Looking for decorating advice?

Question

I am now a stay at home mom and want to redo my living room, but I'm bad at pulling things together on my own, even though I can look at a catalog and say, I like that room, I don't like that room. I would find it hard to make my room look like those rooms without throwing everything away - I'm sure anyone could do it if they bought every item brand new. However, I'm trying to save money for actually purchasing new pieces and can't really afford to hire a decorator.

I have also seen commercials that certain furniture places like Ethan Allen offer free advice (i'm sure they'd like you to buy from them) - anyone tried this?

My biggest obstacle is that we have sage carpet with taupe colored walls and it's not that old, plus we have a 7 month old, so I really don't want to change it to hardwood for comfort reasons at this time. I'm having trouble picking a sofa fabric and color that will look okay now and be good with baby-related stains, but I'll still like later.

Answer 1

choose a fabric that has good wear and is stain resistant, an ultra suede is a good choice, as for color I would suggest you use a neutral cream for the sofa, you can use the sage in your accent pieces such as toss cushions, I would use a nice stripe and a floral with the sage and taupe colors in them for the cushions, I also agree you can incorporate the color in art work as well. Should you change your color scheme later on, your sofa will work with any color because it would be a neutral. Some may shudder at using a light sofa color with a small child, but it's not the color, it's the fabric that is important, if you choose a easy to clean low maintenance fabric you should have no problems. Good luck on your room, too bad you couldn't post pictures so all of us who have made suggestions could see the final product. I am sure it will be great.

Answer 2

Well sage and taupe are very nice color to begin with. If you want something different maybe you can bring in some inexpensive purple stuff. Like a nice plum or even just any dark purple. It would give you that sophisticated kind of look, you could do the curtains that color or even buy a sofa cover which is way cheaper then buying a new sofa all together. This would be practical too because you would be able to take it off and wash it if that baby spills anything on it. You can buy pictures that have hints of purple in them, just little things that don't cost a lot of money as an accent color to the room. It would probably brighten it up and make it look richer. Good luck!

Answer 3

Sage and taupe will be great to work with!
First, take some color pix of the room, so you can take them with you when you are shopping. [ much easier to coordinate colors.]
Look for a color your favorite color; husbands fav color, and a color you both really like, and go from there.
My husb fav is blue, mine is yellow, and both our second fav is green; so we use those colors throughout the house. LR is mostly blue, with a bit of yellow; FR is mostly green; Kitchen is yellow.
Pick one or two of your favs to add to the LR - taupe is a neutral anyway, and goes well with all woods, and metals, and most colors.
Say your favs are evergreen and burgundy - look for furniture in one or a print of both - or get a print sofa and solid chairs, or vice versa.
Then add throw pillows in both colors; and drapes that match the upholstery print or solid, the walls, the floor, or a combo of two/three of the colors.
Choose one type metal to use throughout the room [ brass, chrome, copper, iron ].
Add some [ sturdy ] plants.
Repeat the room colors in your art work.
Add small accesssories in the solid room colors.
PS: ALL upholstery and carpet in a house with children should be scotch-guarded! All paint should be washable.

Answer 4

All good furniture stores offer design assistance when you are looking to purchase an upholstered piece. They carry many fabrics and will assist you in finding the right one. They will also help you choose the sofa that will work best for you or any other pieces you need.

Answer 5

no longer something is greater stylish than area, yet while your room association can shield it, attempt a chaise longue. you are able to positioned a small tray with a bud vase on the top of it and drape it with a fur throw, and a small pillow. in case you are able to fit a easy of a few form, the two an up easy or torchiere or a sconce, then its an remarkable place to curve up and look at.

Answer 6

try this www.mytldesigns.com she is practical and not overbearing you do it at your own pace and reasonably priced she can do it with you online