Ideas, anyone?
Quite a few of my faithful blog readers have a great eye for interior design. So yesterday when I was decorating our mantle Evan and I we were pretty happy with what I came up with, but we knew something was missing. We aren't sure what to hang on the wall, if anything. So I thought, Hey, I'll post some pictures on my blog and beg my friends for their expert opinions!
So, what do you think? Are you proud of me for completely departing from purple and bright colors?! Going with neutral colors is new for me, but one can get tired of the same old, same old after nine years. What do you think we should put on the wall behind the ship? A mirror--and if so, metal or wood frame and should it be round, oval, or long (width) and narrow (height) rectangle?
Also, any recommendations for a paint color? (Yes, Jen and Sue--we really are going to paint after all!) Keep in mind that our couch slipcover is a dark mocha and the kitchen, which opens up from the living room, has purple and blue and green in it (couldn't get away from those colors COMPLETELY!). We were wondering about a warm slate gray but would love to hear what y'all think.
posted by Jill @ 10:17 AM
8 Comments:
It looks like you are leaning towards a seascape decor? How about a steel blue (like the ocean?) for the walls, and maybe instead of a mirror, a picture of the sea or seashore?
Looking at the color of your carpet, I think of sandy beach, so maybe a gray/blue for the walls would complete the look? Your trim is white, so that would go perfectly. Just my idea....!
What ever you do will be beautiful! I can't wait to see what you choose! Have fun!
I'm no hand at decorating at all... but here are my thoughts anyway. Above the mantle, a line of small, framed pictures would look nice. Three or four in a row, and no larger than 5x7. Zan's suggestion of the sea or seashore is great, especially if you find one or two with flashes of the same red as the candles (the candles look red from here, anyway.)
Colors paralyze me. Grey or blue for the walls does sound nice, though.
It's looking so homey! So wish I could drop in and see it in person.
-- SJ
I meant "color CHOICES paralyze me." I actually like colors themselves.
-- SJ
For wall color I could see what we have in our house, which is called "wise owl" -- a warm tan. Definitely neutral, but warms things up and sets off white trim. An oval or rectangular mirror would look good over the mantle. Do it so it's just a few inches above the mantle and reflects the ship. With so much going on on the mantle, a picture would almost be overkill. That's my two cents worth anyway. ;-) Looks cute!
My 2 cents is that you skip the seashore print over the mantle and opt for a rectangular mirror instead. A mirror will reflect light from the kitchen and mirrors always make any space seem even bigger. Plus if you decide you want to change up the mantle from the seashore look, say for Christmas or autumn or just b/c you get sick of it and want something new, then the mirror is neutral and will go with anything.
If you wanted to add some seashore touches via prints on the wall, I'd opt for 3 (groups of 3 or 5 are always pleasing to the eye), in the same frame type, in a row somewhere, either in between your windows or somewhere else, to tie in the seashore look. Yes, I agree with SJ on pulling the cranberry from your candlesticks to at least one more space, if not 2... maybe something on your piano or the ledge by the front door? Or you can have the mats for your framed prints be cranberry, too. Here's a cheap tip from me: if you end up deciding on seashore prints, or any prints... go look for a calendar of that theme. Cut out the prints you like from the calendar and frame them, and voila! Prints dirt cheap.
Love both ideas of the slate gray and the warm sand color someone else mentioned. As a matter of fact, both colors together would look lovely and are very "in" right now... you just need to find the same tone in both. You could do say the slate color as your accent wall, the fireplace wall, and do the rest of the room in that sandy color... they are both neutral enough, too, that if you ever wanted to change your slipcovers or throw pillows, or theme, you won't have to re-paint!
Have fun! I love decorating but have run out of space and money for now, so feel free to ask away for opinions... so fun to offer them! Whatever you do, as long as it's fun for you and brings you joy that's what matters! Your home is lovely so it's not like you can ruin anything by trying things out! Have fun, Jill.
PS: another idea that goes with anything but particularly a seashore theme, is to buy some dried seagrass-looking grasses to put in a vase or basket somewhere... you can find stuff like that at Pier One or even at Michaels... it's pretty inexpensive, the kids can't get hurt by it and if they ruin it it's no big loss b/c it's cheap, and any time you add an "earthy" element like twigs, wood, grassy type stuff, pinecones, etc... it always adds warmth and texture to a room. Tall grass in a unbreakable vase-like basket on the floor somewhere, maybe near the fireplace or in the foyer, will look like grasses on a sand dune! :-) More "2 cents" although my comments are so long I guess they're worth more like a nickel! :-)
Slate blue would look nice. Also, my grandma is coming up north in a couple of days... you could ask her opinion.
My suggestion is to find a picture or a print of a place that is special to you to hang over the mantel.
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