HI Donna. I have been doing leaves for a couple of years now, and find that just about anything works. I originally just did washes and fiddled with sponges, brushes etc. Then I read about getting exactly the color that you want on the leaf, then doing a wash of the rib color, and wiping off the excess. I like to to that quite a bit, as it really shows the details a lot. I have also painted the veins and ribs but that is a lot of work, and doing the wash over top takes away a lot of the time you would otherwise have to take. I will try and post some pictures in the gallery to show you. Glenda

I'm not a flooring contractor. But I am 80 years old and in the 1930's when I was a kid, my father was a painting and decorating contractor. He bleached our floors with a solution of oxalic acid in boiling water. I tried it as a do-it- yourself project many years later and spilled some on the porcelain stove top and it dissolved some of the porcelain. So, you must not use steel or porcelain. I think you could use a cheap teflon coated large kettle to mix in. I don't recall the proportions either, but you might find out at a paint store or by googling. It bleached wood snow white, so it works. It is very poisonous, so I would wear neoprene gloves and eye protection and I would not braath the fumes unventillated. That said, my father did it without any protection that I can recall. Just was careful and washed off as soon as it happened if he got some on him. There was no OSHA then and things were very primative. I think you can look this up by googling oxalic acid and checking leads.

To answer your direct questions: Put the darker color behind the bed headboard and then decide if you want one accent wall (usually a lot of contrast) or if you want to have two walls each color. The Santorini Blue is not baby blue, but I would put a color swatch in your room to see how it looks in different light if you decide to go in that direction. Glass Slipper is more ice blue than baby blue. I LOVE the Santorini blue, but thought it was too dark to have on all four walls. Your bedding is very neutral and very pretty. When I look at it I think "irredesence" or opal. Everyone does this differently, but I tend to decide what I want a room to FEEL like and then go from there. For our bedroom I thought "sleeping in the clouds". Hence, I have blues, whites, creams and beige. For our bathroom I wanted "beach spa". I also suggest you look through the bathroom pictures on the bathroom forum. I found several inspirational rooms that worked with the tile and cabinets we had. I think one of the reasons you are struggling is that you are working with "what matches" instead of what look do I love. Love something, make it work in your room. Having said that, I think your tile would work well with blues, tans or many of the greiges. Whatever you decide, you are likely going to need an accent color since your bedding has wonderful texture, but only one color. Again, look at the bathroom forums pictures and here in gallary under "bathrooms". Which rooms catch your breadth or you say to yourself, "I want that feeling". Good luck!

Well hello Sarah. Good for you. I see you and your husband are okay with painting the room. Bottom line Sarah you are the ones who have to be happy with the room after all you and your husband are the ones who have to live with it and painting it again is no fun. Originally you wanted to make the room feel bigger. It is up for debate; some say darker colors do the job, others light. Anything that reflects light in a room makes it feel bigger such as mirrors, wall lights and I believe, lighter walls. I ask, what color makes you and your husband happy and gets you excited? Also what color is closest to your duvet? Do you want to match the duvet or go just one color lighter? It does seem as if this project is driving you up the wall. Ouch. My wish is that you had a room upstairs that you could turn into a master. BTW the one with a touch of grey looks great. Best wishes, Marcie