Paint, Pillows, and Perfection in Your New Room

When you painted the rooms in your house five years ago, you were in love with the décor and wall colors.  What you loved then now seems outdated and boring, right?  Time for a change!  With some paint and new throw pillows you can change the whole look and feel of the room.  The colors and decor in your home are a reflection of your personality. Make it yours!

PICK YOUR PILLOWS

The first thing to do is go pillow shopping.  You don’t have to decide on your colors before you leave the house, browsing around for pillows will help you choose.  The number of pillows you get depends on where they will go.  If you have a couch that is used often, don’t put a lot so people will have a place to sit.  Another room might not be used as much so pile them on!  A big basket full of pillows also makes for a colorful accessory point.  If you are getting pillows for a busy room, make sure they have removable covers for laundering.

Pouf on carpet and hat on luggage in traveler’s bedroom with floral motif bedsheets on king-size bed

Vary your pillows by size, texture, print, and style for the most eye pleasing arrangement. Your pillows do not have to match but should blend and work together. You can choose a few pillows that match or five pillows in five different fabrics, but make sure there’s at least one color in common. You can also add a color coordinated throw for additional color and style. Consider the texture of the throw as well.

If you’re on a small budget, consider buying pillow covers for your existing pillows.  They are inexpensive, are easy put on, and voilà, a new look!  If you enjoy sewing, make you own covers. It doesn’t take much fabric to create a pillow cover and most fabric stores have a corner with discount fabrics.  You can also use fabric placemats for covers and large dinner napkins.  Be creative! Always remember to buy your fabric two inches bigger all the way around to allow for seams and plumpness.

Take your pillows with you to pick your paint. Choose a color or colors that complement the entire pile or pick one color from your favorite pillow.

PICK YOUR PAINT

When choosing paint colors, a couple of things you should take into consideration are the size of the room and the natural light.  Paint color and light go hand in hand.   The color you choose will look different depending on the light exposure in the room. Light is never consistent and how it shines depends entirely on time of day and the conditions outside.  The light of north-facing rooms is less direct throughout the day, and consistently cooler. Southern-facing rooms get more light throughout the day and are the sunniest place in the home.  East facing rooms get most light in the morning. As the sun sets, west-facing rooms benefit from its rays. While on the dim side in the morning, the same room will have a warm glow in the evening.

If you’re dealing with a small room and want it to seem larger, there are a few tricks.  Painting one wall in a stronger color than the others creates an optical illusion that there’s actually more space in the room. This strategy can also create a natural focal point, which makes arranging furniture and other decor items easier. Painting walls, trim, and details in different shades from the same color palette will make your whole space look larger.  Paint the ceiling a lighter color.  

Once you have painted and placed all pillows, bring all the accessories back into the room.  Since the room has changed your accessories may not look great where they were previously but might look better in a new space in the room.  Move things around until it all looks perfect.  Your new room will uplift your mood, first, because it looks fabulous and second, you did it yourself!