Decorators' Handbook: Dorm Room Style

I can't believe I'm already seeing ads on TV for Back to School. This summer has really flown by. I'm certain that home stores have been flooded with shoppers ready to stock up on supplies to make their cinderblock rooms aka dorms a home away from home.

Here are some tips:

1. Have fun! Being away from home for the first time is a great experience. Don't let the stress of decorating get to you. It should be a fun experience.

2. Mix & Match: In most cases you will probably have a roommate so if possible talk to roommate before hand and see if you can agree on a color combo. No need to get the exact same bedding set, but it would be pleasing to the eye if you stayed in similar colors. You're room will feel larger and more organized.


3. Your bed is the key focal point in the room, because most times it is the largest piece of furniture in the room. Don't neglect it. There are a bunch of different choices out there, but one of my favorites has to be this:



I would also add some toss pillows in this:



And this:



4. Storage is key! So look for it everywhere. I would make sure to put my bed on lifts and then hide the mess with an easy DIY bedskirt:



Rachel from Nest Egg used burlap in her headboard above, but you can use any fabric you like.


5. Flooring: Since you will have a roommate it is probably best to keep your rug choice neutral. I would probably go with a runner to go in between the beds and stick with sisal

Of course I found a sisal with a touch of orange with this mock-up dorm room:



6. Lighting: A big no-no is florescent lighting and I'm certain that the majority of dorm rooms have them. A key to making your room feel more like home is get lamps to sprinkle through the room and cast a nice glow.


This piece would fit right into the space and provide a lot of light for $90 bucks:



I also loved this little guy for on top of a dresser, desk or night stand:

It's only $15!





7. Soften things up: While the dorm room will most likely come with blinds of some sort it would be nice to add a little something to the walls and break up all that white. Here is where some colorful window panels would come into play. For my mock up I would go with these:




8. Framed: While you are not allowed to nail things into dorm room walls you can use 3M command strips and get some artwork up. Now your first thought might be to paper the walls to cover up all that empty wall. I wouldn't recommend this. It could end up looking too cluttered and make the room look smaller. I would go with some frames in a grid like pattern:



This looks can easily be recreated on the cheap by printing out images you find online on your home computer and using Dollar Store frames. I have found many 8 x 11 frame options with glass at my local dollar tree that would fit the bill perfectly.

Hope you enjoyed all of my little tips for Dorm Room Style.

Decorators’ Handbook: Curtain Length

One of my biggest pet peeves is this:

 

I know there are probably quite a few things that an interior designer would be ripping apart in the room above, but my main offense is SHORT CURTAINS!

 

If you have a weird window to floor length and your local retailers don’t carry your height size then one of two things can get done:

 

1. Get them made by a seamstress. For me it’s between $70-$80 per panel.

 

OR

 

2. Go with a different window treatments and use a roman shade instead.

 

The proper ways to do curtains is as follows:

 

Brushing the floor: Structured Style

Positives: Gives off a clean cut and tailored room. No fuss!

 

Negatives: If you have problem floors then the crisp cut of the curtain will call attention to your uneven floor.

 

Breaking the Floor: Relaxed and Glam!

 

Positives: Gives your room a softer look. My favorite part about it is that it’s forgiving of imperfect measuring.

 

Negatives: Because your curtain panel will be 1 or 2” on the floor some may be nervous that it will get dirty easier.

 

* Overall this is a personal favorite of mine.

 

Pooling at the Floor: Lush!

Positives: Gives off a romantic feel with 2 plus inches on the floor.

 

Negatives: Same as with breaking the floor. Plus due to all of the extra floor you will not notice any sort of moulding/trim on the floor.

 

Here is a great sketch of the looks featured above by I dream of drapery:

Floor Length = Brushing the Floor

Trouser Length= Breaking the Floor

Pooling at the Floor = Puddle Length

 

So, who is with me? I can’t be the only that hates short curtains.

 

Images via 1. Google, 2 – 4 Sara Gilbane Interiors, 5 via I dream of Drapery

Decorators’ Handbook: How to pick paint

Time and time again we all hear/read that the least expensive what to fix up a space is by painting.

 

Sounds easy enough, right? Well if you are anything like me when I’m picking out a nail polish color at the salon it’s not that easy.

 

I swear I could stand there for days putting little dabs of polishing on nails to see what I like best. To be honest 90% of the time it’s the name of the color that makes my decision.

 

Here are some tips for making painting decisions for your home a bit easier. If you have an tips to help speed along my manicure trips I’m all ears. :)

 

1. Jot down a list between you and your spouse/partner/family/friend etc (who ever else you live with) and discuss your dream color choices and the colors you would never want to see in a room. This will help you narrow down the field a bit and have you both me on the same page.

 

 

2. Decide if you want neutral furnishings and want to make an impact with your wall color or if you want your wall color to take a back seat and act more a backdrop.

3. Take note of the other paint colors in the rooms surrounding the room you are working in. In many small homes people recommend painting all the rooms the same shade in order to give the illusion of a larger/open space.

4. Go to your local paint store and purchase a fan deck! It’s the best $12-$15 you’ll ever spent. I go through mine with little sticker tabs to pick out all my favorites and see if I can work them into my space.

5. Don’t forget that shades in Brown, Black and Grey are always great neutrals and you don’t have to be stuck in a sea of beige.

6.Once you’ve narrowed down your choice to a color family pick out three different shades in that family to try out.

7.Pick up your 3 different shades in sample pots and try to get them in the finish that you want to paint the room. An egg shell finish swatch is going to look different in a satin finish and vice versa.

8. Paint 3’ x 3’ squares on 2 different walls. Make sure there is 6” difference between squares.

 

* Make sure you sand the area where you made the swatches when you are ready to paint. Making those squares everywhere and not sanding prior to painting may leave raised squares on your walls. Not pretty. Not that I know this from personal experience.  ;)

9. Make sure you mark the swatches on the wall with the paint name. You don’t want to find the perfect shade and then forget which one it was.

10. Look at the colors during different times of day. Depending on the amount of natural sunlight you have in the space, lighting and day time the color will look different and perhaps not at all like it looked in the store.

 

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My first instinct for picking out paint colors normally is a gut feeling. I’ll look at the space, the furnishings,  and clients likes/dislikes and after a quick fan of paint deck narrow it down to a color family.

 

From there I start getting paint swatches in a larger size. Some paint stores offer color sheets, which are much larger and use them to get a better feel for the color.

 

I don’t worry about warm or cold tones right away. Within a color family you’ll be able to find your pick of shades with a warm tone and shades with cold tone.

 

As for finishes I tend to go with SATIN. I know some may find it a bit shiny, but I like a little bit of glam and to me sometimes Eggshell is just too blah. SATIN is also a helpful for easy clean-up.

 

Knowing the way I am with nail polishes you must know I’m the same way with paint colors.  A good name gets me every time, but I don’t let a boring name stop me from liking a color. Aren’t you proud I’m growing up before your eyes. :)

 

A great go to source for color advice is the lovely Maria over at Colour me Happy.

 

* Images via Miles Redd a man who isn’t afraid of any color in the crayon box.

Decorators’ Handbook: How to pick Rug Sizes

I thought I would do a new series on the blog called, Decorators’ Handbook. In this series I will answer some of the most asked questions that I get asked and hopefully help you in decorating your own space.

First Question: How do you know what size to buy your area rug?

Answer: Well it varies depending on what room, but one key point that many agree on is that there should be at least an 18” border of bare floor in the room.

Dining Room:

When picking out a rug for your dining room you need to measure the length and width of your table and add an additional 1 ft 6 inches for the dining chairs.

You want to make sure that you have enough rug space so that when you pull out your dining chair and sit down the back legs of the chair are still on the rug.

If you use your table leaf a lot than it is also best to measure with the leaf in the table to make sure you have enough rug space.

It is also normally best to just make sure the rug goes under the table and chairs and does not interfer with sideboards, buffets, bar carts, etc.

Living Room:

If you have a living room where the furniture is placed a couple of feet off the walls then it’s best to either have the furniture completely on or off the rug. No in between.

If the furniture is placed against the wall then the rug can be placed just under the front piece:

Or away from it:

Since rules were made to be broken don’t be afraid to have a piece of furniture hanging off the edge:

As long as your chair is not wobbling it’s not a problem.

If you have a large space use two smaller area rugs instead of large custom piece:

Bedroom:

If you place a small rug under the bed most of it would be covered by the bed and there is really no point. One option is get an area rug that covers the majority of the floor space.

* If you want a smaller rug under the bed make sure it sticks out at least 18” around the entire bed if it is a King/Queen and at least 12” if it is a twin/toddler.

Or you can put a small rug to the side of the bed:

Or a runner to go at the foot of the bed:

What other questions to do you want to see answered in the decorators’ handbook?

* Images via Inspiration for Decoration