Decorating Dilemmas is a weekly column in which our stylists answer your design questions, so you can tackle your home decorating project with complete confidence.
Dear Style Studio,
We moved into our home when I was pregnant and have never gotten around to finishing our master bedroom.
We have a tiny master bedroom and since there was no room to put the armoire we had in our bedroom at our previous home, we nixed the nightstands and have slim armoires on either side of our bed instead. This has worked well, but we don’t like the collage dorm look.
I found a blog where they took off the doors and used curtains and then put moulding and a header on top which really finishes the look, so we are thinking of giving this a try (see the first photo below).
We have no headboard but we’re thinking of going with an upholstered headboard (my husband wants something simple) I love your Queens Velvet in Magenta but I don’t know that I can convince my husband to go with that. Otherwise, I might go with the Teal. What color could we do for curtains on the armoires with that?
We also have not done any window treatments besides blinds because the room is so small. We have a curtain for our bathroom and I have more of this fabric and have considered a swag on the window above the bed using that. Should we then do this on the other window? Would using that fabric be too busy?
Would also like to go darker with the bedding-pick up more of the colors in our inspiration throw pillow (see small pillow in middle of bed). Think the wall color should then be a bit richer-maybe a purple-grey a bit darker than it is now?
Would like to use new shades of the sconces we have over the bed, but not sure what would work with the rest (considering painting those sconces more of an aged bronze). We are also planning to redo the bathroom and would like it to work with the room.
My husband does not want painted wood for the vanity, but I don’t want dark would like our chest because I am afraid it will make the bathroom feel to small-any thoughts? We like the craftsman look, but my husband is from France so also like the Provencal look as well.
Any suggestions you have would be great to help us finish up our room!
Chrisy
Chrisy,
Small spaces are always a challenge, especially when it is an area in which you spend a large amount of time. Your inspiration picture shows a great storage solution to adapt in your room.
Because your space is small, take care with the amount of pattern used in the room. Interjecting too much pattern will prove to reduce the visual size of your room. One thing that makes your inspiration bedroom picture a success is that the color palette changes among the different textile elements in the room.
Another small space recommendation is painting the ceiling the same color as the walls … blurring the architectural lines in the room.
We recommend using a soft color palette for a majority of the elements in your room and then work in small amounts of darker colors and strong patterns.
The textile group we compiled below is Trilby Basketweave Plum, Velvet Teal, Butter Twill and Callisto Stripe Purple. Shades of gray are the perfect neutral in this palette. We suggest replacing your current lamp shades with our Mica Chandelier Shade for a sophisticated look.
We like the idea of upholstering your headboard in a strong color … then let it stand alone.
We suggest you pull the headboard color from your inspiration pillow and then select a soft paint and drapery panel color for beautiful contrast. As a dramatic finish to your bed, we recommend our Bristol Velvet Matelasse’ Coverlet in gray.
We do recommend adding fabric to your window over the dresser … consider a Roman Shade for simplicity. We suggest using the same drapery fabric on both windows.
Good luck and Happy Decorating!
The Style Studio Team
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