daviderin's Profile

We have an odd space in our room, that ends up being a kindof a cross between a foyer and an alcove, but not nearly as functional or fun as either one.

We built in floor to ceiling shelves to turn the space into something usable, and its ended up being great. Its not part of the bulk of the room so it isn't terrible distracting, provides an intimate library for bedtime reading, and we left one shelf open, so as you walk into the room - there is a landing pad for wallets, and other similar things in little baskets.

Forget mtlyorel. Sheesh. Some people have no tact.

Anyway, I too have a difficult bedroom space, with 'low' ceilings (which to me are normal, by the way), so this question is very timely for me.

I'm of the mind that your space should make itself over time. Look for things you love to give you the inspiration to pull the space together, perhaps a pillow, duvet, wallpaper, photo from AT, etc.

This is so non-committal, but I would suggest focusing less on the wall behind the bed, and give yourself time to identify the vibe you want to create in your room. I find that once I know what I want to feel in a space, choosing colors, and objects becomes much easier.

As the room starts coming together, you reach a critical mass and everything falls into place.

Don't be afraid to move your furniture around in there, you may be pleasantly surprised by something you thought wouldn't work.

Best of luck!

1000 sq ft (3 bed , 1 bath) + garage, with big yard in a reasonably clean and safe Los Angeles suburb. Mortgage is $1250 per month, but jumps up to $1600 with insurance and taxes.

Housing costs seem so high after reading through all the comments, not just here in LA.

I think the big question is what % of your gross monthly income goes to housing?? Mine is just under 35% :(

...after tax, it's over 50% :( :(

Being in somewhat the same position, budget dictates the solution. My 1920 home has leaky windows, and by leaky I mean the rain sneaks in. They are in really bad shape and restoration is not a cost effective solution.

To replace with mid-grade period windows I'd be looking at about $15K+ for my home. Fakey divided light vinyl windows would set us back about $4K+.

For us, I'm leaning towards the fakey, even though I despise them. I NEED new windows now though, and $4K fits the budget.

Do what you can afford. If you can afford replacement period wood windows - go for it!!

Thanks for all the nice comments.....and the helpful suggestions

The room is actually not quite done yet, and I do have wishy-wsahy plans for the white wall....but right now it IS a big distracting white wall :) There are actually two white walls.

We have some major challenges with the room....

1. Its small - living room dining room combined is 12' x 20'

2. It has four doorways in that tiny space....the kitchen, the hallway, the front door and the large kitchen doorway.

3. The sofa stays. (Its actually a lighter color than it appears in this picture)

4. $$

I wanted to do something similar to this with a light wash of the teal on the wall behind the sofa: http://www.designspongeonline.com/2009/06/before-after-jennifers-bedroom.html

I've got to make pillows for the sofa to lighten it up and bring in into the room.

I'll post the rest of my room on flickr at some point for anywone who wants to take a looksy - http://www.flickr.com/photos/erinclark/

I love the helpful suggestions...