Tag Archives: walls

How to Decorate a Room With French Finery for Christmas

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There are a lot of festive trends for 2011 that are worth noting if you want your home to look festive and contemporary but one of the most popular this year is going to be the “decorating in French Finery” trend. This is a very formal and opulent look that is a bit retro but also very classic.

Technically it is a shabby chic look. Most things are painted white but walls should be a pea green or a very light yellow. Second hand crystal chandeliers are part of the look as are tall mirrors with window pains. Lace, white chenille and curtains with tiny fringes or prints are also part of the look.

Objects are also showcased on tall Greek columns, that are also painted white and interspersed through the room. Faded chintz chairs and tall painted cabinets help this look come for life. Candles, in white metal lantern cases, also complete this vintage look as do gilded framed portraits of deceased members of the family and pillar candles surrounded by boughs of greenery.

It is also very traditional with this look to place plaster or ceramic busts about the place. To make these busts look more in tune with the holidays try wrapping green and red velvet Christmas ribbons around the subject’s necks.

Rooms done up in French Finery very often feature a Fainting Couch. This is as chaise lounge with a floral print that has a side table that is also covered in the same floral print. A crocheted throw and a few Christmas cushions in green and red complete the look. Usually a framed mirror is hung over the fainting couch and augmented with a big Christmas leaf.

The best Christmas tree for this look is the spiniest and most skeletal spruce you can find that is then gently flocked with fake white now. Decorate it with many yards of thick sheer gold ribbon that are intertwined with very tiny white Christmas lights. You can h harmonize the entire effect with a natural cedar garland that has been spray painted gold. This tree does not have the usual ornaments on it. The idea is that the tree looks wrapped in gold ribbon.

This type of room should have its own formal wrapping dining table. This can be a table that is rate and old and shabby chic in style but painted all in white with touches of gold.

Decorating a Small Powder Room in the Sumptuous Style

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Many old houses have very small powder rooms in them that can be decorated so that they look very luxurious. Bold colors, busy patterns and sparkling accents can make even the smallest of rooms look very luxurious.

One key is to paint the walls a dark color such as chocolate, midnight blue or a dark cherry. The darker the room the more regal it seems. Flocked wallpaper, especially if it is a pattern flocked with gold or silver is also very rich looking. Just make sure that it does not look too old fashioned as sometimes this sort of effect can make a room look quite old. Black and white flocked wallpaper can also look great if the designer has a flair for the contemporary; Vivienne Westwood makes a few nice wall paper patterns that look great in a bathroom.

Lavish wall sconces dripping with large crystals gives powder rooms a very opulent feel.

Go for shiny nickel and gold plated mirrors and side tables. Silver wastebaskets also give the powder room a more glamorous feel. Pounded metal also looks quite luxuriant. The idea is to mix gold and silver accents. Use bowls and perfume flacons filled with soaps and pot pours with silver bottles and other touches for a very rich effect.

Towels that are white look much more luxuriant than ones that are patterned. Get the thickest nicest hand towels you can find; the large the pile the better. Ones lined or striped with gold or silver detail can also be quite impressive.

The most elegant of bathrooms do not have much clutter. Look for bowls or cups made out of old sea glass or metal. White china also works in this type of bathroom but it is not as chic. Blue glass or red glass accessories make this type of room look impressive as well.

If you do have a bit of clutter then look for antique style jars with copper tops as are found at anthropologie. Anthropolgie also makes a great soapdish that is silver and shaped like a serving tray. For the ultimate in luxury you can creatie nstant ambience by adding a chest in a dark cherry wood.

One way to add instant ambience to a powder room is to put dimmer switches on the lights to change the mood. Nice smelling candles in black or white glass jars, such as the ones made by Diptyqe Paris, are also a fashionable way to add glamor to a guest powder room.