looks kind of like Queer Eye for the Straight Guy--ever seen it? Oh man, it's so funny (and this comes from someone who doesn't watch much tv). I don't get BBC, though (it's European, correct?). Interesting painting techniques for the walls. I would probably go with bright over pastel, personally, but I like the idea. Much effort involved, though .

(edited because blumarine's post appeared after I wrote mine--oops)

If I just had a starting point, I might be able to go from there. The problem is that I just can't decide on a 'scheme,' nor do I know where to start. The whole thing is kind of overwhelming to me, I must admit. In my room at Dad's, for example, there are so many possiblities! At Mom's...I see less interesting possibilities because it has already started to go in a certain direction. Did I mention that I'm on a budget? Erm, yeah...

I just don't know what I'm doing.

*sigh* I guess I'll figure it out at some point. If I do, maybe I'll post pictures. In the mean time, any help is appreciated.

Having added my topic and posts in the form of a novel, I think it's time to stop posting for a bit.

 

[pradaromance]

when i was younger & on a budget i dressed my rooms the same way I dressed myself...start with amazing pieces & the get the basics....

go to a "cheaper" store for a basic bed (depending on the theme...pottery barn for a more classic look, or maybe ikea for a more modern look)
actually, i really love brass beds, not shiny brass beds, kind of dull brass

then get bedding & chairs at more interesting stores (Anthropologie has cool homeware, antique stores, the internet...you can get awesome retro furniture on the web)

for some inspiration, look here, this is where i buy all of my furniture now.

http://www.horchow.com/

hope this helped

 

[wyatt.]

another place to start that's reasonable is ikea.

i like having random things too. my end tables are a step ladder and a stainless steel bathroom cart.

 

[pradaromance]

here is some inspiration

 

[pradaromance]

...

 

[pradaromance]

...

 

[pradaromance]

...

 

[wyatt.]

i like the last one.

i always liked this company. i really wanted the tokyo bed.

http://porro.com/eng/nnindex.htm

look at it. it's so beautiful.

 

[pradaromance]

i think this is a good website for modern furniture...http://mauricevillency.intrusttech.com/item.asp?productID=9

 

[StellaStarr]

http://mauricevillency.intrusttech.com/item.asp?productID=2

so cool i wish my parents would buy me this stuff for my room but noooo
anyone know were i can get cheaper and similiar looking items?

edit- i really like, like vintage vanities and furniture kinda like stuff from the movie how to deal...anyone know were i can get some of that or look at it online?

 

[rayncloudx]

Originally posted by loserunit@Apr 12th, 2004 - 10:28 pm
i would suggest ck sheets. they're awesome.

yes~ i love mine
they have really pretty designs.. very nature-y . i can't think of a word.

loserunit: i like your room it looks so warm and spacious and your end 'tables' are very creative. i like the little stepladder

 

[eloes]

Thanks so much, everybody. I love your input. And loserunit, I *adore* those endtables!

 

[As You Like It]

You can get wonderful, colorful, inexpensive bedspreads at import shops.

I got the one for my bed at a little hippie giftshop, but I have seen ones like this at Pier One before and at any decent head-shop. Sometimes you see them at street markets, too. They're typically from India and are batiked or woodblock-stamped.

The bed is antique. My folks bought it at a flea-market many years ago, but later found themselves a much cooler atique wooden bed with knobby, spindle-turned posts, so I got this one from them when my husband and I got married. The dresser is vintage, an heirloom from my husband's grandma, and dates to the 1950s. I have two other little knotty pine dressers and a desk that my mom and I bought at a yardsale when I was 13, which she used to teach me how to strip and refinish furniture. We also have a cool, vintage, metal-framed rocking-chair that my husband got from a friend who was moving house and didn't want it anymore.

I dyed the sheer curtain myself, with several colors of dye and a spraybottle. The fringey one is an old bellydancing hip-scarf that had too many snags to really be wearable anymore, but I liked the color, so I put it up on the window. The other window is shaded by a piece of batiked fabric that has a leaf-green border and a paisley pattern in blue and yellow.

Eventually, I am going to paint the walls a butter yellow, then do a rag-roll texture finish in periwinkle blue over it. I will probably get some new bedspreads after I do the painting, as my dark-color Indian print bedspreads are getting pretty worn out and wouldn't look that great with the new paintwork. I will probably use the old Indian bedspreads to make some throw pillows for the living room sofa, which is rust-brown (and old).

 

[eloes]

Oooh, I love the style of that bedspread. I would get something like that for my bed in a hearbeat (though perhaps in more vibrant colors to suit my style). What is it about Indian stuff that is so appealing to me lately? First the saris and now this...It's kind of odd. After all, that's one area that my mom doesn't visit for her business, so of course I can't get the stuff I like/want wholesale. There's lots of Asian-y stuff in my house(s) anyway, partly because my mom travels there and partle because my step-mom used to live there. I guess that explains it somewhat.

I also love the way you have some things like handbags on display on your wall as decorations/works of art. Perhaps I'll try some variation of that.

 

[purplelucrezia]

Another idea is to put together some curtains using sari fabric. It's actually relatively cheap, especially if you do it yourself, and you can find some gorgeous designs. I have mine in deep purple with black detailing and my sister finished the edges in black velvet. I think that they look really stunning and it was fairly easy to make. Good luck! B)

 

[shoeaddict]

Ikea!

I know it can sometimes have a bad rep... but for someone likeme, who feels a need to change her surroundings at least once each year, it is a great option!
They actually have some really cute duvets and shams... but I would recomend spending a little more on the sheets. But the rugs, curtains, pillows are great, and quite inexpensive!


One thing I would suggest is buying neutral pieces for the big things-
a simple bed frame, dresser, chair/sofa... also a plain conforter that you can use as a duvet (therefor changing only the cover if you get tired of it+ you can wash the cover!)

Then as your tastes change, you can replace the accessories, but still maintain the basic frame of the room.

I'd much rather buy cool sheets or pillows every other year than a complete bedroom set!

 

[Bright Tahquil]

I recently redid my room so I know how overwhelming it can be.

My suggestion is to paint your room a neutral colour and keep furniture such bedside table and desk plainish (i.e.beech wood will go with anything and looks nice)...and have one brightly coloured feature wall...and make it BOLD!

Sometimes it is easier to find a bedspread before you paint the feature wall so the colours will compliment each other. And then because the rest of the room is fairly neautral if eventually you do get sick of it, you can just replace the bedspread and repaint that one wall if need be.

I dunno, thats just what I did with my room
Hope that helps somewhat.