Decorating with the Things You Hate

Pretending to Choose: Making Every Part Look Like a Choice

The atrocious red floor. The hideous lime tile. The pink carpet. The lack of money to replace all those things - what will you ever do? Do not, absolutely do not, try to ignore it or cover it up! When you try to avoid dealing with the problem area, you simply make it more obvious that you don't like it, and you can't fix it. As much as you may not want to, you just have to work with it. Make the hideous parts of your home look like they were your choice, and I'll go ahead and let you in on a secret right now: When you work with the feature, it tends to begin looking attractive.

When you're trying to work with a feature that you hate, and it's generally a color for most people, you need to focus on what would match the color. For example, red tile floors scream at you, but by using some coordinating red and black accessories as well as ivory or black furniture, you suddenly have this amazingly modern and beautiful room. The floor looks like you chose it, and the room becomes beautiful; more than likely, people will even complement you on the great floor.

As for lime tile in the bathroom, you can actually work with it. Choosing a great shower curtain that can match with a cute rug and some pretty accessories can help you create a bathroom environment that is homey and natural. If you try to ignore or mask the problem, you just end up with a hideous interior of your tub, whereas if it matches your guests will not be shocked when they pull back the curtain.

Finally, carpet is costly, and for that reason, it is one of the most difficult parts of your house to replace. If your carpet is pink or a color of green that you don't like, then you can work with the color to create a comfortable, matching room. With both pinks and greens, adding yellows and blues can help tone down the carpet and make the room seem like it was meant to have that color carpet.

When you are trying to fit in some feature with a color that simply doesn't suit your taste, think of all the colors that could possibly match. Generally, using striped or plaid fabric is an easy way to pull that color into other parts of the room. For every color in a room, you want to use it at least three times so that it fits. For example, you could have green carpet, green in a plaid curtain, and green in flowers sitting on a side table. Although the greens don't have to be the exact same shade, but if they are similar, the color will seem to fit in the room. So, stop fighting those hideous parts of your house and work with them. Who knows, your friends may spend their next visit to your home complimenting the one thing you hated the most!
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Rhonda Morin, owner of http://myinteriordecorator.com and author of The Decorating Bible, enjoys writing and teaching others how to decorate their homes their way online.
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Copyright (R) Rhonda Morin, MyInteriorDecorator.com. Article may not be reprinted without permission and may not be reprinted without author byline including the active links.

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