- Set the tone with wall colors and designs. Go for trendy cool with blue-based gray walls or shabby chic with icy pink. Funk up your look with mottled Mediterranean blues and greens or aim for Indian modern with poppy orange accented with fuchsia. Accent walls are fun for design experiments and easy to cover up when you want to shift the look. Try an accent wall in retro '50s aqua trimmed with cotton candy pink or create a dreamy cloudscape with periwinkle blue accented with white. Wall murals add dimension. You can use a packaged mural or you can paint your own. Some ideas: a trendy nature scene of trees, birds and owls done in black silhouette.
- There are two basic options in regard to furnishings. You can doll up what you already own or you can invest in a focal point piece, such as a wrought iron bed that you paint antique white or bold periwinkle blue. Stencils and decals are ideal for adding custom trims to cabinets, dressers, shelves and even lampshades. Try a line of faded cornflower fleur-de-lis along the base of a dresser or paint the door panels of an armoire cobalt blue and add images of shells and coral. Your furniture layout can add fun to the bedroom as well. Set a low ottoman by a window and surround it with paisley fabric and pom pom-trimmed floor cushions for an exotic window seat. Use an arm chair and a throw rug to create a homey reading area. Spice up a forgotten corner with a floating shelf supported by cornices or ornate wrought iron scroll handles.
- Accessories add a fun and unexpected look. Switch out textiles and furniture hardware for vintage, flea market or artisan pieces. White enamel knobs painted with wildflowers add a romantic touch. Chunky, clunky mismatched hardware has a rustic look. Dedicate a corner to a thematic tableaux, such as a line of deep blue glass bottles surrounded by shells and sea glass or a collection of chipped flower teacups filled with wildflowers and surrounded by tea lights. Vintage and odd fabrics look perfect in the bedroom. Use mismatched pillowcases on throw pillows or transform one into a cafe curtain. Cover a shelf with groovy fabric from a retro skirt and add a trim of fringe, sequins or beads. Your personal touch is key, so collect family photographs, art projects and memorabilia that you can set in flea market frames to create a meaningful wall display.
