apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

What about the Stockholm curtains from IKEA? They would add a little color and a bold pattern and go great with your walls. You can pick up a color from you curtains and incorporate it into your bedding with sheets or a throw pillow.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10112016

bright marimekko- same vibe of your painting there.

A bit more expensive, but fun are the great fabrics from Marimekko. Here is a link to their corporate site for a look at the great collection. http://www.marimekko.fi/eng

For color, I would suggest something like and acid yellow or chartreuse.

I think some colorful Marimekko fabric would be great. If $ is a consideration, then Laura's suggestion would be great as well.

Make your own! It's pretty easy, and I suggest this fabric:

http://quilthome.com/product_info.php/cPath/30_527/products_id/4163

I'd probably go with a large scale Marimekko print, unless you need light-blocking curtains, which are truly boring. You could get a separate light blocking layer, though.

I had exactly the same thought as the other commenters: go for a fun graphic, in the Marimekko style.

I say something with Orange......

Those curtains suggested by the first commenter are perfect. They're *almost Marimekko w/out the price tag. And then you could bring out any colors (and go darker or brighter as much as you want) with any accessories. Gray paint doesn't have to dark!

Our bedroom is a lighter shade of gray so I went on ebay and searched for a light salmon patterned barkcloth fabric. Luckily I found a perfect vintage floral pattern with gray, salmon and an off-white background.

Because our ceilings are as low as yours I made cafe curtains with an additional small curtain along the upper half of the window. Otherwise, a full window curtain will make your room feel even smaller and most likely darker as well.

I'd like to see more of the poppy orange. Not too much though. Perhaps in a sheer, layered under a soft green to match your bedding, or a solid pale green linen curtain, with a large panel blocking (from the window ledge down) in a smoother textured (perhaps a raw silk) poppy. These would be best well ironed, and with a modern large grommet top.

I love the room by the way! Grey rocks my socks.

I love the grey walls, too! I always paint a bedroom a darker, serene color - it's so nice to sleep in a dark room. Have a look at the Thomas Paul fabrics from Duralee - fun and graphic, and many patterns and colorways to relate to the grey walls, and bring in color, too. Orange! I am all for sewing up your own curtains to create something uniquely yours. I would hang full curtain panels from the ceiling line down - your bed looks low, so elongating the line of the window vertically should add a sense of height.

http://www.duralee.com/fabrics/colorway.php?Colorway_id=328

And IKEA has great fabrics - I always look at their textiles - inexpensive, and very graphic, very cool.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70150915

Have fun - you have lots of good suggestions!

anthropologie always has beautiful curtains

if you can do a little DIY (you don't even have to sew, hemming tape and grommets are all you need) try going to a good Indian clothing store...they always have beautiful, vibrant fabrics cheaper than most fabric stores.

we painted our BR gray, too, and we're going with a curtain wall behind the headboard. http://www.flickr.com/photos/31170044@N06/3601792011/

I'd suggest something yellow and geometric if your husband's not wild about huge flowers (the man in my life isn't). Maybe something like this (http://www.calicocorners.com/product/designer fabrics for the home/shop by pattern/abstract and geometric/key west white-yellow.do)?

Also, have you thought about changing the lighting?

i say pick a bright color or white sheer / flowy ones to keep the space light.

i'm really into the new ikea cecelia fabric (the line drawings of birds) and i think they would look really nice in a grey room.

Because your husband is so fond of the gray walls with white wood, consider a theme that picks up on menswear. Light blue with white pinstripe fabric that reminds him of men's shirting for window coverings---or a tone on tone windowpane check. Throw pillows in diagonal silk stripes that look like tie fabric. Summer linen blazer tailored duvet or bed skirt. Leather framed wall mirror or photo frames. Small glints of gold or silver to mimic masculine jewelry. It doesn't have to be heavily masculine, more like mid-summer masculine. Then bring in some soft florals with bedside rugs, wall art, flowers.

Oooh, a chartreuse curtain would be awesome. Or maybe go bold with pink? Depends on if the husband likes them or not.

Laura
http://www.grafxnerd.net

i love the chartreuse suggestion. maybe a lemony yellow?
i had a similar situation in my old apartment. i think large scale is best... floor to ceiling. i know it sounds overwhelming but, it actually works, you just have to keep the other furnishings to a minimum. i found fabric that i loved and made the curtains. i hung the curtains from steel cable strung between two mounting brackets that i found at ikea. they also sell the clips to attach the curtains. on one side of the room the curtain covered the whole wall and the other side, the curtains covered just the window.

good luck.

TRY URBAN OUTFITTERS:

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?itemdescription=true&itemCount=10&startValue=1&selectedProductColor=&sortby=&id=16742595&parentid=A_FURN_WINDOW&sortProperties= subCategoryPosition,&navCount=9&navAction=poppushpush&color=&pushId=A_FURN_WINDOW&popId=APARTMENT_FURNISH&prepushId=

OR

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?itemdescription=true&itemCount=60&startValue=1&selectedProductColor=&sortby=&id=14661540&parentid=A_FURN_WINDOW&sortProperties= subCategoryPosition,&navCount=0&navAction=poppushpush&color=&pushId=A_FURN_WINDOW&popId=APARTMENT_FURNISH&prepushId=

Cloe beat me to it. I was going to suggest Urban Outfitters. I like her first suggestion or:
http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?itemdescription=true&itemCount=60&startValue=1&selectedProductColor=&sortby=&id=15353899&parentid=A_FURN_WINDOW_PANELS&sortProperties= subCategoryPosition,&navCount=21&navAction=poppushpushpush&color=&pushId=A_FURN_WINDOW_PANELS&popId=A_FURN_WINDOW&prepushId=APARTMENT_FURNISH

Love the orange/poppy suggestions. Grey and orange are so fantastic together. If you're concerned about pattern overload, you can use the pattern for your bedding and keep the drapes white, maybe with a contrast banding on the lead edge?

These ones from IKEA are light AND bold. I didn't love them when I saw them in the store, but they made my bedroom come alive, and they kind of go with your existing colour scheme -

http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/70143760


...or, for even more boldness, I like these birch tree ones:

http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/40122212

...although that seems a little too grey-on-grey for my tastes, personally. Not that my tastes should matter in your boudoir.

I like joshhh's comment about picking some white shears that are flowy to bring in light and keep things simple.

Wow. My former apartment had similar colored walls in the bedroom. I also used curtains from Urban Outfitter, the kimono flower curtains which are now, sadly, no longer made. (So good suggestion Chloes and Gvinton).
I think the ones suggested would look so fresh against the walls, esp the poppy curtains.

For clarity, I just wanted to say that the suggestions by Chloes and Gvinton are great, because they have that lush, floral motiff that the above mentioned kimono curtains have.

Sorry for any confusion.

I'd do something white, but very special in a simple shape:

http://www.robertallendesign.com/trade/fabric_detail.aspx?product=165660

To make your bedroom lighter and brighter, I would make just about everything else in the room white -- lovely white bedlinens (perhaps real linen in white from Libeco Home), a white flokati rug, no green garbage can, and very large light-coloured artwork on the walls (perhaps framed vintage movie posters).

Good luck!

I love the gray! What color is it?