I think your fireplace is beautiful! I don't think it will clash with anything. Will it be recessed into the corner wall like your pictures? Where will you display your plates? If you stay with the pine furniture, the yellow pine color might be your accent color. Can you place the wide dresser into the alcove south of the bed where you have the smaller dresser? Your bedroom is a nice size, and the on-suite bath is lovely. The only thing I can add is to try to place the children's beds so that they are not against the walls to facilitate changing the sheets.

I think it all coordinates nicely. The fireplace is lovely, but it's still a neutral, as is the pine. Along with the plates, I don't see anything competing.

Will your fireplace be elevated as it is in the photo? Where in the room would you hang the plate collection?

I love those plates! I have Bing and Grondahl, Royal Copenhagen and Porsgrund plates in a room with medium fruitwood finish furniture and gold walls and I think they look good, but they look even better with a lighter and more yellow wood like pine, IMO.

The fireplace is amazing---- is it ventless? The shape is just wonderful!

Thanks for all the feedback! Nice to hear you like the fireplace and think it will work with the plates. I have trouble envisioning how to work with grey and deciding if grey works with bright colours.

@voila: I appreciate your comments. Yes the fireplace will be recessed into the wall in the corner. It will be elevated at eye level so we can see it from the bed. The plates will go either over the wide dresser or over the bed (maybe both). The recessed area that has a tall chest inside is a reach in closet. There are two closets in the room. We forgot to show a door on the reach in closet which is why it looks like a recessed area. Good point about the kids' beds.

@peony4: Thanks for your kind reassurance. The fireplace will be elevated and the plates can go over the wide dresser or the bed.

@kswl: Thanks for your help! Glad to find another Bing and Grondahl fan. I have inherited a large collection of these plates from my Mom, and want to find a way to display them nicely. So, far we have had trouble finding a spot for them as the bright blue does not always match with our other choices (even other blues). The fireplace is made by Napolean. It is a vented, gas fireplace. It is called the Park Avenue fireplace.

All:

So, do you think we are on the right track with the flooring? It is quite dark, but looked best with the plates in that colour. Every wall to wall carpet we looked at was too muted in colour to go with the bright plates. What would be your preference for keeping the pine dresser or replacing with the cherry one we have (I can swap with my daughter who has the cherry now)? If we did do the cherry, I would need to change our floor choice as there would not be enough contrast.

I have so far only found one option for bedding I like. However, in real life it may be too purple to go with the plates. . The best match I can find for the plates is SW Frank Blue 6967. I like the idea of getting a neutral coloured fabric head board rather than the pine head board we have now (that one can go to a teenage son who is in a bedroom on main level).

As per the fireplace surround, we are thinking about doing a herringbone pattern with the white tiles. Here is a close up of the tile we were considering.

Obviously you are in Ontario - I'm on the west coast in earthquake country and we are always taught to never hang anything over our beds. Now, I don't know where in Ontario you are but parts of it have had more quakes than us lately. Is that a concern for where you are?

WRT the furniture. Cherry to me says a little more formal and traditional than pine furniture so it really depends on the look that you're going for in the room. For me - I like the pine with the plates and the fireplace. The whole thing says cold Scandinavian nights cozying up to the fireplace with a good book (and DH on the side bringing me my beverage of choice and ...;).)

I don't think you have to "match" the plates. Rather, you want to go with them, but let them be the stars, the accents. They also look great with pine furniture.

[Traditional Dining Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-dining-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_722~s_2107) by Easton Interior Designers & Decorators Bountiful

Go to houzz.com and search on "blue and white plates" and you'll see a wide variety of ways and color schemes that they are used with.

However, I think your flooring choice is very dark and will not work as well with the pine furniture, should you decide to keep it. I would look for something in more of the mid range tones so that it can work with a wider variety of styles. I think of the very dark floors as more contemporary...and more specific to this time, as opposed to timeless.

Thanks Blfenton and Annie for your help. We don't have any trouble with earthquakes in this area. I am in SW Ontario (an hour west of Toronto). I do prefer the dark cherry dresser over the pine, but if the pine looks better with the plates than pine it is. I still would like to change out the pine bed to a fabric head board. The pine head board has an annoying pointy trim on it that makes reading in bed very uncomfortable (perhaps we could cut that part off and re-varnish). So if you think having matching pine bed with dresser is better we will make some adjustments to the bed frame molding.

Good point Annie about the floors being too dark. We selected them because they looked the best with the plates, but I did not like how dark they were. We will look for a mid-toned one so it is a more timeless floor. I will search for blue and white plates on Houzz and PInterest.

Not sure if we should build a shallow shelf for the plates or use plate hangers and hang them directly on the wall.

Any more ideas? Any thoughts on wall colour? Can we do a soft blue, or should we be thinking about a yellow? My ensuite will have Cambria's Parys counter tops which has a blue speckle in it among the grey and cream speckles. The ensuite floor is a fake marble with grey, cream and white in it. I think we will do white subway with tile molding for the shower. I assume it would look best to have a similar colour in the master bedroom compared to ensuite. Here is the counter we have chosen for the ensuite.

I think Farrow and Ball New White would look wonderful on the walls with your beautiful plates.

I like the pine with the blue and white but I would prefer cherry but then I like a slightly more formal look. Either way will be great though.

I love the fireplace insert. It is going to look wonderful!

Here is a link that might be useful:

A vote for creating a simple white fireplace in the corner of the room .... and yes .... paint the bedroom and the bathroom in white ....add darker blue and white towels ...

Yes -- look for a mid-tone floor .... and buy a new white headboard and use the darker traditional furniture ..... and add white painted pieces of furniture -- maybe nightstands?

Hang the collection of blue-and-white plates around the white fireplace ....

Bedding?? Fresh white bedspread -- and a blue-and-white duvet (or comforter) folded across the bottom of the bed .....

OntarioMom, how do you plan to display the plates? I have an inherited collection of B&G and RC, too. I'm trying to decide how to display them. The problem is, we USE them on Christmas Eve and I've started using them for all our birthdays in weeks around it. So I almost need to display them on a shelf, but I don't have one yet.

I'm looking forward to seeing how you dislay them.

Kswl, can you post a picture of where you have your plates?

Here's a link to a pin board of inspiration photos of blue-and-white plates hung on walls ..... hope this helps!

Here is a link that might be useful: Pinterest -- blue and white plates on wall

From Teacats post: I love this way to display plates, especially in a bedroom vs a dining room or kitchen.

If you are considering changing the flooring choice anyway, and you prefer the cherry furniture then choose the flooring with that in mind rather than the pine furniture.

Really, the plates will work with either. But, I think, in this case, (and I never say this) go with your heart with regards to the furniture choice.

And if I'm remembering your kitchen correctly and if you want any sort of flow through the house, (for yourself, not for company) I think the slightly more formal grown-up style of the cherry may tie to the kitchen a little more. That's just basically a non-sequitur thought.

Oly, I love the way the plates are framed. I wonder how difficult that would be?

I think the cherry dresser would look great with your plate collection.
It seems like the wall you have your dresser on could be a little longer, unless your dresser is not as wide as the one shown. If it is not too late, it would be nice to move the bathroom door down a foot or so and install a pocket door

Hi everyone,

Sorry to be so slow to respond -- a long day at the office.

@holly-kay: Love that picture you linked too. Is that the new white colour from F & B? Glad to hear you like the fireplace insert. Thanks for your help.

@teacats: Thanks for all your helpful suggestions. So that is 2 votes for white. Are you thinking about a warm white or crisper white? I like the idea of hanging the plates around the fireplace, although they may not all fit as the ceilings are only 8 feet. Thanks for your pinterest link -- I will be studying that link after I finish this post. What do you envision for the headboard. Are you thinking a white fabric one or maybe a navy one? Or something else all together.

@ bpathome -- Not sure yet how we will display them. If I had placed them in the dining room like my Mom had them, I like them on a shallow dark wood shelf (walnut colour). In the bedroom, I am more inclined to use both the peel and stick plate hangers and/or the wire plate holders. However, lots of other ideas in this thread so I may plan out something different.

@olychick: Thanks. I do love what they did there too. I will have to study how they did that. Those framed plates would look great in a bedroom.

@blfenton: Thanks for your thoughts. I think you are right the cherry would look better in terms of flow with what we are doing in the kitchen. The pine is more rustic than I am going for. The pine dresser will look great in my daughter's room though.

@Karenseb: Thanks for your vote on the dresser. Were you suggesting moving the door to the ensuite more towards the windows in the bedroom and bathroom, or more in the opposite direction? A pocket door would be nice to me, but DH prefers regular doors. I would have to have strong case for moving the door at this stage of construction. What are the advantages of moving the door to the ensuite? I am probably missing something here.

Carol

So, just wondering. Am I the only one who is concerned about the grey fireplace not going with the bright blue plates? I thought you couldn't mix clean colours (plates) with dirty colours (grey fireplace)?

Carol

I was thinking of moving the entry to the ensuite towards the shower so that you have more space for the dresser.
Also, I am not sure how I feel about a door that opens 180 degrees. Unfortunately if you open the door toward the shower it would block some of the view of the shower. That is why I suggested a pocket door. My daughter has one in her master bathroom and seems to like it.

Thanks Karenseb for your clarification. I agree with you, a door opening 180 is not ideal and we did struggle with that when we planned out the room. However, we will have to deal with it (the door will swing towards the toilet room). We can't move the door to where you suggested as there is a very small linen closet with a pocket door on it in our master bedroom that we would have to lose in that event. It is shown on our floor plan as a dotted line in front of it.

Carol, IMO the grey is very neutral so I don't think it will conflict at all. I think your room is going to be gorgeous and I will be following anxiously.

Thanks holly-kay for your support. I will post pictures once we are done (that will be a while as we have not yet started insulating the walls).

I also wondered if we are on the right track with a mid-toned floor (good quality vinyl wood like)? Is there any colour of area carpet that I can look at or is a wood look the best option?

Carol

The framed plates are wonderful. I balked at the idea of plates in a bedroom until I saw them framed. Very sophisticated.

Thanks, rgps. I like the framed plates too. Anyone have an idea how those would be made?

Carol

If you go back to teacats link it takes you to a Pinterest page that shows a variety of ways of displaying the plates.

The one that olychick posted is there with a bit of explanation. I'm wondering if you take it to Michaels if they may have some ideas.

I love this green wall color with blue and white plates or bedding. Would be fine with your grey fireplace.

@blfenton: Good point. I will bring the photo to Michaels. I have to go there this weekend anyway to get my daughter more Rainbow Loom elastics.

@rgps: Thanks for the image. Green does look good and I like green. I guess the wall colour will depend on what bedding I choose. Or I could incorporate green accessories as well as blue and paint the walls white.

Carol

Perhaps a headboard like this one? The height would depend on the height of the wall, the bed itself (with the mattress) .....

This is one of my favorite images for the bedroom décor .....

Here is a link that might be useful: Pinterest -- pin with headboard

I love that teacats. - thanks. I also saw a similar one in navy, but white might be best.

Carol

I wondered if the metal fireplace surround could be powder coat painted? We have someone locally that is going to powder coat paint our island fan, so maybe we could get them to powder paint this metal fireplace surround too? Every time I look at the fireplace with the plates it just says wrong to me despite the reassurance I am getting here. I think I am having trouble with the idea of a dull grey and bright blue together. I have read that grey needs pops of colour, but still I am not a huge fan. I like grey on its own so that is not the problem -- maybe it is the undertone of the grey. If it can be powder painted, what colour should I consider?

Today on Houzz, I saw a lovely great room that had a black fireplace surround. Not sure if black would be better, or a much lighter fresher grey with say a blue undertone. Here is the Houzz picture.

[Traditional Living Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2107) by Newport Interior Designers & Decorators Digs Design Company

I wondered about using this as a head board. Or we could do white.

Carol

Please don't paint the fireplace. It is a utilitarian piece in a neutral color recessed into the wall. Without a fireplace surround or mantel it becomes a decorative piece when the fire is lit and you are lying all cozy in your romantic bed, in my mind. I have a upholstered winged back bed in the guest room. Everyone loves the look of the bed. You could Scotchguard the fabric to help keep it clean, and use it to sit up against it to read-or eat breakfast. ; )

For the headboard it really depends on how you will use it. Will you lean against it for reading or will your heads be on a pillow rather than the headboard. If there is a chance that your head will lean against it I wouldn't do white.

Our new headboard is a grey almost pleather like fabric (but not that plasticy looking) and that is simply for ease of cleaning. We also have a cat that likes to sleep on my head and so leans against the headboard while doing so.

@blfenton: Thanks for your comments. We don't have pets, but yes we will lean up against it for reading in bed. We would probably have pillows, too but I predict our heads will still make contact with the head board. Good point about white being a problem to keep clean. A faux leather would be nice too. Do you think the blue bed would go with the bright blue plates?

@Voila: Thanks for your input and photo. Glad you have had good luck with that style of head board. The fireplace metal surround and then white tile surround will not be recessed into the wall -- that look would be too contemporary for me. If we paint the metal surround it would still be out the same as if we did not paint it (just the metal part would be a different colour).

Here is a picture of how the fireplace was installed in the store where we got it from. We were thinking of white tiles in a herringbone arrangement around the metal surround. There will not be pinky beige bricks around it like in this picture.

Carol

@holly-kay: Is that link you posted of the room with white walls Farrow & Ball's New White? It looks lovely. I would have to travel to another city to get it, but I will do that if it is the best white for my room. I will go to Farrow and Ball's website and explore the New White color some more.

@ All: Does anyone else have any suggestions on appropriate whites from either Ben Moore or SW? I am more familiar with those lines and have fan decks of those at home. Also, does anyone happen to know what the closest white in those lines is to Farrow and Ball's New White?

Carol

Ontario mom, I am posting pictures of our "blue room" that isn't actually painted blue. I think that the blue of Scandinavian Christmas plates looks best on a color other than blue. The white Holly Kay linked to, or something similar, would be beautiful for pine furniture and floors.

This is a sort of montage of photos of the room. I have about 100 plates and cannot display them all, but they were the starting point for the room. It was already painted this gold color. I used other blue and white pieces i already owned (urns, vases, Foo dogs, etc) in this room as well. We purchase the oil of children on the beach and I framed it myself in the plein air style.

Sorry for the horrible iPhone photos....this shows the plates above the headboard. We used DS2's childhood furniture (armoire and dark pine single size sleigh bed ).

We recently put rustic white oak floors in the room and I added this blue and taupe-y gray rug:

Closer of plates above headboard (these are Norwegian) and other blue and white stuff on shelf in bed alcove:

In the corner is a display thing bought at Ballard Back Room in Atlanta (their discount place). They called it a bookcase but it is perfect for displaying plates in a corner!

This is an interesting side table my mother gave me for my birthday about seven years ago. It is a mosaic top made up of broken pieces of blue and white china. On it is a lamp that was in my childhood room...a little too "good" for the rest of the room, but I wanted to use what I had.

The bedding is a discontinued Ralph Lauren pattern I found on ebay. They incorporate shades of navy, royal and light blue, which is a perfect foil for the plates. I use the white matellasse cover on the bed with the comforter folded up at the foot.

Hope these photos help you envision a blue and white room :-)

That is a beautiful, well decorated room Kswl. Thanks very much for the inspiration and ideas.

Carol