Kids have good taste too

When decorating a bedroom for a child, some people get the idea that the “theme park” decor is the perfect pick. The way I see things, it is not. A child’s bedroom is a place where he/she can relax, sleep, play, study, read, etc. It’s an “all-in-one place”.

If you keep it simple, you may go from a nursery to a teenager bedroom with so little change. Their way of living is going to change a lot as they grow up. But adding little touches with their own taste as they grow will update the space as they do.

So if you don’t want to go from one theme park to another as your child grows up. Think and rethink the space for up to let’s say 8 years. If your child can still fit in there, you’re doing a good job.

You may start with a soft, pale color that could work with everything and stick with that for all the bases. The whites could be my pick. It doesn’t have to be all snowy-white. You can mix all kind of whites in one room to keep it “alive” so it doesn’t get boring…

Here you have at least five different whites

...and two shades of blue as an accent color!

You can add touches of color in subtle ways or in pieces that can change from one year to the next as the child grows up.

This bed will stay less than two years in the room.
It is the perfect choice to add color, don't you think?

 

The other side of the room could look like that 5 years later…

Change the accent color and you will change the room!!!

 

Have fun planning and once you’re done, take some pictures! I will love to see them!!!

I'll be away for a while...but I will come back with lots of pictures to show you!!!

See you next month

Something old, something new

When decorating in the “new traditional” way, you should always mix old and new. That mix can be done in different ways. You could mix antics with modern furniture. You could use modern furniture in an “old space” or the opposite…

You don’t need to spend a fortune to achieve that look. One single antic in a room makes a bigger statement that the whole “antic look” (that will make your house look like your grandma’ lives there, instead)

Don’t buy matching set. If you have a set of something “break it” and place it in different spaces. Your dinning table and chairs set could look better if you use the table on the breakfast area with modern chairs.

Your antic chairs can stay in the dinning room paired with a much more contemporary looking table.

Don’t try to match the wood colors. Use color to make furniture blend in the space and give that modern twist to traditional. Instead of buying the new chairs for the breakfast area, try to fix your old ones by, for instance, painting them all in shinny white lacquer for a very crisp look.

Just keep in mind that one antic in a room will pop up when you come in. It doesn’t have to be a piece of furniture, it can also be a paint, some other type of art, a light fixture, etc. The contrast with all the modern and contemporary around is what makes the “new traditional” so fashionably classic.

Your new traditional will be your little black dress. You can accessorize in so many different ways and always look stylish while classic and modern at the same time.

Redecorating

Living in different countries my eyes got adjust to things I was not used to see. The summer morning light in the North of Spain is not the same as the one in Kentucky, Italy or France. But all of them come through your windows so your interior can look different from morning to afternoon and to evening. The place you live will always change your interior even if you use the same furniture and the same colors. But if you use the right color in the right place you can be sure to have the perfect background for your new canvas.
When redecorating your home, especially if you do that often, you learn how to use the same furniture and fabrics in different places creating different spaces. A piece of furniture that can serve just in one way is never the best choice when buying furniture.
A table used in my breakfast area in my house #3 (in the countryside) made it to the dining room in house #4 (in the city) then to the outdoors space in house #5 (in another city) and to the entryway in my actual place (in the country again) Of course the result is really not the same. That is the good thing about changing places.
The inside of each house/apartment/loft space/living area is different. You should always get advantage of everything that surrounds you. Don't be afraid of having your former dining table in your new entryway or your old Persian rug on your new bathroom floor.

These gorgeous silk curtains you had in your living room can fit perfectly on your new hallway.

See...

All those changes can make a house look stunning and modern instead of a bunch of old stuff from the former apartment that can't even fit the new space.
Give it a try, if you don't like the result you can always put it back in the old place...but something tells me you won't need to.