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maddybeagle

Deep color (blue?) in a tiny bedroom?

maddybeagle
13 years ago

Dear Decorating Friends,

I'm so happy to be back in this forum after a decade away - a decade since I bought my last house, and I've finally relocated and bought a new one. It's a tiny, one-storey bungalow, only about 1000sf, with two bedrooms. I have decided to use the larger back bedroom, which overlooks the back yard, as my study/sitting room (with hide-a-bed for guests), since I work from home and can't imagine getting any work done if I can't see into the garden while I'm at my desk.

That means I will be using the tiny, darker bedroom as my room. The room is only 9x11 feet, with a window on one wall and a closet on another wall. I'm thinking of embracing the tinyness and painting that room a fairly deep color, if not dark. I've been thinking of a mid-dark, Wedgewoody sort of blue, something like

, or the color of the dining room at Monticello
, and then using some really fabulous textiles on the windows and bed - fabrics I wouldn't be able to afford in large quantities but could swing for one window.

Anybody successfully used a deep color in a tiny room? Inspirations for such a project? I'd be grateful for any input.

Comments (30)

  • graywings123
    13 years ago

    I moved into a house with a medium blue powder room. I would not want to spend a lot of time in a small dark room.

  • bungalow_house
    13 years ago

    What direction is your window facing?

    My toddler's room is about 9x9 and it's painted BM Colonial Blue, which is pretty deep and intense. His room gets good east and south light from 2 small side-by-side windows, so it is not overly dark. Of course, I don't spend all day in there, but I don't think it would be oppressive given the exposure.

  • Olychick
    13 years ago

    I think it is a terrific idea. Blue (if you love it) is such an uplifting, yet calming color. I imagine the color of the sky on a hot summer day, after the sun has gone down and it's not quite completely dark yet. It is a magical color and feeling. Here are some pics of dark blue bedrooms with different ways to add some lightness. Granted, they are a bit bigger, but the feeling could still be the same.

    even just the sleeping side of this room is quite small, but looks cozy and beautiful. Love the orange mirror with the color blue; you could do something similar on a wall to add some depth beyond the walls.

  • katrina_ellen
    13 years ago

    I would say its personal preference. I saw an apartment in house beautiful that was around 400 sq/ft. and it was all painted in a deep purple - I think it was BM purple haze and it looked great. They also had dark floors and a black shiny full wall length and height bookcase and it looked great. The bedroom and bath were the only lighter toned rooms so there was a break to the darkness of the rest of the space. I wouldn't like it myself but I prefer lighter tones.

  • maddybeagle
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Olychick, those are great pics. I love the idea of a panel of fabric(?) in place of a traditional headboard, and those pics are a good reminder of what difference a light floor makes.

    Katrina_ellen, I remember that HB purple apartment! I don't think I could do dark floors, mainly b/c I have black spaniels and if I don't have a floor that contrasts with them, I'm always stepping on them :-) The floors in the room are nice lightish, warmish hardwoods.

    bungalow_house, the windows face east. There's not *that* much room between those windows and the next house, but there's room enough that I think morning light will reach me. I'm not likely to spend tons of time there, but I'm thinking translucent shades or sheers to let light in, plus light floors and ceiling, plus my white-shaded bedside table lamps will bring in enough light that I could appreciate a fabulous blue.

  • maddybeagle
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Followup: got organized to upload house photos to Flickr. Here's the bedroom in question, with my mom in it. What to do with the closet doors will also be a question, once I make the main paint decision.

  • Sueb20
    13 years ago

    I agree that it's personal preference. With a strong color in a small room, you really have to love the color! For the record, our MBR is large and we painted it a medium gray-blue a few years ago and I find it heavy and I guess almost depressing, so we're about to re-paint. But that's just me! I'm not really a "blue" person at all (I mean, color-wise) but I like it enough that we're leaning toward blue again -- just a lighter hue.

  • suero
    13 years ago

    {{!gwi}}

    "Any color at any time may be used, especially if it is a favorite of the person who has to live with it," said [Billy] Baldwin, who in the mid-1970s chose a deep blue for Bonnie McIlhenny Wintersteen's bedroom in her Pennsylvania apartment. "Color should not be subject to the rules of fashion."

    Here is a link that might be useful: Read more

  • maddybeagle
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks, all. Suero, that is gorgeous and inspiring! I love the dark wood furniture with the blue and cream. Fwiw, I *love* blue. In my old house, I did my master bathroom with deep periwinkle walls and midnight blue tiles and spent countless hours soaking in the tub, admiring the colors.

  • maddybeagle
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Me again, back with a few of the photos that are inspiring me, now that I've gotten better at actually inserting photos in posts :-) Olychick posted some great pics above of really dark blues, but I'm thinking I'm inclined to go with more of a mid-blue (Wedgwood, French, that kind of thing), but not as peacocky as the one suero posted (which I love, but which is less "me").

    First, period authority, since this room is in a Craftsman bungalow: a William Morris sketch from Kelmscott, showing a lovely Wedgwoody blue as a featured color. I note it's used with taupes, creams, and greens.

    Here's a Morris print, which is the sort of thing I'd been thinking would be awesome for a very expensive window treatment:

    An inspiringly tiny bedroom:

    Maybe use a mix of mid- and lighter blues on the window to lighten up the space a bit?

    Here's a larger view of the same room with that nice shade from the pic above:

    A night view of a room with this palette:

    So, assuming I go this way, here's the next challenge: an idea for a rug. If I go with a really expensive window treatment, it had better be a cheap rug - which wouldn't be a bad idea anyway, given my dog-centric lifestyle. Light-colored would be good, but patterned and not too light would also be good (see aforementioned dogs). Any good source ideas? I'm not too inspired by the current Pottery Barn choices.

  • bungalow_house
    12 years ago

    Look at Van Courtland (Cortland?) Blue. Very close (if not spot on) to the bedroom pic with the crystal chandelier you posted above. Also I saw it referenced online somewhere once as the closest color to TJ's previous dining room color. I just googled it and don't see that reference anymore. I used this color in my bathroom (with lots of white) and love it.

    Saw the exterior pic of your house on your other thread: SWEET! :)

  • cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
    12 years ago

    I think your ideas are wonderful. It will look just lovely when you finish-the Morris fabric is terrific, although plain would be nice, too. I also looked at your other pics-love the house. It looks like an area here in Alexandria that is a favorite of mine-lots of Craftsman style homes! Once you get going with the blue, how about a haint blue ceiling on your porch? :)

    Also, love the pups!

  • bungalow_house
    12 years ago

    This is my TINY Van Courtland Blue bathroom with a southern exposure. (It was freshly painted so the closet wasn't put back together yet.)

  • msrose
    12 years ago

    I think the key is to add white to balance out the blue. I like the last picture you added with the white bedding and white curtains. There's no reason to spend alot on window treatments especially if you did decide to go with some white/off white panels. Off course, if you were looking for a particular pattern for the curtains like the mid and lighter blue ones, then you might have to get them custom made and that would run you more. I think I would spend less on the curtains and more on the rug. I think this is going to be a beautiful room. When I first read "deep" blue, I was thinking really dark, but the colors you posted above are very cheery looking to me.

  • maddybeagle
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Bungalow_house and cyn427, thanks, and definitely on the ceiling paint! Exterior colors will be a major project down the road and I am very much looking forward to that. Bungalow_house, your bathroom looks so much like the one I did in my old house! I used Laura Ashley Sapphire on the walls - more of a periwinkle shade, but it looks a lot like yours in the photo:

    Msrose, you're right about using some white and right that the window treatment doesn't have to be expensive. It's just that I've been looking for YEARS for an excuse to use a genuine Morris & Co. fabric and thought a fairly small room would be a restrained way to indulge that desire. I could always use one of his prints that has a light ground, like this Cray colorway:

  • sweeby
    12 years ago

    Some lovely rooms...

    My view? Don't be afraid of the dark! Deeper tones can be lovely, warm and cozy. Choose a color you truly love -- one that is soul-nurturing to you, and you won't go wrong.

    The thing to keep in mind is that the deeper tones will make *contrast* a big factor. In other words, if the walls are mid- or deep-toned, anything light will become more visually prominent. So against a deep blue wall, the expensive William Morris fabric will belnd into the background, but a white or cream would jump forward. (Maybe use the William Morris fabric generously as trim on a lighter background?) Same with your bed linens -- The more they contrast with your walls, the more visually prominent they will become.

    So long as you bear that in mind when spreading your decorating budget, the more bang for the buck you'll get.

    Maybe blanc-de-chine lamps? Crystal or silver chandelier? Mirrors with silver gilt frames?

  • peegee
    12 years ago

    I think what you are going for will be beautiful! As far as the Morris fabric, how about just touches to keep the cost down and not overwhelm the room - say in toss pillows, lamp shade fabric or trim...as far as a rug for the bedroom, a few lovely scatter rugs to allow the floor to show through will keep costs down. Regardless of budget, I'm a fan of bare floors under the bed. I feel it is more hygenic/easier to clean and better healthwise...Penny

  • maddybeagle
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Peegee, I agree about bare floors, as I have allergies and like to keep the dust down. I think there will really only be room for a runner next to the bed, since the room is so small. I'd go for completely bare floors except that the elderly dog would slip all over the place.

  • maddybeagle
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    OK! Paint is now on the walls in my tiny, blue bedroom! It's BM Stratford Blue. I think this pic gives a pretty good sense of how it looks in low light, though when the sun hits it it seems less dusky-purply and more of a true Wedgwood.

    It's time to start thinking about fabrics and other elements of the room. The room really is tiny - only just over 9' along that wall that has the window, and about 11' the other way. I took this pic standing in the doorway, and just out of frame to the right is a closet with bifold doors, which are to be painted white to match the trim. The only piece of furniture I know is going in here is a double bed, for which I currently just have a mattress, box spring, and one of those ordinary metal frames. There'll just be room for the bed to have its head on the wall that's perpendicular to the window wall in this pic, and to have a bedside table next to it, for which I can choose from many in my collection. The floor is a lightish pine.

    I'd love to have specific suggestions for fabrics, especially for the window treatments. I can't quite picture how I want to go in terms of scale of pattern, but I'm thinking a fairly large-scale print, rather than small and fussy. I'm thinking Roman blind in the middle and curtains to hang on the sides but not close, because of how the radiator sits, but tell me if you think that would be too much in such a small room. Despite the fact that this photo makes it look like light is streaming in, I don't really want a room-darkening shade; I'd rather filter the light and have just enough coverage for privacy without blacking out the room. (I have no trouble sleeping with a little light, but terrible trouble waking up if there's none.) I'm having trouble imagining what's a little more private than sheers still basically light-filtering rather than light-blocking. Also, if curtains, hang them along the top of the window frame, or higher to (maybe) make the room seem even taller? (The ceiling is 9' high.)

    For the bed: headboard? architectural? upholstered? I'd been hoping I could have a wonderful antique bed one day, perhaps a spindle bed, but I think one with a footboard might take up a crucial extra few inches and make it difficult to move around the foot of the bed and open the closet.

    I really am doing the furnishings for this room from scratch, so if you have an inspired brainstorm, let me know. Thanks!

  • sweeby
    12 years ago

    Love the paint color! But it really doesn't narrow anything else down...

    What looks do you love? Cozy upholstered? More light? More dark?

    Light beds linens or dark? That, IMO, will be the most significant decorating decision, followed closely by window treatments.

    IMO, time for more inspiration pictures...

  • cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
    12 years ago

    OH MY- I LOVE LOVE LOVE that color in your room!

    Do you need the closet? Could you take off the doors and turn it into a bookcase to expand the room a little? Then you could have a small chair in that corner, if you want cozy, that is. If you want a cleaner look, I think there are lots of choices-maybe top down/bottom up blinds or shades? I've never had radiators, so I don't know anything about whether you can have draperies close to them. I think simple panels in a white or ivory (whichever looks best with your woodwork) would be terrific.

  • maddybeagle
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Glad people are liking the color! Sweeby, you pose a useful question. Here's the reality: I have a very hairy black dog who sleeps on the bed, and it's a lot more realistic to choose bedlinens with that in mind than to count on changing his routine :-) That needn't mean dark-dark linens, but patterned, at least, and not too light, and nothing high-maintenance. That being the case, and since I want to maximize the light I get from that one small window, I guess I should think about going lighter for the window treatments and darker for the linens. Then perhaps the headboard should be light. I'm not averse to the idea of an upholstered headboard, but the reality is it would probably need to be slipcovered and in a fairly tight weave, like a glazed cotton, or it would be a maintenance nightmare. I'd probably be better off with wood or metal or somesuch - something decorative but low-maintenance.

    Cyn427, I NEED that closet! The only other closet on the main level of the house is a tiny, cupboard-like one in the den. Other than that, there are two in the basement I can use for out-of-season storage, but I essentially need to keep ALL my current-use clothes, and not a few shoes, in this one. I'd love to get some additional book storage, but I think that'll have to be in other rooms.

    I like the idea of top up/bottom down shades, but I've only seen them in cellular shades. Can they be done with fabric roller shades or Roman-ish ones?

    Inspiration pic: Of all the pics I gathered when I was thinking about a blue bedroom, I keep coming back to this one and thinking how great this wallpaper would be as a fabric for the windows. I'm usually more of a strong-color person (cf. my tangerine bathroom), but I'm drawn to this cream-taupe-Wedgwood combo. What do you think?

  • maddybeagle
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Oh wait, look! Here it is as a fabric. I do like the large scale of the print. (I'm not loving the short curtains, though.) Now I just need to find the original source of this pic so I can try to figure out what that fabric is.

  • maddybeagle
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    More inspiration:

    I stopped in at Ten Thousand Villages the other day and saw this gorgeous rug, which unfortunately only comes in a small runner size. On the other hand, in such a tiny room, that may be all I need to step out of bed onto. It has the blues-and-greens palette I originally thought of when I posted the Kelmscott sketch, above.

    I love the palette in these pillows:

    and I love the scale of these chrysanthemum fabrics, though that would be a more momochrome (or blue-scale) approach:


    Those last two are from the awesome collection linked below, which I found when I was googling around trying to figure out what fabric was used in the pictures I posted in the last two posts. See especially the China Seas collection. Their various lines contain ALL my favorite colors.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Quadrille Fabrics

  • maddybeagle
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    One more picspam post and then I'll retire from the field for the evening. Of my many small casegoods, I'm thinking of using this small cabinet as a bedside table, because it provides just a smidge more storage - for shelter magazines, undoubtedly! Its top is 34" long by 17" wide, and it has a fair bit of space behind those doors, as well as the big drawer for all the bedside whatnots.

    This lamp has worked well as a bedside lamp. It has a chrome base with little crystal pulls and a white shade, and it casts a LOT of light - a good thing for reading in a dark room. I also have a very similar one with an oil-rubbed-bronze-colored base and a cream shade. There is an overhead light in the room's ceiling fan, but it's neither attractive nor terrible effective, so the lamp on the bedside table will be the room's primary illumination.

  • maddybeagle
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    When I was over at the house this afternoon, I got a couple more pics of the bedroom. Here's the window wall in full. The head of the bed will go on the wall you can just see at left, so the side of the bed will be parallel to the window wall.

    The closet wall that adjoins it, with a view down the hall towards the study; the foot of the bed will point towards the closet:

    And the other corner of the room. That's the door to the hallway you can see at left. The head of the bed will go on the wall that's at right in this picture.

  • nancybee_2010
    12 years ago

    What a beautiful, calming color. It looks great with the white trim.

  • maddybeagle
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks! I don't think I mentioned it before, but the trim is BM Simply White, btw.

  • gsciencechick
    12 years ago

    The Stratford Blue is just gorgeous! Wow.

  • Lyban zone 4
    12 years ago

    I love the blue room. I think your next step is to find a duvet cover or some kind of bedding. Then think about the window after that is chosen.