STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Well I'm just going to share with you the design of my bedroom right now because the rest of my house is in 'design transition' if you know what I mean.

My bedroom is mostly pink, with bare white walls (I still cannot choose what color I want to paint them...too much pink is v. bad IMO) and a young, elegant theme. I have pink satin curtains that are a deep pink (hard to explain) and a few pieces of wood furniture. All together, it looks put together and works for now.

As for the shabby chic look...any advice on how I can achieve that in any room of my home? TIA

Maddie, are you living in a co-ed dorm room?  Or is this really a girl that brought posters of Cheech and Chong, Corona, and Carmen Electra?  Interesting...  Obviously your posters are far superior.

My apt. is currently decorated post-college shabby, just shabby, not chic...and by "shabby" I mean, remnants of college apt. decor.  Let's see, our end table does match our coffee table, but then we're using one of those plastic carts with the drawers as another end table.  awesome.  Then I have my little desk in the living room, cause there's nowhere else to put it.  Our "couch" is a futon and at our little dinette set, which was pretty nice before, we now have two mismatched chairs, because the other chair that went with it actually collapsed while my fiance was sitting in it (I know that shouldn't be funny, but it is...it was wobbly for years though).  The carpet is tan with a few stray stains from the last resident that I've never been able to get out, and the walls are white.  We do have crown molding though.  Oh, and a couple framed photos of Paris we got at Target...classy.  I did my best, but our first priority home purchase after we move and get married is a real sofa!

-- Edited by valenciana at 11:13, 2004-12-17

Mine's very feminine, shabby chic, and a little country french. My dad loves to decorate (yes, it's way bizarre considering he is straight) so he did my place. It's very cozy and I have nice furniture, but I want something a little less feminine in my next place. In my living room I have a strawberry colored sofa from PB, a faded shabby chic armchair from Ballard, and another neutral taupe chair from Ballard. My furniture is all light oak and I have white accents. to make it more feminine, I have framed vintage Vogue prints. I just sometimes worry that it may be too girl-y. My dining room set is boring but I have these really cute terra cotta pots of fake potted grass (it looks like wheat grass) that I found at Marshalls that I love.

My bedroom is okay, light wood furniture and a pale blue duvet and tons of pillows from Crate and Barrell (I posted it once on FH). My guest room has a wrought iron bed from Ballard, a PB duvet from a few years ago with pink tulips and a really cute white bedside table from Ballard. I also have my desk and treadmill in there. I've got tons of stuff from Ballard because in Atlanta there is the Ballard clearance center where you can get lots of great stuff for super cheap.

My stuff is nice, just a little too feminine and cozy for my tastes now. For my next place, when I hopefully can afford to redecorate, I want to do something more modern, sophisticated, and contemporary. My weird-o dad is already making plans.

my taste in general is pretty eclectic, but the place where i live now has a strong girly/vintage vibe, so i've been pushed in that direction a little more because of the look of the place.  it was built in 1950 and has wood floors, crown moldings, little built-ins, etc.  all the walls are painted white.  i am strongly against the shabby-chic look, which admittedly would work great in here, so i went more in the retro/vintage kind of direction.  my fave look is traditional furniture with modern/contemporary art and accessories, so that's mostly what i have working here.  maybe i will take some pics--if i do say so myself it has turned out very nicely! 

in my living room, i have a flower patterned sofa with big pillows on back (i may eventually get around to slipcovering it, but it works for now), giant antique black Chinese armoire, which is more girly looking than asian, as it is covered with very subtle hand-painted gold butterflies--my dad retrofitted the inside of it to make it a bar cabinet--it is so cool.  i also have a dark wood armoire with black/white marble knobs from anthro that holds my tv and other electronic stuff, oversized dark wood coffee table, and my little white wicker desk and chair with a sage green velvet cushion on it.  the windows are covered with a pink/gold paisley-ish pattern roman shades. 

my kitchen/dining area has super-retro yellow tile and white cabinets, with original 50s lino floor (which i do wish i could replace).  anyway, that room has a cool indoor/outdoor red and white plastic rug on the floor (sounds stupid but looks cute), and my medium/dark wood table & chairs.  on the walls i have a milagro cross i bought in mexico and hand-painted tiles a friend brought back from brazil.  the look in there is kind of latin/retro.  i hung a vintage red/white/yellow/aqua tablecloth on this cool-looking silver cable thing for the curtains, and my dad fixed up the white cabinets with new white knobs and yellow accents. 

my bedroom is the last room to get done, and i still haven't painted it--i bought the paint but just haven't done the job.  it's going to be a light sky-blue.  i have crazy multi-patterned indian bedding in there from this lady's store www.kerrycassill.com, and a cool big photo that an ex took of two spray-painted hearts on the wall above it.  i have plain boxy ikea white nightstands and dressers with vintage-glass knobs on them, and one white wicker one.  i also have a 50s looking armchair and a vintage side table that my grandpa made (it looks like paul mccobb in style and color, if anyone knows who that is).  i have two big chrome lamps on the nightstands, with round white shades (from crate & barrel), and a few small paintings that are beach-themed and a large etching of an italian villa near my chair. 

the bathroom has ultra-girly-retro original pink and blue tile, so i just put a big white cabinet in there and hung a bamboo shade on the window, and that's about it.  i have a bunch of vintage california beach-theme postcards (mostly catalina island, long beach, santa barbara, etc.) so i think i might hang those on the wall somehow and make that the bathroom theme. 

i'm still in the process of decorating my apt. so this thread has given me some great ideas. ideally i'd like to create a modern look that includes color, but isn't too crazy or overtly feminine. my inspiration is todd oldham's apt
http://www.newyorkmetro.com/shopping/guides/homedesign/03/fall/gallery/oldham/
(click on the arrows for a tour) but i want to use slightly more subdued colors. i have hardwood floors which i love, and want to showcase. right now nothing's really "done" but in my "living room" (i have a studio but it's more like a one bedroom so even though there's no bedroom door the living room is separate from my bedroom) is closer to being done than my bedroom.

i have these curtains
from ikea, which i love b/c they're sheer and allow the natural light to come in. (i'm really big on light). i have a desk from ikea too, which is in a dark almost black "wood" (or whatever it is from ikea) and isn't a desk per se, it's really a big table. i actually bought it to fill an immediate need, but it works well. my futon is all black and i'm searching for a new cover in a teal cover, but i haven't seen any that i really like. i also have several dark wood bookshelves that i got for really cheap at bed, bath, & beyond but look nicer than they are. (my bro. just came to visit and he complimented me on my bookcases so i was happy.)

in my bedroom i would like to use the same curtains as in the living room. (i have this thing about balance.) i have a black iron four poster bed with some detailing on the headboard and footboard. ideally i'd like to use this furniture from pottery barn but i can't really afford it. plus it's not really a practical investment, since i don't really know where i'll be in the next 2 years.





but most likely i'll end up with a sage colored set from a place up the block from me. i'm also on the hunt for a solid duvet color, but i've yet to see something that i really like. and would like to use a striped rug, and some cute striped lamp shades that i have from urban outfitters as accents.

*sigh* maybe one day i'll actually have a home that looks like a home.

heck I have not figure out how to edit my posts yet..

but this is the inspiration for our bedroom

 

http://images.scrippsweb.com/HGTV/2003/09/25/sec602_1a_inspiration_e.jpg

LOL Maddie!!! I am nostalgic for college now

My house is in shades of ivory and green, with metal (silver and wrought iron) accents. It is accentuated with what I predict will be the next big trend: furniture with puppy teethmarks and/or holes in it. My dog Sully (see avatar) is a brilliant designer and has thankfully graced most of my furniture with this special addition.