Where to begin when decorating a room!



One friend asked me to blog about how to decorate a room. Decorating a room is like dressing yourself...you dress in your own style right? Decorating is the same...use what you like and what inspires you.
I have a book I keep full of paint chip samples I like, fabrics I gravitate towards, pictures from magazines, cut outs of products I like, you name it. By doing this I am able to look through my book and see what type of style I gravitate towards. Mine is a mix of a couple of styles...french country meets industrial chic.
A great example of my style is my family room...my french country pops out in distressed pieces I have and creamy tones I use. A literal french piece I have is a print of the bottom of the Eiffel tower. My old type writer reminds me of a find in a french flea market (they are some of the best flea markets in the world). My love for industrial pieces can been seen in my old factory cart coffee table and my big piece of old tin ceiling hanging on the wall. I would really like to replace my bookcases next to my fireplace with industrial type storage...we'll see!
When it comes to a room use one thing as a jump of point. It may be a rug, paint color, piece of furniture etc. Work from there, slowly...it's a process of adding, taking away, trying things out, moving furniture around and adding (or not adding) accents to your room.
A jumping off point for my family room was my sofa and chairs I saw on display in crate and barrel. From there I used pops of the blue in my chair in my curtains and some art on the wall to tie things together. My dark sea blue chairs reminded me of the ocean, so from there I tied the room together with seaside accents. I didn't want people to walk into the room and say, "wow this room has a sea theme!". That's where taking literal and inspirational ques are important to keep your room from transforming into the dreaded theme room.
I've mix some sea themed prints that are on plates made my Kass Glassworks above an old distressed pieces of wood. A couple of other pieces of art and accents have a subtle feel of the sea and together it all works to create a comfortable room where my husband and I love to hang out!
Now go decorate in confidence!