pam h's Profile

ok, clearly I need to get a social life. HOWEVER:! The problem with that room, I think, is it doesnt seem to have the natural light nor the architecture to pull off a neutral room-- those look best with sunlight pouring in. Which way does that room face? What is the grid over the windows -- bars? (can you get out in a fire???)
Do you want it airy neutral, or warm and cozy neutral?

You can do this but its going to take: (for warm, which I think it needs to be fgiven the carpet) sumptuous big curtains -- silk, maybe in the same taupe as the carpet. Hung from the ceiling.
Can you paint the ceiling? A mellow platinum paint would be warm and cool.
YOu need a bed with real presence since the architecture isn't doing anything -- a great headboard or 4 poster bed. Antique is better than new, in this case.
Maybe hang curtains around the bed, perhaops striaght down from the ceiling -- in this case I'd need to rethink the silk curtains.
You need a great area rug to minimize that drab carpet.
You need something great at the foot of the bed with texture -- a cool bench, or old trunk, or a wooden divan.
You need a big mirror.
But mostly you need a starting place. Starting with how you want it to feel is excellent -- but then you need something - a bed, a fabric, a rug, a chest of drawers -- to begin making decisions.
pam h
howtorunyourlife.blogspot.com

these might work but they are brass

http://www.chinesebrasshardware.com/Items/ai-0025?&caSKU=ai-0025&caTitle=All%20Square%20Pulls%204%27%27%20-%20Set%20of%202

pam h
howtorunyourlife.blogspot.com

and: serve food family style so people participate in passing and helping each other. good ice breaker.
pam h

I generally invite guests for 7:30 or 7:45, but know everyone will be at least 20 minutes late. I plan on serving around 8:45, with plenty of wine and nibbles before hand. And here's my long list of what to do and serve at a big fancy dinner without wanting to commit suicide from fatigue and stress: http://howtorunyourlife.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-have-fancy-dinner-party-without.html

pam h
howtorunyourlife.blogspot.com

have just had a small inspiration -- time consuming but could be cool:
get mod wrapping paper with black in it and wrap each acoustical tile, securing with thmbtacks on the reverse side and then replace it -- making your ceiling a patterend focal point.

then do a fabric thing on the walls, or continue the wrapping paper -- or get a ginormous roll of butcher paper ($6 from Ikea) and hang long vertical strips down the walls. add some weight at the bottom, perhaps by tacking in a thin molding strip (trim the bottom after). you can leave it white, or paint or draw on it, or or or. You can cover the seams with grosgrain ribbon (in black or another color, with a glue gun). I'm imagining a black and white swirly paper on the ceiling (cheap too -- look at this site: http://www.papermart.com/templates/42-ABSTRACTS.htm ) and maybe red or yellow grosgrain ribbon at the seams, perhaps running horizontally too, to make a grid?

Embrace the closed in feeling and make it a fantastical little space. windows and good architecture actual constrain what you can create -- so take advantage of this to turn it into whatever you want without worrying about the "integrity" of the room. Hell. I kinda wanna come up there and do it for you.

spend some money on gorgeous tiles for the backsplash, all the way from the counter up to the bottom of the cabinet.

Maybe something like this:
http://www.annsacks.com/onlinecatalog/program.jsp?cat=268004&coll=268304&prg=274004
lots of other ideas from ann sacks that you can replicate more cheaply by combining tiles from other manufacturers in creative ways.

Then spend some money turning the peninsula counter on the left into an actual counter -- get a 24 inch wide granite or corian or butcher block or stainless or zinc top for it (if granite, have it match the other stuff, which can sometimes be a challenge).

Get a great stool or two to put under the counter
http://www.homeportfolio.com/catalog/Product.jhtml?catId=161&selected_anId=&prodId=61186

now you've got more counter space, a buffet, or a place for friends to hang out when you are cooking for them.

and think about painting the ceiling a cool color, inside the outlines of the soffit. pick up a tone from the tile, not the most dominant one.

I too am exhausted from my weekend .. .but psyched. Voila, the work in progress, mostly done:

http://rednotebookstudio.blogspot.com/

I would go light, obviously, and monochromatic. When I rent a place, I want it to be something wonderful and impractical that I could never live with or maintain for long -- so edit it severely -- no tchotchkes. Everything should be both beautiful and functional and NOT cluttered.

By this logic:
1) If you are keeping the bed -- spraypaint it either white or whatever color you put on the wall (light blue? pale pale green -- both drawn from the water outside -- or a pale pink, to pull in the sunset? or a bluey lavender? or white of course

2) Replace that HIDEOUS swag with either a full bed net canopy hung from the ceiling -- very tropical, out of africa -- urban outfitters has it. found it online here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007IS79Q/ref=nosim/?tag=nextag-kitchen-20&creative=380333&creativeASIN=B0007IS79Q&linkCode=asn

3) Get all white, all cotton bed linens. Or if you want to do monchromatic, get all one color to match the walls. SLeeping in a monchromatic room is REALLY restful and luxurious, provided it is well done.

4) Get nice, substantial lined curtains to hang ceiling to floor at the edges of the sliding glass window to conceal the vertical slats (yeck) when they are drawn back if you insist on keeping them.

5) DO get rid of the rug. I'm originally a floridian; rugs in beach houses, while temporarily luxurious, eventually get moldy and gross. Replace with sisal area rug, and put wood on the floor (or do sisal wall to wall and prepare to replace every so often. NOT GREEN. Just kidding.)

6) Another option is to go totally but not hideously nautical -- a navy blue and white color scheme. White bed linens, white painted bed, sisal carpet, blue and whita patterend curtains, a different blue and white pattern on a couple of pillows. White shells in a huge glass jar. Some bedside votives in small mason jars filled with local sand. Several large baskets, all the same, for storing stuff, lined up along a wall. Hooks on the walls above for hanging towels and clothes. A couple of good lights, maybe with arms, next to the bed.

7) Get one of those huge standing mirrors for $165 from Ikea. Another luxury...and place it across from the bed. I'm just saying.

http://theneatfreaks.com/

try the above link for cheaper closet systems than Elfa, California et al. They start in the $200s.
(dollars, not thousands of dollars)

as for closet above: what are the measurements?
I'm imagining something untraditional that may work: a host of short bars or hooks (perhaps a multitude of these?)

http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?topcategoryId=16198&catalogId=10103&storeId=12&productId=13592&langId=-1&chosenPartNumber=45699883

lining all the walls so you walk in and are surrounded on all sides by shallow bits of hanging clothes, like in a boutique. You'd hang 3 shirts or a few jackets or dresses from each one; pants and skirts could be put on those multitiered hangers and also hung flat against the walls. Go all the way to the ceiling.
Kinda Shaker in spirit.
I'd put shelves across the back to hold all shoes and bags and keep the floors absolutely clear. In my minds eye you'd be taking up only 6 inches on either side of the closet. If the closet is 3 feet wide (it looks 2 feet though) that would work. It is also extremely necessary that you put in a gorgeous light and cover the walls in some kind of wonderful wallpaper so it feels like a place. Hang a strong curtain that has a few pockets sewn on for scarves, hats (and you can fasten all your jewelry to it), or better yet a door on which you'd hang those clear pocket thingys they sell at Container Store for belts, scarves etc.