Ask Little Bit
How would you like some free, personalized decorating advice?
Just ask away with details about your decorating questions, using the comment box below. I’ll reply to you via the same, so everyone can read it for reference.
I would love to inspire your decorating creativity in whatever way I can.
So go ahead, leave a detailed question in the comment box…
Need advice for buffet and table lamps being used in the same open area. Furniture is traditional (mostly black). Kitchen hanging lights are brushed nickel. Thanks!
Hi Marilyn, So what’s your question? Are you wondering if you can mix different color of lamps? If that’s the question, the answer is a solid YES!!! Go for it! There are so many choices for lamp colors now, it doesn’t have to be a metal at all. I’ve seen beautiful glazed ceramic lamps at Home Goods, and crystal ones, and even painted choices, or wood… I totally think that mixing it up and using lamps for accent colors and textures is what makes a room interesting! (If you had a different question, please feel free to comment or email back) Thanks for reading http://www.DecorateWithaLittleBit.com! Little Bit
does hirshfields sell the cottage paint online. i just found all of this by mistake on advertisement and would really like to check out their colors/price ranges. thanks so much. sue
I don’t know if they sell online. They do have a website and maybe that would give you more info… Hirshfield’s website is: http://www.hirshfields.com/
Hope that helps! Little Bit
Have a Master Bdrm. upstairs, that was damaged several years ago because of a bloody nose. Due to this being a medical emergency in the middle of the night, could not be cleaned immediately and of course there is a good stain ( that will not come out ) in almost the middle of a 14″ x 16 room.
The room is not in use, and I want to do something with the stained area to ready the house for Sale.
Of course the Pad under that area will have to be replaced also. Other than the stain the carpet is in excellent condition.
Would it be possible to Cut out a larger piece, say 2′ wider all around a King-size Bed space, centered,and replaced with a patterned carpet that co-ordinated with the present vy lilight beige carpet ? I doubt that we could match the present carpet.
If not what would you suggest.? I’m not interested in replacing the whole carpet which extends beyond this room into another lg closeted area and co-ordinates with the adjoining Bathroom flooring.
Thanks for your advice!
Yes, typically when this style of carpet treatments is done, there is would be about a 2′ border of the plainer style around the perimeter of the room. (of course if it was a much larger room, it would be appropriate to do a wide border to keep it proportionate to the room)
I’ve seen this treatment done and it can look very lovely. Good luck! Little Bit
I have four windows all in a row on one wall three of them are 28×32
The one window is longer but same width-
How and what kind of curtains would I use its a bedroom
Hi Terri, so what style of decorating do you have in your bedroom? I’d recommend you for sure did your window treatments to coordinate with the style of the room. But most importantly you need to consider the function of the treatments. Yes, you want them to look good, but they also must function properly, ie: give the necessary privacy, block light etc. These are critical functions in a bedroom window treatment. Usually, I find that layering two treatments works best, one for function, and one for style.
With all that being said, depending on your budget and sewing ability, there is a world of choices.
If on a budget I really like good quality, light blocking, total privacy roller shades. Mounted on the face of the trim, they really offer great privacy when they’re closed. And you can dress them up with any kind of top treatment for the style: valance, cornice, drapery panels etc. Those top treatments, of course would basically be stationary, only the roller shade would go up and down for function needs.
If you like to sew or have a bigger budget, you could make or order roman shades for the privacy needs. And of course there is a ton of other types of shades, from pleated, to shutters. All work well and it really depends on your style and budget which you choose.
Be sure too to check out some of the window treatments I’ve featured, if you haven’t already. http://decoratewithalittlebit.com/our-house-2/window-treatments/
I sure hope this helps… if you have more questions or more details you’d like to share, please feel free to ask me more! thanks for your questions. Little Bit
i have recently repainted my home. my one living room wall is accented in a red color. my window is a dbl. i having the hardest time trying todecide window treatments on it!!! especially on a very small budget. can i send a picture of it to you, and possibly get you fab ideas for it?? looking extremely forward to hearing you! sincerely desperate!
Hi Angela, Do you sew?? A great way to create a window treatment for ‘cheap’ is if you can sew a roman shade. It takes minimal fabric, but with all the wonderful choices out there, you can really make an interesting focal point with a minimum budget. If you have a JoAnn Crafts Etc. near you, I know they have ‘kits’ with all the hardware, then all you need is the fabric and lining and board. (I just got done making several for my daughter-in-law’s new home, and they look great and work really well)
Hi! Im moving to an older apartment and need some advice on how to modernize it. The living room-dinning room wont be a problem, but as you can see from the pics, the bathrooms are quite ugly and old (especially the shower doors). Suggestions on brightening them up and hiding the ugly-ness? Also, the master bedroom has giant dark cupboards (which I cant paint). Ideas on how to brighten that room up too? As you can see the cupboard is covering the window! Thanks! http://www.webcasas.com.br/apartamento-residencial/cambui/campinas/sp/455023/?tiponegocioid=2
Hello! I think your new apartment has great potential.
As far as the bathroom shower doors, I wonder if you’re just really noticing them right now because there is nothing else going on in the room? My suggestion would be to decorate the rest of the room, and treat the shower doors like they weren’t even there. Create interest to draw your eye away from the doors, and they’ll just blend into the background.
And for the wall of closets… nice to have the space, but yes they are a big overwhelming right now. I’d say paint away!! By painting them a shade of white/off white or even light grey and getting some really fun hardware, you will change them from an eyesore to a feature!
URGENT!
Hi, I’m an N.C. author, and my book on Ocracoke Island is being laid out right now. We realized we didn’t have a particularly good photo of cars and bikes and pedestrians together. Would you give me permission to use yours in the book? (In return, I’ll gladly give you credit and a copy of the books.) Thanks.
P.S. I need to know as soon as possible. Thanks again.
Yes! For sure!! I’m thrilled that you’d like to use my pics. Little Bit
Love the mirror above the rock fireplace. I am moving into a home with a ceiling that is dark wood planks and a stone fireplace. I was so glad to see the pictures because I wasn’t sure if I should paint the ceiling. After I saw the picture I was covinced I needed to do this to lighten up the room. I love the mirror above the mantel and would love to find something like that. Did you make it or buy it and can you tell me where I need to go to find something like it?
Thank you.
As an interior designer, I had access to many vendors. This mirror came from a ‘mirror’ vendor. I think it would retail for around $500-$750. But for you to find it on the market may be difficult as each store front is not going to name by the vendor. I’d give you the name of the vendor and you could ask them where these are sold, but I can’t even think of their name. I’m so sorry. But if I think of it, I’ll send you an email. Little Bit
I would like to know where you purchase interior shutters that I could insert plastic sheets into. I had the wooden ones and they are a pain to dust. In the new house I do not want to make that same mistake.
You can purchase interior wooden shutters from Menards, Home Depot or Lowe’s.
Thank you for your feedback!!
Thank you so much for your quick response. I’m only placing one shelf above the lamps on my side tables, so I’m not sure the striped affect would apply. My accent color in my gray room is yellow. However, I can’t vision the shelves being in yellow. That’s a little bit too eclectic for my taste. I was leaning towards black because of where I’m placing the shelves, which is right above a lamp with a white shade. I don’t think there would be enough contrast. With me eliminating yellow, don’t you think my best choice would be black?
Black sounds wonderful! and I love the yellow accent!
Decorating a bedroom. The walls are a nice medium gray with all the trim in white. Bedside tables are black, topped with a lamp with a white shade. I’m wanting to use a floating shelf right above each lamp. What color shelf should I use, white or black?!
Hi Penny, so either black or white would be totally ok, as would a shade of gray. But here are a couple of thoughts of how the color choice may look different: if you make the top shelf black, the overall look will have more of a ‘striped’ look… black on the bottom, white in the middle and then black at the top. That also may give it a ‘top heavy’ look, depending on the size of the bedside tables vs. the size of the floating shelf above it. I’ll throw in another thought: what about doing the floating shelf in a totally fun accent color? red, orange, yellow, green, aqua… the list goes on, I can see it with any of these colors. Then you can carefully repeat that accent color in a couple other tiny ways, ie: a pillow on your bed, and maybe one little accent piece on each of the bedside tables with that same accent color. By repeating it in just a few little forms in the room, it makes the accent color look like a very sophisticated plan.
I am in complete need of help with wall colors. My dining room which I love is painted BM Nantucket Grey (it is more green than grey). I have to now paint the family room and kitchen. It is an open floor plan, so all three rooms open up to each other. My kitchen has white oak floors with a medium stain, warm cherry cabinets (autumn stain – veering orange rather than red). The backsplash is jerusalem gold (yellowish), and the granite is new venetian gold (yellowish with flecks of black, white and grey). Our furniture is black. I would like to have the colors in all three rooms flow well. My hubby thinks a blue grey(he likes harbour grey) would work, but I’m not sure if that’s going to be too cool or contrast too much, and not flow as well. Not sure if Nantucket grey is cool or warm or whether it matters whether the color that coordinates should be cool or warm. Do I need to go with a yellow because of the gold tones in both the backsplash and granite? Would a greyish green in a more neutral shade work better? eg owl grey or gray horse? Has anyone used these colors? I have a hard time with color undertones. Any advise would be appreciated.
I am not opposed to having the kitchen and family room the same color. My family room has pale green couches (think a lighter shade of sage) and the fireplace has the jerusalem gold surround. I would like to paint the fireplace wall a different color (possibly bm taos taupe or similar), so I need to have a wall color that coordinates with that, and looks good from dining room and kitchen.
HELP please!
When I select a color scheme for a room, I start with an inspiration piece, anything from a rug, print, fabric, dish… anything that will be displayed in the room that you love the colors and style of. By working with an inspiration piece you can clearly see the color scheme works already in it.
Then with that inspired color scheme I emphasize one of those colors more in the room, usually about 60%, and then have a main accent of one of those color, about 30% and finally throw in a tiny accent about 10% of the overall color for the room. Then in the adjacent rooms I switch it up a bit, so in the living room my main color or 60% of the color is the gold/green walls. but in the kitchen it’s a tiny accent. and then for the living room blue is a small accent, but in the adjacent hallway it’s the main color.
By maintaining the same colors throughout the main rooms of the house, it brings flow to your house. But that doesn’t mean that all the walls need to be the same color. It means that you need to work with the same colors, but can totally change up whether that color is on the wall or in the fabric or on the backsplash etc. in each room.
So my question to you is: where in your dining room are you carrying in the Jerusalem Gold and black etc. that’s in your kitchen? Maybe in the fabric on the windows? or accessories on the table/buffet, or the rug under the table? So with that reinvention of the colors from the kitchen brought into the dining room, think about how you can carry that lovely Nantucket Grey color into your kitchen rather than just repeating it on the walls like the dining room. Whatever you choose for your walls for your kitchen color to be, it must be somehow repeated in the dining room. It can be used as a tiny accent 10% in the dining room, and be the main color in the kitchen 60%, but it all has to work together and be part of that color scheme.
After you look at it this way, feel free to comment back with quesitons. Little Bit
Hello! We’re redoing our kitchen and I’m struggling to figure out a backsplash. Our home was built in 1928. It’s a galley style kitchen. We are getting Aristokraft off-white “antique” Nantucket cabinets – http://www.aristokraft.com/styles/product_detail/?id=11, we’re installing a fairly neutral brown hardwood floor, and verde peacock granite countertops. Do you have any suggestions for a backsplash? The trim for the windows and doors is white. The lady who sold us the granite suggested a white subway tile backsplash with an antique colored grout and a handful of colored glass tiles (just one color) that would match the granite. What do you think of this idea? I’m having a hard time picturing that. Any suggestions? Resources we can look into? Your help is much appreciated!
Hi Melanie, Your new kitchen sounds like it’s going to be beautiful! I love your choice of cabinets, they’ll look great in your age of home.
So for the backsplash, I’d recommend trying to do the same, yes subway tiles are totally fitting for circa 1928, however the scattering of some colored tiles in the mix, isn’t so much. I’d tend instead to do all the tile one color… probably a white, or off white.
OR if you want a little warmth with the ability to easier change out the color when you get the urge, you could do a beadboard backsplash. That too would be very fitting in a 1928 circa kitchen. And like I said, the nice thing is you can paint the beadboard a different color and it’s not as strong a commitment as tile. But truthfully, either would look absolutely charming!
I’ve also seen pressed tin backsplashes (or faux pressed tin) that looks great and again would look fitting in your vintage home.
Good luck, I’d love to see pics when you’re done! Little Bit
I want to give my living room/dining room a makeover. I have a gold couch and chair w/wood trim. I purchased silk cream curtains and pillows for the couch. I have an open space so when you first walk in the door you see living room, dining room and a piece of family room (which has chocolate brown couch). I am having trouble figuring out what color to paint my walls. I have a pic of what it currently looks like. CONFUSED IN MIAMI.
Hi Reina! Well, with the information you gave me, you could paint your walls just about any color… You mentioned, gold, brown, and cream… these are all neutrals so really you still have pretty much an open choice. Do you have an inspiration piece to pull color from? It could be an area rug, pillow fabric, piece of artwork in the room… really anything that will inspire your color pallette. Also, what color is your trim? If it’s light, you can easily do your walls a light or dark shade, but if the wood is dark, I’d think for sure you’d want to do the walls a light shade. You’re in Miami, right? So do you tend to want to keep a cool feel to the interiors? blues and greens will offer a cool feel… and reds, golds and oranges will do just the opposite. Feel free to email me a pic. decoratewithalittlebit@gmail.com good luck! Little Bit
I am trying to decorate my small dining room and in the corner is my husband’s ginormous GUN CABINENT! He built it himself before I met him and it is beautiful but I just dont know what to do. WE have wainscotting stained a very dark walnut on the bottomo half of our walls and his gun cabinent is a lite oak. How can I make everything look coherent. I can’t change the color of the cabinent and it only fits in the corner cause its very tall. We also have to deer skulls that I have arranged on top of the cabinent. PLease give me ideas to make this all look good together. HELP
Hmmm… Well Cecily, it sounds like an interesting decorating dilema. First, have you truly exhausted all the possibilities of moving the gun cabinet to another room? I assume you have, so we’ll proceed…
So with the gun cabinet and very dark walnut on the walls, it sounds like the room could/does lend itself towards a handsome Tudor style? (What style is the rest of your house?) I always have to get a vision of style for a room before I start to decorate it… so if Tudor is your style due to the cabinet etc. then embrace it!
Mix the light colored wood in a couple other places in the room, even if it’s some rustic wood bowls arranged on the table. You could make a lovely arrangement with a couple of them mixed with some pheasant feathers, (very tudor looking) and branches and faux fruit etc.
Also, what color is your table and chairs? For the seats of the chairs you could either upholster or make pads for them in a handsome plaid or similar Tudor fabric.
Good luck, and let me know how it turn out! Little Bit
There is a black/cream shower curtain made of toile at Treasures of the heart in Baldwin (north side of the street store). I thought of you when I saw it. Don’t know if it’s still there, but was two days ago. Maybe you could use it, if not, just know I thought of you!
Thanks for thinking of me
Hi Little Bit:
I love your blog and your amazing house. I have a decorating question about a beautiful apothecary looking bureau that I bought before kids. Kind of looks like this but with blue and white china looking knobs:
http://www.sadieolive.com/2009/02/04/boudoir-bliss/
After having my twins (now 2 years old) I had put on some safety bumpers on the sides of the bureau. I tried removing the bumpers and the paint is peeling off. I’m looking to either keep it the same color, antique white, or do something simple and chic with it. I’ve never painted anything antique white so any suggestions on how to do this would be great or any other suggestions for colors would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Cecile, Your piece sounds lovely. What I’ve done in the past for ‘aging’ paint finishes, is super simple. I’ve painted it a base color, usually that takes a couple coats, and after it’s completely dry, I’ve gone over it one of a couple different ways: usually, I at that point lightly sand the edges and areas it would have gotten naturally more use over time. (if you had painted a different base color, then that color would show through at these sanded areas…) then either with watered down dark brown paint or gel stain, the latter is usually my favorite, I wipe it on with a rag, then wipe it back off, leaving behind more in the cracks etc. Sometimes that’s it, and sometimes I feel it needs a couple coats of waterbased poly over it. I’m featuring a table I worked on with some of these steps in a couple days, I think July 5th probably will be when it posts, if you’re interested in seeing a finished product I’ve done this way.
Hey! I absolutely love your blog and your sense of style…my new go to blog! Thank you!!
So…. Here’s my design question for you ( and thank you, by the way, for offering this to your readers!! Very generous!)
Our home is stone and brick with white windows, brown flashing and trim, brown roof, brown stained cedar shakes around the upstairs windows, brown mahogany garage doors…. Brown, brown, brown. And what’s up with the white windows? Ugh. Can’t paint them either, as the mullions (?) are inside the window. The colors of the stone are variations of browns and greys and the brick is a deeper tumbled brick color. It’s a beautiful house but not at all our style. How we got here is a long story!! All the exterior flooring is bluestone.
Our entry has a few stone steps leading into a covered front porch, shaped like a square with the double arched doors centered. Only one door is used to enter and exit, so one side has much more space than the other. Right now I have 2 (brown!) wicker rocking chairs on the unused side with blue and green cushions and pillows, with a small yellow painted cedar table between them. The other side has an old pine table with an old window with lots of sentimental value leaning against the stone walls….also have an old soda crate filled with flowers in tiny bottles in each of the sections.
We’re trying to sell our home and I have no idea what to do with any of this!! Just seems sooooooo brown and boring! Rough hewn cedar shutters that I’d rather paint should probably be stained to match the doors and garage, according to a few agents. By on the off chance we decide to stay, I want to paint the trim and shutters to at least try to turn this lodgey european style home a teeeniny bit more cottagey…. Does that make sense? And what should I do about my front porch? Ugh!! I have a zillion questions!, haha. Cn you just come down to south Carolina for a visit and wave your magic wand for me? Thanks for reading and thanks in advance if you respond. Hope you’re having a fabulous day!!
Hi Pia, Wow, your place sounds gorgeous, but I get what you mean about a lot of brown… especially when you start seeing it with color, the brown can seem to overwhelm. I would think painted trim and shutters would look great, and in South Carolina too, where it’s so warm… I would think even the realtors would be telling you the same. I think the key to suddenly adding painted items to what is a very natural facade is you have to add it with ‘balance’. Sounds like that didn’t happen with your windows, and that may explain why they look so out of place being the only white thing out there, they look more like a mistake rather than a plan.
So what’s the answer? I’d say, depending on how ambitious you are, to paint the trim and shutters. You need to keep the balance, you need to spread the painted surfaces on different things than just the window sashes, thus painting the trim will make it look like a plan. But also, you need to keep some of the natural brown wood look so that your mahogany doors don’t look like a mistake either, so keeping the shakes woodtone will compensate for that.
I’m imagining by your description that is, if the trim is white, and of course the already white shutters, then for the shutters, what about a grey tone, not too dark though, in a shade that will coordinate with the stone? That way it won’t be too ‘wild’ and throw any potential buyers off… but will be a nice contrast to the brown.
Your porch sounds super cute… how big is it? If it’s sizable, then several little things will just make it look cluttered… And for those chairs, great place to repeat the grey accent… can you paint the wicker gray, and change the table color to white? Then your blue and green accents will still work great. Oh and repeat that white on the other side of the porch, maybe painting the table legs white, and leaving the top woodtone?
feel free to email me a pic: decoratewithalittlebit AT gmail DOT com.
thanks for reaching out, I love it when I can help! Little Bit
Thank you for your suggestions. I was hoping you could steer me toward a color/colors or pattern that might help to camouflage the imperfections. I looked at plaids and tile effects but was afraid of the matching because of uneven walls.
If you paint the walls, here’s a contractor’s secret… flat paint doesn’t show the imperfections like paint with a sheen… so if you can stand to have flat paint in the kitchen, that’d be a tip…
The kitchen of our rented house has old wains coating on the bottom stained very dark. the top is lats covered with horse hair plaster. The house is over 100 years old. Needless to say it has many lumps, bumps, bulges, cracks and divots. My kitchen colors are yellow, blue and red. I bought a wallpaper that is a yellow with the effect if I had rag painted. It is two or three shades of yellow with some light orangey splotches mixed in with a boarder of vines with cherries. It looks terrible. The fairly plain wallpaper shows every one of the walls imperfections and the orangey splotches make it look as though the wall is dirty. I was worried about anything too busy because of the wains coating. It is a rental so I do not want to spend too much and the landlord has certain stipulations. he said it was o.k. to wallpaper. Any suggestions?
Hi Kristine,
oh, that sound tough. It’s pretty difficult to wallpaper on too rough of a surface. You usually wind up with one of two issues… either the paper won’t stick to the bumpy surface, or like you’re experiencing, the paper shows all the bumps and holes below it.
A couple of choices would be to either spackle or mud over the wall, you know applying a ‘skimcoat’ to smooth out the bumps and divots, then prime, size and paper accordingly… if it’s not much wall space, that’s one thing, but if it’s a lot of wall space, then it’s a lot of work for just renting for a short time… (they also make a wallpaper liner that you can apply to the wall before you paper, I’ve done that and been somewhat successful with it. for this, you paper the liner on, then after it’s dry, proceed with the wallpaper after you’ve sized the liner)
Or you could just embrace the bumps and divots… paint the walls with a couple different colors blended together. a few years ago I bought a lambs wool roller that had a split tray and roller so that you could put two different colors in each side of the tray and roll and blend them on together. I’ve used it in several different rooms and it looks every bit as good as a hand ragged application, minus all the time in that. I think it was called something like ‘magic wall’, but I’m not positive. the secret to having it look good is to use two very similar colors, basically a just a couple shades lighter or darker than the other. too much drastic difference and it will look super cheap and tacky.
LOVE the window trim you put in. What, in detail, did you use for them?
Here are two links to posts I’ve written about the windows and trim, hope they help: http://decoratewithalittlebit.com/2012/02/21/little-brick-cottagewindows/
http://decoratewithalittlebit.com/2012/04/13/fri-413/
Hi! Hope you don’t mind another question. The house is slowly coming along.
The front door faces east. Above the door is a huge square window with a half circle window above it.
Would like to put a curtain or something in that window, as the sun shines hot already.
Would love suggestions on where to put the curtain rods, what type of curtain, what color and how to open and close the curtain – I won’t be able to reach it by hand. It would be nice to have something that could open and close.
The walls are venetian medium brown.
Thanks so much,
Jan
I used to sell Hunter Douglas shadings, (blinds) and they have several remote control options that use a battery pack so no wiring is necessary… might be worth a look to check in to a dealer, in fact even Home Depot sells Hunter Douglas, but I’m not sure if they have the complete line avail or not?
Hi! I am wondering if you have any “go to” decorating books that you love?
Thanks!
Hi Jessica, Well, I have a small library full of decorating books, but when I’m working on a project, depending on the project, a lot of times I will go to books with accurate historical rooms. I’m very eclectic, but with pretty traditional roots. With the reminder of the classic, period style, I then will re-interept it for the room/project I’m working on. This is especially helpful when designing bookshelves, or built-ins, or trim that you want to look somewhat historically accurate. I don’t feel I have to follow it completely but it gives me a solid basis to start from.
If it’s my own home I’m working on, I will usually go to “Pierre Deux’s Paris Country a style and source book of the ile-de-france” by Dannenberg, Levec, and Moulin. There is just something about that book that so inspires me. And not that I’m completely true to a style, for sure, I’m eclectic, it’s just an incredible inspirational source that I jump off from.
It was a short sale and we got the house at a great price, partially because of the damage it had and the missing copper. That’s why I’m not too upset. Plus, hubby is very handy and will have it fixed in no time.
ahh… Good plan!
Am going to get paints swatches tomorrow, but I have NO electricity!
Some thieves stole copper and other goodies from the empty house so I have to wait for hubby to fix the problem.
Hmmmm – does flashlight power count? LOL!
Oh my gosh! I’m glad you can joke about that. I can never figure it out, I hear about those kind of thieves on the news and wonder: it’s gotta be a lot of work to strip out all that copper, why don’t they just get a normal job and not have to worry about getting caught, they’re working regardless… guess it says something about their braincells, or lack there of. Sorry.
Wow, great advice. Unfortunately, I don’t live near a Hirshfield’s. I am near to Sherwin Williams, Lowes and Home Depot and Porter Paints.
Guess I will go looking for a grey-turquioise paints.
Thanks again,
Jan
You’re very welcome. Well a couple of things to remember when selecting paint for interior walls is that whatever it looks like on the swatch will greatly increase in intensity on the walls. Also, depending on the light, and how other things reflect on the walls, ie: cabinets, floors etc. will have a big impact on how that particular color ‘reads’ in your kitchen. Don’t be shy about getting tons and tons of swatches when you’re shopping for colors, you’ll be amazed how they change colors in your own setting. Be sure to look at the swatches in daylight and night with the lights on, the color will change accordingly. And lastly, absolutely tape the swatch flat on your kitchen wall to see the best effect of how the color will look there. Let me know if you need anything else! Little Bit
I really am thankful that I can write to you and get such great answers.
Hope you don’t mind another one.
My new Kitchen has cherry cabinets, with black hardware. Countertops are grey/black/pink/cream. Kitchen wall is basically a L shape connecting to the Family Room. Family Room is brown venetian plaster.
The kitchen really needs painting. At first I thought blush pink, and then I thought about turquioise! A medium or light tone. What do you think?
Thankyou so much,
Jan
I don’t mind at all, in fact I love it!! I used to joke to my husband when I was decorating full time for hire, “little do they know I love to decorate so much, I’d do their job for free.” So… bring it on!!
So after looking at your pics, I think I would stay away from the pink/blush as I feel it will not compliment the red and warm tones in the cherry. You have a lot of warm tones in your house with the golds and tans, and I think to contrast that with some blue in the kitchen would be really refreshing.
I’d recommend using a color that is a soft gray/turquoise, so it will be in keeping with your traditional styled home. If you live in the Mpls/St. Paul area, I can recommend some Hirshfield’s colors for you to look at… (I’ve used and sold Hirshfields paints as a designer for over 25 years, and know some of their colors pretty well) let me know.
Also, be sure to accent that blue in your adjoining rooms to connect them.
Very exciting! you can make such a difference with the color on the walls!
Hi,
Great!!!
Thanks so much for your feedback, it helped me figure out all the measurements.
Cathy
Sometimes just talking it out with someone can really help. looking forward to seeing them completed on your blog! Little Bit
Hi
I just sent you some photos.
Thanks Cathy
Got them. Oh my gosh Cathy, it looks beautiful! And doesn’t need to be fuller. I love it!! Good job, girl!
Hi
How I am making my pleat is maybe different then what you are thinking.
Say my pleat is 3.5″, I take and sew a seam down, forming a loop of 3.5″ fabric on right side. Nothing is added to back side, just a flat seam. The 3.5″ is on top of right side of material. Using buckram, I take and press down into the middle of the 3.5 bit of fabric on top, thus “pleats” are formed on top of fabric nothing on back side, it is flat.
So I don’t think I need to figure out how wide the pleat is, because it is on top.
Right now I think I might have something figured out.
from left side to right side.
3″ space; then 3.24″ for pleat, then 4″ space and so on ending up with 3″ on end.
This comes out only to be 7 pleats and spaces. Pleats = 22.75″, and spaced 31.25″.
Not as many pleats as I wanted. What I was going to do is Pin the pleats in place. Take a picture and send to you by email (if you don’t mind). I think more pleating is needed but look to you for guidance. This is the closest I’ve gotten to it working out evenly.
I am working on pinning it now. Should get a photo to you in a few hours.
Thanks -
Cathy
Hi
The 54″ is accurate, 54″ is my finished width(after side seams sewn and lining added). 54″ is the work surface I have to work with for pleat/spacing. (my fabric and been cut, sewn and prepared (seams/lining)
The reason I can only use 54″ wide because when I bought my fabric I forgot about “repeat” which didn’t leave me room to double fabric width, once I cut all pieces to match.
I would like no less than 8 pleats, but would want more if can be worked out.
I have been starting in the center of fabric and figuring a pleat, and working outward toward each end.
I don’t know what a half pleat is, to determine a half pleat wouldn’t I need to know what my full pleat is? I had planned on during a french pleat, but doesn’t seem to work out. so am doing a double instead (2 folds instead of 3).
I do not have a return, it is an inside mount cafe window.
After that, honestly you lost me.
Cathy
I don’t mean a half pleat, but a half space. In other words, whatever you wind up with for spacing between your pleats, say it’s 4 inches, then you’d basicaly split that which is 2 inches and have that amount of space on each end before you start your first pleat and end your last pleat. That’s just how I make them, I don’t like the pleat right on the corner, and to start with a full space on the corner looks too big, so I start with a partial space, approx. 1/2 as wide as the rest of the spaces.
On my valances I made in the living room, the pleats take up about an inch of width, and there’s about 5 inches of space between them. Overall there is about 56″ of fabric that’s gathered into about 36″, (which includes approx. a 3″ return)
So on your treatments, if you have 29″ wide windows. and want at least 8 pleats, that’s a lot of pleats, so to have it with 2 instead of 3 folds will look good. (3 folds per pleat in that short of space, may look too bulky)
Can you work on a piece of scrap fabric to get a feel for it? I think once you pin in your pleats and see the spacing, you’ll quickly figure out what you will need to adjust for it to fit precisely.
Ok, I understand that. I was working middle out I would end up with “larger” spacing on ends which I didn’t like.
I did work for over a week on scrape material, finally worked it out. BUT when I went to my “good” material it ended up being 1 1/2″ shorter and everything was thrown off.
I really have been working on this for over 2 weeks. It always comes up short by 1 1/2″.
I have a ruler on my table and pin from there. then I make my pleats, pin all, and take to window and hang on clips.
I’ll keep trying, but really need to move forward, I think I am just fried about this.
Thanks for all your help.
Cathy
I totally understand! Good luck and come back to it when you’re ready! Hats off to you for working so hard on it!
Hopefully you’ll be able to keep me from committing suicide (haha)
I am making pinch pleated cafe curtains. I make the mistake of buying my fabric first :{. I have been working on calculation for near 2 weeks and can’t get it to work. I am not using pleating tape, doing by hand.
My finished material is 54″ wide (do not have enough to add on). I can’t get my spacing to work out – right now I have pleats/spacing at 3.5″ and I am short on my window about 2″. My window is 29 1/2.
I found a video that said to take your finished material, 54″ and minus window width, 29 1/2, and divide the remainder 54-29 1/2 = 24.5. 24.5 work in pleats. My calculation comes out to 3.5″ for spacing/pleats. BUT after doing curtain comes out 2″ too short, so it ends up 28″ instead of 29 1/2.
I am determined to get this to work!
Thanks Cathy
Hi Cathy, so if I’m understanding your email correctly, you’re trying to figure out what to divide it by to come up with an even amount to divide for the pleats so that your finished width will be 29 1/2″?
Even though I haven’t done too much work with hand pleated draperies, I think between the two of us we can figure this out.
Basically the 29 1/2″ finished width, will the the spacing in between the pleats, yes, however the actual pleats will actually add a little more space too to the finished width. So I’d approach it from a different angle.
And is the 54″ you’re figuring in your calculations, totally accurate? Will you have space to seam the sides and still end up with 54″ or will it wind up actually being 53″ allowing 1/2″ seam allowance?
Also, do you have any thoughts on how many pleats you want, because you can make them with as much or little fabric as you want. So let’s say if you wanted 7 pleats. Starting on the corners with a half space then pleat then full space then pleat and so on until you end with a pleat and half space. For a total of 7 pleats, 6 full spaces plus the 2 half spaces giving you 7 full spaces in total.
Let’s say that each pleat adds to the width 1/2 inch, (but I’d for sure stitch one up and measure it on some scrap fabric of the same weight as the finished fabric) So then, at 1/2″ per pleat, the 7 pleats would add a total of 3 1/2″ to the finished width. So based on your desired finished width of 29 1/2″ that leaves you with 26″ to divide for the 7 spaces, (7 spaces allows for a half space on each end of the two end pleats too) which means 26″ divided by 7 equals 3.71 inches (which is just a little less than 3 3/4″) of material for the spaces.
So that gives you 28″ of fabric to construct your 7 pleats with. 28 divided by 7 equals 4, which means that with each pleat you’ll have 4″ of material to work with.
So with that information you can take your width of fabric, less the edge seam allowance, and start pinning across the top. the first space will be a half space of 1.86″ then 4″ over you’ll start your next space of 1.86″ and then another 4″ and so on.
I’d probably take some scrap width of fabric, that’s a similar weight of fabric, that would be identical to your width, seam the sides the same, and then pin in the pleats, adjusting as needed and see what you need.
Another thing to consider is how much, if any, will your return be? For those of you that don’t know, the return is the side of the window treatment from the wall to the front. If you’re doing an inside mount, there probably wouldn’t be a return.
I hope I’ve been an encouragement in this mathematical equation, and not confused you even more. Little Bit
Hi
See above comment, I kind of follow until you say, at edge, start 1.86, then 4″ (pleat) then 1.86″ again.
Why is spacing 1.86?
Ready to give up.
Thanks Cathy
don’t give up! you can do this!!
Those calculations were only based on me supposing the number of pleats and how much fabric each pleat took up etc.
If you’re only using 2 folds per pleat, you’re probably only using up about 2″ per pleat to construct each one, so for sure my first calculations would be way off.
If you haven’t already, lay a yard stick on the table above where you’re working so you can easily see if you’re getting close to your desired 29 1/2″ width.
Since you’re making your pleats by hand, you can make them as deep or shallow as you need to make up the difference in using the exact amount of fabric you need.
You will need to make one pleat and see how much width it adds to the width of the finished treatment to be sure of this, but let’s just say, if you’re using a medium weight fabric, with only 2 folds per pleat, it’s probably only going to add around 1/2″ to the width. so if you make 8 pleats, that would add 4″ to the finished width. Your desired finished width is 29 1/2″, right? so that leaves 25 1/2″ to be divided for the spaces. (if you do 8 pleats, that’s 7 spaces in between the pleats, and 2 half spaces for each end, for a total of 8 spaces.) So then 25 1/2 divided by 8 is just over 3 1/8 (3 3/16″ to be exact) per space. (so what we just figured is when is the spaces are just over 3 1/8″ each and there are 8 spaces it will use up 25 1/2″ of fabric.)
So based on that, going back to the beginning again, you had 54″ of fabric, you used 25 1/2″ of it for the spacing, so you will have 28 1/2″ to make your 8 pleats with. So 28 1/2″ divided by 8 pleats is going to be just a tad over 3 1/2″ of fabric per pleat to work with.
So then with your fabric laid out, you can pin in from one side to the other this: (of course only if my assuming of the finished pleat width is correct) first your half space to start will be just over 1 1/2″ (remember the half space is the full space of 3 1/8″ divided in half) then you’ll pin in 3 1/2″ for the amount to make your pleat, then a full space of 3 1/8″ then another pleat of 3 1/2″ then another space of 3 1/8″ and so on until you end with the last half space of 1 1/2″.
That should be pretty darn close to what you have to work with. You can adjust your pins as needed. Then with your 3 1/2″ of fabric width, you can constuct your 2 finger pleats. (you could probably even do 3 folds, if you did them small enough)
Does that help?
Thanks for your quick reply. Sorry, but I don’t understand what you mean by intense. How do you figure out the intensity of a color? Does it have to do with light reflextiveness?
Thanks,
Jan
Another word for what I’m talking about, instead of intensity, could be to say ‘vibrant’. The more vibrant, clear, saturated color is going to be more intense on the wall and harder to be subtle with. So like with blues for instance, a clear, vibrant cobalt blue is very intense, where as a softer navy blue isn’t necessarily ‘lighter’ but much less intense. (some people confuse a lighter shade with thinking it will be subtler instead of recognizing it’s the intensity that makes it more or less vibrant and or subtle.)
Thankyou! This helps a lot! Getting excited about this house – it was a short sale – so we had to wait 5 weeks to see if we got it.
Another question if you don’t mind.
My hubby built me a dark gray huge canopy bed out of steel. I have purchased black/white bedding and drapes. I want to paint the walls purple. The carpet is off white. And the big window with an arch faces west. How dark of a purple should I go? The room is medium size. Hoping to get white or black furniture later.
I don’t want too pale.
Thankyou for all your help.
Jan
I am so happy I found your site.
Sounds stunning! With selecting paint color for the walls, it’s more of an issue of ‘intensity’ than ‘darkness’… The more intense a color, the more it jumps out at you. It could be a lighter, brighter color, but if it’s intense, it’ll ‘attack’ you…think flourenscent yellow…it’s light but would still be so intense on the walls, that they would feel like they were coming towards you. So, you could totally go with a darker purple color without feeling like it’s shrinking the room, as long as it’s not intense.
p.s. I’m so glad you found our site too!
Just purchased a house and am having questions about drapery. I have a navy/cream sofa and loveseat. Also want to put a yellow/pink floral chair and a dusty rose chair in the living room.
I found some gorgeous fauxd dupioni drapes in mediterranean blue.
If I painted the walls cream, do you think this color of drapes will look okay with the furniture? Or would a softer color such as blush rose, or ivory look better?
The color of drapes is at overstock.com.
Thanks,
Jan
Hi Jan, well it sounds beautiful! Probably either color draperies would work, the key is balancing the color around the room. So for instance, if the pink chairs sit on the same side of the room as the windows, and you put pink window treatments up, then your room is ‘weighed’ with a lot of pink on one side, you need to balance that color around the room. Make sense? Little Bit
Hello! Love your blog!
Hope you can help me….I am truly exasperated in trying to figure out what to do with my family room. The room is rectangular, and it’s separated in the middle (one side with a sliding door leading into the backyard, and the other with two small steps leading to the kitchen). In one half of the room, there is a built-in entertainment center in a natural color wood, and a sand/taupe colored sofa. Flooring is a dark wood, and walls are beige. There is a window next to the sliding door in the middle of the room which completes throws me off and I don’t know what to do with it! I am looking to “reinvent” the room with some seating on the half of the room that doesn’t have seating, and introduce indigo blue as an accent color. I need to keep the sofa, but I can purchase new rugs and new seating for the other side of the room. I just don’t know how where to begin and every time I look at the room, it drives me nuts!
Stacy
(I’m not sure if I described this well, so I can send a photo if you like….just don’t scream when you see the room!)
Yes send me a photo and if you possibly can take measurements of the room: overall size as well as placement of doors in the room telling me how much wall space you have from corner to doorway, and how wide door is etc. Also, tell me what your main use of the room will be. I’d love to help! Little Bit
We are planning to add drapes to our living room. It’s a double window, 62 inches wide. How far should the drapes extend beyond the sides of each window? How long should the drapery rod be? Somehow 11 inches on each side seems familiar.. but.. Thanks for your help.
Hi there, well there for sure isn’t a ‘hard and fast’ rule about how wide etc. to hang the draperies or window treatments. But there are some things to consider when you’re deciding placement.
First, you can really ‘trick the eye’ by placing the draperies taller than the window. It will change the look of the window to appear taller, and open up the room. (The same goes for width). However, to accomplish this properly, it’s important that the draperies still cover a bit of the trim on the side of the window, so it doesn’t look as though the window treatment isn’t incorporated with the window. (not necessary on the top of the window though. With just a rod going across, it’s ok to see the top of the trim exposed with the rod above it on the wall. See this post I did on a window treatment in the West Bedroom, notice the rod is halfway between the trim and wall: http://decoratewithalittlebit.com/2011/12/14/west-bedroom-window-treatment-for-now-at-least/)
And certainly you need to consider how much space you have on your wall to play with hanging draperies. Typically with a standard ceiling in newer construction, there is about 12″ above the top of trim to the ceiling. (except for the homes that have those double stacked windows in the great room, obviously that’s a game changer!)
Another thing to consider is what type of ‘draperies’ you’re actually installing. Are you talking working, pinch-pleated draperies? In that case, there is a mathematical calculation to know exactly what the stackback will be when the draperies are open, that will tell you how wide to mount the rod, so that they won’t still be on the glass of the window when they’re open. But for simplicity sake, let’s assume you’re hanging a more commonly used, decorative, gathered type curtains/draperies, in a more casual manner than pinch pleated draperies.
So, with all that being said, on a typical window with standard type draperies, that will hang on each side of the window with only a rod (a pretty rod, that you want to look at, not a ‘pull drapery white rod, that would need to be covered with a valance) on the top, I would mount the rod to be around 6 or so inches from the top of the trim. That’ means you’re basically ‘splitting’ the difference in the space above the window trim.
Then I would be sure the rod extended about 6-12 inches on each side of the window, (totally depending on if you want the window to appear wider &/or taller)
Here’s a tip: if your ceilings feel kinda low, then go with trying to create a vertical line by mounting the window treatment extra high, but not extra wide. That tall vertical line will ‘push’ the ceiling up!
Hope this detail helps, please feel free to comment back if you have a specific question.
p.s. I just realized that I forgot to answer the ‘how long should they be’… again, it really depends on your specific room etc., but usually with most windows in most rooms, I would have the window treatments all the way to the floor, and that means actually touching, slightly draping on the floor…if that works for you. If you have furniture placed in front of the window, and it won’t show so much, you can get by with just coming down to the floor, but not having to touch it. (Which brings up another issue: are you buying standard stocked ready made panels? or custom made ones? That will change everything, as sometimes you just don’t have as many options if you’re putting up ready made ones)
Thank you for replying, I like more of Transditional and a little transitional(modern).
You like both a traditional and transitional style, right? What kind of a color is Brace blue? Little Bit
Some other things you may want to consider are square footage you’ll be doing, and is it mostly an large open area, or a lot of smaller cut up areas? That would help you determine the width of product that may look better.
And what kind of budget do you have? Plus, how do you feel about the mess of the installation?
There are sooooo many products for wood or wood-type flooring out there. How do you feel about laminate? Good laminate that is. Check out this post of a kitchen I helped someone with. http://decoratewithalittlebit.com/2012/01/09/someone-elses-house/
The laminate floor in it is unbelievably realistic, but the install and cost and durability are all really good.
Hello,
I am getting ready to purchase hardwood flooring for the family room, but I don’t know which color of wood will go best with Brace blue painted wall and dark furniture. Please help me in my decision making …… No pet or Children in the household..Thank you in advance
Hi Linda, I’m sorry this is delayed. I actually posted an answer already, but for some reason it got discarded. Anyway, I’m wondering if you could share a little more info. Like: What style do you have in your home? I’m not familar with Brace Blue, could you describe that color? thanks, Little Bit
Hello Little bit! I am glad I found your blog on My Romantic Home Blogs “Show and Tell Friday”
I need the chandelier adapter you talked about in your Feb. 20th post. I live in S. Calif. and went to
Lowe’s and they looked at me like I was crazy when I asked for one. I looked up Menards online and can’t seem to get anywhere. Could you possibly tell me the exact name or model# of this part.
I’ve tried chandelier adapter and no luck! I’d appreciate your helping me locate this part as it would help me so much!
warmest regards,
Rhonda
Hi Rhonda, the package for the chandelier adapter says:
Quantus Lighting, Track Light System, Track Pendant Adapter,
Distributed by Mendard, Inc., Eau Claire, WI 54703, SKU# 340-6789.
Hope that helps.
Just found you via Melissa. I love the wallpaper you used for your studio/dining room. What is the pattern/manufacturer? It is exactly what I’ve been looking for. I decorate in a muted Tuscan/Euro. Can’t wait to keep reading. Great work on your home.
thank you Lisa. I will have to try to look that up, and get back to you
Hi again Lisa, I’m so sorry, it’s been a few years, about 5 years, since I wallpapered that dining room, and I can no longer find the info about it. I looked on the scrap I have left over and there isn’t any info with it, and I looked through my house file with no luck. Since it was 5 years ago, chances are likely that it is no longer available, however, if it would help you in any way, I could send you a sample of the actual paper from the leftover piece. Maybe your local wallpaper store could help you locate something more? If you’re from the Mpls/St. Paul area, I did order it from Hirshfield’s so maybe you could take it there? Let me know, Little Bit
Thanks for your inspiration, you have really helped, and for your great blog. Always look forward to see what you have been up to.
Thanks for much for your feedback.
I was going to keep the balloon curtains (gold with crewel small leaves of Merlot, green, burgundy and taupe) I have now, and would fit with the new color. I like the idea of cafe in the summer months, and will do, but wouldn’t be practical in the cold winter of IL. The drapes I have now (made them)I drop down at night, hit about 7″ below window and provide the barrier that is needed in a home built with no insulation in. I make my own curtains, do good work, and so am able to go with high end material. I do not like blinds, I find it fits in with a modern, newer look, not the very traditional as this home is.
I only need privacy on bottom half, and full coverage for winter for cold barrier, I did plan on having curtains for summer/winter each.
The love seats are Ethan Allan, a taupe color with a very light diamond pattern. The rug in the sitting area is mainly Merlot, darker and lighten green, creme and black. the rug in the dining room, is MAINLY creme with Merlot, green an gold.
I like my wall colors to be bolder in color than cremes or lighter neutrals. So I like my 60% to be, the wall, a darker, richer color. then I like to do the accenting with lighter and colors that pop for the accents. I have an affinity for color “punch” that happens between dark wall and lighter accents.
My foyer is enclosed, so now will do in a lighter color, than the main area, and also will choose a complementary color for the stairwell also. I like both these ideas, and also about the window by the stair acting as the stair window/curtain.
I painted everything the same color trying to make the space appear larger. The charmer is not a large home. The front room, which we use as a dining room, is 13 1/3 by 13 1/2. The sitting area is 14 1/2 by 15 1/2.
The foyer would win the Guinness worlds record for smallest foyer, 5′ 2″ by 4′.
So your suggestions have helped, the cafe curtain for summer (as soon as spring;summer fabric are out I’ll be looking), Using lighter complementary colors in foyer and stairway. Now do I take the purge with the green – ugh the fear of it all.
Cathy
My 1929 Charmer
Yay! Good for you…I sew my own window treatments too
The ones you have up are beautiful, I can see why you would want to keep them. (Can you try the paint color by just doing one wall and trying to visualize the rest before you spend all that time doing them all?) I’m sure you’ll post your progress, I’m anxious to watch for it! Little Bit
Hi Little Bit,
I’ve had the same Merlot color in my mail living area for 13 years. My home is 1929 which is brimming with charm. But since I’ve been blogging I’ve come to realize it just doesn’t show well – ugh. Comes out looking neony! know Merlot is not the “in” color but I love it. Another issue, the heating vents in older homes on below the windows, so I can not have drapery without covering the vents, or covering the beautiful woodwork. I am a COLOR girl, cannot have to much of color, prints in fabrics. But without adding drapes how do I get this.
Also I have a smaller than small foyer off the living room, does it need to be the same color. Does the stairway need to be the same color. All are basically one large room (see in picture below)
http://my1929charmerblog.com/windows-renovation-and-undo-the-reveal/
the 4th picture is the living room, the rest are from the dinning room we use as our family room. You can see the merlot color and the gorgeous window trim. Also the family room/dining room right window is on top of the stairway, if i do curtains how do i handle this.
If you look on my main page side bar you can see both rooms.
I love very warm dark colors, Nothing white in my home except trim. Floors throughout are hardware with area rugs. In the current issue of BHG, I found a color that I like, it’s a green color, very warm, Valspar Jekyll Crane Cottage Green (6004-3C)*
Another problem, my home sits up, so my bottom window are “open” and want privacy.
Thanks for this, and any ideas you have.
Cathy
My 1929 Charmer
Hi Cathy!
So glad to hear from you. I have some thoughts but need a little more info…
So when I work on client’s homes, to pick the paint color on the walls is the last step in the design plan. Reason being is that there are an infinite number of choices for paint, but a very finite number of choices for fabrics that will work and be in the appropriate budget etc. With that being said, my first recommendation for you would be to do just that, select your fabric for the window treatments first, (I’ll address some questions about that in a moment) then you can be sure that your paint color on the walls will coordinate perfectly with the fabrics in the room.
What are your needs for privacy on the windows? Typically, if full window privacy is needed periodically,usually at night, then I would do one treatment for the privacy, ie: blinds of some sort that can be pulled up out of sight during the day; with a stationary fabric valance or some other type of window treatment.
I used to be a Hunter Douglas Dealer, (I know they’re now available at Home Depot), and I think they sell a really good product. They have many choices for privacy, light blocking and light filtering needs, top down/bottom up is a nice feature too. Some choices are from wood blinds, (or faux wood, which is my preference) to pleated shades that have no strings because they push up and down with a hidden spring system, so when they’re up behind the valance, you can’t see them…I love that feature! and many more styles to fit your exact needs. Even beautiful roller shades that are controlled with a chain cord.
If full window privacy isn’t necessary, then you could do some sort of valance on the top, with a cafe height panel on the lower half of the window. That type of treatment would for sure match the age of your home too. And a great fun way to work in a couple different colors/patterns of fabrics. Plus, you could mount both valance and cafe panel with a tension rod so no drilling in your beautiful woodwork would be needed.
Oh and what other colors and patterns are in the room that will be staying? I can see a bit of a tan sofa, a rug under the table, but can’t make out the colors on it, and a print by the stairway with a cafe scene on it. For sure the window treatment fabrics will need to coordinate with the other pieces in the room so it looks like a plan and repeats the colors throughout. Oh and the area rug in the living room… what colors are in the border of it?
My basic rule of thumb to balance color in a room is 60/30/10. That’s 60% of the main color, usually a more neutral tone; 30% of the accent color, say your green color; and then 10% of the accent color, that’s the kicker that gives the room life. If you like a lot of color, then your 10% would be opposite on the color wheel of your 30% color. So if your 30% color were green, then your 10% would some shade of red. However, all rules in design are suggestions, and can always be broken!
Then regarding your question about if the front entry needs to be the same, I’d say not necessarily, but it depends, mostly on whether you can create something to divide the wall from the rest, even just being an inside corner of the wall is enough. I don’t see a picture of your front entry, so I’m not sure how its laid out, but I see the stairway and I’ll use that for an example. You could start a new color in the corner of the wall at the bottom landing of the stairway. Let’s say the adjacent wall is green, where that beautiful triple window is, then the wall that that cafe print is on you could do in a complimentary color, say the same tan color of the sofa. Beautiful. Then pull in the accents on that tan wall of the green you have elsewhere. That’s something that I do: what I use for a main color in one room, I use as an accent color in the adjacent room and vice-versa. That’s what makes it look like a plan, but allows different rooms to be different colors, yet still feel connected. (BTW that cafe print is pretty and you could totally pull your entire color scheme from that)
Also for the other window that is at the top of the stairway, for sure if the wall is a different color than the rest of the main room, no problem, or even if it’s not, but the window is at the top of the stairs, you can totally justify changing up the window treatment as well. Think of it as the stairway window instead of the dining room window.
Hope this helps, and if you have anymore questions for me, after you figure out some of the questions I’ve asked you, please come back and ask some more! I’d love to help as your questions arise through the process! Little Bit
Hi, Little Bit,
I have a small kitchen nook which is so “plain.” It consists of two benches on opposite sides of the nook which open for storage, and in the center a table. The benches are very sturdy. They are constructed out of solid wood, with solid one-piece seats and high backs. I have been trying to come up with a way to upholster or pad them, as they are hard as a rock to sit on. My nook looks very similar to the first “real” photo near the bottom of the page at the link below, including the window. However, my benches have fronts, of course, because it they are storage areas, and the solid bench tops open (they are very heavy). Also, there are no “arms” on the seats, and no molding at the opening of the nook. The benches are fitted tightly between narrow walls on both sides (so you can actually “lean” against a wall on either side of both benches). It’s really quite cute because it has a rounded arch at the opening into the nook. I am simply not as talented as you are and need some ideas.
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/oldhouse/msg0107483311531.html?5
(It is the closest picture I could find, and was posted by “patser”.)
Btw, my nook, benches and kitchen are all white. Boring and plain.
Thank you for any ideas. I am loving your blog so much!
Hugs, Carrie
Hi Carrie,
I’m thrilled that you are liking our blog. It’s been really fun, we’re so excited about it.
Now to your benches. I love that type of nook, so cozy. But yes, without any padding for sure ‘hard’ to linger too long.
A couple of thoughts come to mind right away, one choice could be to do custom pads made to the correct size that you could just set on the benches. One nice thing about that, is if one side of the pad gets stained, then you can flip it over. (or have the ‘good’ side saved for when company’s coming)
If pets or kids or even ‘sliding in’ creates a problem with the pad moving around too much, an option could be to use velco that has a peel and stick back for the bench, and sew on for the cushion.
Also, things to consider are type of foam for inside the pads. Typically for a pad like this you’d get around a 2″ thickness, and a medium to firm density. Remember, though, this will decrease the distance from your lap to the bottom of the table slightly.
And for fabrics, several options exist, of course you could do just a washable fabric that you slip off and throw in the washer etc. But I’d recommend either an oil cloth, which is actually some sort of vinyl or plastic with fabric backing, good if you have little kids that have lots of spills. Or my favorite is to use an indoor/outdoor type fabric. They have so many choices, and are real fabric, not plastic, which is more comfy to me. And this time of year, you could get lucky and find some on clearance.
Then if you find a fabric you like, it can be your ‘inspiration’ for a color palette.
I’d love to discuss any further questions or details you have. Little Bit