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Paint Home Decorating Design Dilemma

Spanish colonial - help me update my (too dark) bedroom

4 years ago

I have this wonderful primary bedroom with a wall-full of stained cabinetry, a golden accent wall and very dark bedframe and night-stands.

For awhile I loved the golden yellow wall, but now it feels so heavy. The other walls and ceiling are SW Alabaster. The dark beams are staying. The floor is reddish/brown brick, also staying. This room only gets natural light from the french doors (southern exposure).

The yellow chairs and table in front of the fireplace are going away. (to be replaced with....??? help...)

So, how to rejuvenate the space and make it less dark and heavy? I'm thinking about having all the cabinets painted a soft-white (maybe SW Alabaster, but in a satin finish so that wall will just read white) or perhaps whitewashed to allow some of the brown to come through. (Please comment on this). The bedroom -doors and the double doors to the bathroom are authentic old doors that I don't want to mess with.

I'll probably start with Alabaster on that headboard wall, just to remove the gold tone from my thought process. That's a fairly easy wall to repaint. But that wall of dark cabinets is so bossy that it affects any other paint choices (I see in photos how much orange that wood throws). I'd rather get that right without too much experimentation.

I've also considered painting the bedframe and night stands. I've lived with these for 8 years and I'm ready for a change up. I'm in Mexico where having painting done is fairly cheap.

Four pics, from different parts of the room. Colors are pretty accurate and so is the lighting.

And one inspiration photo showing a more restful color scheme (love the blue nightstands, barely visible unless you zoom in). And an orange cat because orange cats are the best.

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Comments (5)

deegw
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
I love your room but I can understand wanting to change things up. Definitely paint the yellow wall. I know you want to go light but I would consider a new rug with some bright, fresh colors. Use one of the colors to choose new chairs, bed throw and shams.

The cabinet wall is bossy but I think if you add a couple of big splashes of bright colors to the interior of the room the new colors will balance it out.
carlasollano54 thanked deegw
loobab
4 years ago
I think the yellow wall should be painted the same color as the other walls.

The painting over the fireplace is fine.

The chairs in front of the fireplace seem cramped there,

If you must have seating in that room, place them right against the foot of the bed with an ottoman, a round one would look great.

The painting over the table between the windows misses the mark. It is too short, you need one that is much taller given the height of the ceilings, and you want the width to be 3/4 the width of the table.

If that table is your vanity, you might instead choose a mirror with an attractive frame with an interesting curvilinear shape, and I would suggest housing your accoutrements attractively.

The painting of the woman tucked in the corner between the bed and the window is misplaced there.

Find another piece of art the same size and hang each above a bedside lamp.
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If you need a ceiling fan, and I can sure understand why you do as I'd never do without one in our MBR, I say skip the chandy and just replace the fan with one that's large enough to cool your room and is in a style that works with your new furniture. Skip the lights on it, though, and just use lamps on your nightstands, dresser, and wherever to light your room. Bed: think about the fact that you'll probably have to replace the storage baskets under that one bed you like someday in the near future (they will get kicked and frayed, etc). Will you be able to find good, quality replacements that fit those cubbies then . . . and at a reasonable price? It's something I've thought about every time I look at those types of beds. When I pay for a piece of quality furniture, I don't want to worry about replacing parts of it in a few years, but that's just me. As for your bedding, I love your idea about using tan, cream and aqua. I like this type of coverlet. It's lightweight, so you can use it year-round and vary the accent pieces. This one I found on Kohls website and it's on sale at the moment. Then you can use an aqua print (or plain) coverlet folded at the foot of your bed until you need it. You can add matching shams and/or coordinating shams and bedskirt of you choose. Here's one idea, but there are many possibilities out there. "Linden Street Aqua bedding " Lynn
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Great space! You have some excellent pieces to work with! Your space could really benefit from a few pops of color. The recommendation would be to pull colors from your beautiful prints. Most of your furniture can stay as it works really well with the boho-mod look. Consider adding an accent chair to replace the one dining chair, paint a deep blue accent wall- perhaps behind the headboard- add a couple of wall sconces, and layer in some fresh textiles. Depending on your budget, look at thrift stores and/or West Elm, Target, and World Market. The artwork on your large dresser could be hung just above the dresser with the top of the frame lining up with the bottom of the header door trim. Consider the two other pieces on the wall opposite the dresser with a couple of wood box beam floating shelves, a metallic dimensional piece and a few accessories to create more of a gallery wall look. Happy Decorating!
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I'm not a fan of any of those options...for various reasons. Mostly because the style/scale as well as the tone doesn't look like it would compliment the bed.....although without links hard to know. The Bernhardt nightstands in your pic from Haverty's are 40 W x30 H x21 D. That is why they don't look dwarfed by the bed. Do you have room to do something like the pic Penny posted? Basically a simple open rectangle with a sturdy leg? Another thing I'd consider is taking a look at kids' dressers/desks. Some are even similar in size and shape to the Bernhardt nightstands.... https://www.perigold.com/furniture/pdp/smiling-hill-4-drawer-dresser-sta6494.html?piid=17238112 Another approach would be multi-tiered side tables, not these exact ones obviously, but again something with enough heft and presence to play nicely with that bed.
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I suggested the dark green based off the paint colors you said you have. The plum Flo is showing as well as Lavender are beautiful with dark green. If a duvet isnt available you can use a solid cream duvet and get the floral shams and fold a dark green quilt at the bottom of the bed for a layered look that will carry the colors in your home into your bedroom. This will give you fluidity from room to room. Then mix in some pretty pillows in plum and lavender. It would look great. I used to live in a 1900 Victorian so I know the fragility of real plaster walls. If you don't want to drill into them to hang the drapery higher I would suggest at least taking them to the top of the casing. This product might be of interest to you. https://kwikhang.com/products/single-bracket
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carlasollano54
Original Author
4 years ago
deegw -- I kept looking at that picture of my room from your reply, and coudn't figure out where or when I moved that rug (my photos are from different years and there's been a variety of rugs in there. ) Then I realized you photoshopped it in -- cool trick.

You make a good point, about adding color back in, too. But do you think that just painting the back wall white will be enough to lighten the room? I feel I still have to deal with the dark cabinets in the dark side of the room.

loobab - thanks for the tips about size of painting related to to wall. Yes, it's my utilitarian makeup table and it's grown unwieldy over time. In reality, I hate clutter. I need a vanity with storage and much better lighting, and a curvy mirror sounds perfect. The space there is narrow. Probably one of those little backless chairs that can slide completely below the table when not in use.
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Mrs. S
4 years ago
Your room is stunning. Love your inspiration room too.
cat_ky
4 years ago
The room is beautiful (minus the yellow) With the artwork replaced or rearranged, it will look even better. You may want to try different type light bulbs (daylight type), and also add a bit more lighting.

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