The secret to turning your bedroom into a chic Parisian retreat is color and accessories, neither of which need to break the bank. Go for black and white---a soft, warm white or ivory---with a few gold accents to convey haute couture. Incorporate architectural details that echo classic design. Accessorize with lace, roses and toile prints---anything with a French accent---to create a bedroom even Audrey Hepburn would love.
Instructions
1. Choose a warm tone for the walls. Ivory, beige or a warm tan make wonderful backdrops for a black-and-white color schemes. For a feminine retreat, think pink---pardon moi--- pêche, or rose. Sherwin-Williams makes a warm shade of pale pink called "Romance" that's ideal.
2. Mix and match companion fabrics in black and white. Buy small quantities of a variety of companion fabrics online or from the remnant table. "Toile" is a French word that denotes fabrics with an all-over pastoral print. Black-and-ivory striped ticking or checks, lace, natural linen, or even moiré in solid black or ivory can be mixed together. An ivory matelassé bedspread or coverlet will compliment toile pillow shams.
3. If you splurge on anything, make it the bed, the most important feature of any bedroom. Appropriate choices include a delicate wrought-iron or vintage Victorian bed frame with lots of curvy carving. Experts caution never to do more than clean the original surface of a valuable antique. But feel free to paint a reproduction black or white. Alternatively, consider upholstering a headboard cut from plywood with one of your fabric selections. Be sure to saw some curves into the plywood. Finish a padded headboard by adding black gimping or cord.
4. Save by recycling any comfy chair that suits you. As long as the padding is serviceable, you can make it room-ready with a simple slipcover. White duck is so basic that it can be used almost anywhere, but black fabric, or a black-and-white toile print or stripe would work, too.
5. Select a small wrought-iron or wire table---the fancier the better---with a glass top as a bedside table. You might find one minus the glass really cheap. If replacing the glass is too expensive, get plywood cut to fit, Sand it smooth, and coat with several coats of primer to create a smooth surface. Paint it black, or if you feel daring, try a marbling kit. You could also decoupage a collection of black-and-white scenic postcards of Paris or photos from your trip.
6. Accessorize. Find a discarded French-provincial dining chair, paint it, and cover the seat with one of your fabrics to use at your vanity or when dressing. Look for black wire or cast metal lamp bases at a discount store, and top with black or ivory polyester shades to brighten your bedside table and vanity. Shelf supports of cast iron or corbels allow you to display your treasures. Corbels made of polyurethane start at under $10 and can be used to add architectural interest; some are designed to hold a curtain rod, and others are purely decorative. Some are lightweight enough to be glued on with construction adhesive. Decorate your walls with black-and-white photographic prints of Paris. Add some throw pillows and, perhaps, a pink mohair throw to the bed. Put a pale silk rose in a bud vase on your vanity.
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