Interior design

[plasticpigeon]

I am fast realising that this is not as easy as it looks. Here is my front room. What is going on here? Beige carpet. It's ok, not my choice but I'll work with it. I would have painted the boards black or dark. I'm pleased with the fireplace and clock. I like the bureau, the music cabinet was a neat idea to store a dvd player and other stuff as it has flip down fronts to the drawers. It is a great fit in the little alcove. It also looks very red on the photo but that is because it is next to a nearly floor to ceiling bay window which gets the sun, it is more brown in most lights. I think it is too tall though, and maybe the wrong colour. The light will be changed for a nice one I have. However, despite that the room is still bare, I am not totally happy with it. Is the mirror too gaudy and orangy gold. It was one of the only ones that allowed me to put the clock on the mantelpiece as the moulding is not too deep, but perhaps it looks too bright. Could I tone it down a bit would that help? I don't really know. Maybe the room has been a mess for so long I'm just not used to it. The red walls were a bold choice, we wanted a William Morris paper in similar colour but it was discontinued. Maybe the colour choice is not so easy to work with. I'm not asking for unbridled criticism, but helpful ideas wouyld be welcomed. Any thoughts?



P. S. My local VicSoc group is having a day course on Edwardian and Victorian interior design, I think I will go, has anyone got any experience of these courses?

 

[formerly known as]

I am of the opinion that the bureau is too dark and too tall ...... I would suggest that the appearance would be improved via some symmetry with greater prominence given to the fireplace. But what do I know about interior design? ........... my house is a jumble of furniture that is both eclectic and disparate. But I like that.

 

[LadyArowana]

To my eye the astragal glazed bureau piece and the music cabinet are not happy together. The music cabinet has a sort of arts and craftsy feel and I like that with the clock and fireplace, so I would keep it and get an arts and crafts piece for the other side, more like this style. With a smallish room it's more difficult to get everything to work, I like arts and crafts with mid century modern too.

and a mid century piece

 

[Mickey]

My twopenneth. I'd agree the mirror is not quite right which I think you realise. To my mind I think book shelving with cupboards under either side of the breast would look better and reduce the amount of bare red walls but then that does not help with your storage or your wallet and could make the room feel smaller...sorry not helping am I! Lady A is right I think, her style of glazed cupboard looks a more harmonious with your music cabinet.

You could break up the pale carpet with a rug with red tones/background along the lines of your wall colour/fire/hearth tiles. Also depends too on the colour of your sofa etc and I am presuming you may have pictures to go up? Can't see any curtain fabric either.

All very subjective and I think you have to consider the look of the room as a whole with all it's contents, soft furnishings. In any event, if you end up with something you are happy with then blow what anyone else thinks!

Mickey

 

[plasticpigeon]

I thought both those pieces were Edwardian mock Georgian! Both for sale close to my house and for a decent price. A rug is planned. i'm liking the idea of not having something so tall in the alcoves. Does anyone have any pictures. Here are some I have. Mind you I have one of a slightly larger room with a tall cupboard in the alcove!

 

[Penners]

I think it is too tall

If that's how the room looks to you, I suspect that your colour scheme may be exacerbating the problem. It's generally accepted that dark colours advance and light colours recede. So the darkish walls are tending to make the room look smaller, and the light ceiling is making it look taller - the opposite of what you're looking for.

I am fast realising that this is not as easy as it looks.

In fact, PP, interior design isn't difficult. Good design is quite simply what you like. It may not be what others like, but that doesn't make it bad. I have often (somewhat pretentiously perhaps!) quoted a well-known Latin motto on this forum: "de gustibus non est disputandum", meaning "in matters of taste there can be no argument". That is, taste is all subjective - there are no rights or wrongs.

So do whatever you like!

 

[plasticpigeon]

Yes Penners, but, in this case, I do what I think I'll like, and I don't like it! I don't have a good idea what I want obviously. It is compounded by the fact that my taste, and my partners don't always align! When it comes to structure, and the outside, I'm generally on the money, in so far as I don't make decisions I'm not happy with. Inside, hmm, I try something, don't like it, try again. Now the colour on the pic is not good, it is very bright, but I can say this in my opinion. Cover the fireplace and music cabinet and look at just the bureau and the walls and floor above and below. Pleasing to me. Do the same with the other side of the fireplace, the music cabinet looks passable. Look at just the chimney breast, or even the mirror in isolation and it looks too bright to me. Rather than junk it, I am going to try and tone it down, and work from there I think.

 

[livias]

I think that one problem is the band of red with cream both above and below looks a bit float-In-midair at thd moment but I wouldn't fo anything drastic until you have filled the room with sofa and curtain and a rug on the floor that picks up the wall colour. I see what people mean about the cupboards being mismatched, but those are the cupboards you have ... so I would keep them for now. Maybe put led strip lighting in the top part of the big cupboard and make it into a display cabinet? That would make it more interesting and less heavy

 

[kreyszig]

I'd consider painting the picture rails the same colour as the walls, it should lift the height of the room a bit. we did the same in our non-hospital green room and it seems to have worked.
I love the light switch, fireplace and clock! I'm with you on the floors but as you've mentioned you're working within certain limits I think red is a tricky one to get right especially with brown furniture - so I think you've done well (I like the darker colour of the bureau).
perhaps you just need more clutter/stuff in there? - we've one room that feels quite small now that it's pretty empty, but when we viewed the house it felt massive - mostly because it was jam packed with stuff, not unlike some of those pictures of yours (marble busts, globe drinks cabinet, etc.) I don't know how that works!

 

[mims&pip]

I don't dislike either of the pieces of furniture you have chosen, PP, but not sure I like them enough together......

They are very different in colour - not saying you can't have different colour woods in the same room of course (we have mainly oak arts & crafts furniture, but do have a few art nouveau pieces in mahogany as well a couple of ebonised, more aesthetic items that sit perfectly well alongside them), just that there seems too much of a disparity in your room imho. This of course might be less of an issue once you add more colour and texture by way of your rug, curtain fabric, sofa, art work, light fitting, decorative pieces etc etc. If anything I think the music cabinet (might just be on my monitor) clashes a bit, colour-wise with the red walls.

I do think the mirror looks wrong somehow - too bright? Too plain? Too square? Have you looked on fleabay and the like for something more obviously period? I'm rather addicted to buying mirrors - Pip thinks we have way too many (and it's not as though I enjoy looking in them lol!) - and we have bought some rather lovely examples over the past few years, all either on fleabay or at antique fairs......but they wouldn't be to your taste as they tend towards the copper with ruskin stones etc :roll: I know you said you are governed by the need to fit the mantel clock in front, but there will be something out there that fits and looks better.....believe me!

I do like the red - although agree the William Morris* wallpaper would have been fab (can you bring his patterns in elsewhere in the room.....cushions for example?) - just think it needs a bit more layering of pattern/interest to bring it to life. We had planned to use some heavily patterned Voysey wallpaper in our upstairs 'snug' here, but when we hung a full length sample on the wall and visualised it with our gallery wall of pre-Raphaelite prints and collection of art pottery we decided it would be too much. We sold the wallpaper - although I'm sure I'll live to regret it!

A large piece of art in the opposite alcove above the music cabinet would give balance and symmetry to your taller bureau, should you decide to keep them both.

What colour(s) are your sofa and other soft furnishings going to be?

I think you're doing fine, btw (this is our seventh period home and I still frequently doubt some of my decorating decisions) - and I can't wait to see the end result!

Mims x

*Have you visited Wightwick Manor (just round the corner from us) for inspiration?

 

[plasticpigeon]

Thank you all for your opinions so far. There are a real mix of opinions in there too. Lots to consider. I hope you aren't getting bored yet I'm sure I'll be changing things for a while yet and opinions are valued!! To show that the music cabinet and bureau are not so different in colour, but looked very different as the music cabinet was lit up by the huge (honestly something like 7 ftby 7 ft tall starting a foot from the floor) bay window which gets direct sun, here is a photo taken just now, with artificial light. Quite different, and more appealing I think. Still something wrong with the mirror, and this is the best of 3 so far!!! Looks like we have the same mirror buying disease Mims, although so far I haven't been satisfied with any of mine. I think a change of colour will improve it though.

Sofa is also goldy browny inoffensivy, but there is lots of scope for patterned cushions and the like, and yes a picture or pictures in teh alcove is a must. Although there will be a telly on that table I'm sorry to say.

 

[mims&pip]

Definitely not getting bored yet :lol:

The music cabinet looks way better without the bright light from the bay. A large picture above it would balance the alcove spaces imho........but that mirror is a no no for me :roll: What are you thinking of doing? Painting it? What colour do you have in mind?

The only time we had an all red room - it was a deep raspberry in the main bathroom of our last-but-two house - we had a dark pewter framed mirror. The floor was dark too (karndean) and we had mahogany furniture with a burgundy & taupe curtain.......

 

[malcolm]

I would try swapping the two cabinets. Try the mirror over the shorter one now to the right to give depth to the room as you enter. Art on the chimney for focus so you don't notice what the mirror is doing.

 

[jocelyn plummer]

TBH, PP, I think that the main problem is the difference in height between the two cabinets in the alcoves. If you are after symmetry you might consider choosing which height you like and get a near match. You could have a matching breakfront and use the lower half as your DVD cabinet, and put the existing cabinet elsewhere in the house.
Another way to deal with it is to paper the alcoves and have two lower pieces of furniture that match, or built in shelves, upon which you can display your books and or favourite pieces of china/glass photos in frames.etc.

The mirror is possibly not quite the right style and is a bit bright, but you could overcome the brightness by painting it--is it new /sbabby chic/vintage or antique--its a bit difficult to ascertain that from the picture.

There is a good book called Period Style by Judith Miller which is amazingly helpful--I cannot give you all the details as it is still packed away, but you should be able to google it and maybe borrow it from your library--its brilliantly helpful.

Good Luck !!

 

[plasticpigeon]

Mirror is modern second hand. Too bright, I must try and tone it down, the colour is horrid. Or perhaps change it again, but it is getting ridiculous, and it really is the best of a bad bunch.

I don't think it is the asymmetry. There are lots of things that could be in alcoves, plant stands, grandfather clocks, desks, servers, sideboards, pianos, all sorts. I'm disappointed by the mirror, and general lack of pattern. I didn't choose the carpet, or the plain sofa we are getting, and all my wallpaper choices after the one we agreed on was discontinued were also vetoed. We could (and I would) have had patterned carpet, wallpaper and sofa, and somehow I have relented on all. I'm really on a hiding to nothing here, I may as well give up as I can't do what I want. I have however saved enough to buy a second hand Gibson L-5 and more importantly can do so with impunity from the missus. I might just buy a massive rug after I have bought the expensive guitar!!!!!

 

[Flyfisher]

The clash between the two cabinets is easily solved. Move out the music cabinet, replace it with a decent combo amp and fix a guitar hanger on the wall above it for the Gibson. Then play more guitar and worry less about decor.

 

[kreyszig]

Combo?! 4x12 stack + head sir! That's the way to do it! (Said he with combo amp propping up the telly)

 

[Flyfisher]

Indeed, but I was thinking more of a practice amp rather than a gigging rig :wink:

 

[LadyArowana]

Mirror is modern second hand. Too bright, I must try and tone it down, the colour is horrid. Or perhaps change it again, but it is getting ridiculous, and it really is the best of a bad bunch.

The second picture looks like the mirror may not have just a plain frame, but difficult for me to tell, if it is then you could lightly sand it, paint and woodgrain to something you prefer and then maybe add in to echo this and hold to an arts and crafts look

If there is some sort of plaster moulded detail then maybe a complete repaint and then using some colour to expand the patternedness* of the frame, again going A and C

The second picture the two cabinets don't seem to be fighting so badly, so you might get away with it. Making existing pieces ( as in things you already own ) work together is often a matter of arrangement and finding something to "unify" a look. Black, like you have with the clock and fireplace can be quite a dominant colour and feature and so to have some other black accents elsewhere in the room could be helpful. I wouldn't suggest painting the mirror frame black as it might be "too much" all in the same area.

You said that you have a plain sofa to go in there, and I'm wondering what colour you have for that as it's another big piece of the puzzle. I'm really hoping it's not purple with large neon yellow spots, because then fixing the room is going to mean getting rid of the music cabinet AND the other one :lol: How about a nice fringed throw and some scatter cushions ( I know I know "girl things" but you want pattern ) that echo the fireplace and clock, quick suggestions below. It really depends what you already have and want to keep, and what you are willing to spend on new. On a budget my approach would be review and arrange what you have, only buy new things that will perfectly fix design issues and that you absolutely love ( I think that might be why the mirror hasn't sparked joy :? ) of course it's much more difficult if you have a partner to consider, I'm lucky His Lordship only wants thousands of elephants, how I stable them is my decision. I don't suppose you will be able to convince your other half that the guitar theme is the way to go and that a rug with that design would be the perfect thing?

*Not a proper word

 

[foppish]

very difficult when two of you have very different preferences, I feel your pain having formerly been married to a fan of "safety beige" and chrome with an aversion to soft furnishings of any kind. Red in a lounge is tricky, and i'd have had floorboards with a massive persian rug in that room - however as you are where you are: a Victorian aesthetic is very cluttered, visually and 3 dimensionally, and a nightmare to dust . So in part, you simply haven't enough stuff around: the effect is a balance (or brain-addling visual assault) of the whole, each individual piece isn't really overly important, so fill up the bureau, pop some lamps in there and start arranging the things you have - it can take time to get the effect you want, and a gradual building up of things you love. The "look" will evolve over time, as you live with and in it and negotiate a happy medium between you and your partner and the reality of modern living. My Victorian lounge has white walls and dark floor boards (the horror!) but can therefore carry off walls stuffed to the gunnels with an eclectic mix of botanical prints and paintings of trees (my particular passion), massive ornate wooden mirrors, lamps everywhere, rich soft furnishings, book cases, plants, candlesticks, photo frames, cushions, throws, ornaments, rugs, etc, etc, etc. I'm no minimalist, but I would struggle not to feel overwhelmed in a truly Victorian parlour.

Oh - and whilst I don't suggest doing anything now - I'd have a dark wood overmantle mirror for that wall, antique/vintage ones are often a steal on ebay if you can find one near you as very few people will courier them and they don't fit current trends. But they are proportioned beautifully for a chimney breast and to allow things to be showcased on the mantel.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Antique-Mahogany-Over-Mantle-Mirror-/121778218300
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Large-Dark-Wood-Ornate-Vintage-Chic-Over-Mantle-Mirror-/301772606414
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Antique-S...366758?hash=item1a06ed54e6:g:8kAAAOSwVL1WC8tu

I've deliberately shown a selection of quite plain overmantle styles from ebay - as you seem to lean towards clean lines in your furniture - and some of them can be wildly elaborately detailed. But almost any period overmantle could work as a back-drop part of the visual "whole". Just keep checking periodically until you find one you love. Mine is a large, very ornate walnut affair that cost £30 from a house round the corner that had been inherited by a grandchild who didn't know what to do with it (it is a bit difficult, I lived with it propped against the wall for ages before i decided it was definitely right).