Lovely colour!

What was your original plan? Do you have fabric samples you could show us?

What colour did you have planned? Lighter? Darker? Yellow? Green?

I'm assuming this is a bedroom. Yours? Guest? Child?

What kind of mood do you want to set? Your style?

You say that I don't have any furniture, draperies or bedding I need to use. (my bold) Do you have stuff that you might be able to use?

Could we get some more information please?

I love the wall color (please tell us the name), the chandelier is lovely. Is that tile or stone on the FP? Your room has lots of character.

I see an iron bed, lots of pillows and a mix of cabbage rose florals, stripes and plaid (or polka dots?), in soft colors, like cocoa and pink and pale greens and blues.

Or maybe a four poster bed with a red and white quilt?

I have no clue about wt, that's where I get stuck.

I don't know what your budget is or if you're even looking for a rug, but I found this rug during my rug search that might look great in your room. It's actually the rug featured in one of the Calico Corners print ads:

This was a while back. Hopefully it's still available. Let me know if you'd like more info.

Sorry about that - I should have shared more.

This room is my master bedroom. The color on the wall is Benjamin Moore flat in a shade called "silver marlin". The trim is a cream and the ceiling is white.

My original plan was to do a deeper blue green and add bronze and gold accents along with dark wood furniture to make a fairly dramatic look. Now that the color is more pale and airy, I need to come up with a new scheme and Im lost.

I don't want to do a beachy look because its not right for the house.

I need to go out and buy all new furniture, linens and draperies so its a totally blank canvas. Since Im at such a loss as well as a rush to order these items, Im feeling the pressure.

Ive lurked here for quite a while and hope you have some suggestions for me.

meg - thats a lovely rug. Im sorry but I don't know what Calico Corners is. I would think I'd pick the rug last but perhaps thats the wrong strategy?

Sonicstef, the room is gorgeous, the paint color lovely. Have you looked at the kazillion photos I've put in the Gallery? I know there are many rooms with pale blue walls, lovely stuff, lots of inspiration!

Thanks Oceanna - I have looked through the gallery and while there is a lot there, nothing really jumps out at me for this room. I guess Im hoping someone knows of a fabric or inspiration room that can be my leaping off point. Since there is so much to buy for this room I wouldn't want to start only to change my mind later on when I see the "it" inspiration.

I know its a broad hope but I figured someone might have the idea Im lacking :)

I'd like to suggest chocolate browns and silvery grey. I also like the rug that was posted above.

Gorgeous room!

Please don't take this the wrong way, but why would you base a room on a wall color that was wrong? You seem to be at a complete loss for what to do, you can't find anything that jumps out at you, you still have the vision of what you wanted. Wouldn't it be easier to bite the bullet and repaint, versus buying furniture, bedding, window treatments and accessories built around a color that "doesn't look terrible"?

Time and a couple gallons of paint, versus hundreds if not thousands of dollars for all the furnishings? And it is your MBR? I just don't understand the logic.

I agree. Just have the room repainted.....it's silly to spend $$$$$$ on things you'll only be sad you bought.

Sonicstef, you are absolutely right. The color doesn't look terrible. It is a nice color and many, many, people love a soft blue for the bedroom. There are a lot of things you could do that would create a lovely look for yourself.

However........I have to say that I am glad Les posted before I did, since I hate to be the single naysayer. I DO understand wanting to be done. I DO understand choosing the wrong shade or having the painting come out different that you imagine, and wanting to just be fine with it.

(There's a thread somewhere around here where I go into excruciating detail about painting my own master bedroom in a soft blue 4 years ago to work with the blue tiles visible in the bath vanity area. I did all the right things. I made some really gorgeous drapes out of a lush floral by Raymond Waites. I found a stunning silvery taupe comforter set. I have a lot of Blue & White antique plates and pieces for accessorizing. But the resulting room failed to please me, because I NEED deeper color, I NEED warm tones to be happy with my decor.)

But, like Les, I do think that ultimately, the relatively inexpensive cost of new paint will be your best investment in helping this room come together in a beautiful way. If you were happy with your blue, I would be happy to make suggestions. But since you need to spend money on furniture, fabric, and accessories anyway, why not just bite the bullet and do the RIGHT paint shade to set the scene. Your big spaces--your flooring, your walls, your draperies--are the things that truly make a beautiful room. A room with the right floor and lovely color and gorgeous window treatments, is a work of art in itself.

Red

I agree that if you really hate this color you'd be better off changing it. However, you did say you want to keep it. Your original thoughts of golds and deeper tones of this same blue-green hue should work just fine as long as you pick up the lighter color somewhere--that rug looks perfect to me. By the time you get the furniture and bedding in there, the walls will be an accent and not the whole room, as they are now. Why not buy a a beadspread in golds and browns and/or that rug that you could return, if they don't work out. I wouldn't order drapes until you're more comforatble with the color scheme.

No offense taken but I don't dislike the color. Its just not what I originally envisioned. I'd probably be recommending the same course of action if I was reading this post but now that Im finishing a very long renovation, I don't feel like repainting. Its a perfectly good color and I have no issue with it.

I was just hoping I could get some fresh eyes on it and suggestions. Im usually good with coming up with a scheme on my own but I think my well is dry right now.

Thanks to everyone who posted.

What a beautiful room.! You have a great slate to work with. Love the color of the walls.

How about starting with a brocade in cream and blue? I would use all cream and blue and than shock the room with a bright accent color like fucshia,hot pink, or something. The blue adds a more contemporary feel which is great against the all the wood.

Have you checked out any of the decorating mags for inspiration or HGTV Rate My Space?

Thanks jersey. I found this photo on rate my space that I think might work although I don't have space for that gorgeous chair (which is probably my favorite part of the room)

I love brocade but Im concerned that with such a pale blue on the walls, it might be a little bit too "sweet"? I like mixing old and new but if I do an old style fabric, it might take it too far in that direction. Thoughts?

Here is a link that might be useful: {{!gwi}}

If you are satisfied and won't hate the room because of the paint, I don't see why you can't proceed with the dark furniture and stronger colors on the bedding. There is nothing that says you must have light furniture and light bedding with lighter walls - in fact, I am guessing that you would find most people have light wall colors regardless of the depth of color in the furnishings.

I could see, as in your rate my space link, darker wood in that room for the case goods, and rich bedding and window treatments. A deeper toned rug to ground things. Once you get all that in the room, the walls will work - they will be a backdrop for everything.

Don't know where you have looked for bedding or what your budge is, but something like this could be pretty if the color work in real life:

villa bedding

On the much pricier side, I could see this bedding in there, with the floral duvet cover not the diamond. It would pull out the gold tones in the fireplace tile, and work with your pretty chandelier:

adrianna

When you are looking at the bedding sites, note that even the most dramatic bedding sets are mostly shown against lighter color walls.

I think dark furniture would work really well still with that color and even your other choices as long as you bring in some lighter tones in the fabrics too to tie the wall color in.

These may not necessarily be your style, but they all have dark furniture or dark fabric and lighter blue walls.

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Sonicstef
Your room looks exactly like my bedroom when I lived in Park Slope ,Brooklyn. I was born and raised there in a brownstone on Carroll street and after I married I had an apartment in my mil's house(a limestone) which is where the bedroom is like yours. I'm in NJ now but still have friends and family there.

It sounds like everyone is urging you to repaint so that you can at least start with the color scheme you truly want. I wouldn't settle just because it's done if you really were envisioning something else.

If you're interested in that rug, it was not from Calico Corners. Rather, CC "borrowed" the rug for a photo shoot for one of its print ads. I believe it's from a rug store in the northeast (I have an email contact), and it was approx. $5000, give or take. (I had tracked down the rug after seeing the ad because I thought the rug was more sky blue. But after getting these photos, I realized that it's more of a green blue, or robin's egg blue.)

Whatever you decide, good luck!

I like the color and think you'll be able to work with it to get the look you want.
Home Decorator's has several blue/gold/brown rugs you might to look at. Search for "blue" rugs.

Here is a link that might be useful: blue/gold rug

It seems to me that you should be buying furniture and bedding and a rug with absolutely no regard for the current color of the walls, and then decide whether to repaint the walls after you have some things in the room.

Buying an area rug is one way to start. Or a bed.

Trying to give design ideas to someone who is starting from scratch and doesn't know what she wants the room to look like - seems like blindly throwing darts at a board. It might be more useful for us to send you to websites where you could look for yourself. Here's one.

Here is a link that might be useful: GetDecorating. com

Good pics that lyfia posted and Meg's rug too (I even see a brick red in the rug). Take a look at apartmenttherapy.com. Today's thread (the Sugar Shack one) has blue and gold going on in a fresh look.

Thanks all.

Graywings - Agreed...I wouldn't buy furniture to go with the paint. I can always repaint later on but I think this color will be fine, I just need to come up with some cohesive plan in my mind.

Deb - Hi to a long lost Bklyn native ;) How long ago did you move? Im getting to the end of a very long renovation of a limestone in Windsor Terrace so very close to PS. You may even recognize the block if you grew up here. You can see more photos at my blog: www.brooklynlimestone.blogspot.com

Mona: Thanks. I didn't realize home decorators carried so many rugs. Looks like quite a few good options. Thanks.

Les: thanks for the suggestions. I'll check those out. I think my budget is closer to the JCP than the Horchow bedding but I usually do at least one "splurge" item in every room.

Lyfia; Thanks so much for posting those photos. Im not considering changing the color...I guess I don't want to be forced to do a cream or white bedding. While those are nice options, its a little bit too country/beachy for my house. But the logic that the wall is only an accent after the furniture is added makes sense.

Meg - Thanks but thats definitely out of my budget. (and rugs are an easy spot for me to stay on budget since Im allergic to wool. So cheapy man made rugs work for me)

You may have to mentaly reverse and play with the colors in these in your mind, but can you get any color inspiration from these? I looked for living rooms with blue in them for you. It is kind of unusual to start with the wall color -- often the wall color is the last decision after the furniture is purchased.

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How did I miss this???!!! GORGEOUS room! You have a great start - it is a lovely color.

I love black furniture with pale blue walls. I'm also wondering how black/white or black/creme toile fabric would look in here - along with a black bed? I have a friend who did a robin's egg blue kitchen and while her cabinets are a glazed creme color, she has alot of black accents, including a large black cabinet in the room. She also uses black/creme toile in the room and it looks great.

Be sure and share with us what you do!

tina

Go to the many fabric outlets on line and order yourself some samples. That's a great way to get "moving" on a plan. At least it worked for me. I see the tile around your fireplace is gold, is that right? There is a starting point right there. By the way, the rugs that were posted for your review are beautiful and should be great inspiration.

Someone just posted this great bedding site. Here are a couple, but lots to browse:

Luminous

Belize

Thanks so much.

Squirrel - I love that Luminous bedding! Thanks so much for pointing it out.

I love the bedding called Luminous by Croscill and I love the room it is in also. Thanks Squirrel for sharing.

I thought of your room as soon as I saw it! Very beautiful, and the bed skirt is different than what one usually sees, which is nice. Even kind of picks up on those windows, lol :)

It's a beautiful AND elegant wall color, and I can completely understand your wanting to avoid the hastle of doing it all over again~ugh!

The first thought that came to mind was a medium taupe(IMO, brown would look to harsh)and cream color scheme, with your bronze/gold accents still being used to give that formal look you want. Even ALL cream would be gorgeous with dark furniture, and the pale walls. Have you thought of bringing in a mirrored piece of furniture as an accent piece?

Just thought I'd give an update. Thanks again for all the help.

I saw this photo on rate my space and I really love how the blue/golds are married together.

I found these to make do. They don't have a thick band of gold running down but they do have a thin stripe

So I think I'm good with window treatments.

I'd really love an antique style upholstered headboard with antique wood frame. Anyone know where I might find something like that?

PS:I changed my user name b/c I was having issues with my last one but Im still stef.