If you are interested in attending either event and haven’t already done so please RSVP to the stores directly: Great Falls 703-430-4450 or Fairfax 703-385-5425.   I’ll look forward to seeing you at Calico Corners!

We have a rather large bedroom which includes a fireplace with standard, red/pinkish brick surrounded by a medium cherry/maple color mantle. There is also a bay window, also surrounded by cherry/maple trim. We have medium cherry stained furniture, dresser and panel bed, from Restoration Hardware more of an arts and crafts style.

The walls are currently a mauve color, probably to pick up the color in the brick. There is also a master bath (very small) off the bedroom, also in the mauve/pink paint. We plan to completely re-do the bathroom, but have not tackled that project yet.. Please suggest a paint color scheme for both the bath and bedroom, as I am stuck! Thanks,
Monique

Barbara suggests…

I understand your dilemma, and the desire to arrive at a decision for a color scheme for your bedroom and master bathroom.

Your description indicates a dominance of red-based colors, from the fireplace to the mantel, to the furniture. My thought is that rather than “pick up the color in the brick,” I’d recommend that you use colors that complement the brick and not try to replicate its color.

You didn’t describe the light conditions in either room, therefore I’ll recommend a middle-tone color—not pastel, and not too saturated. Your room is “large” so perhaps you would consider an accent wall color, maybe behind the bed—and that color can also bring out colors from your window treatments and bed coverings.

Incandescent lighting will make any color you use have a yellow cast, which in the bathroom will probably be a bit intensified if there are not windows to add the daylight element during the day time. A gold-based color is something you might want to avoid for the bathroom.

You also did not include any information about the floors in either – so, it’s hard to assume correctly what they might be–carpet? wood? tile?– and what color and material? In any case what covers the floor is an important ingredient when considering wall colors, which are not in any way isolated from all the other qualities of your space.

Ultimately, when you re-do the bathroom you will also want to consider the type and color of the hardware and fixtures you use.

Rather than give you specific colors—which may or may not be what you like—I’d just like to direct you to some basic things to consider when you are looking at paint colors:

• the kinds of colors you like, that resonate with you
• lighting in the room: natural and electric
• floor color and material
• decorating elements: fabrics and art work
• size of the room
• the feeling you want to create: intimate, lively, fresh, historic, etc.

Since the bedroom is a private space it’s generally the last to be designed: unfortunately with the smallest budget, often making it the houses’ stepchild to the beautiful abode.

Bedrooms should be tactile and sensual. We spend one third of our lives in bed — we might as well do it in luxury.

TIPS:

1. Neutral, earth based color schemes are nurturing; medium to dark browns are ideal because they soothe the soul.
2. Selecting furniture in the right scale is critical. Make a to-scale drawing of your bedroom before buying furniture.
3. Use high thread count linens.

Remember bedrooms should support the three R’s:Rest, Rejuvenation, and let’s not forget Romance.

I loved it in this room from the Washington Design Center but this color can work in a more traditional setting as well and looks beautifully at home on these cabinets from Boulder Kitchens.

Resources:

• Visit Farrow & Ball’s website
  
• Do you have a color dilemma? Post it in the Makeover Gallery at RoomVues.com and you could be the next reader to have your color question answered on the Color For Your Home blog.

**Please note: Due to individual computer monitor limitations, colors seen here may not accurately reflect the paint colors. Please refer to an actual sample of the paint for an accurate rendition of the color.

My philosophy is quite simple. To create a sensational home– just add color!

Every day we share insights and expertise, answer questions and encourage reader’s to develop their own color style.

I invite you to look around, leave a comment, ask a question or make a suggestion.

If you’d like to keep up with the lastest in color please sign up for our weekly newsletter or grab the RSS feed.

Thanks again for stopping by.

Think creatively, live colorfully — Kate

A beautiful bedroom decorated in House Beautiful style available at Sears–a pleasant surprise.

Sears and Hearst Magazines have come together to create “ReImagine You” a program that showcases Sears spring merchandise around themes of “hope, optimism and renewed spirit.”

In the home section, the bedroom is decorated in the House Beautiful mode, while the kitchen is crafted by Country Living, the family room by O at Home, and garage by Popular Mechanics.

At the “ReImagine You” website, consumers can get room-by-room makeover advice from Team ReImagine celebrities including Ty Pennington, Eric Cohler, Eric Stromer, Deborah Barrow, and Stacy Morrison.

Also if you are a subscriber to any of these Hearst publications: Cosmopolitan; Country Living; Good Housekeeping; House Beautiful; Marie Claire; O at Home; O, The Oprah Magazine; Popular Mechanics; and Redbook you will be receiving custom-publication Sears magazine featuring the “ReImagine You” themes.

The publishing brilliance of the Hearst folks was apparent as I flipped through the pages of the “ReImagine You” website. The experience was fun and reminiscent of the many hours I poured over the Sears Christmas catalog as a child but it has been a long time since I’ve been in a Sears. Maybe it’s time I reimagine myself shopping there.

Each event takes place in one of the many incredible designer showrooms. I will be in the J. Lambeth showroom and will be using their beautiful fabrics and accessories to illustrate my talk.

House Beautiful has an incredible line up and I’m thrilled to be part of this event. I hope to see you there! More information is availble at HouseBeautiful.com

We have finished the walls and floors, now looking for a furniture arrangement.

We are purchasing all new furniture. We need a recliner. We are buying a 52′ Bravia tv. I didn’t want to put it over the fireplace, but we would have to put the couch in front of the windows if we put it on the wall.

Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks, Mary

Kate suggests…

The most logical and appealing solution to your problem may be to mount the television above the fireplace so that the two focal points of the room become one, and you can achieve the traditional inglenook furniture arrangement that allows for cozy conversation around the fire.

However, there are a number of concerns with mounting your plasma television above a working fireplace, such as the potential for heat or smoke damage. If you don’t intend to use your fireplace and television simultaneously often, then this should be of little concern to you, but if you do, then you should take care to make sure that the wall above your fireplace doesn’t get too hot from the chimney or fire below, or else it may cause damage to, or shorten the life of, your plasma television.

Another thing to take into consideration is whether you plan to simply watch regular broadcasts on your television, or if you plan to hook up a home theater system. If the latter is the case, then you may benefit from placing your television on the wall opposite the windows so all the accompanying electronics can be neatly enclosed in an entertainment center.

I would mount the television on the wall opposite the windows. You will want to find a nice window treatment to help with the glare on the screen. Since your windows are exceptionally tall, I would suggest a remote-controlled honeycomb shade, or similar screen, on the top and some nice long, flowing drapes for the bottom half.

Per your drawing, I would keep a nice rug near the fireplace to specify the seating area, and protect that gorgeous wood floor. Next, you can choose from two different furniture arrangements.

For the first, place your sofa parallel to the fireplace, and two chairs in front of the windows, at a conversational angle, and purchase a nicely scaled square coffee table to tie the three together.

The second option, if you feel the first constricts traffic flow too much, would be to place the sofa parallel to your television, allowing for room to walk between the sofa and the windows, then placing the two chairs, at your discretion, either on each side of the fireplace, or slightly angled toward each other near the entrance of the room.

Resources:

• Do you have a color dilemma? Post it in the Makeover Gallery at RoomVues.com and you be the next reader to have your color questions answered right on the Color For Your Home blog.

From Courgeaous With Color–

As the Earth sleeps, blanketed by the travails of icy weather, we alternately bundle up and hunker down — awakening to shivers and daily doses of brittle air, blustering winds, brutal temperatures and barren landscapes. Dark skies and hard rains also dampen spirits, causing mudrooms to fill with wet boots and overcoats as gloves and hats sporadically adorn every part of the house.

Rather than waiting for the clouds to part, ward off bleak, colorless days and the sense of “blah” that gloomy weather inspires with interiors awash in vibrant hues, taking refuge in bright spaces designed to lift moods faster than a warm, spring day.

Psychologists and color designers say color is one of the biggest influences on the human state of mind and our language regularly references the emotive connection. After all, we “see red,” we’re “green with envy” and we feel “peachy.”

Read the rest of the article…

Disregarding color trends and surrounding yourself with favorite, feel-good shades creates rooms guaranteed to lift your spirits. Pictured: walls painted in Sherwin-Williams’ “Blackberry.”

Resources:

• See Solutions At Home Magazine Online…
• Find your local Sherwin-Williams retailer

**Please note: Due to individual computer monitor limitations, colors seen here may not accurately reflect the paint colors. Please refer to an actual sample of the paint for an accurate rendition of the color.