My decorating ideas are starting to get a little out there, and I feel like I need to be reeled in. Here is what I'm struggling with so far:
- I do not want to paint the walls a "neutral color" in the living spaces.
- I don't want them to turn out too bright, but I'm not a fan of pastels in the family room either..
- I'm thinking a pale color with a hint of either brown, or gray (to make it feel more neutral, but less like a baby's room)
- I need to buy new furniture, and I need it to be affordable
- I'm debating getting furniture that's indoor/outdoor, or at least a few pieces that can move in and out (something wicker like this or this?)
- I don't want the furniture to be the "splash" of color, I'd rather they be neutral -- but perhaps patterned like this?
- I want to have a continuous flow of color when I choose the paint color, but I don't want to be a one-color gal either.
5 comments:
This is my favorite decor/design blog: http://decor8blog.com/
Maybe you could search there for some inspiration.
I personally LOVE the idea of using indoor/outdoor furniture because like you said, you can just do it backwards. Use it for multiple purposes - if you find furniture in the future that you love then BAM you have your patio set all figured out already :)
Of course...I am also a fan of reconfiguring furniture to meet my purposes. I like the idea of finding cheap furniture and making matching slip covers (which are easy to remove and make different slip covers when the fancy hits you!) finding craigslist furniture and painting it - stuff like that.
Okay, so I will not give you advice on colors, seeing that I have other people tell me what to do in my own home... just want to tell you that it really does take a long time to get a home together.
Most people I know start out with mix and match garage sale pieces, things given them, etc... It's kind of an art that you refine over time, and it's kind of fun not to get everything at once, but watch it come together. If you can do it, great! But, if it is overwhelming, it's not a bad idea to just wait until you know FOR SURE what you want. You can find a $100 garage sale couch until you hit a great Nebraska Furniture sale on that couch you've always dreamed of having!
Scott and I were married 5 years before we bought our first 'real' piece of furniture - brand new! It was so much fun!
If it's important to you, and you have the $, then go for it; but if you are overwhelmed because of all the wedding things to do, etc..., there's nothing wrong with waiting either.
I second Lynn's comment. :)
However, I remember that feeling, of wanting to know how everything was going to work/match/flow together RIGHT AWAY. But it is stressful, and the choices I ended up making I changed my mind about 2 years down the road. So, I think what Lynn is saying is good advice.
Another tip is just to start with one room, and focus on that. Like Nester talks about in her article, focus on the big furniture pieces first (like your couch, maybe look for 2 chairs to go with it)...and then go from there. Once you have one pretty room to walk through every day, it seems like it is inspiration to transform other rooms.
I am SO glad you all have such great advice :) I think I have decided to find furniture first, before I choose paint colors. Because it makes more sense to do it that way! And because I want to have the house painted before I move in. Otherwise what's the advantage to closing 7 weeks before I can even live there?
Also, on the furniture front, I think I have a few pieces that I'm pretty sure I'd like. The problem is, I'm only needing furniture for two rooms - the living room, and the den. The den will have the TV in it, and it is also sort of a "sun room". So my dilemma in there is, do I do two couches, for movie nights with other people? Or do I do a couch and a couple chairs, for when I want to snuggle in and read?
And then for the living room, that's where we'll be doing the majority of the socializing, since our lives don't need to revolve around the TV :) So for that room, I'm thinking definitely at least two couches. Since it's a big room, maybe a couch, chair and loveseat? Or a couch and two loveseats? I also love the idea of those couches with the rightside chaise, because I already know exactly where I would put that:)
And as far as colors go, I'm leaning towards a brown/beige for the furniture (once I find some), and maybe sort of a turquoise for the wall? My ultimate plan is to paint the wall with the fireplace white and do brickwork from floor to ceiling on the fireplace. It will look SO much better than the stone that's there now. What do y'all think about these things?
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