apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I am SO glad that I'm not a straight man when it comes to design within the family home. It seems like 90% of the time the woman's opinion is automatically chosen. I watch HGTV (guilty pleasure, even if I don't like the design on most the shows) and it seems like the man is allowed to say what he thinks so long as he doesn't really believe it makes a difference. Don't get me wrong, good for you. I plan to steamroll someone one day too, I'm just glad I'll have the ability to do so ha.

ur poor husband lol. pink walls? too funny.

your poor husband!

I personally love the Betsy Johnson look, and I'd love to hang out in the room you describe, but it's a bit unrestful for a bedroom. And that might be going beyond what someone really means when he says "carte blanche." He might actually be thinking of, well, blanche.

p.s. i love everything mirrored too, especially vanities and large ikea wardrobes. i saw a nice and cheap mirrored vanity at urban outfitters and a really nice one in the neimans marcus by mail catalog or just go to niemanmarcus.com. they also have a lovely mirrored lingerie chest. are u gonna put up a chandelier too? (i did, lol).

Oh please not bubble gum pink. OMG, he must really really love you to put up with a pink bedroom.

I would think you would HAVE to go with a mirrored vanity with that decor. For that room, the classic pieces theory does not apply.

I know everyone hates over head lighting but I love it. We had hi hats installed in the bedroom with dimmers. The electrician installed 3 switches 1 for my husband side, 1 for mine, and 1 for the ceiling fan. Every other light comes on so your not overwhelmed with light or you can turn all the lights on at once. It is wonderful.. Like my own little light show.

"Tim gave me free range, to do what I want, which means bubblegum pink, yellowy greens, giant cabbage rose prints, animal prints, and everything mirrored"

Insert Gasp. Please tell me this post is a joke? I'm having a panic attack just thinking about it. If this isn't a joke, why would you do this to someone you apparently love enough to marry?

This is grounds for divorce.

Can I gently suggest ballet pink, instead of bubblegum pink?

Take a look at the swing-arm wall lamps at West Elm. You just need to mount them with a couple of screws in the wall, and you can plug them into an outlet instead of hard wiring. You can mount them up high above the bed, next to the windows There are a lot of other companies that sell similar products if you don't like what WE has, try YGeneration Lighting. But I like WE for lighting/accessories.

You can also swag an inexpensive fixture from the middle of the ceiling, and run a wire and plug down to an outlet. You can buy everything you need but the shade at most hardware stores, and you can get a very inexpensive paper shade at www.pearlriver.com.

I was in a Pier 1 yesterday, and it had a mirrored vanity, as well as a matching tall skinny chest that I'm coveting - drawers for jewelry, makeup and lingerie.

Target has an acrylic chair (w/arms) for $170, not sure if it's the style you had in mind. Chrome base.

http://www.target.com/Acrylic-Dining-Chair-Clear/dp/B000NZXW66/ref=sc_ri_1/601-4773122-7806513

And it's only $120 here:

http://www.interiorexpress.com/Club_Chair_Accent_Chair-Cradle_Arm_Acrylic_Chair_Clear.html

With the lighting issue, maybe you can get an overhead light and replace the ceiling fan? Or if you like having a fan, perhaps one of those ceiling fans with lights on them? Personally not my style...but then again neither is bubble gum pink walls! Good luck. =)

Your fiance really loves you. I'm actually dying to see how this turns out.

The world is full of cheapish mirrored vanities/consoles right now. Target has one in their new Global Bazaar collection; Urban Outfitters has two (I'm not crazy about theirs); and I think JCPenney has one.

I love the look of lucite with the mirrors too, especially the infamous Ghost chair (I know it's a cliche but it's a cliche because it's cool). But you can also often find vintage lucite vanity stools on eBay; they seem to go for about $100.

Do you have room to wall mount some small shelves for bedside tables? You could put skinny candlestick lamps on them.

http://www.target.com/Rectangle-Mirrored-Side-Table/dp/B000UEMSME/qid=1201278100/ref=br_1_5/602-0540401-6897432?ie=UTF8&node=304462011&frombrowse=1&pricerange=&index=tgt-mf-mv&field-browse=304462011&rank=pmrank&rh=p%5F3%3A%24100-%24199&page=2

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp;jsessionid=DBAE52A73F8342AE6E46B30AA350489C.app11-node8?itemdescription=true&itemCount=60&id=13355573&parentid=A_FURN_FURNITURE&sortProperties=&navCount=3&navAction=poppush&color=

MUST see after pic.. Heck, HGTV needs to film it so we can see Tim's breakdown in HD glory.

so you get married BEFORE the gifts from the registry arrive and your new spouse sees what the bedroom looks like, right?

well i do adore that kind of chairs and my friend has 4 Kartell (not sure about the name) transparent grey and chrome legs around a very traditional table in handcarved wood. great impact.
Also interesting the Victoria Ghost and the Louis Ghost (google images as i tried to post the page but it's far too long!) not too expensive if you go for one piece..

other examples of chairs I like from my favourite furniture site (Italian furniture, manufacturers can be contacted directly = better pricing).
I saw it at local furniture exhibition, a diamond:
http://www.chairs.ws/chair%20design%20metal%20plastic-12228p.htm
interesting if you like orange (won't match with the pink walls though...):
http://www.chairs.ws/chair%20design%20metal%20plastic-12506p.htm


and this; I don't know if they make it transparent but one day I'll convince reluctant hubby that we neeeeeeeed it
http://www.chairs.ws/armchair%20furniture_arm%20chairs_chairs%20reception-4972p.htm

you are lucky your husband lets you decide...

I'm instantly thinking of Blueprint magazine from a couple months ago, where they highlight different kinds of bedrooms, ie "the Unisex bedroom", "the Bold Color Bedroom" and the "if you live in your Bedroom..."
I would highly recommend that you take a look at the unisex bedroom, since you are living with your fiance, and you will have to share a room. Why should it only be YOUR style? Does he really have NO opinion on it? The bedroom article has great pointers in it, besides illustrating great color choices.

Regardless of whether your fiancee says you can have carte blanche, wouldn't it be better to start your lives together by taking what he wants into consideration as well?

"I love the look of Betsey Johnson’s pink Manhattan apartment"
Does Tim know?

Wow, and I was mildly concerned that light yellow walls and flowered curtains might be too girly for my guy! I know we ALL want to go nuts when we get a space that we can do up "any way I want!!!" but I talked myself out of a pink bedroom because I knew that one day I would wake up and think, "What possessed me to do this?" (but only because it doesn't go with the rest of my small house).

Wow. I'm really surprised. I actually thought the photo shown was the AFTER, not the BEFORE, and was all primed to ask what that paint color is!!! (btw, i still want to know what that paint color is, if you know)

I guess do what you want, because if you put this room together and have a grand vision in your head of something fantastic, i'm sure its going to be wonderful. I think you've proven yourself already! :)

I agree with mostly everyone else. It doesn't seem fair to your husband. I know he said he didn't care but I'm sure he does - he probably just doesn't know how to verbalize or conceptualize what he likes. It might be a cool look for a spare room - like a dressing room or sewing room, something that is primarily yours. Bedroom? Not so much.

Also, is bubble gum pink conducive to healthy sleep? As an insomniac I'm always trying to think about ways to make sleep come easier, bubblegum pink isn't my first thought.

"Free rein," not "free range," unless you're a chicken...

Now, it's your taste, but perhaps you could put together a chapbook or scrapboard with your proposed color choices. That way you can decide if the both of you can live with a Betsey Johnson-inspired room. I'll avoid psycholanalyzing your relationship, but that would be my first step.

Hey everyone, thanks for your comments!

I told Tim about the pink/mirrors/Betsey Johnson, and he really is ok with it. I'm not steamrolling him with my design choices, he knows the plan and gave me the go ahead. But I understand your concerns!

Thanks for the suggestions of lighting, chairs, and vanities, I'll check them all out.

Mh330--the paint color is BM Innocence. I actually have a gallon and a half of it left over, in Eco Spec, that you can have if you'd like it.

Kathleen, thanks for the reponse on the paint color.

Ironically, i have a quart of BM Innocence and a 4x4 swatch of it painted on my wall. It looks great in your room and photos, but with my lighting it felt too seafoam green and not enough ice blue to me. Even more ironically, i found that it didn't really feel right with my chocolate brown furniture, but it looks great with your brown comforter!

Sigh. Back to experimenting with different shades for me...

I don't love love love these, but they are vanity stools:
http://www.plexi-craft.com/vanitystools.htm

What about a pair of chandeliers that plug in? Very Betsy...
I think I saw some at lamps plus for about $100 a piece.

when i was in college, i was totally inspired by the betsey johnson store near my hometown (pink walls, lots of roses), so i understand the appeal. however, i first decided to paint a single accent wall bubblegum pink -- and then discovered rather quickly that that was more than enough for a very strong effect. i think if i had painted the entire room that shade of pink, i would have restless, candy-colored pepto-bismol nightmares for the duration of the academic year.

i think your room is restful and pretty as is!

....I feel you should really rethink the pink wall-betsy johnson inspired bedroom.Your bedroom is an intimate space that reflects you and your partner's taste, provide a sanctuary you can escape to and nurture the seriousness of your relationship...

Oh whatevs, pink is extremely flattering to the skin.
With all the animal print and mirrors... sounds sexy.

Hope Tim and you enjoy your fantasy space.

What about lepoard print bedding instead?...or zebra? I think if you lean on some of the mod influences it might make that pink space more gender friendly.

FYI... here's bettys space for refrence
http://www.style-files.com/2008/01/19/betsy-johnsons-pink-apartment/

I don't see a problem with this, but my husband has a room he can do whatever he likes decor-wise in. His study has black drapery, which I wouldn't have picked, but it's his room and he can do whatever he likes with it. Granted, a bedroom is a shared space but it's not necessary to compromise over every single room in a house or apartment.