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Name: Christina
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Type of Home: One Bedroom Rental Apartment
Color Inspiration:I grew up in a brightly colored Mexican house in Los Angeles. When I moved to Michigan for graduate school the winters got me really down. I wanted a space that felt bright and reminded me of sunnier locales....
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Color Inspiration continued: When I chose this color my friend tried to stop me and said, "You don't want your house to look like you're in the tropics." My response was, "That's EXACTLY what I want!" As far as my decor goes, I'm a PhD student so I don't have much money. I like mixing Mexican folk art, old family photos, and whatever interesting pieces I can find at local flea markets. Although I did splurge on the couch.
Colors Used: The wall color is Empress Teal by Behr. I was choosing between different shades of teal and I ended up deciding on this one because I felt that if I were a drag queen I would want "Empress Teal" to be my stage name. No joke.
Color Tip: Use color to create spaces that remind you of places you want to be, whether it be your childhood home or a vacation spot. Your home should be your retreat from the world.
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I love your thoughts on color. It's such a mood lifter - living in the southwest I can really appreciate why the Native Americans and Mexicans used such bold colors - we've taken a cue from those colors in our own decorating.
view bandanamom's profile
I find this room a little distracting, but it's not the color (which is great). It's the furniture and layout. The main entry door is just right there smack dab in the middle of what should be a cozy seating area, and the armchair is in the path between that door and another door.
I don't know what the floorplan of the entire space looks like, but you might consider rotating the sofa 90 degrees and moving the chair away from the windows. (And maybe planning on a budget DIY slipcovering project.)
view fuzzyEgg's profile
me so confused by the position of the furniture vis-a-vis the doors...
view creativeneurosis's profile
Maybe move the sofa up farther away from the wall? Put a console or some type of landing strip where the sofa is?
Take away that chair, it's not really needed.
view bitdot's profile
Nice use of color and i like the bird hanging on th door....it is a typical Indian (Gujarathi) folk representation. :)
view susrith's profile
The armchair is fantastic.
I can't imagine anyone not needing another seating option. In this case, everyone who comes in sits on the sofa and in the single other chair?
view Laurie's profile
LOVE the color! And yay, Ann Arbor! I'm an undergrad at U of M so I know exactly what you mean about Michigan winters. My walls are yellow for pretty much the same reason.
view lindybot's profile
The colour is a good start. You really need bigger art or just larger grouping or the the wall colour overwelms your art and the room. Also a large rug, even a simple jute one would be a good addition.
view TheoJ's profile
Yes, that armchair in a major thoroughfare is a no-no.
view shirley-temple-of-doom's profile
Like the colors a lot. I see why you have your chair where you do, to try to keep from getting closer than 8 ft to the tv. You have a pretty small space to work with. Quite a challenge.
view teapotrose's profile