roarah -- I LOVE the curtains in your room :-) I actually don't think they seem busy at all, rather they look like the perfect touch and they seem to connect the room to the plantings outside your window. joaniepoanie -- thank you! My reflex is to go with lighter paint colors as I find dark colors intimidating, but with the rainbow curtains I'm making I do feel like they stand out partly because the wall color is relatively soft and light. The room has brown Billy bookcases on two walls, and mirrored closet on a third wall; I picked the soft blue to bring calmness to the room, contrast with the bookcases, and keep it more kid-friendly. Plus my boys both like blue and they use the room a lot. If we are living here in another 6-8 years, I would re-do the room and make it more of an adult space (I was worried that the other bookcase color options would not be as flexible). bossyvossy -- I was thinking along those same lines. We have a little folding tea table in there, and it has a garish faux mother of pearl picture on it. I made a beige cover for it. Then, for the floor, I made two round cushions w/white covers. I used a white fabric called "minky" so it's super easy to wash in the machine and EVERYTHING comes out of it :-) The carpet is oatmeal color, but we're probably going to re-do all the carpet and change to wood...which will still read as a neutral (I hope). Fun2BHere -- good point about scale, that is not something I ever considered. I don't have any chevron fabric in a smaller scale, but maybe I could find some if I do any other sewing projects for the room. Some of the shelves have bins on them, maybe it would be fun to bring in the same type of print by painting the bins with a small chevron. Right now the bins are royal blue and red, so a white chevron could tie the curtains in a little more. Or glue on white rick-rack ;-) (then they kids could do it themselves LOL). palimpsest -- I hadn't considered if the print were on a piece of furniture rather than the curtains, but you're right. A busy chair in an otherwise calm room seems totally acceptable to me. But busy curtains just draw the eye right to the window and the room can somehow feel unbalanced. I looked at the Buatta and Rivers threads, and I can see what you are saying. The rooms don't have just one bold choice, they are full of bold choices! I guess it was easier for me to make a bold choice for the kids space because the boys like that kind of stuff. As that space is coming together, they are using it more (which is the perfect outcome). This morning they woke up early (not unusual) instead of whining to watch tv before school, or fighting, they went into the playroom and pulled out their toy instruments and were making music together. They were even considerate enough to shut the door. That is the ULTIMATE REWARD for finishing this room :-) mtnrdredux -- thank you! The curtains are definitely the "star" of that room. In our small house, that room also is a multi-use space: I have my exercise bike and exercise ball stashed in the corner. However, IMHO they don't seem totally out of place because of the curtains. (Plus the silver/grey on the bike, and the blue ball, tie in with the color scheme LOL). jujubean71 -- what kind of patterns do you think would be good for boys? Kiwigem -- great story :-) When I was a kid I would have liked to see more of my artwork go up on display at home, so I guess I'm re-living the things I wanted by trying to do it for my boys. I also have a place for their art by the front door, but they bring home so much that it gets overcrowded and culling art is not very fun. I feel like they will have more freedom to pick and choose if they have the playroom to display what they like. I also do use their art to wrap up gifts, and I may start recycling it into thank-you notes as well. AnnieDeighnaugh -- great examples, thank you for sharing these! I can see what you mean about the bold color choices balancing the bold window treatments. That was what I was hoping to achieve by hanging up the bright picture frames and using the bright storage bins on the open shelves of the bookcases. Also they have all their books on open shelves as well...another busy, brightly colored element if you will deee -- I'll search for any pictures that beekeeperswife may have posted, for me it's about seeing something done successfully -- lots and lots of examples -- to help me understand.

What bothers me about that kitchen is the weird angle of the island and the placement of the post. I did not go to the link, but the mix of colors and materials isn't a huge deal breaker for me. The varying distance between island and perimeter is, though. The bookshelves are easily rolled out of there to accommodate more seating and to erase cookbook clutter. Not a big deal. Wouldn't have been a big deal to construct one that matched the island either, and make it removable, too. As for lighting, photographers' lighting, followed by whatever adjustments were made in website, following monitor issues, and who knows how the colors really look?

Now I'm thinking using it everywhere. Island and counters. Too much for both? I may also look for a conservative black granite for the counters and just use this for the island. I have two weeks to decide and will post a pic when we are all done. Thanks for all the input so far. This has been very helpful.

You'll get the best responses by posting this in the Home Decorating Forum. This forum is best for tenant/landlord disputes, etc. Good luck!