Hey everybody, new to the forum here. I'm an avid vegetable gardener, and stumbled upon this place. I've got an interior design challenge to put out there. My wife and I live with our two dogs in a 3 bedroom home. We're in the middle of redecorating/redesigning the other two bedrooms. The larger of the two has served as an "office" until very recently. We've decided to transform it to a guestroom. We have an oak futon with a bright red bed set, as well as two coordinating red curtains for the window. I also have an oak nightstand. For the other side of the room, I'm looking to go this route: IKEA | Living room storage | Bookcases | EXPEDIT | Bookcase The red baskets that go with will coordinate well with the bed and curtains. So here are some pics to give you an idea. (this all admittedly looks like hell right now) My first big question is...what to paint the walls? Also, what wood style to get the bookcase. The oak futon and nightstand go well together...should I go for a birch veneer for the case (which is lighter than the oak nightstand), or contrast it with black? The trim and windows are white...should I go white?
How about painting the walls a very light grey, and using a darker grey for the trim? The bookcase should either be oak, or the birch veneer. Black is a dust catcher, and no matter how often you dust, it will look dusty within an hour (ask me about my computer console!). The curtains look as if you could catch them to one side and have an undercurtain of white lace or sheer for daytime. You'd still give your guests privacy, but less of a "closed-in" feeling.
Ooh, I like the idea of a grey for the walls. I'm not sure if I'm up for painting all the trim too, but we'll see. You can see from the close-up of the comforter, there's some grey in that tree-branch pattern. This might work well. Thanks!
reply I think that a light gray would work well... if not gray then I would do a beige color. Even though it is close to white I think it would still make a big difference!
Noodles, I'm glad you liked the suggestion. With the warm color red in the curtains and comforter, you definitely need a cool color to offset and contrast.
I'd suggest a green - a shade like the in the bottom picture on this page would go really well I think: http://www.housepaintingtutorials.com/s ... paint.html But if you like the idea of grey, are you perhaps after more neutral colours? I just like bright colours personally, so long as they are not too over powering...
This might sound odd, but scout out china shops and antique shops always looking for your red in combination with other colors. Art magazines are another source to use. I once decorated a whole room using the color combination on a plate that I thought beautiful. It made everything easy to have that plate in front of me to match.
except for some featured walls in wallpaper, my home is all white, walls, ceilings and even berber carpet, I prefer to bring color in with furnishings, wt's etc. this is my guest suite: one end: ( photo / image / picture from SusieQ07's Garden ) The other end: ( photo / image / picture from SusieQ07's Garden )
Some of the paint supply and box store web sites have a program that you can use to try the colors on your wall with virtual paint. It gives you an idea of what the color you choose will look like after you have painted. Try that.
I was also going to suggest Blue-Grey combination. Grey goes very well with any sorts of furniture. Go for cool colors. As someone suggested above keep flooring darker than the ceiling to get spacious feel.
Re: reply I think gray is a very good suggestion. Or some color to bring the red down a little. i like warm colors myself like brick red and browns
I think that because it is a guest room you want to avoid cool colors and strong contrasts. Why? Because that creates energy and tension in a room....which is great for rooms you are using for entertaining, for instance, but not good for rooms for resting. You want a guest room to feel welcoming and comfortable. I would use beige for the walls...beige and red are a good combo and since they are both warm, it will give the room a cheerful but grounded feeling. A little black as an accent, like a lampshade or shelf would work with that color scheme.
