apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

wow, now AT's the doc for rooms suffering the effects of TV makeovers. That's quite an achievement!

I like the idea of a tan, especially with the turquoise in the chair and all the black and white.

The moldings were added during the makeover? I might limit them to a single wall, and just have framed pictures, say, over the couch.

Domino did a room with moldings added to the walls and a lightish shade of paint a while back. I'll see if I can find it, though I won't be able to post the issue number until early this evening.

That's A LOT of brown... I recently painted my living room chocolate brown as well, but my room was always dark and cave-like, even when it was painted a pastel sage by the prevous owners. But I only painted 2 adjacent walls brown (a long wall with nice architectural details I wanted to "pop" out and a very short wall that was mostly window anyway.) and the 2 other walls a creamy white. It makes my very long room look a little more open and less long. I don't know what the shape of your room is like, so perhaps this wouldn't work for you (and it sounds as if you're not really so keen on the brown anyway). Good luck!

How about a nice light mocha shade? I think that would be lovely and would definitely lighten up the space.

ooh goodness, this is like looking at my dining room all over again. i moved in, painted my dining room a dark chocolate brown (benjamin moore rockies brown) and then loved it for about 2 days until i realized that the center of our apt (it's a railroad) is way, way too dark for a color that intense and saturated. we moved to a warm gray that i love, but i think something in the pumpkin family wouldn't be crazy as long as it had enough warm yellow in it to make it feel not quite as intense. i think a creamy pumpkin color would be nice. but i always like to throw in a vote for a nice warm grey, which is always a lovely compliment for a green wall.

just my 2 cents :)

grace

That is very brown.

I like brown, but there's not enough other stuff to lighten it up!

I don't mind the orange idea - I have an orange wall (it's Behr, but I can't find the exact colour) - it looks almost coppery in the evening, and in the morning it's almost peach-red. I can look on the can tonight if you want more info -

Maybe if you put the large wall in orange, and then the rest of the walls a creamy butter colour that will allow the white to pop - that might give you some extra light. That's what we've done (orange wall, the rest of the walls are RL "victoriana" and the floor is espresso brown - our furniture is similiar in tone to yours).

Good luck!

I'm curious...What did you think would happen?

-Bobby

Do you like the brown? You could reverse the colors and use the brown on the moulding and white on the walls. That turquoise color would also be pretty.

If you want fresh, bright and sunny, and don't want to reverse anything else they did, I think a pale, PALE version of the grass green or a pale, PALE version of the turquoise (more like a light Robin's egg) would work with everything else.

But I'm also curious about how they ended up with such a dark color for you...

my apt. (a small studio) is painted Benjamin Moore Soft Pumpkin w/white trim. Like you I don't get much sun and the color makes the apt. feel cozy, but it's not TOO orange. FYI this color is available in the 2-oz sample sixe jar....it was the 6th shade of orange I tried. Seems like it would go fine with your stuff with the possible exception of the green pillows.

I've often wondered about what happens after the show ends. Are people really, seriously happy about the end result? Personally, I would rather be hit over the head than be subject to a TV makeover.

I like the pale aqua or robin's egg blue idea, my living room is pale blue with white molding that looks crisp.

Here is a very specific suggestion try Benjamin Moore HC 81 it is also a brown so it would really change the color relationships in your palate (which I think are very nice) but it is a very lite brown and quite reflective. I know this does not sound like much of a change but get a decent size sample and you will see what I am talking about.

I'd go a couple shades darker than the sofa. Almost any color will "pop" the moldings if they're crisp white, but what you want to do is knock back the large sofa so its pillows pop but it doesn't. Stay with a tan that's compatible with the sofa color -- if the sofa is happy with picking up a pumpkin tone, go for it.

kristin
thanks for asking this question
I keep looking at my bedroom nook
and thinking dark brown
this gives me more to think about . . .

o dear

How about a somewhat deeper shade of blue, not real pale, like the color Marlboro Blue that Jimmy used in this year's contest:
http://tinyurl.com/p6yyr

You'll be spending a lot on primer and paint to cover up that brown. Both in time and in money. Call HGTV and tell them you want your dime back.

Matilda (and others): On the general subject of how colors can make rooms feel big or small, long or short, is there a consensus on how this works? If you have one wall in a dark color and three in a light color, what does that do to ones perception of the room? How about two facing walls (i.e., not adjacent) in a darker color and the other two facing walls in a light color?

And, what about ceilings? Always white? The same light shade as the lighter walls? Pale blue with clouds?

The room pictured in this thread certainly has a closed-in feeling, and I was wondering what combinations of colors on what walls would open it up.

I think there was a post awhile back about favorite HGTV shows or what not. Anyways. Just thought I'd mention again, how much I hate Design on a Dime.

As a very lazy person who likes good design with minimal effort, my first thought was if you like the chocolate brown, but not the quantity in your room, you could leave one wall chocolate with the white frames and lighten the rest.

I did that in my stairwell (pairing BM Branchport Brown with Waterbury Cream) and love it.

Virginia in Chicago

guido--
Don't give up on the brown! Part of it is getting the right brown... some browns can just sit there (which this one seems to do). But I LOVE the brown I have bedside and in my entry... Pratt & Lambert "Loam" 2015.

But then again, my apartment is primarily a "night time apartment" and I like it "cavey." But halogen lighting goes a LONG way to keep it intentionally dramatic and moody, and not just dark.

Saffron.

Or...taking Patrick's cue: Lavender-toned-white.

If this is NOT a large room, I'd be a little leery of going the "accent wall" route (which I am normally a big fan of) or of painting only the inside of the new molding areas, for example... I think the end result will be too choppy.

And while this idea may not be within your budget... what about a white sofa (or slipcover). Maybe the problem is actually *not* the wall color...

In the picture, I really like the brown. My first thought was, like Mary, turquoise. From the picture, orange feels like it would just add another color and you've already got the turquoise chair.

But I have another thought. That floor looks mighty dark as well. What about putting down sisal (and yes, p(too), keeping the cowhide)? You've currently got two major elements - walls and floor - extremely dark. Maybe lightening the floor v. the walls would help get rid of the cave effect.

Dabbler -- Isn't the rule that light colors recede and dark colors advance? I'd assume three light walls and a dark one would mean the dark wall will seem like it's comin' at ya. Depending on the proportions of the room, this could be a very good thing or a very scary thing.

It's also partly what you put against the wall. High contrast between wall and large pieces of furniture makes the space look smaller; low contrast makes it look larger. So a dark brown wall with a dark bookcase against it should look more spacious than the wall in white with the same bookcase.

ps: Just saw the note about the Granny Smith green nook... so I definitely vote for a paler version of that same paint as your living room walls, leaving moldings white as they are now.

And love Ruth's idea of pale flooring, if a feasible change (if staying dark with the wall). Dark walls with every other major part bright white would be very current-chic. And put a PALE version of the chair color on the ceiling.

I just painted a bedroom Benjamin Moore chocolate candy brown (2107-10) which is super dark, too. A big difference in effect is achieved with amount of sheen in the paint, though. Darker pigments shine more to start, so a semi-gloss in off-whites is equal in shine to about a satin finish in BM dark colors. I used BM's satin finish paint and the wall bounce light around gently during the day and seem richer at night. The eggshell and flat finishes for the exact same color just sucked energy and light out of the room. I was amazed at how some sheen transformed the brown into a luxe, indulgent, rich feeling color. Reminds me of theHotel at Mandalay Bay in L.V. or a W Hotel room now. So...maybe one solution is to glaze the entire room? I've never used glaze, but maybe....

I am a big fan of brown walls (I have 2: a stairwell that gets lots of light, in Bittersweet CHocolate, from BM...fantastic. Truly looks like the dark chocolate block I gnaw on from Trader Joes..but again it gets a lot of light) and a softer brown wall (SPice Nut from Duron) in a room that is already dark, but is paired with white walls.

I LOVE dark walls (and I actually think dark walls recede, rather than light walls) but I see a couple of problems: there is so much detail in those frames that they make you're eye go right to the wall... the eye goes to contrast. And then there you are taking in the darkness and the contrast and seeing nothing else.

I'm with P(too...who I am becoming a HUGE fan of :) ) -- the white slipcover is the way to go. Throw a white sheet on the couch and squint to see if that takes care of the problem. A light rug -- sisal or otherwise will also work wonders.
And get that dark pattern off the turquoise chair -- white there would help bounce some light around. When more stuff in the room is white, and uniform, the walls WILL recede -- but only if you remove those frames. Too busy. If you can't bear to leave it empty, maybe replace with a large piece of art in each area? After you do that, if you think the walls are still too dark, consider painting the interior of the moldings a soft apple green (the same in the adjoining room, or a shade or two lighter on the paint chip). Post a picture after your fix!

Does anyone know where that white hexagon table can be found? I would greatly appreciate some direction. Thanks!!!

Dear god. That really is a soul-sucking brown. I would go with robin's egg blue on the walls.

Megan--
While that table looks to be a DOD DIY, I'd check West Elm, The Company Store, or Urban Outfitters.

You have so many great choices:

light pumpkin, robins egg, warm tan -

The right shade of any of those colors would work - just make sure it's something YOU love.

And you HAVE to post a pic when it's done. I want to see the makeover of the makeover.

This room is a perfect example of the pitfalls of trying to copy the Kelly Wearstler, Hollywood Regency look w/o the Kelly Wearslter eye.

I can see it tryin', but it's just not gettin' there for me.

Maybe KW is worth all the dough she's, depsite the annoyance of lounging topless in her design book. But I digress.

An addendum to my post above:
you could also paint the interior of the molding area white, the same shade as the frames and leave the frames up on the wall -- for texture and visual interest, but no distracting contrast.

slipcovers, though. get some made...Make the dark walls look really intentional, and do that by balancing their darkness.

I have also had a pumpkin room, also already dark (same room as Spice Nut walls, which you can see if you go back to the show my art contest in January, I think) and I loved it. It was very warm and cozy. I ultimately painted over it because the room next to it was bright red, and I eventually came to feel as though I was living in a circus.

I would leave the one wall that the couch is against brown and paint the other walls white. I think that would be perfect.

What the heck did they do to that room!
There is just too much going on!

First let me say that the room seems totally unbalanced.
Especially with all the "stuff" on the walls, which is also attracting too much attention to the dark colored walls.

I would agree with Maxwell and just lighten the walls up a bit with a nice light brown.
I would remove all that busy stuff from the walls or just tone it down with just a few items.
Or you might want to replace it with some nice red or perhaps robins egg blue paintings or artwork. I would go with large sized frames or canvases on the artwork but keep it simple,
Maybe you have a friend or someone that can create something for you.

You could also put a mirror in the large frame which might help move some light around the room.

I will say it again - I am not a fan of that show and everytime they open a paint can I cringe!

Good luck!

I love all the colors, especially the brown. I don't understand why a room being dark is such an issue to so many people. But since it is, what I would suggest it ditching the white frames with nothing in them and replace them with either black and white photographs or photographs that bring back the turquoise and the green, but frame them with really big, wide, white mats. Then you just have the intense brown peeking out around the edges of the frames.

Or I just had another idea. Has anyone suggesting putting a lighter, patterned wallpaper inside the squares made from the moulding? That could be good.

I actually think this is one of DOD's better rooms, so I think Kristin lucked out.

I also think it slightly unfair to judge the success of the makeover on one not-very-carefully planned photo... and it's hard to actually assess one room for "balance" based on one shot.

I personally like the "activity" of the elements. But agree that the same concept could be executed with fewer, more symetrically placed/arranged pieces.

My biggest criticism of this and other similar shows is how it looks like the entire room came from "one can of paint" and/or "one bolt of fabric." Which I think they are *less* guilty of here than usual.

I still say it's the sofa that's draggin' the party down.

And agree with Breckinridge that dark paint does not always or automatically equal a dismal result. I LOVE my dark, dark entry and accent walls. And it has actually stretched the space, since it makes the edges of the room really disappear...

I also think this room needs one of those killer gridded chairs from West Elm in "Leaf."

I just want to say that you're a brave one for even letting those people into you home! I wouldn't let them on my floor much less my apt.

Remove rectangular moldings, they don't add to the room. Change to a warmer shade of brown, like this:
http://tinyurl.com/qmjk5

Or this:
http://tinyurl.com/qodq3

Consider wider baseboards and crown molding, as shown.

Or go lighter still:
http://tinyurl.com/zunky

Is that a sectional, sofa and chair???

I, too, think that the sofa may be the biggest culprit here, but it's really kind of possible to come up with something kind of good in a green that would work with that apple green.

I think I'd be tempted to a couple of gallons of one shade of a beige paint that's almost exactly the color of the couch, and a quart each of that apple green and that turquoise, and in one bucket mix the green into the beige, and in another bucket, mix the turquoise into the beige.

Then, I think I would probably paint the greened beige on the parts of the walls surrounding the frame molding, and the turquoised beige within the frame molding.

Then that sofa might look better against the green wall, and yet the pillows would pop out some, and the chair legs would still pop out a little.

AND the turquoised beige within the frame molding would have sort of a semi-window effect, as if looking out onto onto a sky, and yet fairly mid-toned neutral one at that.

Or, of course, you could just have me create a big old paint-by-number mural kit within each of those frame molding things referencing vintage paint-by-number paintings, and those would have turquoise-colored lines to bring out the chair, and there would be no end of greens, if the scenes were landscapes. And you could actually choose not to fill in the numbered spaces completely, so that could give you some white space. And of course the frame moldings could be painted gold, as if they were just enormous actual picture frames.

I'm glad Turquoise posted here, because her Fall Colors entry is a gorgeous example of how to work w/ saturated color. In her case her color choice was a dark gray w/white trim accented by black, red, and gold. Her bedroom sparkles despite or perhaps because of her use of dark colors. http://la.apartmenttherapy.com/la/fall-colors-contest-west/ive-got-color-contest-turquoise-luxury-hotel-style-bed-room-004455 Using your brown instead of Turquoise's gray, you can see that by changing the sofa's color (Turquoise's white bedding and curtains) you can bring in a much needed brightness to the room. I would ditch the frames w/in the moldings: they don't work for me at all because with the exception of the wide wooden frame in the right molding they aren't interesting enough in themselves. I think any frames that you choose should either be darker or metal (silver, gold, copper, etc.) and should have art in them. In fact, I would paint out the interior spaces of the molding and go with a different color there. White or cream crown molding would be better than those molding frames. So, I guess I'm saying ditch the framing period. The floor lamp in the corner disappears. Why not something with a sculptural quality (http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=1230&f=6450&viewall=1 or http://ww1.westelm.com/cat/pip.cfm?template=8grid&pkey=cwllflr&gids=w013&cid=wllflr&area=shp) so that even when the lamp is unlit, that corner will not seem funereal.

Kristen, I made a couple pictures for you to look at. Your room in a warmer brown, without most of the stuff on the walls. And one just dumping the molding and leaving the frames. The one with the frames has black/white on the left side and color on the right, you can put your hand over one side or the other to see if you'd like all black and white or all colorful things on the wall.

I lightened the sofa, one picture more than the other, so you can see how nicely it contrasts.

I didn't like the end result of the green square picture, but didn't edit it out (in the picture with nothing else on the walls).

They're pretty rough, but at least you can get an idea. Check them soon, because I probably won't leave them up very long. But I might try the lighter blue later on.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/96179754@N00/

I guess that's the right link, I haven't used Flickr before.

i'd leave one wall a feature of the chocolate and paint the others either white or a warm cream, whichever suits best. i'm not too crazy on the white moulding: it looks too high-contrast and busy for my liking. everyone else has some great ideas; i guess it really depends on whether you want to stick with the brown -- and just because someone did it for you, it doesn't mean you should keep it if you're not happy! i'm not a fan of the cow rug either, looks too buffalo girls for me!

This is why design on a dime is not so good. this room looks completely unfocused. someone was so inspired by the idea of contrasting moulding that they used it in a room that didn't have furnishings that work with it.your room looks like a comfortable contemporary space except for the walls.i'd strip the frou-frou and paint the walls. someone mentioned blue, which would look great.

I think that the problem is also that they used a blue brown. A green brown is richer (just looks at Turquoise's room)
A green brown will look richer with the sofa as well. I would take away alot of the extras like the wall frames etc and remove the blue legged chair completely.
for a quick fix now
take down all white frames. Drop in a thrift store or the antique market this weekend. pick up inexpensive but beautiful plates (See kwid.com, the gray wall at the ViceRoy Hotel) Pick similar colors or pattern of 2 colors. Make only one focal point-wall behind the sofa. This will add color and break up the wall color. On a blue brown wall, pink plates would look nice and tie in with the sofa. Now check how it feels. hang plates in a sideways diamond shape. Go high on the wall for drama. It looks like your ceilings may be short so play with the configuration and be dramatic. You do not have to use every plate you buy. And remove the white molding or paint the same color as the wall.
Take the 2 little wall shelves off the wall. Take the larger shelf, paint it the same brown color as the wall (I am assuming that you were left with extra paint) and then move the shelf down next to the arm of the couch and in front of the lamp to act as an endtable standin. If you have room.
Take the black candle sticks off the white table. Use the white frame on the right, insert a mirror, or find a longer mirror, put a shelf at the bottom edge of the frame-put candles there in front of mirror. get a cloth ottoman instead of the white round coffee table. The rug seems wrong for the room. Keep moving it around to see if you can find a better layout. If you have another rug in your house try swapping it out. experiment with it. or even turn the cowhide over and see how that looks? I did that with a rug once and got several compliments. I do not like the blue chair, but try maybe a hot enamal color on the chair, maybe pick up something one of the plates. colors for chair maybe an hermes orange, cranberry, or even hot pink. or get a new chair.
something more comfy.
Sorry about the long response.

Hi Kristen!

First of all, I'm so happy that you posted your photos, and shared this space with all of us because it means a lot to me when someone opens up their personal space and says, "help me!". What a lovely room - a fine base to get started for adding the finishing touches to your masterpiece - your redesigned space is soon to become a totally tricked out Kristen space - I just know it! Here's a few opinions based solely on what I see in the photo. See what you think.

MOULDING
First off, I love the moulding because it adds character and it's alot of work to install, so I wouldn't be quick to remove it. You may want to enhance what you have going on there though by adding something punchy to the mouldings. I would take a fine paintbrush and paint a thin stripe in the center of each moulding on each wall (8 total). tip: use a level to ensure that the moulding was installed correctly or else the stripe will accentuate the negative! I can't see the moulding up close, so I'm unable to determine whether there's a grove or not. If there is, you're all set. It makes for an easy line to follow. I'd paint the stripe the same color as your green throw pillows to make it pop.

COLORS
I personally wouldn't introduce pumpkin orange into the room (reads very warm), I'd opt for a yellow-orange, a citrus color that is fresh and alive instead.The room currently reads very 'low key', as in a low key color scheme being a bit on the dark side. The temperature of the room is very warm, cozy but also a bit dark and well, lifeless. To breathe energy into the room, to make it more high key (brighter colors), I'd add a few cool hues so the space has a slight temperature contrast (reading both warm and cool) which will balance things out a bit for you - it maintains it's cozy charm without resembling a bat cave. :) Try removing the black accents in the room and throwing in some yellow-orange accents along with a slight bit of red-violet (maybe fuschia) - you could add a simple vase of tulips, a few books on your table, or a sofa throw to accomplish this. I can see a square tetrad scheme working nicely in that room. Yum.

WALLS
I'd like to see the walls lighten up a bit to a light taupe as Maxwell suggested, although it's hard to suggest a color based on a single photo. But, I do think the walls need to be taken up several shades lighter. Next, I'd paint the wall space inside of the moulding in a light robins egg blue - a few shades lighter than I see there on your chair. That, combined with the punchy green stripe and the light taupe walls - very nice. As for paint, eggshell would suffice. Nothing glossy. Or, you could find some really nice wallpaper (cole + son for instance) and wallpaper inside of that space. However, I would prefer seeing paint there and perhaps add a splash of wallpaper only in the small frames so that all the 4 frames have the same wallpaper pattern. Coordinate the wallpaper with something else in your room. For instance, maybe you want to use a bold floral motif or geometric pattern for the wallpaper inside of your 4 frames and then coordinate that with a petite pattern for accent pillows.

RUG/PILLOWS
I would keep the lime pillows, but exchange your pretty rug and current black/white pillows for something else. You need a rug that will lighten up the space, the current rug sinks it and doesn't ground the room to me because the shape doesn't fit the space. I'd try something square since there are already many different shapes on your wall. I think that's one thing about the current rug I dislike - it introduces a new shape into the room and that appears very busy to me.

CORNER FLOOR LAMP
The corner floor lamp seems to be fine, although if your budget allows, that's a prime location for for a pendant lamp. If you're on a budget, you can simply swap out the current shade you're using for a larger shade - opt for a new shape too - a drum shade would look very nice because it's curved and simple - it wouldn't compete with what you have on the walls - even a simple solid white linen would be pretty and be budget friendly. If you aren't attached to the base, you could always paint it the same lime color that you use on your moulding and seal it with sheer high gloss clear enamel.

CHAIR CUSHION
I envision a new cushion on the chair - a very small understated pattern using one color plus white (if you love lime green go with that) I know the sweet pea bead pattern by hable has saturated the market, but something along those lines would be nice. Opt for a sturdy canvas cushion cover if you can.

http://www.hableconstruction.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16647&category_id=257

Everything I've mentioned is nothing more than my personal design opinion. You, as the home owner, know your design personality and I'm sure that whatever you end up doing will only enhance the space. I hope, between all these layers of advice thrown at you, that you decide upon something that ultimately makes you very happy. :)

Best,
Holly

p.s. If comments that read like novels annoy some of you, my sincere apologies. I took Maxwell's advice and tried the new coca-cola blak right after enjoying a latte at starbucks, so I'm a bit high strung and chatty right now.

ohhh
you can make paper cut outs of the place shape to find the placement on the wall. use a sticky putty you find in craft stores to move the pattern around the wall to figure the placement. also at a craft store or bed, bath and beyond to get plate hangers. have friend over to help, that would be fun. The more i look at your room I think that it lacks a focal point and that is very tiring for the eye. Maybe you have plates from your family or that you never get to use that would work too.

Plate shape cut outs-not place shape
the cut outs will help with placement.

I always need something to get me going, and I like building a color scheme around SOMETHING.

Ogee blue rug:
http://www.rugsusa.com/ogeeblue949403.html

Slipcover in a creamy beige, get rid of black and white items, paint wall in blue or wheat, add pillows in colors like the rug.

Ogee pastel rug:
http://www.rugsusa.com/og9444.html

Walls in wheat or celery, slipcover in light natural color, muted orange pillows.

Ogee cherry:
http://www.rugsusa.com/og9424.html

No painting required with that one, but pull off the white stuff, and add LOTS of reds, oranges, and even sage greens to the mix.

Kristin, browse some rug sites, browse some art sites, look for any item that leaps off the page and says "THIS IS WHAT I LOVE" And work magic around that one item.

Are you attracted more to fluid forms? Or angular forms? Things found in nature, or things made by man? Those couple of choices alone give you TONS of selections. And eliminate lots of others. That helps.

Go back through the last several Open Threads and find the links I posted for Christine (in DC) with orange selections. Maybe something there will catch your fancy.

Do the people who ask these questions know their question is posted? Do they comment?

Anyway, I was going to use the rugs for room colors and somehow lost the rugs between switching from OS X to OS 9, that's what the old picture software will run on.

I redid the room in blue, added a couple more throw pillows with a blue/aqua trim, got rid of the molding, used a white lampshade, changed the sofa to a lighter color and created art for the big frame.

I also made a terrible mess out of the cowhide rug. It's from my new line "Whoops!" area rugs. They're gift rugs in the spirit of fruitcake, to send to others when you really don't care about the very best. LOL!

Oh yeah, and lightened the chair cushion on the turquoise chair. My god that's an ugly rug I made. Er...unless someone thinks it's fabulous and will pay a whole lot for it.

Same link as before:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/96179754@N00/

Wow, somebody looked at the pictures! Woo hoo!

Do the people who answer these questions ever actually (carefully?) read the actual question? I VAGUELY recall this question ORIGINALLY being about repainting the room... NOT undoing every single detail

hello everyone!

Would have commented sooner, but it appears my room is posted both on the LA board and HERE?!

Ok a few things:

The room is quite large and long, the ceilings are coved with a central inset - they left this white (making the one wall only paint trick a little iffy since there are no corners)

The white table was a DOD addition (as was the hide - but my couch and turq chair The other frames, vases, nick-nacks were pulled from other rooms, sprayed white...oh my, they ruined the most gorgeous gold Victorian frame in the process!)

I have 2 large windows on the unseen left. The light that pours through is AMAZING. it's completely lost with this dark color, I'm leaning aqua people...

The couch is a mocha taupe, yes this photo is terrible. Which proves that with open windows in the daytime...yeah, it's that dark in there.

side note: they completed neglected the other 3/4 of my living room. creating a 2-ton white screen which they placed 4 feet from the other wall, trying to close in the space and basically making a tv friendly set. I have nightmares about that still, I folded it up immediately, after it almost killed me by falling on my head.

other side note: all the window treatments they made have fallen down. it's only been a week.

additional side note: I must be stupid to have done this. I'm in my late 20s very design savvy, and well.. this process at first seemed more like a free paint job than a nightmare. I don't want to think about all that primer in my future. I was VERY surprised that they did this dark of brown after our discussions.

outrageous side note: this was their interpretation of "mod deco" and I even supplied 3 pounds of tear sheets for reference.


I can post additional photos and will most definitely show you my make over of this makeover....but it may take a month of priming every day straight for that to happen.

boo, indeed.

Kristin, I'm curious - which designer was it?

Oh Andree, You really crack me up.

I think the NY board had some excellent ideas. I've started mashing them together to make the perfect room.

light Aqua walls, keep cream frames.

Inside frames put a nice wall paper (at last! I've been hoping for a moment to use one of the new fantastic breeds of paper - maybe even those adorable wall paper posters by Hanna Werning: http://www.byhanna.com/wallpaperposters.html or maybe something a little less busy)

Removing large white picture frame and hanging teal guitar

move/adjust shelves -- add Japanese plastic toys / hot pink

tear down horrid drapes. Drapes?! *what am I talking about, they already half fell down)

just a few ideas coming in... I think I should have someone to document this a la mocku_makeover show. Hell. That's my new gig. Kristin: Making over Make Overs. Move over Martha.....

Thank you EVERYONE for your suggestions. It's been amazing and inspirational. I guess DOD was worth it just for these posts.

Now what to do with the other 3/4 of my empty bowling alley......wish me luck

Can someone please tell me where I can find fabric like the black & white baroque-y print on the pillows? I've been looking for this forever and would appreciate some tips!
Thanks!!

Amanda

I made those pillows from material bought @ Diamond Foam and Fabric over on La Brea Blvd. (before Wilshire) They come out with a new Black and White series every so many months. They might still have some bolts left... run!!