Not knowing where you live, do you need an extra warm duvet or comforter? Will a lighter blanket work? If the dogs are an issue, make sure that anything you buy can be cleaned by washing or dry cleaning. What do you think of silver or charcoal bedding?

With dogs, I wouldn't do anything that has to be dry cleaned. At all. I have two dogs who get on my bed. We only have bedding that washes easily. In fact I have a pima cotton duvet cover I haven't been using because it has to be ironed to look good. The linen doesn't. Factor in pressing as well as washing when you chose.

Take a look at Crate and Barrel. This is one example of a comforter in taupe in cotton. The color might look good with the marble tops and wood.

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/tessa-full-queen-duvet-cover/s452146

edited to add: It is machine washable.

Actually, I would suggest you look at West Elm as well. They have a sale going now too. I really like the first picture below.

I also like the grayish/purple in the picture Voila posted. It is a wall color. You will notice the bedding in that room looks like cream. Are you thinking of finding gray/purple bedding?

Since you asked, yes, sadly, the furniture really is that bad. It is hideous. Cut the figure your parents gave you as its cost in half and post it on Craig's list. Then be prepared to bargain. And take that money and add it to your redecorating budget. Which doesn't need to be $5-$6 thousand, btw, unless this is your forever house. (Regardless, you should still do the public rooms first.)

"I know they sell paint with primer in it, but would that be a mistake on my part? Not just doing regular old primer first"

Yes, it would be a mistake ... the "built in primer" stuff costs significantly more than regular paint, and unless you apply it heavily enough, there's still show through.

I recommend you buy Glidden's "high hide white" flat latex from Home Depot (or a similar brand of primer) and paint until you see nothing but gleaming WHITE. Then do your color coats.

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I think the furniture would work fine, although it's way more ornate than my taste ... add suitably masculine rich colors and posh textures and you have a decadent aristocrat feeling to it.

Your furniture is NOT bad or hideous. It is ornate and it is fine. Keep it, work with it. Keep everything around it simple as others have suggested. Check over in the Paint Forum:
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/paint
for what the painters there believe is the best primer. Your primed walls do not have to be gleaming white before you apply paint.

As in all things, and certainly all things decorating, there will be opposing opinions regarding taste. So, this is an excellent time to start developing your own.
What do YOU think of the furniture? Not what your parents, friends, anyone here thinks, but your own opinion. You can start to form one by browsing different decorating styles on Houzz and looking through magazines like Architectural Digest.

The furniture and the carpet are extremely taste-specific. I would not throw my money at someone else's decorating choices by matching paint and bedding. Unless you're going to live in a castle someday, or become a Housewife of New Jersey, that furniture will probably never work in a home you own. Your parents have given it to you, so you can do what you want with it. Don't feel guilty because they paid a lot of money for it. Don't feel guilty about replacing the carpet either just because it's in good condition. This is your home now.

You said you are incredibly picky about fabrics. I've been shopping for a coverlet for about a year now but I won't buy online. I want to feel the fabric and see the quality and true color. Go shopping and see what's out there.

Sooodamngood,

Keep in mind that this is a decorating forum and most of the folks who post here love to decorate! And they do it often! They stay on trend and don't like "dated," a favorite word around here. And, remember, though there is lots of good advice here, most of it is a matter of opinion. Many have no qualms about spending money because they seem to have lots of it.

Personally, I'd keep the furniture. It is not hideous, it just isn't some people's taste. I'd go simple and light with paint, bedding and drapes. I would not like a dark bedroom. Personally.

Your furniture isn't my style either. Over the years I've been given plenty of hand-me-down furniture from parents and in-laws, not necessarily my style, but something we needed at the time. The two dressers in my bedroom are from I'm guessing the 50s. "Dated" doesn't even begin to describe them. But I don't put too much stock into what my bedroom looks like. For me, it's a place to sleep and get dressed, never a faux luxury hotel room.

So, I have a track record of putting up with furniture I didn't like. But I wouldn't decorate around it either. Your furniture has a commanding presence. Although your parents gave it to you, it would be nice if you asked them if it's okay if you sold it. It would really help beef up your budget.

I have two black and white cats who sleep on my bed. Black hair on the light parts and white hair on the dark parts. I currently have a $39 West Elm duvet cover with broad gray and white strips. The cat hair looks terrible.

I don't see how selling the furniture improves his budget. He'll have to buy more furniture! His budget seems quite adequate to me.

Sheesh, he is proposing to spend thousands of dollars around furniture that was given to him but is not what he would pick out on his own-----IMO that's a very bad start, because even after all the $$ spent, it will not reflect his own tastes. To me that is a waste of time, money and effort. Additionally, if he ends up with a bedroom (especially) that really doesn't suit him it may put him off decorating the rest of his house.

He says he has $5 or $6 thousand to spend on this one room. that is more than enough, but if he sells the parental furniture he could use that much less of his own money.

Again, just my opinion, but he did ask "how bad," so I am assuming he actually wants to know before embarking on this ride!

The OP was content with this furniture when he came and asked advise about working with or changing the pink walls. And he's a young guy starting out in a new home. Even though he mentioned a possible budget to work with the room, he has shown no interest in selling the furniture or looking for new. If he wants to work with the furniture, we should support him and give him our best advise for working with it.

Oh,no, kswl, I would never expect you to work around something you don't like for any reason at all. That is not your style. You have very precise, and to my way of thinking, expensive, excellent taste, which you can afford. I did not detect that in soodamngood's op. He asked for work around help and seemed happy to use his parent's furniture, even if it wasn't his first choice (like many of us do), and I personally think he was clueless about budget. $5-6,000 for paint carpet, bedding? Waaay over my budget!

Getting rid of the pink walls and carpet would be where I would start, regardless of the furniture I have on hand. Personally, I detest pink and it would have to go asap. I'm very much affected by the color of walls and would pick a wall color I love before I picked bedding. I know I'm the opposite of many of you who find their bedcover and then paint to match. Finding a wall color is an ordeal for me; finding a decent looking duvet cover I can live with is a thousand times easier.

Once the pink's gone, I would proceed accordingly. Maybe the furniture is okay with the OP. If so, I'd get a new duvet cover and call the bedroom good. Save that money for other areas of the house that have a more pressing need.

Some posts seem to have gone missing from this thread......

Nooooo unfortunately, they are all still here, even the rudest of the rude.

Lukki, there WAS a post from the OP asking "how old ladyish" and "how bad" was his furniture. That's what I was answering. Do you really think I would make a comment like that if the OP had not asked the question? Obviously you do, and I'm sorry you think that I would intentionally try to hurt someone's feelings like that.

No names or posts were mentioned in my response, so why you would take the defensive is beyond me....I do however think that your comment was a bit brash and didn't take into consideration that he's a 20 something year old man buying his first house (which I sincerely applaud) and he's making decor decisions for the first time. To say something "is that bad. It is hideous" just because it doesn't fit your taste level is IMHO rude. If someone had said that to one of yours about furniture you passed along to help them out on their new adventure how exactly would you feel? I read your post right after you posted it and refrained from making a comment but obviously others seem to agree that it was not your best moment.

I do think there are some cultures where this style furniture may have more appeal, too. I think it's okay to say it might not be one's own taste without potentially insulting the parents' taste who purchased it. For many of us it doesn't fit what we picture as a young man's style, but obviously his parents didn't have any problem imagining him using it.

Are the tops & balls on the bed & dressers granite? I would take a color from the granite. Like the green from the room the furniture is in. Carpet could be similar or in the gray or tan. For the spread/comforter I would stay pretty simple/plain. I am sure you could do this for less than the carpet estimate you were given.

Haha no worries I wasn't offended by any of the comments.

Honestly I'm not picky about looks/design of everything. I'm more about utility/comfort/reliably. That said I do want it to look nice since I enjoy having people over and want it to be something that I could be proud of and not being embarrassed about having guest see. Which is why I wanted others opinions, since I admittedly know absolutely nothing about design fashion all that stuff.

Heck I was originally willing to decorate having bright pink walls and the colors don't even bother me that much. Of course seeing how cheap/easy painting is, I supposed it would be lazy to keep the room pink

You're a good sport, SDG :-). I applaud your plunge into home ownership and your willingness to ask questions. One last piece of advice----make sure your home-, be it filled with the most expensive furniture or not----reflects YOUR taste, not someone else's. Have a look in a few magazines and catalogs and tear out pages of rooms you admire. You will find a look that appeals to you consistently, and the common elements of those pictures will tell you how to go about decorating your first place. And beware of people agreeing with you too much, lol..

I also recommend Pinterest for getting ideas on a certain theme. I've recently been considering a new entry door + screen door and I have found so many things I like. It's often much easier than trying to navigate Houzz, which has some great stuff, but also a lot of stuff you weren't looking for.

SDG may we see a picture of your dogs?

I really think, given the scale of the room and the scale of the furniture, it can all work out quite well...some paint, replace the carpet or hardwood if better, bedding, drapes, a few accessories and your room will be very masculine and attractive and far from "old lady". The fabric swatches are from calico corners, but that's just for illustrations of how the color scheme could work...maybe as throw pillows...

SDG, I advise working with your current furniture, which is not for everyone including me, but there is nothing wrong with it. You've gotten excellent ideas here to make your current furniture eminently workable. Anniedeighnaugh, viola, lukkiirish and mella sacto and others have given you some concrete ideas of how to make it work. Focus on the paint, floors, a nice rug, lamps and a leather recliner and you're all set. You can take it in different directions, all interesting and pleasing, along the lines suggested here. If you don't like the dark manly glitz in melle's examples, follow those in Annie deighnaugh or viola. Good luck.

I wanted to comment that AD's idea looks great, wouldn't have considered a light color for the walls but if you don't want dark then she took it in a very nice direction. Also, the pics I posted were just re-posted from PP earlier in the thread, I think nsm. If I had to choose, I'd pick the dark and moody bedroom but clearly, SDG, you can take this room in a few different directions that will still work.

That's what is amazing about this forum, so many good ideas that are not all the same!

I dont have any suggestions, I think many people gave you some great ideas, take what you like and run with it. I like your furniture, as someone said, keep the rest of the room simple and the room will look great.

Melle, yes I loved the dark and moody rooms too, particularly the rooms you and/or NSM posted. Right touch of glam and sophistication. I can see that it could potentially feel gloomy over time, which I think was what SDM was saying. But they were definitely nice to look at.

If you were to use Annie's suggestions, I think you would be very proud of your MBr~it's gorgeous, yet has a masculine 'flavor'. Beautuful annie!

SDG, I really like the furniture. I can see it is not to everyone's taste, but with a simple setting, it and the room will complement each other. I think the quality of that wood would be ruined if painted or gel-stained (and the value would drop).

Like you, I have a lot of my parents' (and grandparents') old furnishings, although nothing so elaborate. I think you can make a bedroom to be proud of -- just keep things simple. I wouldn't go too dark -- I hate waking up depressed -- and with dogs, a white or pale rug (or comforter) will be a constant-cleaning problem. I'm thinking light/neutral walls and white trim, with a solid color rug in a tone you like. (Have you checked for hardwood yet?) Then get the bed cover and some fun, edgy wall art. The bed cover should have some type of pattern since you have the dogs --- solid colors will show fur every time!

Re the ceiling: Every time I paint a ceiling, including in my miniscule half bath, my back goes out.... Leave it alone unless there are stains on it!

Still no carpets or furniture (later this week) But getting there

Definitely went outside the box

Only the accent wall is that color (and the stripe up top)

The other walls are a very light gray.

And the two colors are directly from the bedding

Wow! It's not pink anymore! Can't wait to see it all put together. I love that color. Be sure to post back when you get the rug and furniture put in.

The blue is a little crazy (but I dont mind it as an accent wall, since the rest of the room is light, and i enjoy some "boldness")

But all the blinds and stuff are shadow white, so I think itll balance out.

I did the whole rest of the place "shimmering gray" (which you really cant see in any pictures, it just looks white in pictures) and I love that color. Its very modern, but looks fantastic. Once I add some artwork and stuff I think itll look terrrific.

I experimented with a "charcoal" accent wall in my study which I love (despite it being a dark color) and im tempted to do another wall the same color in my living room soon

(that's the living room, but also the main color of the bedroom)

So much better than that pink. My daughter did a dark blue accent wall like that in her living room and adjacent dining room. The other walls are light grey. She gets compliments on it all the time and you will too. It looks great already and will be fabulous when you add all the other elements. Can't wait to see it.

Nice! Love that blue and grey!

Love the navy and the grey looks like a great compliment to it. Look forward to seeing everything together.

Love it!

This looks great!!! The blue and the grey work well with each other, and the grey keeps the blue from being overpoweringly dark.

Huge improvement!

Be careful..... adding, an "accent wall" in one room is good, two rooms ok, three rooms may look gimmicky.

I like the gray because it is so much cleaner and clearer, and the navy is lovely with it. You are off to a great start.

Gorgeous shade of blue!

Love it! And I can see the shimmering gray on the BR wall, and it's gorgeous and looks perfect with your blue.

I would maybe even do the ceiling and the bottom of the soffet in the gray.

Agree, maybe stick to one accent wall.

I'm with you, love bold colors in the right places. Definitely kitchens and bathrooms! Maybe those are the places you can use the charcoal, etc.

I was just wondering what the results of the pink room were the other day, thanks for the update, it looks soooo good! And it sounds like you're also having a little fun with it too which is very cool!

I see you got this figured out and it looks good! I'm late to the game, but was going to suggest maybe going with a 1950's retro feel, because back then, pink was more of a unisex color...maybe painted the trim work a glossy black or grey and hung up plenty of pictures, posters, shelving etc..and maybe bought a big rug in black or grey and used the original carpet as the 'accent'.

Two things I learned after living with the pepto bismol and "aquarium" bedrooms in my old house. Check under the carpet, you may have a great wood floor under there. You can paint a wood floor, grey is a great color to paint it, easy fix. My advice to you is RIP OUT THE CARPET NOW, while it is easy and you still can! I "worked around" a teal carpet in my master bedroom, and regretted it every single day. Carpet in one room isn't going to set you back that much. You deserve to have a master bedroom you love and that speaks to you, not an accommodation to someone else. Oh, and blue highlights pink, so you need lots of brown and yellow and tan and red to tone down the pink. Think of that carpet as very, very light red if you keep it. But don't keep it. Rip out the carpet. Just do it!

because back then, pink was more of a unisex color

Yes, it's been interesting to see how color has become so extremely gendered in our generation. I was just reading a Nero Wolfe novel from about 1950 and the evil super-villain had a pink and gray office, with no implications whatever except that it was super classy.