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Hi Annie,
I have just moved into a room in a rented townhouse. The good news is that the room is quite large at 19’ by 12’ and has three nice-sized windows.


The bad news (part 1) is that the bath is wallpapered in this so-hideous-it’s-almost-great wallpaper, which has a silver geometric pattern with a light blue, sage green and pale pink floral pattern over the top of it.


The bad news (part 2) is that I can’t take it down and I can’t paint so the walls will stay apartment white, but I have lots of art so it’s not that bad....

My dilemma is that I’m not quite sure how to construct a color palette that I can live with (I’m so not a pink person) or what scale of pattern will work for the bedding, rug and windows given how busy that wallpaper is...

I forgot to mention that I’m a total mid-century fanatic and constantly have to pull myself back from the brink of way-too-period in order to keep it contemporary. So looking forward to your reply -

All the best, Alison


Dear Alison: Until I read the "mid-century fanatic" part, I'll admit I was getting a little panicky. But now I have a plan. (Why can't you paint, exactly? Because you'll have to re-paint before you leave? It's still worth considering, chickie...it's amazing what a bunch of friends can accomplish in a weekend when plied with pizza and beer.)

But assuming there's a really good reason you can't paint :) , let's do this:

Ignore the wallpaper.

I appreciate that the hideousness of the wallpaper has sent you into a tailspin. It's pretty bad. Not old enough to be kitschy, not new enough to be cheeky. It's just bad. BUT it's in your bathroom/dressing area, not your bedroom. And although you can glimpse it from your bedroom, it won't dominate the space unless you let it.

And we won't let it.

Our new palette is brought to you courtesy of this inspiration picture:

Love the green for you. The painting is blue-green, the painting on the left has yellow-green in it, the chairs are yellow, your furniture can take care of the orangey color...


...and your walls provide the wide expanses of white. Think big blocks of color; I wouldn't do pattern at all since you have a lot of art.

You know I usually suggest starting with the rug. That's especially true if the rug has a pattern with more than one color in it. For your bedroom, I suggest a BIG, solid color shag or Flokati rug in a yellow-green or a real blue-green. (Not sage or mint).

I wish your 3 windows had a single bar going across the top, but you're not willing to change that in a rental, are you? Shoot. Well, it was worth asking.

Let's hang floor-to-ceiling drapes (or in this case, floor-to-curtain-rod-that's-already-there drapes) in solid yellow. I say this partially because an off-the-shelf solid color is going to be easier to find than a good pattern. (Now, if you're handy with a sewing machine and see a fabulous HUGE SCALE patterned fabric in yellow, green, and other gutsy colors, then go for it.)

Barring that, let's just do yellow drapes however we can find them: cotton, linen, velvet...I don't care. Hello - a pair from Ikea just waltzed in.

What was your name, dear? Aina? Aina, meet Alison. You two are going to be very happy together.

After that, I suggest buying white bedding, hanging your art, and then filling in color gaps - orange, brown - with pillows on your bed. The nubby fabric on these Modern Materials Design pillows has a mid-century feel...and naturally I love the bold colors:


And these are from InMod.com:

Good luck, Alison! Please keep us posted.

Inspiration picture taken from Coco+Kelley's photostream on Flickr. Green shag rug from RugsUSA.com. First pillow picture through Grassroots Modern.

The Gentle Reader who sent in the previous question also wondered about the colors in her guest bedroom and bath suite...

Annie - The guest bathroom is near the guest bedroom and although I wanted it to harmonize, I also wanted a little more drama for this bathroom.

The pedestal sink, water closet, tub and tile in this bathroom are white and the tile surrounding the tub goes all the way to the ceiling. My color choice (the wallpaper I wanted was discontinued) is Ben Moore's graphite (1603)...Should the ceiling be the same color or a shade of gray?

The nearby guest bedroom is painted Ben Moore's linen white (probably not a strong enough color or even right shade for the rest of the house). Bedding is a red oriental toile on a creamy white background.
















Dear Andrea: Ok, are you sitting down? Ready? I LIKE the Graphite paint in the bathroom! I hope my color colleagues out there will weigh in, because I'm sure there are reasons not to do it. But I like the high contrast.

Do NOT, however, paint the ceiling Graphite. Too dark. Waaaaayyy too dark.

If you're up for something spectacular - to match the high drama of the Graphite and white - paint the ceiling a really intense, bold color...a chartreuse, for example. Benj. Moore's Flower Power 398 is an excellent one.

(The red banding on the shower curtain did not escape my notice, btw. I like it.)


If you're still speaking to me, let's turn to the adjoining bedroom. (We would have started there if the bathroom weren't already painted.)


I agree that the 912 Linen White doesn't do much for the room. We've established that you're keeping the Graphite bathroom, so what about a light WARM grey on the walls in here? HC-172 Revere Pewter could be perfect; it's one of my all-time favorite colors. It's sophisticated and versatile - and much greyer than the swatch at right appears. It would work with the oatmeal wall-to-wall carpeting and the bathroom colors.


This recommendation is made with the assumption that you're NOT open to using a lighter chartreuse on the walls in here.

If I'm mistaken, please call me immediately.