Need help with woman cave
I have just moved in my first house and am trying to figure how to decorate my "women cave" that will be use for home office/lounge/ girl night entertainment. There are several issues with this room that I have no clue how to make cohesive into a space that I want to call my woman cave. 1. prickly stucco on every wall including ceiling. 2. the only wall not covered in stucco is the real wood wall to either side of fire place which leads down to cabinets with the same materials. 3. brown faux styrofoam beam on ceiling. 4. Pergo flooring (i think). 5. just added a false wall over working wood burning fireplace where i wanted a t.v. to recess in but not sure if i did it right. 6. no clue what to finish the fireplace with.
I am not a designer and have been looking at pictures to get idea, but have no clue where to begin. I did have a person come over to pick colors and she suggested BM wedgewood grey and chantiliy lace, do you agree?? I like the color but just can't picture it. I like the wood walls but afraid its too cottage looking if painted white and don't want to have to tear it down. can it be covered or updated to look more modern. I wanted to use what I have to update the space. Not opposed to buying or changing somethings to create cohesion. Looking for a glam/elegant/mod feel but still comfortable and contemporary. I have already started with some furniture and layout and not opposed to DIY projects. The desk is primed and ready for paint
Can you help?? Any ideas would do.
I am not a designer and have been looking at pictures to get idea, but have no clue where to begin. I did have a person come over to pick colors and she suggested BM wedgewood grey and chantiliy lace, do you agree?? I like the color but just can't picture it. I like the wood walls but afraid its too cottage looking if painted white and don't want to have to tear it down. can it be covered or updated to look more modern. I wanted to use what I have to update the space. Not opposed to buying or changing somethings to create cohesion. Looking for a glam/elegant/mod feel but still comfortable and contemporary. I have already started with some furniture and layout and not opposed to DIY projects. The desk is primed and ready for paint
Can you help?? Any ideas would do.
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It is a fairly bluish gray. I think it would look nice with your woods but I would paint a large sample on poster board and look at it in different lights to see if you like it. You don't say what surfaces the designer suggested painting the Gray versus Chantilly...
I like the wood on the fireplace wall. I like the faux beams. Not so excited about the floor. I would look for a very large rug with maybe large scale swirls and with color. This will give some curved lines to compensate for all the straight lines in the room. I love the 2 small chairs, I would use one at the desk and the other nearer the wood wall with a chest/credenza of some sort between with a lamp on it, and choose a large round mirror over the chest/credenza on desk wall, flank the mirror with 2 matched framed pictures (2 on each side). Move the chair from the corner to where the small chair on the right side of the fireplace is located.
The rug and bright pillows on chair & sofa will then tell you exactly what the wall color should be. Imagine choosing all of this after you chose, say blue for your walls...NOT. I would suggest a natural color, simple grasscloth for the walls. It is very warm and inviting, but also sophisticated. Put the color in the rugs, chairs, pillows and artwork.
Maybe add a very large tile travertine to the fireplace surround. You could add tall shelves on the wood panels (tall to display collected art objects and books. Or, leave them as is and add very large colorful art pieces. Hang working draperies in place of the verticals..simple plain textured fabric, very neutral on a rod as high as possible and way off to the sides for stacking when you have them open or want to use the door.
Color Number: 2 7641. definitely a tree house gray.
not a fan of the 'pops of color'. seems dated. move the 2 chairs to one side of the sofa and the cream chair to the other. get rid of the little stuff on the desk wall. invest in a great, huge mirror, maybe 6'H X 3"W with a heavy but feminine frame. lean it to right of center. straighten desk.paint it white then use a pewter glaze. or go bold and go over the white with silver leaf. add a great chair. install a small crystal chandelier over it.
natural burlap on the windows for a more organic feel.
add bling with more interesting floor lamps with lot's of crystal. accessorize with shine: silver, ceramic,glass.
now bring in color with original art. if you've never collected, it's fun. go to small galleries and festivals. meet the artists. learn the stories and inspiraton behind the paintings,sculpture,photography, crafts. build the room over time. it doesn't have to be expensive.
ck out restoration hardware and ballard designs for inspiration. have fun!
Here is a link to our decor: http://www.bargainbacker.com/Decor-_c_8.html
Looks great!
-Barbara Griffith Designs- I like your ideas and will try out the layout. I agree with needing a rug but was not sure how large. Should it cover the room or just the sofa area. Should I get another rug for credenza area chair?
-nikitasmom- cushions on the cabinets??? They may be a little high for seating. They are approx. 30 in. high or more. I do love your idea about the shelving. What do you think about glass shelves? and the chandelier idea I love. I was thinking that too. i would need to use a swag chandelier because the cost to install may be too much right now. I have in a home depot recessed lighting conversion pendant lamp there now. I tried to have the desk facing front but it seems to protrude into the open passage way.
-Chandani- I really want to use the two arm chairs but need to look up "zen/midcentury".
hope that is not to dark because i want open and airy.
I have been looking at the stainless steel surround what do you think? And speaking of passageways any idea on how to close the space temporarily when I am ready? Another dilemma--color,color, color. So far I have been living in drab white wall apartments. Now, I'm terrified to color but know that I really want color. I like jewel tones and red but just really like the luxury, elegant, comfortable feeling.
The beams on the ceiling are a problem because they are not making any alignments with the space in relation to the fireplace and the doorways into the room.... so if you can remove them, great. If not, paint to match the ceiling to minimize them.
You can check a project on my page"Hollywood Manor" where we used that similar Wedgewood Grey, but the walls in the photo look more washed out then reality.
I did suggest the cushions as a way to girly up the dark wooden walls and to provide emergency seating options. I am not a fan of glass shelves but think they would look nice. Just make sure they are floating with minimal hardware showing.
The prickly walls may have been a sandmix texture that is added to paint. You could try lightly sanding a small area down in the corner to see if that is an option.
For the doors you may again want to take photos from the hallway looking in and from the room looking out to show wall clearances. I thought a barndoor style would be great until I noticed the intercome and light switches. French doors would have to open into your entryway and there are bifold doors as well.
Good luck!
I would wash the wood with one coat of whatever taupe / gray / greige / tan paint you choose without priming. The grain will read through, but you will get some gorgeous cream, taupe, grays as the neutral paint softens the reds in the wood tone, but the grain reads through. As far as paint color, I do think you will like the blue-gray, but then I guess I see that won't be terrific with the red accents you are showing now.
If you were selecting a rug (sized for the seating grouping is enough) and you chose it like art, would you rather have red than blue? That tells you what shade of paint to test (blue = blue-gray, red = camel / tan) If red is your favorite (and most women look great in red, love it but have to keep it in the gal cave), I say look at classic oriental rugs or even consider a kilim - they have the sort of style that fits perfectly with the wood wall and would elevate it -especially after it becomes a real feature wall from the tan paint wash. Pottery Barn has great kilim pillows too.
If you love the red as your color here, then I would go more towards a camel tone on the wall and to wash the wood - like sw crewel tan. I think having the wood washed (painted one coat with paint that has been watered down just a bit so it can be spread evenly) with a camel or taupe paint like crewel tan or reticence http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW6064-reticence/ will give you an amazing result that you will be really pleased with - it pulls some gray tones out of the wood, but since the walls around it are also camel, or gray - it seems like a feature but unified with the whole room rather than apart. You can test this on the inside of the doors on your casework.
With gray paint or camel, I don't see any white paint. If you painted the walls camel, I think I'd paint the ceiling between the beams a soft gray matched to the wood elements that were grayed after the wash. If you go with blue gray, I'd put a beige / off white to match my upholstery. Taupe go one lighter on the ceiling.
The juxtaposition of the wood wall, kilim, your pretty chairs and stone herringbone could be wowsa!
Endgrain gave very good advice re your wood and styrofoam, (While you have the sander out) and the stain color of your wood can be changed to coordinate any way you like. Texture is a good thing, as long as it doesn't cut you, so leave it be on the ceiling, lose the styro, work with the wood and tame the walls.
Instead of sanding, it might be easier to skimcoat a smoother texture over the sharp stucco with texture paint.