help! our bedroom has no soul
We finally finished putting together a beautiful, expansive, calming bedroom — just in time to sell our house and move to a rental 2300 miles away. We’ve been here for months now and I’ve had it with the dingy celery walls, the drab blinds, the (shudder) sculpted olive drab carpet. We won’t be here for too long, so I don’t want to do anything too drastic or too expensive. I’m thinking I’m going to start by painting the walls with a simple cream color, but beyond that I’m lost. How to hide that carpet? There’s no hardwood lurking under it, just particle board. We’ve also never quite figured out how to hang art so that it doesn’t compete with the bed or look weirdly boxed in, especially now that it’s in a much smaller room than before. The only thing I really like are the built-in closets and drawers, which at least mean we don’t have to cram a dresser in there, too. Any and all suggestions appreciated! — Mary T.
October 11th, 2007 at 10:16 am
how can you have such a beautiful bed - and not have sheer curtains draped all over it?! i would just die to have a canopy. i’d rip out that rug, paint the walls a chocolate brown - and get the boudoir you deserve.
October 11th, 2007 at 10:35 am
The bed takes up almost all of the visual real estate in the room. If you add decorator pillows in different colors, a window treatment in a tie-in color and trade the two tiny nightstands for a more substantial one in a dark wood (to tie-in with the dark bedspread) it would help add visual ooomph elsewhere. Plus these are all things you can take with you when you move. There seems to be a tiny picture above the bed as well that is quite disproportionate to the size of the bed. I’d move that to a small nook somewhere else and use an interesting (and much larger) fabric hanging or textile piece there. Cream/beige is a good call for the wall color, as it will add warmth. You can’t really go too dark with all the white built ins and white door.
October 11th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
I would definitely rip out the rug, just like laura said, and put in either a really awesome design rug or one of those really plush white rugs you see everywhere (depending on whether you want a pop of color or a lush feeling). Then I’d for sure replace the duvet with something again either plain white or with a nice pattern, and put the pillows on top of the blanket, in simple cases, maybe with a bolster. I’m not keen on the sheer curtains but you can definitely play up the shape by putting a big print on the wall, or stretch a nice fabric over a canvas stretcher in any size you want, to fill in above the bed. Add a nice lamp and a simple chair, and maybe some nice knobs on the built-ins, and that’s all you’d need. And cream or chocolate would work on the walls - I’d actually replace the standard blinds, too, or cover them with a nice panel.
October 11th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
Try http://whatisblik.com/ Tons of really cool wall stickers that are great for renters and would contrast well with cream colored walls.
October 11th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
I’d like to see more color on the walls - paint a color! Make all the white built-ins pop! Then I’d add a rug, curtains and more exciting bedding - even if you don’t want to put in a canopy you could easily pick up some much more inviting bedding…
October 11th, 2007 at 5:34 pm
I’d recommend color on the walls as well, something that harmonizes with and plays off the olive carpet. A neighbor in my last apartment building had a unit with speckled yellow carpet (unattractive on its own with beige walls), but she painted the walls a harmonizing shade of deep yellow and her apartment looked beautifully warm and pulled-together.
October 11th, 2007 at 6:00 pm
Definitely a warmer color on the walls. Maybe the same tone as the carpet, so that doesn’t stick out. Maybe the wall with the windows, make some drapes to cover the whole wall? Soften up that window. To me, it needs something soft to contrast the lines of the bed. Also for bedside tables, either something more substantial, or maybe something that “floats” on the wall.
October 11th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
I wouldn’t waste money and energy on the walls or floors, but that’s just me and my rental philosophy. To me, you’ve got a proportion problem. The bed simply overwhelms the space. For most renters, this bedroom is probably OK, because not a lot of people have a design statement four-poster. But you do, and it looks boxed in by the room. Also, you have this splendiferous feature bed, but the rest of the room looks ad hoc.
I’d acquire five things:
* Luxurious, paler linens for your bed, that suit your tastes
* A bolt of sheer fabric to twist and drape around your bed frame for now - make the bed a room-within-a-room, almost.
* Some art or nicely framed photographs that you’ll enjoy looking at for a while.
* Two matching bedside tables.
* Two matching bedside table lamps that cast an appealing, warm light.
Except for the fabric, all these things will make your next bedroom appealing and complete, too.
October 13th, 2007 at 3:24 am
Definitely put a chair in there if you have room, and put those what you have for nightstands elsewhere. They don’t match the bed, they don’t have to match each other but they would look better out of the room. I am doing the same thing, I had a non-nightstand that I settled on (ahem, borrowed forever for free) because it fit, but I am getting rid of it, even though I have nothing else for the space yet.
Another thing, I don’t see any lamps. You probably have overhead lighting, but lamps make a bedroom look pretty, and their light does too. What everyone said about the bedding, it needs to be more lively. I would not drape anything off that sort of canopy, as it is metal and modern, not a wrought iron bed like you’d find in the woods, in a magazine, with vines growing over it. A nice graphic bedspread, like stripes or some images, or bring in the pattern with curtains and pillows.
I wouldn’t worry too much about the carpet if you’re going to move. With enough other stuff in there, olive green is a neutral, like nature. Once it’s not such a predominant feature of the room, it will “go” with whatever you pick on the bed and windows.
October 14th, 2007 at 7:39 am
I think you’re stuck with the carpeting unless you’re willing to spend some money on changing it, but since you’re just renting, and not for very long, I would focus on what you can take with you: your fabulous bed. I agree, make it your room-within-a-room by changing to a luxurious duvet (suggestion: the silk and silk brocade duvet from http://www.redlanternstyle.com/collections/homegoods/products/mandai-duvet-and-pillow-sham-set. I think the color will go well with your carpeting but take the focus away from it). I also have a canopy bed (I love the romance of it) and am all for draped fabric, but if you go with anything, I would keep it minimal—perhaps something just at the head.
I would also change to a subtler color on the wall like cream, put some matching fabric on the windows (maybe the same as you use on the bed) and go with lamps to warm up the room. Once you change to great bedding, you may want to look at some wall art that is personal, simple and classic.
Even when we rent it’s still important to make our bedroom a special retreat that’s our own. You deserve it!
October 14th, 2007 at 6:32 pm
Thanks for all the great suggestions. I am thinking I might do something with sheer or light curtains along the entire wall *behind* the bed and along the window wall — we never open those shades; the window faces the street and the only time we’re in the room, we really don’t want folks peeking in! I’m thinking very inexpensive IKEA curtains as we’ll need quite a few and since the cost of living here is HIGH and we’re about to buy a house (we hope — our lease is through January).
It didn’t show well in the photo, but actually the walls and built-ins are all painted the same color! It’s a kind of sickly green; I did a bad job describing it as it’s just BAD. It’s like a bad hospital or school corridor color from the 1970s. It’s bad. But because the built-ins are a pain to paint, I was thinking they’d look better (at least they’re gloss) if the walls were painted. The walls are very dirty, also. We are renting a house that someone lived in for 30 years and nothing was repainted for us; everything we’ve done, we’ve done on our own.
I totally agree about the bed being overwhelming. We had a HUGE bedroom before we moved here with 12-foot ceilings, and now it’s roughly 12×10. And guess what — we’re seriously considering a house with one bedroom that’s even SMALLER. We have a feeling this bed will be on the market soon!
I promise that I’ll take photos and post when we figure something out. In the meantime, ideas still appreciated.
October 15th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
One of the most beautiful bedrooms I ever saw with a stark bed like yours had an incredible chinoiserie wallpaper by de Gournay, all flowering trees and delicate blossoms and exotic birds. That’s the sort of paper you need, covering even the closet doors. Very Pauline de Rothschild too. I love the bed, so don’t worry about it being so large; undercut that with a fantastic wallpaper.
October 15th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
I love that suggestion, too! (Probably won’t take it on for this house, but will store away for future reference!)
October 15th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
Yeah, just paint the room if you’re allowed! The carpet is ugly but will be much less noticeable with a nice wall color. I would do a nice neutral warm cream color and just leave the trim & built-ins as is.
I agree about changing out the end tables. You could get something a little more substantial that would bring down the overwhelming scale of the bed. Even if you find something cheap and used that don’t match and you don’t even want to take with you; you can give them a quick matching coat of paint in an eye-popping color. Get matching/coordinating lamps for each side table to bring it all together.
Is it possible to change the bed around? I would put it with the head on the wall with the window and hang wall-to-wall curtains (actually, I would use flat king-size sheets and just open the seam at the “head” of the sheet to run a rod through - much cheaper than buying 15 curtain panels) on a rod right where the wall meets the ceiling.
You’re not using the window anyway, so just cover it up and now you’ve got another solid wall.
I assume you brought the bed linens with you and therefore like them. Get/make some pillows (1 more king size sheet for fabric and then they’ll go with your fabric wall!) in colors that work with the side tables, existing linens, new curtains, new paint color. If you get lucky, you might even be able to draw in that olive color to make the carpet look not so fugly.
So, ugly olive carpet, brown/burgundy bed linens, warm creamy on the walls - maybe go with a dark olive green for the curtain wall? Then find some fabrics, maybe a paisley that’s predominantly green/brown with a cream background and a plaid that incorporates brown/green/cream and maybe some solid brown, green & cream fabrics that have a nice texture to them for pillows? The celery of the built-ins won’t be so bad once you’ve pulled more green/brown into the room…
October 15th, 2007 at 3:47 pm
Your landlord would probably have a heart attack if you pull up the carpet but multiple throw rugs from Ikea that overlap each other in similar tones to cover the carpet could be interesting. You don’t want to homogenize the room but stick with stuff that goes with the sickly green paint AND compliments the bed. Curtains from Ikea, candles and definitely the sheer draping or even mosquito net. Pics on the wall. Get pics that don’t have glass on them. Having glass always seems colder and then you can hang things salon style (great cheap art on Etsy). Knobs could add an interesting touch to all those doors and drawers. Get mis-matched one’s from flea markets, etc.
If you are moving out in 2 1/2 months I’d say save your money on paint and buy stuff you can take with you. Good luck!
January 22nd, 2008 at 7:36 am
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