decor rules
12. Keep a Low Profile Want to add some personality or drama to your bathroom without visually shrinking the space? Just look down. Try adding drama to elements with a lower profile, such as the vanity or the floor tile, while keeping the elements around your eyeline more simple and open. This approach gives the room lots of character while still maintaining a sense of openness. In fact, having a dark or vibrant color near floor level can sometimes make the upper half of the room feel even more open and airy by contrast. More on Houzz How to Lay Out a 8-by-5-foot Bathroom Find bath designers and contractors Browse bath products and materials
11. Go Vertical If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em! Sometimes, if your bathroom has small square footage, rather than try to make it look bigger horizontally, the smartest approach is to embrace the height as the largest dimension and emphasize that feature instead. Using vertical elements as simple as a tall, thin mirror and a bold accent color on a skinny wall can enhance the height of a space and make the room feel big and breezy from that perspective. Add some delicate lights and a little black and white tile, and you’ve got lots to keep the eye moving from flooring to ceiling.
10. Visually Push the Walls Apart If your bathroom is already very long and tunnel-shaped, rather than emphasize the length even more, consider working against the length and visually stretching the width instead. This room uses the direction of the long, elegant floor tiles, as well as a band of accent tile in the shower, to visually stretch the width of the room for a more balanced look and a less tunnel-like atmosphere.
5. Combine classics. Timeless patterns — plaids, zebra, paisley — mingle in this masculine sitting area, underpinned by the lush Oriental carpet. Like a Chanel suit and a pair of spectator pumps, classic motifs and pieces will always work well together.
$$$$$No matter what its color, scale, origin or pattern is, a good-quality Oriental rug never goes out of style, and it works with just about any design scheme. But there are a few secrets to showcasing it at its best.
8. Add a little whimsy. A cheeky rooster print on the armchair in this space nods to the cottage-meets-traditional setting. It’s unself-conscious and completely at ease, and that helps the patterns get along. Find an Oriental rug dealer near you
2. Celebrate the art of the clash. This homeowner didn't even try to pretend to match the pink throw pillow to the rug beneath, and the result displays an irresistible swagger. The key is not to include too many mismatched patterns — if you go overboard, you'll create a sense of chaos rather than confidence. More about using surprise in design
Eight secrets to pairing patterns with oriental rugs. Following these secrets 8.;5 , 2 of Oriental rugs idea book. I think the wallpaper and floral and that you are classic fabrics that go with almost anything. I think the yellow pillow is the clash. And I think the poster it adds a bit of fun in quirkiness.
Black or White? Black frames aren’t always the way to go, however. The Drafting Studio building designer Paul Caracoglia says black frames can look out of place in a light and airy space where white is the predominant color. White frames work best for the windows in this light-filled open-plan kitchen-dining area, for example, but black has been used effectively on the verriere separating the more traditional main house from the contemporary addition.
Mismatched Magic Sometimes the best way to make finishes coordinate elegantly is to make none of them truly match at all. In this dreamy bedroom, the stool, nightstand and accessories show different metal finishes in varying shades from cool crisp silver to pewter to pale gold, with cooler tones dominating. Besides being mismatched tones, the objects are varying finishes (super-polished, brushed, aged), so every piece becomes a special part of an eclectic story. However, notice how the rest of the room is dressed in soft gray and white neutrals, so the contrast of metal tones is the focus and the space still feels calm.
7. Create the illusion of more architecture. When you have amazing architecture, textural white moldings can make a statement on their own. But when you don’t have a lot to work with, painting your trim black can create the appearance of more interesting structural features, lines and movement. Add beauty and style to your home with custom trim
$$$$$ don’t do dark trim in sun filled rooms6. Highlight a view. Framing a view in black can draw the eye in, showcasing an outside view or just pulling attention away from an unsightlier area of the home. The downside is that you’ll lose the textural and sculptural aspect of the window mullions at night, because the darkness blends in with the blackness of the window pane. Also, be cautious with this approach. It’s probably best for north-facing rooms and homes, because “dark trim fights against a sun-filled room,” Martin says.
Incorporate fun, quirkier decorative elements as your color and furniture pairings start hitting the mark. This vintage Turner flamingo print is a far more interesting alternative to a staid mirror or generic piece of artwork. There's usually a great story behind pieces like this too. If you're having trouble melding eras, a coat of paint does wonders — white or otherwise.
Incorporate fun and quirky pieces to make an eclectic room come together.
Moving on to the rules pertaining to style. How often have you been told that if you use two sofas in a room, they must be identical? If this were true, it would make it very difficult for those of us who love to shop thrift and consignment stores. Fortunately, you may consign this rule to the "Ignore Me" folder. If you want to take the mixed-sofa approach, check out this room for the keys to success. Although the sofas differ in both style and color, other important elements tie them together. Look at the colors in the carpet and that fabulous Italian advertising poster, and see how they are repeated in the sofas. Next look at the throw pillows, each of which features the color from the opposing sofa. The room holds together beautifully and has the added perk of doubling the chances of family and guests' finding a seat that will comfortably fit them.
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Dark green is a safe foliage choice for many people. Even though this overused hue can be predictable and boring, dark green is useful in separating pops of color and providing the eye with a soothing place to rest. As a landscape designer, I use it thoughtfully.
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$$$$Thornton added animal prints throughout the home. “The best way to mix animal prints is to mix them with other prints or colors that are strong. You can’t dip your toe in. You’ve got to really go for it fearlessly; otherwise the animal prints will look too bold compared to everything else,” she says.
Although the rule of three can be helpful, it’s not the only approach to mixing woods. In fact, the exact opposite works well too. Notice how in this space, the walls are multitonal, and none of the woods are extremely dark. By using the walls or floor to establish a varied color palette and then pulling from within it (like pulling paint colors from a fabric), you can ensure that the woods blend together beautifully.
$$$$$The Rule of Three In general, it’s safest to stick to a maximum of just three wood tones in a space. This allows each to be distinct. By using a pale tone for the floor, a dark tone for major furnishings, such as cabinets, and a midtone for accents, you can keep the space structured.
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It works in small doses. Unless you’re going for full-on, Trumpian opulence, gold usually works best in small, subtle doses. So if you’ve hung pictures with gold in them, add just a couple of dashes elsewhere to give the design unity — but stop there. Gold is a good choice for the interior of a lamp. It’s a nice surprise unlit, and at night it will help make this otherwise white room glow.
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As this photo shows, black frames can enhance the view out a window and draw the eye outside. In a wooded, garden or ocean setting, “black blends into the view while white more frames the view,” Caracoglia says.
Bagnato advises against using black if you want to highlight the windows as a feature of the house, because they will disappear. The attractive wood siding is allowed to be the star of this house, for example, thanks to the black-framed doors and windows. White frames would have competed for attention with the wood.
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“I think that putting together an apartment is like putting together a party,” Handler says. “You need things serious and smart, fun and witty, beautiful and frivolous, that all somehow combine to create a personal chemistry all their own and are more than just a sum of their parts.” Seen here are colorful woolen dolls from Mexico, a limited-edition Thanks sculpture made in 1997 and a cardboard moose from a kit that Handler bought at a souvenir shop in Yellowstone National Park.
This balance can often be achieved by repeating one pattern in multiple places, such as in this room, which features the same fabric on the ottoman and drapery. A second pattern is found in the subtle rug, and then a single pillow gives a touch of a third pattern. $$$$$Keep in mind, the pattern you’re seeing the most of shouldn’t be so bold that it becomes overwhelming when you use that much of it. The more you plan to use, the less intense the main pattern should be.
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