New Skin

My bedroom needs to be repainted. Honestly, every room in my house needs a fresh coat.  I'd love to make it colorful and to change the look to a point of drastic but let's face it, I don't have the guts to do it.

Sorry my hands shook and I took this with my iPhone. But look how blah!!

Starting small with a project I can take on myself, I thought I'd bring some color into the bedroom but I don't know what I can do. Right now it's a drab cream color. It's a safe color. It's a bloody boring color. But since The Husband and I did our closet and bedroom purge last month, the room's begging for a paint upgrade. It's pretty much a blank canvas.  I could do anything and I'm both thrilled and nervous about what COULD be done. Do I go really bold and paint it a rich, dark color like navy? Or do I go with a soothing blue? I lurve the color blue. But the kitchen's already blue and The Husband isn't a fan of using the same color palette through the house.  Then I thought, how about grey? Like a slate? I know the first place I need to start is picking the color but I can't even seem to do that.  I need someone to explain how to get to that point first.

Being Asian, I'm good at following instructions and taking other people's ideas and making my own adaptations of them.  But I still need a starting point and for me, it helps when someone tells me HOW to go about something first.  I went to someone I had the pleasure of meeting a while back and who I knew did this sort of thing professionally.

Meredith runs the blog RE Style & Design.  She's been featured in Apartment Therapy and has helped people spruce up their homes. Her blog has before and after pictures of her own home projects and I figured she'd have good advice when it comes to picking a color for the bedroom.

I LOVE dark colors for bedrooms.  mine is a little-bit-darker-than-chalkboard green

As you'll see, i did an overhaul of the bedding, accessories, etc. a few years back, but loved the color so much that i kept it as-is.  it transitioned perfectly from a more country-infused decor to something a bit more modern, which i loved the versatility of.  i think the trick to painting dark is making sure the rest of the elements (linens, furniture, etc.) are light and airy so the room feels intimate but not cave-like.

i just did another room in a dark steely blue-grey (don't have pics yet, so unfortunately it's not up on the blog) which looked amazing.  i've seen black walls in some of the design mags and, while i'm not sure i'd be bold enough to do that in my own space, i think they look killer in print.  i'm dying to do a darkish plum-colored room, too.

The trick is picking a color that looks bright enough in daylight, but turns moody and romantic so you can turn down the lights and feel all wrapped up in your space.  (i mean, it is the bedroom after all, right??)  AND picking something a bit unpredictable.  most of the time we're forced into neutrals throughout the rest of the home, so why not have some fun in the more closed-off spaces like bedrooms and baths?  i feel like people (and you in particular!) should open your bedroom door and get some kind of "wow" factor.

See more of Meredith's bedroom makeover and home redesign at her blog. As for me, I guess I should bite the bullet and go ahead and make the change. The worst that happens is I change my mind right? Thank goodness for paint/primer combos!