Need help with decorating the house

Thu, Aug 27 2009, 11:35 am

BH, we moved to a new house and the walls (and built-in bookshelves) in the living room are painted light blue (don’t ask… Rolling Eyes

). The couches/curtains from my old apartment are burgundy/marron-ish. The furniture (china closet, dinning room table etc) is dark cherry wood. At this point we can’t afford to re-paint or buy new couches. Do you have any suggestions of things I can do to make the room look less clashing (maybe pillows with both colors? Or something to put on the book shelves that’s burgundy/maroon?)

I am completely clueless when it comes to decorating so any tips will be greatly appreciated.

chocolatemilk

Thu, Aug 27 2009, 1:14 pm

there are so many website that have gr8 ideas
take a look at apartmenttherapy.com
one idea for the shelves is contact paper the parts that will be seen (in a solid color)
yes you try and find throw pillows (throw blanket) with both colors in them
it depends how crafty you are but you can do more...
right now I am in the middle of redoing my lampshades
I got them 2nd hand and they were off white and dirty and dusty
I'm taking a skirt and dress of mine that are way too small
but are the exact color maroon that I want and making new lampshades that match
basically any other things in the room you can do both color and it will pull it all together
lamps, artwork etc...

Thu, Aug 27 2009, 1:27 pm

ahuvasmom wrote:

that sounds great but I am SO not handy like that. I need ideas with specific instructions or links to things I can buy LOL

mummiedearest

Thu, Aug 27 2009, 8:10 pm

get different colored slipcovers for your couches.

don't worry about the cherry wood, I think wood is relatively neutral. you can always keep a tablecloth over it.

if you don't want dark dining room chairs, you can get slipcovers for those as well.

keep lots of books on those bookshelves. you can cover them with fabric for a nicer look than contact paper, which I personally think belongs behind closed doors or in a kitchen drawer.

I'd go for the couch slipcover rather than turn the shelves maroon if your dining room is also blue. blue can be lovely. I got a nice slipcover for my couch from overstock.com for around $80. it has a separate piece for the cushions, so it looks more like the original couch. you may want to consider a more brown color if you like things dark. you could also get something metallic if you were so inclined.

replace the curtains. sell the old ones if they're in good condition. I would actually rather go for wooden blinds than curtains. they can match your dining room furniture. and they look classy. if you want to cover your shelves in fabric, you may want to try a print like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Premier-.....im__2

I like the color combination, and it would bring your dark furniture together with the blue walls. they have different prints with the same color combination.

hang whatever pictures you want on the walls in dark wood frames.

hmmm... I can't believe I gave that much advice without having seen the color of your walls/furniture. if you could post some pics, I'm sure you'd get some better advice. we'd need to see the bookshelves as well. so my advice may be completely off, depending on what you have to work with.

have fun decorating. I'm finally decorating my home after we've been here nearly two years. it takes time.

Fri, Aug 28 2009, 9:12 am

Thanks mummiedearest. The color of the walls and the bookshelves is pretty much like the color of the imamother screen - baby blue I guess? The couches are basically this color (a drop darker)

http://www.futons-store.com/p/.....62640

so you can see why it doesn't go together that well. The only other thing in that room is the china closet (because it doesn't fit in the dinning room) and that is cherry wood. the table+chairs are in the dinning room and you can't really see them from the living room. Does that change your advice? Smile