I love the room in our feature photograph, courtesy of Kohler. The faded tones and soft colour palette are elegant and romantic. Even though there is a lot of architectural detailing and ornate accessories in this room, it is by no means gauche. Sweeping the walls and floors with a colour wash of soft rose keeps the ornamentation from being too busy. Even the vintage wall sconces and large ribbon rose accent on the mirror are painted the same colour. By doing this, you achieve the detail without the unwanted drama. It's an understated look that is quite appealing. Adding in additional muted paint colours of pale yellow, soft gray and darker rose keeps the overall look wistful and feminine. The elegant Kohler vanity and sink work beautifully in this Victorian setting. Even the highly ornate slipper chair is subdued by the silver/gray upholstery and soft white wood.
This style is great for personal spaces like a bedroom or powder room. The soft tones are restful and calming with a touch of whimsy thrown in for good measure.
I chose this particular photograph for a few reasons. Firstly, the room has a look that is uncommon yet attractive. It's easy to replicate with simple paint and can mask a number of decorating problems.
Case in point: If you have a room that is suffering from the "1970s dark panelling time warp" you can update it using the techniques used in our feature room. Rather than rip it out, re-drywall, tape, sand and paint you may be able to create a lovely backdrop with the right paint colour. The panelling may have vertical troughs used to simulate wooden strips, which date them even further. You don't have to fill in these gaps. Once you paint the entire surface, the 'lines' will become attractive textural elements in your new décor. The panelling will have a cottage-style feel but will be current by giving it a fresh coat of paint. A soft, cottage blue, pale yellow, celery green or even a soft white paint treatment can transform a dated space into an updated, cozy one.
Other surfaces that can be easily transformed with this technique are interior brick walls, textured walls, wood plank walls, wood floors, stairs, banisters, wainscoting, window trim, interior doors and of course plain walls.
All of the trimmings
Once you've decided on this style, you'll want to pay attention to the details so your room doesn't look washed out. As you can see in our feature room, there is a lot of detailing on the walls, vanity and mirror, furniture and lighting. All of these textural features make this space visually interesting. If you removed all of these details the room would look rather plain and uninteresting.
When you are planning a similar space, you'll want to make note of the stationary fixtures and decide how they should be treated. If you think your space needs a little more detail, you can add decorative trim or appliqués to walls, doors and other surfaces to give them a little more glam, then paint them out with your chosen colour. Look for fabrics that have that faded quality to them to use in the space for accents on lamp shades, toss cushions, window treatments and so forth. Sometimes using the reverse side of a printed fabric will give you the look you desire since the back side won't be as vivid as the front. Frame panels of a great fabric to use as artwork, to cover a headboard or to create a bed canopy. Even the right wallpaper may work for a focal wall along with your chosen paint colours. Look for soft tone-on-tone patterns to work within your space.
You can also jazz up the space with over-the-top touches like the large ribbon flower on the mirror in our feature photo. An item like this can be used to adorn toss cushions, window treatments or used alone to add visual interest to the soft palette. It may be difficult to find specific accessories that match your chosen paint colour. Rather than spend time focused on a specific item, keep a paint chip with you and consider any item you come across that has a similar colour and tone. You might happen upon an item that normally would not have been in your decorating radar, like a decorative bird cage for instance, that would be an awesome accessory in your new space.
The whole premise of this style of décor is to remove the visual contrast but keep the details. Soft, muted tones can provide a space that is restful, dreamy and attractive.
Connieoliver@shaw.ca
