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Greenhouse Effect

Photography by Stacey Brandford

Posted on Jan 20, 2012

Bed with chair and side tables

The Look

When faced with the challenge recently of bringing spirit and soul to a bland, oversized box of a bedroom, I relied on a light and airy garden palette to create a restful retreat and bring the glory of the coming spring indoors.

Paint colours: Walls: Vintage SR31 (P5215-24), ceiling: Cotton SR15 (P5226-14), Sarah Richardson Designer Palette for Para Paints. Diamond dhurrie on bench, brass swing-arm sconces, Elte. Vintage Muranoglass chandelier, Decorum Decorative Finds.

Bed with side tables and lamp

End Impact To A Bare Wall

Install a simple trim profile to create an oversized panel and then apply a decorative wallpaper. It’s easier and cheaper than covering the entire wall and allows you to layer two shades against each other. Add a contemporary touch with over-scaled swing-arm lamps.

Wallpaper, Bilbrough & Co. Bedside tables, Of Things Past. Trim used for panel frame (157), Brenlo (www.brenlo.ca).

Desk and windows

Design Your Room With A View In Mind

If space permits, introduce a writing desk to your master suite. Since you won’t likely be seated for extended stints, choose a perch with a light, lyrical look and an open back.

Desk chair seat, Bilbrough & Co. Desk chair, desktop, brass wastebasket, Of Things Past. Brass urns used as lamp bases, Decorum Decorative Finds. Wiring of urns into custom lamps, Residential Lighting. Custom apricot lamp shades, Lampshades Unlimited.

Close up bed and headboard

Create A Pretty Palette

Here, a wide tent stripe on a tall headboard offers the illusion of height in a room that has eight-foot-tall ceilings, while pillows sporting a graphic weave, elegant florals and a peach-toned wool gabardine top a quilted bedspread to add luxe and texture to the bed.

Fabric: bed skirt, drapes and floral-patterned bed pillows, drapery hardware, pillow inserts, Designer Fabrics. Green and white fabric on bed pillows, striped fabric on headboard, Bilbrough & Co. Jasmine king headboard, Sarah Richardson Design.

Dresser with mirror

Buy Some Architectural Interest

Architectural salvage is a green way to add character, charm and patina to a new home. The exterior Ionic columns introduced in this room rise all the way up to the ceiling and help to define different areas in a large, rambling space.

Paint colour: dresser: Butter SR6 (P5059-34), Sarah Richardson Designer Palette for Para Paints. Dresser, Of Things Past. Pair of vintage columns, The Door Store. Wood mirror with brass balls, Chair Table Lamp.

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