Hi Sam,
I’m moving into a brand new condo, which also happens to be my first home that I purchased with my fiancé. I really want to do a good job with the design since it will be the first time I have a real say in how my home will look. I’ve had a few months to think about my design, but I’m getting cold feet.
I want a light taupe sectional from Maison Corbeil in Montreal, and a glass coffee table and a low white TV unit facing the sectional. Now the tricky part, I was thinking of having purple accents like pillows, some purple details in the drapes, maybe some flowers or a vase. I also wanted to paint the wall behind the sectional purple! When I mean purple, I mean a greyish purple. We were considering Inspired AF-595 from Benjamin Moore, keeping the other three walls light cream. Am I crazy to think of putting purple in a small condo?
Andrea Bednarczyk (a student who’s trying to focus more on finishing her semester than finishing her design)
Dear Andrea,
Crazy? I would say you’re crazy not to add purple to your new condo. Please, Andrea, don’t chicken out and go all beige and neutral on me — no matter what your girlfriend, neighbour or mother tells you. If you love purple (or orange, green, pink or blue), then use it. It’s your home.
Colour rules such as light colours for small rooms and dark colours for large rooms drive me bonkers. Great decorating is all about an awareness of balance and how you pull the furnishings and accessories together.
You are on the right track; start with some lavender accessories. A giant vase, bold patterned pillows, maybe even an upholstered bench or chair. Then move on to paint, which is an inexpensive way to inject personality into your space. I’m not the biggest fan of feature walls because it’s hard for many of us to pick which wall is the best to highlight. Usually a recessed wall or wall behind a fireplace, headboard or, in your case, the sofa will work best as an accent wall.
The lavender-grey you’ve chosen is soft and won’t feel overpowering throughout the living and dining room. I won’t be a pushy decorator, but I like the unified feeling of all four walls painted the same colour. Just be sure to keep the space balanced with soft whites and varying shades of lavender, grey and sand (to reference your sofa).
Back to the feature wall. A lavender and cream wallpaper would be a sassy alternative to paint. Plus, the cream will provide a bridge between the wallpaper and white walls. A horizontal five-inch lavender and cream stripe paint treatment will have the same effect.
Finally, drapery is the ultimate and most luxe finishing touch in a room whether you do lavender and white patterned panels, a leading edge or horizontal stripes as we did for a young couple’s living room on HGTV’s Pure Design. If custom drapes are not in the budget (they’ll start at $120 per panel plus fabric), there are plenty of fabulous ready-made panels on the market to which you can add a four-inch purple leading edge or 24-inch width of fabric at the bottom. We kept the walls white, but imagine them in lavender, or better yet with a graphic wallpaper — magnificent.
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