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Show r it Decor Score Light and bright is the new look By BARBARA HARTUNG Copley News Service Q. My home hasn't had much attention since we purchased it in the 1960s when it was new. I'd like to have an up-to-date, fresh look but I'm not sure bow to achieve that When I go shopping I see such a variety of colors and materials that I only get confused. But when I look in magazines I see such dreamy room settings. sett-ings. . . . .. Please give me some suggestions. I have had heavy Spanish furniture and dark colors and want a change. R.C. A. Wander through furniture furni-ture stores and the furniture furni-ture departments of major retailers to observe room settings. Then figure out why you like certain ones. Is it the furniture arrangement arrange-ment or furniture style? Is it the colors? Could you imagine im-agine yourself reasonably copying the layout or the selection of fabrics and materials and furniture? If so, you have a fairly easy plan already established. Sometimes you can adapt a room setting to your own needs. If you feel you're on shaky ground, consider using a store interior inte-rior designer who might merely make suggestions and give you confidence in your own selections. A professional pro-fessional can sometimes save you money by suggesting sug-gesting ways to cut corners to achieve the results you desire. If you are not able to find pre-planned room arrangements, ar-rangements, here are some observations on interior design trends of recent months. Designers and furnishing manufacturers are producing lighter, more pastel fabrics, paint colors and upholstered pieces. There's more emphasis on the lavish use of fabric not necessarily expensive expen-sive types. A luxurious look can be created with billowing billow-ing curtains and draperies . or even fabric swagged or applied directly to walls instead of wallpaper. Mill-end Mill-end shops, sheet sales and creative use of common fabrics such as theatrical gauze or muslin can provide pro-vide large amounts of yardage at reasonable prices. Lighten your dark Spanish Span-ish furniture with paint Or strip the finish and bleach the wood to a paler tone. Add materials that will catch the light and reflect it mirrors, glass, brass, chrome or metallic papers. Lightly constructed pieces piec-es of upholstered furniture and wood case goods will update your room. For example, ex-ample, a rattan table base topped with glass or a wicker pair of chairs with fresh, pale colored fabric cushions vastly change the look of a room. Q. We have a 19th century centu-ry house with very old and badly marred wood paneling. panel-ing. I do not want to take the time, energy and money to remove the old paint on the wood paneling and repair it. I simply want to repaint What color or colors would you suggest for the walls to go with lots of mahogany ma-hogany furniture, wood floors with two medium-sized medium-sized Oriental rugs. The furniture needs reuphol-itering reuphol-itering which I plan to do. K.L. - A. You have many choices choic-es because you are starting with neutral items only your Oriental rugs for color guidance. And Orientals Orien-tals frequently can be used with most color schemes since they usually contain many colors. If your wood paneling is farily elaborate and you have wood trim around the ceiling, a chair rail, or door and window moldings, you might like to emphasize those. If that is the case, consider two contrasting paint colors one, white for the base paneling, and two, a light teal blue or a dark mahogany brown for the trim. This will give the room the impression of a lower ceiling and accent the 19th century quality of the room. If, however, you want a more spacious feeling, you might paint everything a soft cream. Either could provide an excellent background for your reupholstered furniture furni-ture and your fine rugs. |
