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Name: Cathy
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Type of Home: Rented House
Color Inspiration: We started with the rug, which we bought about 4 years ago, and it just evolved from there. Our hodge-podge of furnishings are all slowly collected and thoughtfully chosen—we did pretty much the same thing with color.
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Color Inspiration continued: I sewed the curtains and later reupholstered the smaller chair after ordering several swatches and taping them to the wall for a bit. The last thing we chose was the wall color, which involved photoshopping our options onto a pic of the room before finally painting. We're renting, and it's a 1900s home, so we were sensitive to colors that worked with the warmth of the original woodwork (not to mention painting only one wall to save us some labor when we do move on).
Colors Used:The paint is Seabreeze from Ace Hardware. As for the fabrics, I don't remember what they were all called, but the overall palette contains several shades of neutrals: browns, grays, caramels, and khakis; rusty reds, and golds, as well as jewel-toned blues.
Color Tip: I learned a lot from this room. First of all, there is nothing wrong with going slow—it took up probably 6+ months to get all the elements pulled together. Somehow, not making all the decisions up front gave us a lot more perspective. Also, don't worry about being all matchy-matchy. I think we achieved more warmth and depth by ending up with a bunch of colors that work together rather than a perfectly controlled palette.
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What a lovely room- depth is the word! So rare to achieve this kind of balance.
view telsing2's profile
great room!
i think if you don't molding at the ceiling, you should bring the curtain rod all the way to the top and have a curtain that reaches the floor. i think it'll bring some visual interest upwards making it look more balanced and complete.
view pokinatcha103's profile
I think this all comes together really well, it looks very sophisticated and comfortable and I think you've got the balance of small touches like the plants and the objects on the coffee table just right.
However I would say this: if you're going to hang your curtains so as to give the illusion of width to your window, you have to hang the curtain rod above the level of the window frame. Being able to see the narrower-than-the-curtains-would-suggest window frame above the rail, as you can here, spoils the look and defeats the purpose. (I don't particularly think you have to hang the curtains right below the ceiling, just please please above the window frame).
view idontdobeige's profile
Thanks for the thought, but since we are renting, we are not permitted to drill into the horsehair plaster walls (but for some reason the moldings are ok). This was the best we could do.
view cathycolson's profile
Great colors!!
view joe6100's profile
Fantastic....where did you pick up the rug?
view vicsiris's profile
Love that rug!
view queenbee1230's profile
Thanks! We found the rug at Home Goods.
view cathycolson's profile
the color of this room is fantastic!
view sarah_stone's profile
Where did you get the lamp, love it!!
view Stardock7's profile
i love, love, love this room! this is the one i voted for. i think it's orderly and calm and i was so disappointed that it didn't get farther in the color competition. i love your coffee table/plant stand/book shelf/cabinet under the window, too. xo
view xoxotoe's profile