Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Make Over a Room

Change is in the air. It’s all around us. Leaves, light, weather, even time. You can use this as an excuse to create a new bedroom. It’s easy and can cost you little or no money. In fact you can create newness with the stuff you already have. Re-use and re-purpose sheets, napkins, scarves, and other items to generate a Fall/Winter look for your room.

Recently I used an old sheet set to take my room from Spring/summer to Fall/Winter. I used the top sheet in warm vibrant colors of orange/red, turquoise, and brown as a bedspread. The matching pillowcases became pillow shams. The torn bottom sheet was cut into several pieces and used as accent pillow and cushion covers. Table napkins found at a garage sale for a dollar each with similar colors were employed as accent pillow covers as well as tray liners.

Note, it’s very practical in a small room to have a basket or tray on or next to your bed to hold your glasses, remote controls, and various other objects you want to have handy on a regular basis. Adding a decorative piece of fabric takes it from merely functional to an additional design element in the space.

It’s really important to start with a vision or just an idea of what kind of ambiance would have you actually look forward to being in the room. I like a room to feel and look warm in the cooler months. I’m also partial to things that create visual interest like patterns or fringe. Oceana likes spaces that are simple yet rich and has an affinity for texture. Whatever appeals to you, start there, and look around to see if you have a scarf, sheet, or throw that can be draped over a chair or dresser top that will shift the look of your room towards your vision.