Here’s a Monday mailbag of Ask a Decorator questions from Decorating Den’s Sue Pelley:
Sally asked Decorating Den: “I cannot center my couch along the living room wall due to the need for enough space to accommodate hubby’s recliner. How do I place art work – centered over the couch or centered on the wall?”
Sue’s advice: Without seeing how you have these two pieces of furniture arranged, I would suggest centering artwork over the couch.
Louise asked Decorating Den: “Hi, I have a small square bedroom floor plan. My bed headboard is white and am planning to have a beige-white kind of color theme. I was wondering if I painted my room this color, would it okay to get white bedside tables as well as white closet? I can’t picture a wooden brown texture kind of closet to fit into the room. Help! I really can’t decide if I should go all white because I’m afraid it will be boring.”
Sue had this to say: I think what you are planning on doing sounds wonderful…crisp, clean and fresh. Yes, white bedside tables and closet! Perhaps you could add a splash of color into your room to add just another color punch… a soft blue, bright yellow or calming green. These color accents could be found in artwork, an area rug, lamps, accent pillows on your bed or in accessories.
Shannon asked Decorating Den: “Hello! I am trying to buy kitchen table that will match my cherry cabinets, cherry floors and tan granite counter tops. I have 2 kids so I am hesitant to purchase glass. Any ideas?”
Sue suggests: Have you considered a black finish dining set? It would be a beautiful compliment to your flooring, cabinetry and counter tops. And surprisingly enough, glass top tables are quite durable! Perhaps you could find one with a wrought iron base – that would help you add a bit of black into your kitchen design.
Ann asked Decorating Den: “I found patterned window sheers that I really love, but I had planned to use white plantation blinds (the kind with the flat 1.5″ slats) underneath whatever I selected for the same windows. I’m wondering if the two can go together, or if the sheers will look unbalanced with the heavy blinds?”
Sue thinks: You would really enjoy the mix of textures between the hard lines of your plantation blinds, and the soft pattern and texture of your sheer over drapery. A great look in my book!
Janice asked Decorating Den: “I have a large fuse panel box on my bedroom wall. It’s closed in and painted to match my wall but I’d like to cover it. Any ideas?”
Sue’s advice: YES!! I’d suggest you consider covering your fuse box with artwork or a tapestry. If you enjoy quilts, hanging a quilt on a drapery rod over this fuse box would be another great idea. If your fuse panel box is extremely large, you could also consider having an artist paint a interesting design on the cover that would complement your room’s design.
Chris asked Decorating Den: “I have two big doorways into my kitchen. I have painted my kitchen and want to do my trim around the doors too. My problem is, the doorways open into other rooms with different colors – There is the trim in one room, the flat trim connecting the rooms, then the trim in the other room. How do I blend them?”
Sue’s solution for Chris: That’s a good question! The best way to paint the doorway trim two different colors is to have a separation of the colors. Paint the flat trim or door stop between the two different wall trims white, or the same color as the door, if it’s different than the paint in the rooms. This would give you a separation between the two colors. If your door is a stained wood, then just paint the trim and the door the same color as the room the door opens into.
