Since we now have a Study upstairs, we decided to go with a CLUE game theme in the house, and turn our old office into a Conservatory.(The kids have started asking for a Ballroom, which is not likely to happen. But maybe a Billiards Room someday... The parallels with the game must stop there, though -- no murdering of Mr. Body here please!)
Anyway, perhaps coincidentally, this room has proven to be quite a mystery to me! We moved all of our music stuff in there, and some of our school books and materials have found a home there, too. But I can't seem to pull it altogether well. Something about the colors is not working for me.
So I called in Colonel Mustard, Professor Plum and Miss Scarlet to help me get some CLUES for this room, as I now rely on crowdsourcing to answer these questions for me!*
Ok, so here's what we have to work with so far:
What should we do with this piano bench and/or the whole piano?? My neighbor has suggested making a fabric seat cover for it, which sounds a little difficult to me, but possibly do-able. If I do that, what color/pattern?? Or dare I paint the bench top?? I feel like all the wood in there is a little overwhelming. The piano is quite old -- it's the one I learned on as a child, and the wood is all marked up.... Another idea would be to paint the whole piano black.... but I don't think I trust myself to do that well. Any other thoughts?? Miss Scarlet and I welcome all suggestions.
Now for the next challenge, brought to you by Colonel Mustard and Professor Plum:
What should I do with this wall? I was given these two prints, and I like the pictures, but I do NOT like the frames. I'm not sure what color to paint them, though. Should I use them and/or paint them? Or just find something else for this wall? (Keep in mind I've essentially used up all available monies for these renovations!)
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| Who knew Col. Mustard and Prof. Plum were such characters |
We'll continue to play and wait for the mysteries to be solved!
*For some odd reason, Strider didn't want to play along. :)
Paint Both the piano and bench black as well as the frames. Use matte black oil paint, foam brush so no need for turpentine and no need to sand if you use oil. Could also learn to distress and use wax over it all.
ReplyDeleteWow - -this is very helpful! Thank you!
DeleteI feel like the room needs a definitive focal point and that piano makes a nice one. I'm not sure about painting it, but if you feel confident.... I do think those frames need to be black and more substantial. I'd either get a beefier frame OR paint the frame black and change out the mat around it. Maybe a wide-ish black mat and a thinner gold one, or another color from the print. The prints look like they have some red in them, you might do the thinner mat in a shade of red.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it is just the angle of the shot, or there is something I can't see...but I feel like the corner to the right of the piano (facing it) is a bit crammed. Can you move the piano to the left (facing it), just a nudge to center it with the doorway? I think that lovely chair could come back a smidge, too (toward the windows). The room just feels heavy on one side. BUT I say all this not seeing the room in person, which you can, of course. So, I realize my suggestion may not be feasible...or desired.
EXCELLENT suggestions, Kerry -- thank you! You're right that some things need to be moved around... I'm going to work on that. It turns out that changing the mats on the frames will be a lot more work than I'm ready to do, so I started by just painting them black.... probably ruined them, but we'll see. :)
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