Any Interior-Decorating Savvy Folks Out There??
 

My bathroom in our new house is BORING, BORING, BORING!!! I really don't want to have to pay someone to decorate it for me (it's a BATHROOM, for goodness sake) but I have zero creativity when it comes to this sort of thing so I could really use some advice!

The room itself has plain white walls, white trim, white vanity, white soaking tub, white built-in linen storage and white potty. The fixtures are silver with gold accents and the floor, the shower enclosure and the surround for the soaking tub are light gray, beige and white (like a swirly pattern) slate tiles.

I need some color; any recommendations?

Thanks!

Buy a duvet cover...it'll spruce everything up.

-Rudey

Sounds like my parent's bathroom. They sponge painted the walls gold (their fixtured are all gold). It looks pretty good, took minimal time, and is easy to paint over when you want a new look. You could sponge paint a variety of colors to match your tile, or just stick with one main color. Oh, they used a sea sponge to paint, not a traditional yellow scrubbing sponge. The effect is wonderful. Good luck and have fun! :)

I'm all about white bathrooms! Why? Because you can change the entire look with different combinations of towels & rugs!

Right now, mine has soft pink & light taupe towels, rugs, and border - a feminine look. It's also had deep pink (funky), blue diamonds ( :) ), and holiday incarnations!

I got those "wallies" or wall paper pieces at a craft store. Trading Spaces has their own line of them and they stick to everything. I got some really bright green and pink ones because it matches a shower curtain I got. But they have some muted ones with flowers or animal print or whatever. You can buy borders, or just shapes. But they can go on ceramics, which is what I did for the toothbrush holder and whatnot.

Yeah, but then I'd be getting into duvet clips and dust ruffles and all that and I just don't want to go there.

Honeychile, I agree that an all white bathroom can be a good thing. But my bathroom is the size of a small bedroom and all that white is just too sterile and BLINDING! :)

I'm bumping and re-purposing this thread.

I am moving on January 1, 2010 and for all intents and purposes, will be starting from scratch when it comes to furniture. It's neither a small apartment nor a deluxe a-pot-ment in the sky-hi-hi, either. I need LOTS of space for books. I need furniture which has multiple purposes. I have been all over the internet looking for various ideas -- I am not married to any of them so far, but I do have my favorites.

Bedroom A: Nothing special needed in here, but it is pretty spacious and I think I want a chaise in there. I have no clue of the decor I want in that room.

Bedroom B: Will actually be a small home office/library -- but I think it will be spacious enough for either a daybed, small futon, or a chair which turns into a twin bed. I want the room to have purple accents (for creativity - I will be writing there).

Living/Dining room: Want a sofabed, entertainment center, media towers for the many DVDs I have, small, 3-piece dining room set, and a bookcase with glass doors.

Bathroom: It's small. No ideas.

Kitchen: It's sort of open and adjacent to the dining/living area, so I don't think there's anything I can do with it.

So GreekChatters, any ideas? Any photos you'd like to share of your own decorating projects?

I'm a boy, I can't do it alone. :(

btw, it's an apartment and I am not yet sure whether I can paint the walls or not. I'd like to, but I'm not counting on it.

I always use Apartment Therapy and Ikea Hacker when I need some ideas.

Love it. I wish Apartment Therapy's site wasn't so busy though :(

I definitely suggest Ikea. They have so many space saving and multi-purpose pieces, plus the look is minimal/masculine and inexpensive. West Elm also has some great pieces for not too much money.

I like a lot of the stuff at CB2 and it tends to be very apartment-friendly, size-wise.

Umm yeah, but they "suggest" that you nail them to the wall so they don't fall over. You're better off going to an estate sale or Salvation Army/Goodwill (in a good neighborhood) and getting real furniture.

make a list of your likes and dislikes, what colors you would like to use, what styles of furniture you like, your budget, etc. you've already made a start with the ideas you have for your study. just elaborate on that.

there are several national chains that have affordable furniture-ikea, target, rooms to go. they have whole room groupings which would save you time, as long as you don't care if everything is matchy-matchy.

pottery barn is a favorite of mine. they have a line specifically designed for apartments, and they have great delivery/assembly services. they furniture is well made. i have seen bookcases with glass doors in pottery barn.

people make great finds at thrift stores every day. the drawback to that is perusing the thrift stores is time consuming and to furnish an entire apartment from thrift store finds will take a while-no instant gratification. people i know who find the most amazing pieces in thrift stores go frequently.

some furniture stores and department stores with furniture departments offer free design services if you buy their furniture. this could save you a lot of time. just make sure that they designer is listening to you and is helping you to realize your vision, not bullying you into accepting their idea of what you should have.

ask the apartment management if you can have permission to paint your apartment. assure them that you will repaint in the original color when you move out. maybe that will make a difference to them.

i will be happy to help you in any way i can. good luck and more importantly, have fun!!

Thank you!

Hey, Sen, while Brookstone's prices are kinda high, you could take the idea and run with it. If you have any friends who are woodworkers, perhaps you could commission them to make similar pieces.

I love my Reader's Night Stands. And I have several of the stackables in my kids' playroom.

I'm no good at decorating, but I'm a pushover when it comes to organizational furniture!

Innnnteresting! I definitely could use a functional magazine rack..... I like it.

I finally got a piece of the pie!

I feel like my stepfather also received the charger shelf last year or the year before with the same results.

As for cutesy clutter -- yeah, definitely trying to escape that. However, that just made me realize I'm gonna need a little hallway table to put MY keys, chapstick, peppermint, etc. Crap. lol

I just did my living room and dining room, all my furniture is from crate and barrel, cb2, and one table from target. my style is mid-century modern/minimalism.


http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pi...&id=1711072754

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pi...&id=1711072754

very nice!

Ditto!

Your living room looks so nice!

I'm moving out in August. (Into my very first apartment!! eep! Sorry, I still get very excited every time I think about it!) The boy and I are getting quite a few hand-me-downs from our family (we have a table and chairs that my parents got reupholstered only 2 years ago, a sleeper sofa and 2 arm chairs that with slipcovers will look brand new, etc) but need EVERYTHING for a bedroom. We're starting to look now on Craigslist, at yard sales, etc - if we can get good furniture for less we're going to jump all over it! Being students .. we're on a tight budget.

About IKEA - yeah, they tell your to anchor your furniture, but I have several items from there and never have. Nothing's ever toppled over. I think the suggestion is there primarily if you have toddlers, who are known to pull things over onto themselves. I love my IKEA furniture, and if I find nothing decent secondhand I'll probably be outfitting my apartment there.

I think we have the exact same rug and lamp (the lamp toward the back of the picture). :)

Home Goods is a great store. It's a discount store, so you never know what you're going to get, but I always start there for the extras.

Just an FYI, too, Bed Bath and Beyond let's you use as many 20% off and $5 coupons in one transaction as you have items and even though they have an expiration date, they don't ever expire. They have a really great return policy if something doesn't work out as well.

Very nice!

Oh, also, I forgot to mention - try the Christmas Tree Shop, if they have one by you! Despite the name, it's not a Christmas store - they have all kinds of housewares and decorative stuff along with seasonal goods at AMAZING prices. My mom has an unhealthy obsession with the store. She came home with a framed painting, two shelves and two framed prints for 38 dollars last week. Seriously, best place in the world. I got dishes and tableware for a dollar each piece!

Sites similar to ApartmentTherapy:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&c...&ved=0CAgQHzAA

For accessories and other items (e.g. rugs, linens) try Tuesday Morning. Don't know where you're at geographically, but this store can be amazing. Sometimes you find incredible deals or items - other times blech. It's worth checking out.

Hope you can paint - that makes such a difference.

kirklands , steinmart, homegoods, marshalls, world market and pier one are great, too.

I have a couple of fun pieces in my condo that I got from Eastern Market.

From the market itself, or one of the surrounding stores? I used to work over there but haven't been to the market proper in years.

Heh, sorry -- the market itself. The flea market and the vendors that set up around the building have a lot of interesting stuff if you're patient and willing to browse.

Innnnnteresting.... I'll have to check them out! I'm more of a Takoma Park person when it comes to eclectic vendors :)

Whereabouts in Takoma Park? I don't get up that way often, but I'm always looking for eclectic vendors (or, as my husband says, "weird old shit to bring home").

Basically the whole area around Carroll Avenue and Laurel Street. I am bad with addresses, but basically at the intersection of those two streets, around the little clock tower, there are a lot of decor-type stores around. Also, there is a new age store right at Takoma Metro. I am trying to figure out where the Asian furniture store moved to that used to be across the street from CVS. If you visit on the weekend, be mindful that all the churches there are 7th Day Adventist, so parking will be scarce on Saturdays, but it's worth it on Sundays for the farmer's market.

my aunt has the cutest cherry wood, entry table that is made just for that purpose. It's flat on the back and has an ornate mirror connected (think bedroom dresser mirror). Her hallway is Teeny Tiny but that table looks like it came with the place. It's been there forever but I'll see if she remembers where she got it!

My personal favorite is www.ballardsdesign.com - although there are times when I'm convinced the main decorator is a KKG! Currently, I'm loving this:


If you're a little handy, and find a piece that needs to be fixed, lean on www.thisoldhouse.com. Step by step, they give some priceless advice. Have fun!

Bumping this so I can see it when I get home.

ETA: Wow.

http://freshome.com/wp-content/uploa.../bookshelf.jpg

http://freshome.com/wp-content/uploa...agnetique1.jpg

OK, so I've exhausted apartment therapy and ikea hackers. Does anyone know of any websites for modern/contemporary design inspiration?

The first image in the ETA above almost made me piss myself, so anything that's close to that would be ideal.