What if you just have no talent for design?

What do you do if you just have no design capabilities at all?

Wife is asking awkward questions like: what colour shall we decorate our bedroom? Shall we have a bright colour or something subtle?

So far, we nearly decided to paint it silver.

 

Go with what your partner wants. That way, if it turns out to be horrible, you can always say it wasn't your idea.

OR

Take my patent coward's way out. Paint everything gleaming white (I mean unadulterated sixties white, not cream or those hint-of-colour things). Then add colour with things like duvet covers, cushions etc. You can be as outlandish as you like and it's so much easier to change things around if you decide you hate it. It's very practical too. When it looks a bit tired, just slosh more white paint everywhere. Can't think why people complicate things.

 

Wife and I like your idea Claralou. Although wife just briefly suggested a variant, black, until she realised that then she wouldn't be able to see if there was a spider

 

dark colours are relaxing on the eyes but make the room look smaller.

Usually for bedrooms pastel shades or pastel patterns seem to be the favourites. "shocking" colours like yellow are not usually indicated because they tend to visually stimulate too much.

Why not to go for wallpaper...if you have patience to go through the different sample catalogues you can find some astonishing papers that the store can order for you.

 

We were just discussing pastel shade Mira. Wall paper has also not been ruled out.

In our house we are quite lucky in that we have an abundance of natural light, having good sized south facing windows (and obviously north at the back), plus good west facing windows. So I've told wife she can do what she likes, but the only rule I impose is that any colour/decor scheme has to make use of that one very important asset of natural light.

 

That's my tactic as well Clara ! Then again I was battered into a slave like submission mode many years ago by Mrs H

 

Clueless, if you go onto the big paint sites Dulux and Crown , they will have many room colour schemes . They also have software where you can put various colours into different room schemes.
I would avoid one coat paints , they dont seem to have the same colour quality of standard emulsions IMHO . Cheap paints can be very watery and need 3 coats to cover , although I have used Wilkos own emulsion paint which I am very pleased with

 

post a photo here and I will see if I can add different colours to the walls on my gardening program

 

My Father got round this conundrum by reciting his own mantra each time the 'd' word was mentioned ... 'You choose it, I'll use it'. Thus, my Mother got to pick the wallpaper, paint etc., and Dad would paint, paste and hang, knowing that he wouldn't be blamed when she didn't like it! It's better if you don't ask what happened when she was in hospital and he redecorated the kitchen as a surprise for when she came home - suffice it to say, 'custard yellow' turned out to be one of her less favourite colours!!

I also get to pick all the colour schemes, mainly because Mr. F'smum is seriously colour-blind since he can't distinguish between shades of red and all browns, reds, greens and oranges appear pretty much the same to him!

I'd say, go for something neutral which will also reflect the natural light. White is fine, but can be very stark in an already light room: magnolia is ... well ... magnolia (often described as 'white for those who don't want white'!). Personally, I'd pick a colour you like (any colour from the spectrum) and go for a white with a hint of that colour - that way you get a 'glow' of the colour without it being too in-your-face and you can then enhance, accent or compliment the colour with furnishings.

Buy a decent quality paint - Wickes 'Trade' range or something similar and avoid like the plague the 'one-coat-wonders' which seldom are, or indeed the so-called PaintPod Roller systems. You can get 'light reflecting' paints, 'endurance' paints, silk finish, eggshell finish, satin finish, softsheen finish, or just do what most people do and go for a plain, unadulterated matt.

TWO TOP TIPs -

1 If you're not sure, buy a 'matchpot' (and apply two coats in both the lightest and darkest parts of the room)

and 2 'toppest' tip of all .....

Unless of course, you have spectrophotometer vision, don't go into your favourite DIY shop picking up all the colour charts, two at most is my tip - Dulux 'Timeless' will be the same as Crown 'Rice Pudding' will be the same as Wickes 'Rising Dawn' will be the same as Homebase 'Mild Mushroom' will be the same as B&Q 'Barely Beige' or whatever other fancy names paint companies give to colours - the human eye isn't clever enough to spot the difference, they'll all look the same and, when you've done your room in 'Lark Ascending' you won't be left wishing you'd chosen 'Oyster Hint' instead!

 

That sounds interesting, Shiney - what job was that?

I always buy Wickes paint - ok quality, quite a lot cheaper than the big standard companies. It also limits the choices if you just goto one manufacturer. It is still worth spending money on tester pots, though, because even similar shades in a catalogue can look amazingly different when there's a large expanse of them on a wall. At least at Wickes, they don't cost too much, I think it's a complete rip-off when companies charge £3.00 or so for them.

I would look at the paint charts for some colour inspiration, or get some nice big glossy interior design books out of the library, then copy your favourite look. You'd have to copy all the elements of the design fairly carefully, though, as the look will have been planned right down tho the last cushion cover, and most people's lifestyles don't fit in with such stringent design rules.

Ikea's catalogue is good because they take account of the somewhat untidy clutter which is a natural part of most people's family existence and work round it. Everything's cheap and easily available at Ikea, as well, although even better if you get it on Ebay.

You could buy a sofa or some curtains or a lovely bit of cushion fabric and pick the colours to fit around that. Or use a special possession like a rug, painting or throw that you like as a starting point, you could plan the room to display it at its best.

The painting everything white idea is good - My rooms are mostly white/cream but I have very brightly coloured feature walls - Purple in the bedroom and dining room, maroon in the sitting room, navy in the spare bedroom, shocking pink in the study. It wouldn't be to everyone's taste but I like it. Also, if I ever get fed up with it, it's a matter of a few hours work to repaint a feature wall with an innocuous shade of beige. (Or more likely for me, bright orange.) Seeing as lots of walls through-out the house are white, all the woodwork is cream and all the ceilings are biscuity there's a visual link from room to room and the deep colours are kept under control.

When I first decorated the house I made the mistake of making each room totally different - primaries in the hall, pastels in the lounge, neutrals in the dining room, black/white in the kitchen. Although each room was quite nice, there was no sense of continuity from room to room so I made an overall plan for the second time around.

When I'm redecorating I like to have a fully formulated plan from the beginning with a clear idea of how I want the room to look when it's finished, flooring, window coverings, furniture, accessories, lighting, the lot. But then, I'm a bit of a design fascist.

 

Think you're good with colour?
Here's a test for you.

 

I agree with ClaraLou on this one. I like to first hang some Anaglypta type paper to add texture to the walls and then paint it in white silk finish emulsion.

Val