ASK
PRISCILLA
How to redecorate your
bedroom, blend two houses of
furniture, display wine corks,
select an outdoor kitchen

By PRISCILLA KOHUTEK

Q. I’m going to redecorate our bedroom, and I’m wondering what kind of color scheme is best. Should I go for the strong colors that are so popular?

A. Never mind what everybody else is doing. This is all about you. It’s a great opportunity, and your bedroom is certainly the best place, to fully express yourself. It is the most personal room in the whole house; it’s your special place — your sanctuary. So it must please you beyond words. Decorate your bedroom in your favorite colors — the colors you like to wear, those that flatter you the most and make you feel good. If you love bright and bold, use muted tones and softer shades of your favorites if that’s the dominant color scheme. Use a little of the bright and bold for accents, or let them pop in fabric patterns for the bedding and window treatments and in the artwork and wall hangings. Dark colors are OK, too. I’ve seen some amazing rooms done in charcoal gray and chocolate brown trimmed in shiny white — high drama and unexpectedly calming. They are very easy colors to work with and are even considered among the new neutrals. FYI: As we know, color has a big effect on our psyche as well as our emotions. Here’s a brief overview:

Black: Powerful, elegant and mysterious. On the dark side, it also represents death and mourning.
Brown: Earthy and natural. It’s friendly.
Blue: Calming, relaxing and stabilizing. It’s the second most powerful color, probably because it’s the color of the sky and associated with heaven.
Green: Represents life. Fresh and easy to live with. Lowers blood pressure. Mother Nature’s favorite color, it’s a true neutral. If you don’t believe me, just think about flowers and their leaves and stems. Aren’t they usually green regard less of the flowers?
Orange: Joyful and exciting. It stimulates the appetite, so if you’re on a diet, avoid orange tablecloths and dishes. Don’t decorate the table with orange flowers either.
Pink: Calming and nurturing. It reduces aggressiveness and is associated with love. Pink became a “girl’s color” sometime during the 20th century. Interesting since pink, a derivative of red, is a stronger color than blue.
Purple: Represents luxury and authority. The color of royalty. It combines the stabilizing effects of blue with the power of red, the two primary colors that make purple.
Red:Stimulating and exciting. The most powerful of all colors, it increases passion, aggressiveness and blood pressure.
White: Signifies purity, elegance and peace. A truly neutral color.
Yellow: Represents sunshine and implies warmth, happiness and energy. It’s the most visually stimulating of all colors.

Q. We’re a soon-to-be-married couple with two houses full of totally incompatible his-and-her furniture. How can we make sense out of this mess and fit it all into our new home?

A. You have some work to do before moving day. Obviously, all of the furniture from two chock-a-block houses will not fit into one — unless your new home is twice the size of what you have now. So guess what? You get to pitch all that excess baggage. It’s called prioritizing. Both of you must go through every room of your respective homes and tag each piece of furniture: green tags on your favorite things that you can’t live without; red tags on everything that’s expendable. Then compare your priorities. Here’s where it gets sticky. For example, you both tagged your living room sofas, but you have room for only one. Ask yourselves which one is in better condition, the more comfortable and works into the scheme of things better. If all things are equal, toss a coin, or save it for a bargaining chip later. Don’t worry too much about matching things up at this point. Quirky and eclectic mixing is “in,” and everybody’s doing it. This freewheeling style of decorating is more interesting and offers more opportunities to add those special touches that define your personalities. If the colors aren’t compatible, slipcover the offending pieces. Tie rooms together with drapery fabrics, area rugs, wall hangings and accessories such as pillows and throws. Most important! Be considerate of each other’s feelings. That ridiculous table with the spindly legs may be a family heirloom that came over on the Mayflower, and the beat-up leather chair may represent his first paycheck. Don’t expect or even ask your partner to give up their favorite things — and don’t tease each other about them later. Get creative and do the best you can with those personal treasures. If he doesn’t have a study or a home office, tuck the leather chair into a corner in a spare bedroom. Lacking these options, put it in your bedroom and get over it. Maybe that table you love will work next to it. Put a lamp and a couple of books on the table, and toss a comfy lap blanket over the back of the chair to disguise it (hide it?) and voilà! Now you have a cozy reading corner that is dear to both of you. Well, maybe you’ll never fall in love with it, but you can learn to live with the compromise. One of my favorite queries came from a reader who preferred to remain anonymous, so I’ve changed the story slightly — but very slightly. His most prized possession, an Alaskan bull moose head, a trophy from his more adventurous days, had always hung over his fireplace. His new wife wouldn’t tolerate a “dead animal” in the living room, where the fireplace was located. Neither would give an inch. However, there was a solution to the standoff. Since Dear Reader needed a home office, a spare bedroom was converted into an inner sanctum, and naturally, the dead moose found his way there. But somehow, it wasn’t working, and the moose and Dear Reader weren’t happy. The moose needed a fireplace. The solution to the problem was actually simple: A fireplace mantel with fairly realistic electric logs for the visual effect was added to one wall. (FYI: Ventless gas logs will also work if you can take the heat.) Now both the moose and Dear Reader are smiling. New Wife said the lovely faux fireplace takes the emphasis off the moose head, and she really didn’t mind having it around any more. The moral of the story is that imagination and creativity can resolve even the “stickiest wicket.”

Q. We would love to add an outdoor kitchen to our patio, but we’re very concerned about how it will stand up to the weather. W

A. Much depends upon the amount of protection against the elements your outdoor kitchen space will have. But the durability of stainless steel is hard to beat in any setting. It can take our strong Texas sun as well as rain and humidity. Actually, an outdoor area can be exposed to a lot of moisture besides rain. Hosing down everything is the quickest and easiest way to clean it up — and you won’t believe how dusty and dirty everything gets. Go for tough, practical materials that take very little effort to maintain, so you’ll have more time and energy to enjoy your outdoor living area. Be sure everything is on legs so that nothing rests directly on the flooring. There should be enough space underneath the components for water to run off. You don’t want water to get trapped under or against the various pieces and parts of your new kitchen. I recently saw some stainless steel cabinets with doors and drawers that closed so tightly they were almost sealed shut — great protection against creepycrawlies and critters of all sorts. Yes, a system like this is expensive. But your investment will add value to your property and last a very long time.

Q. I have an extensive collection of wine corks that I’m rather proud of since they’re on the verge of becoming extinct. What’s the best way to show them off?

A. Wine corks are most often displayed on wall-mounted racks or arranged in a crosshatch design on framed, wall-mounted corkboards. You can DIY with either concept or order kits online and glue your collection to the backing. Ho-hum — not very original, though. For a truly unusual way to display your wine corks, glue them to the backsplash of a bar area, as seen in a house at the 2007 Parade of Homes. Until next time, happy decorating.

Priscilla Kohutek, internationally published home decorating columnist and author, draws from her own experience and the advice of experts to answer your questions. Send your queries to Ask Priscilla® via e-mail at Priscilla@askpriscilla.com, or mail them to SAN ANTONIO WOMAN, 8603 Botts Lane, San Antonio, TX 78217.