Help turn this blah fireplace into a show stopper!
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My Blah Mediterranean Pink
Comments (4)Ack! Knew I was going to miss something important, as I explained the problem. I forgot to mention it was the type of bush that doesn't get any bigger then 1' X 2', or 2' X 1'. (Can't remember, although it seems higher then wider.) That's one of the reasons why I picked this particular type for that container, so it wouldn't out grow it, or ever feel particularly crowded in. And, nope, my "yard" is nothing but concrete. Sidewalk out front where the Pink is, and 16' X 16' slab of concrete for a back yard. Good thing, I've grown to prefer container gardening. LOL Since I use containers, I'm also mindful that the plants need more water then plants grown in the ground, so it looked good all last summer and fall, even though you're right, it didn't start flowering until December....See MorePlease show me your painted brick fireplace.
Comments (26)Of course I never took a picture of it...but the fireplace in our basement, which we built out as several rooms...an office/sitting room where the fireplace is...was made of old factory brick from our city, and some of the bricks still had the remnants of the painted advertising on the buildings. Some of them were "clinkers" - black and shiny from something that happens in the firing. But it was dark and looming and not pleasant. So I mixed three parts water and one part paint (the light tan latex of the walls) in a bucket, washed it onto the wall with a really big brush, and followed along blotting with a handful of rags. The effect was to lighten, soften, and tone in the brick without sacrificing its texture and interest. It looked great, and it was easy and fast...I do not have Oceanna's talents at all!...See MoreNeed help! Struggling with a blah back of beige sided house...
Comments (12)A tree could be something like lilac, burning bush (even dwarf,) PG Hydrangea, some of the medium sized Viburnums, a large deciduous Azalea, etc. (It can't be a shrub that suckers badly.) Pachysandra would work AFTER some protective shade developed from the tree. You might use something else -- even annuals -- that will tolerate the light conditions, on a temporary basis....See MoreMy Living Room is Blah -Please Help
Comments (21)You have plenty of neutrals, so it looks like the rug will provide your color choices....a simple way is to find the dominant color in the rug that is not a neutral and use it in 30 percent of the room, then select the next less dominant color from the rug and add that color to your room.....say curtains, pillows, lamp shades of lamp bases, throws on the chiairs as in a pair over the back of each chair, or one throw on the sofa, accessory pieces in the book shelf area, be it flowers, frames or mats in frames, object d' art, etc. If you want to do curtains, then a solid or geometric print will work nicely. Another thought is to paint the dining room in a variation of your accent color and reupholster your chairs in a fun fabric that works with your paint, add curtains the same as the living area, and then just add pillows and flowers in the main living room as accents with the dining room carrying a completely different color for the whole area.....then the kitchen and the living room would have small areas of color that both relate to the dining room. Finally just add all white to both rooms to lighten it up and keep the colors of black, brown, and charcoal in strong contrast to the white to add drama to the room. neutrals with very slight addition of color in artwork but everything else white grey black charcoal addition of one color in curtains, chairs, pillows, walls......you already have chairs in charcoal, etc., but could add pillows in living room, curtains in dining room in pattern and white in living room, and pale paint in dining room and one wall of kitchen. I think you have a one note room, and it needs some jolts of color in all three areas; easiest to choose one and do all variations of it around the room, or two colors from rug, one dominant and the second one less so. Love your room...See MoreTamara Exsted
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