suzykass

I hate my bedroom - pls help

S.S. KASS LLC
11 years ago
Just moved to an old house. Love big windows - hate stained glass tops (look cheap) - hate lacy window shades - no privacy and ugly. Hate the color green, hate the wall of closets (love the storage space though. My style, eclectic, funky, cozy,muted wall colors but strong pattern. Pls help, room feels like a cold cavern and I am overwhelmed by it as pictures will show.

Comments (37)

  • michigammemom
    11 years ago
    Your bedding looks like the Ironwork duvet from West Elm. Why not try a saturated teal wall color as shown in the example?
    Organic Ironwork Duvet Cover · More Info
  • PRO
    Carolyn Albert-Kincl, ASID
    11 years ago
    Suggestions:
    1. Call some window people to replace the stained glass with clear glass.
    2. If you don't have a cat or dog, then get grass or bamboo shades for the windows. Follow up at a later date with stationary drapery panels hung from rods placed just below ceiling height.
    3. Change the mirror over the dresser to vertical so that it works better with the windows.
    4. Acquire a desk and office chair for computer use. Lose the table and chairs.
    5. Acquire a chaise or chair and ottoman.
    6. Find a rug that goes better with the bedding.
    7. Follow michegammemom's suggestion re paint color.
    8. Start loving life instead of hating your room.
  • PRO
    S.S. KASS LLC
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    Thanks everyone!! I am changing the color right now... but not teal, something neutral. Question... I am assuming that bamboo shades would start about half round window... correct? I am very excited!
  • PRO
    Carolyn Albert-Kincl, ASID
    11 years ago
    An inexpensive way to cover the stained glass would be to start the shades above the arch by about 4", as an outside mount shade.
  • wmpj
    11 years ago
    I don't know if you like this idea but in regards to your wall of closet doors, you may be able to replace them with sliding "barn" doors. They hang on a track or iron rod. If done right, it would look good. By the way, your room is beautiful.
  • PRO
    User
    11 years ago
    You have great advise above. I want you to look on the bright side your room is a great space. With these changes you are going to be so happy there.
  • Ramona
    11 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago
    This is a potentially beautiful bedroom. Personally, I love color on the walls and more neutral everywhere else as it is easier to get the colors I like in paint rather than in decor. Follow Carolyn's advice and if it is too expensive to change the window glass right now, just cover them with the shades. You mean above, not about in your post about where to put them?

    And, I agree, start loving your space as it is quite wonderful.

    Feng shui would suggest putting your bed between the windows as your bedroom door should face your bed. Then bed and windows become the focal point. You will then walk into a spacious bedroom with spots for dresser and desk and chairs on the inner walls. Once you cover the glass you don't like with shades, you will really like the room.
  • User
    11 years ago
    If you choose bamboo, some can be seen through from the outside in when the lights are on. Consider Roman shades. If you do not want to do custom, which you can buy at Lowes, check on JCPenney.com. They have a large selection.

    If you want eclectic things ( perhaps you mean unique?), go to Etsy.com. It is a website with artisans and craftsman from US and other parts of the world. There is a lot of home decor and other items. Just input what you need in the search engine. There are plaques with inspirational sayings and some shops have sayings in Vinyl peelable letters. Artwork including high def photography abounds. You can look at my photography if you have time. I find it very mood elevating. You can be (in your mind) any where you want to be in an instant, Paris, Venice, Hawaii and there are wonderful animals too. You can click on the link below and you will be in Paris in seconds. My daughter's fav photograph of the Eiffel tower. The tower is ironwork just like your duvet.


    https://www.etsy.com/listing/102387575/eiffel-tower-paris-france-high
  • Rosemarie
    11 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago
    I'd go with the teal as well , just keep trim, baseboards and entry door white but paint the closet doors teal too. Put lined white roman shades installed a few inches from the ceiling over windows. Paint the table glossy black , accessorize as desk and get a comfortable chair to work from. Pehaps a comfy white chair or even a plastic see through. Ditch the gold, paint silver on the mirror. Paint the dresser white or black, put some rectangular mirrors on the dresser drawer fronts. Accessorize with bright orange vases, big and small , mirrored candle holders. Hang a shiney Chandelier in the corner by the mirror with faux candled lights (no wiring) If you have a ceiling light in the center put in a wired in Chandelier there instead and table lamp in dresser. 8x12 white rug partway under bed, Orange throw pillows on the bed.
  • B Elmore
    11 years ago
    Paint "out" your closet doors. There are no rules that tell you that you MUST put a trim color on them! Whatever you paint your room, paint that wall of closets the same color and play down the hardware.....glass knobs would look a lot better!

    I think a seating area in your bay would be beautiful - soft cushions, brightly colored chairs. Definitely something that would make the room more of a retreat.

    Need office space? Use one of the closets.
  • PRO
    Brickwood Builders, Inc.
    11 years ago
    A local glass company can be hired to come in and remove the stained glass and replace with clear glass.
  • hmf70
    11 years ago
    Yes, paint the closet doors same color as the wall. I am jealous of your beautiful closet space!
  • Niki
    11 years ago
    if you could, remove the stained glass with out damage...and antique specialty houswares shop may want to buy them or you could consign them...they are pretty-just not for you....
  • PRO
    Suzanne Ferrer Interior Design
    11 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago
    Suzy, I appreciate your love of this old house, but old houses demand close attention to SCALE regardless of your preferred design style! If you get the scale of your furnishings (i.e. the under- scale mirror between your large, arched windows) correct, your other design choices will naturally and beautifully flow from there! I think of things such as size and height of window treatments, size of major furniture pieces like the bed frame, size of rugs, size and scale of art as the ARCHITECTURE of the room's interior. No tall bed or headboard to reach upward to those lovely tall ceilings? Think of finding 2 or 3 (6 to 9ft tall) antique doors to use as a headboard. The possibilities for decorating these ALONE are endless! I agree with another commentator who suggested the bed should be across from the interior door........the first thing you see when you approach your bedroom. However, using the bowed out bay window area as a lounge area
    ( I'm thinking of a large vintage, crescent shaped sofa with big, plushy decorative pillows that speak to your funky side!) seems cozy and happy to me. So........thinking a little more.......hmmmm, if you've just bought an older home, you're either on a budget or soon will be! How about sisal or seagrass (my fave!) rugs on the floor? Or simple burlap or drop cloth curtain panels mounted 4 to 6 inches below the ceiling; funky suzanis or exotic scarves swagged over the curtain rods should hide the stained glass
    you don't like! Add great art, properly scaled accessories and you're on your way, girl!!! Give yourself TIME to accomplish these things and don't get frustrated. Your bedroom will be a wonderful and beautiful NEST in no time. AND REMEMBER, advise and reassurance are here anytime you need it from your friends at Houzz!

    Suzanne Ferrer Interiors
  • Raquel
    11 years ago
    OK first take out table and chairs. If you need it put a huge beautiful mirror over it and add a leather and chrome desk chair to give it flair turning it into a desk. Stained glass windows are so expensive it is unreal. Believe me you have money sitting their in your windows. If you ever remove them sell them to a stain glass window company or a resale shop. Because everyone wants them.To cover the stain glass just get oval shape window dressing. Call Sears and have their window people show you samples of how they can cover it then pick one and DIYourself. I would put track lighting above your windows,bed and closet doors.Then get a put a circle mirror above your bed. I would buy to beautiful wingback chairs and put the cowhide pillows on them. Also add a cowhide rug under the 2new wingback chairs. And lastly go get mirrors cut the same size as those doors and mount them to slideing doors. It will look chic and lively.
  • Raquel
    11 years ago
    Ace Hardware and lowes cut out mirrors and glass. Get 6 mirrors and mount them over the 4rectangles on each closet door. That will definetly add PANASH to the room!
  • fabia
    11 years ago
    The arch windows an be completely removed, or they can be adjusted to fit your lifestyle. The first idea is expensive, the second is not. If you want to cover the stained glass, there are many ways to go. If you want to make a batik, use colours that yiu like. Mount the Batik on a wooden piece cut to exactly fit the arch. If you don't want to create a piece, then use material, or paint to cover the inside of the wood. Please do paint the exterior street facing part with a nice white paint. This will make it look like trim. I have also used a large Japanese fan in this type of cover up. There are window treatments that can be made to cover this arch also. Be creative, There are also window stick ons that Lowes sells that can be frosted, and you will loose most of the pattern but some sun will still come in. It's about how creative you want to be. Or just put a desireable fabric in the arch, covering a wooden form. This piece will have to be cut to fit. Hanging a large rod over the arch, and then dressing with a curtain will also work.

    Paint the walls a colour you like. MAybe a deep storm blue . Or just a cream white. You are negative about this space, but it doesn't have to be. Your comforter does not say funky. Go for cozy, make this a nesting, creative area. Hang some art, personal items. The space is not bad, it is large and sunny.
  • oregonnative
    11 years ago
    What a beautiful room. If you recently purchased your home I think you bought the wrong home for your style. If I was looking to buy I would purchase your home BECAUSE of all the things you are saying you hate. If you remove all of the things that make your room appealing to people like me (and assuming the rest of your home is done in the same style) it may be very difficult for you to sell your home later. Just my opinion.
  • psanderson
    11 years ago
    Do a Houzz photo search for "closet doors". There are some beautiful solutions for a wall of doors and yours do look like they were added later and don't match the rest of the woodwork. May I suggest, if the windows are original to the house, keep them with the house if you replace them, a future treasure in the attic. They aren't my fav, either, and look like they may be a more recent addition. May I ask how old your house is? Some of my favorite spaces are a mix of older architecture with fresh, clean furnishings. You can do this!
  • PRO
    Linda Mayo
    11 years ago
    The suggestion by bhelmore to paint out the doors the same color as the walls is a great one. You could minimize the doors that way and also combine that idea with rtist9 and put mirrors on just one of two of the closet doors. That would draw attention away from the fact that there is a wall of them but keep your storage space. Another way to keep the space but minimize the doors would be to change the doors to flat panel doors painted the same as the wall color and put a push latch on them instead of a door knob. Just push the door and it opens, but looks like it's part of the wall. Here are some hidden doors that might give you some ideas:
    http://www.shelterness.com/10-secret-doors-into-hidden-rooms/
  • PRO
    Linda Mayo
    11 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago
    As to the stained glass. Since it is expensive to take them out and would no doubt have a negative impact on resale, I would suggest covering them. I don't think you would be happy with anything that you could see them through. There are various shapes of valances to investigate, both cloth and formed over wood that would hang on the outside of drapes. Alternatively, a vinyl shade hung on the inside of the drapes but on the outside over the stained glass windows hung from the top of the wall, covered with cloth with cloth or wallpaper could also achieve the same goal. Both types would be stationary and hang to the bottom of the stained glass windows, hiding them completely.

    Here is a good illustration showing the difference between scale: (You can see the space above the window that is part of the wall in the picture, but in your room would be a valance on the outside of the curtain or a covered shade on the inside of the curtain).
  • PRO
    Linda Mayo
    11 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago
    Here is an illustration of a cloth covered wooden valance that would go over the drapes. http://www.greenandsave.com/finishes/windows/window_treatments.html
  • PRO
    Linda Mayo
    11 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago
    Here is an example of a fabric covered shade that would go under the drapes. (although I would use a light blocking shade).
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/jen/7767451386/
  • kitasei
    11 years ago
    I can't tell from the photograph but if those are authentic stained glass windows (not decals or painted glass) then I have to say they are exquisite. Please, for the sake of the owners who will follow your tenure in this home, do not remove them. Cover them. As for the suggestion of plaques with inspirational messages and peelable vinyl pictures of the EIffel Tower, if you find these windows cheap looking I hope you don't bite at that helpful hint :)
  • PRO
    Linda Mayo
    11 years ago
    Lastly, since you mentioned you like an eclectic look, I would suggest using mirror covered tables beside the bed.
  • B Elmore
    11 years ago
    How about covering your stained glass widows with mirrors? That used to be done all the time in the late 1800's in Chicago, St. Louis, etc.

    Have Lowes or someone cut a piece of mirror and put it into the window using clear bathtub caulk (GE is a good brand). You can face the mirrors to the street for an eclectic look on the outside, and paint the back of the mirrors with the trim or wall color to match your room,

    Also, you could reverse the above and place the mirrored side into the room and that would help bounce the light around (then paint the backs of the mirrors the outside trim color of the house).

    It shouldn't cost over $100 to do it that way, and you would preserve the glass for the next owners.
  • PRO
    Carolyn Albert-Kincl, ASID
    11 years ago
    I like bhelmore's idea of covering the stained glass windows with mirrors. I'd have the mirror side facing into the room.
  • PRO
    LM Designers
    11 years ago
    What a nice large room. So lucky to have the large closet area.
  • umaqeel
    11 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago
    Your room looks great, the wall color is calm, the closets look nice, and the windows are lovely. But as I see it, the problem is the color of your bedding & pillows. They really don't go with each other and they don't look nice with the color of the room.

    You need to change the table and chairs, and get two new comfortable chairs with a side table.

    Paint the mirror frame and dresser with white.

    Cover the windows with curtains, if you like funky, use the fochsia color, and try a fochsia and white bedding. It will look marvellous.

    Lighting might not be enough, and this could have caused your attitude to the room.

    All the best.
  • PRO
    Creatively Yours Custom Inc.
    11 years ago
    I am so envious of your closet space!!
    I think adding mirrors to the front of the closet doors is a great idea as mentioned. How about making it cohesive to the arch top windows and get the mirrors cut to an arch top also?
    Let your funky side show and use teal or any other bold color you love and then paint the closet doors. It will be fine with the neutral color you painted on the walls and warm up the room.
    If electrical/structural conditions allow, I would hang an eclectic chandelier that speaks to you for an interesting dash of style and more lighting for the room.
    Best wishes!
  • umaqeel
    11 years ago
    See how this room looks great, though it might not be the same color tone as your bedroom but sure it will have a nice look.
  • khosmer2015
    8 years ago

    Much depends on your budget, and plans for how long you want to be in this house. Is it your "forever" house, or a transitional step? In either case, I agree with the others who say don't remove the stained glass. (at least get estimates from architectural salvage, as to value, and from several contractors for cost to replace with something you like better.) Those arched windows are gorgeous! Play them up!

    Just Googled "curtains for arched windows" and found several lovely options. Most intriguing was from Etsy, but alas, they were Doll House miniatures.

    Perhaps if you took a picture of them to a drapery store (or a local seamstress) you could get something similar...

    I like the idea of mirrors in the tops, perhaps even double sided so both showed mirror? Lots of possibilities there.

    Depending on your style, fans sound lovely, could also make a custom fit with nothing more than posterboard or foamcore and either fabic (coordinated to draperies, of course) or wallpaper. Simply measure, cut to size, pleat, and attach to foamcore (or the back of mirror).

    The suggestion to paint the closet doors to match the walls is also a great idea.

    I would also agree with placing the bed between windows, if that arrangement works for your space and flow of the room. Maybe a beautiful four poster or canopy bed? Or a bed crown and drapery over a pretty padded headboard? It would also put those widows out of your sightline from the bed.

    If that doesnt appeal to you, or won't work, then a chaise or pair of chairs with a side table would be lovely as well.

    Deciding whether you want ellegant and formal, crisp and modern, or something in between will help guide you. Ask at your local home store about using apps that let you try out color options online using photos of your room. One more thing, the rug and bedding seem to be fighting one another. This is where choosing an over all theme to your style will help. Good luck and happy decorating! And remember to be grateful. These are very first world problems, after all, and many, many families would give anything to have such a lovely home.


  • PRO
    M2 Multimedia
    8 years ago

    Some great ideas here. If you need any audio/video,smart home, or networking help let us know.

  • acm
    8 years ago

    guys, this question is three years old. I think they've figured something out by now!!

  • HU-762119076
    2 years ago

    Didn't you see it before you signed the lease????? Move out!