Design Dilemma: What Should I Do With My Boring Powder Room?

More Ways to Waste Time reader Harriet writes, "I'm hoping you can help me with my boring powder room. I'm looking for ways to add spunk, character, and style without spending much money.

The room lacks architectural details: There is no window. It's a five-by-five-foot square. And it's painted a pale green. There is a nice new sink and toilet, but I'm not attached to anything else in the room.

I'd definitely like to paint. Two people recommended pumpkin or terracotta, which I like, but I'm wondering if they would clash with the orange-y wood of the bathroom door. I love deep peacock blue-green, but have been warned against a cold color in a windowless room. I'd also like to change the light fixture, hopefully without moving the light box. Finally, I'm on the lookout for a small table or cabinet with more character than the white cabinet that's in there now. To me, a table wants a plant on it, but with no natural light, I haven't figured out what to put there instead. Any ideas?"

Photo from Point Click Home

I have one word for you, Harriet: Wallpaper. It's a great way to add color, dimension, and interest to a lackluster space. And it doesn't have to be prohibitively expensive, especially when you're papering a small room. You could even paper just the sink wall, and paint the other three walls a complimentary hue. Cole & Son's Woods wallpaper, shown above and below, is one of my favorites.

Photo from House to Home

Photo from House to Home

If it's in your budget, installing a wood or tile wainscot will add instant architecture to a space with none. For the look of wainscoting without the expense, you could even install a simple chair rail, then wallpaper above it and paint below.

Photo from Walnut Wallpaper

If matching the wood of the door is a stumbling point, be sure to test paint or wallpaper swatches against it to make sure they don't clash. Or consider simply painting the door. I don't have a strong opinion about warm vs. cool colors for your space. I think that as long as the lighting isn't cold (i.e., glaring fluorescents), it doesn't really matter.

Besides, it's just a powder room -- a space to go to the bathroom and wash your hands. Nobody's going to be spending a ton of time in there or doing anything other than maybe reapplying lipstick, so I don't think it's a big deal if the color palette is on the cool side. (But readers, feel free to say so if you think I'm wrong on this.)

Photo from House to Home

Design by Benjamin Dhong, photo by moi

Now about your mirror. It's OK, but you could add a huge dose of style and drama by upgrading. Again, you don't have to spend a lot of money. Keep an eye out on craigslist, in thrift stores, and at flea markets for a vintage mirror with an interesting shape or intricate frame. If you don't like the frame's color or wood finish, you can simply spray paint it.

Photo from Domino

Photo from Walnut Wallpaper

Photo via Desire to Inspire

For lighting, you could go vintage (or vintage-inspired), classic, or modern, depending on your preferences and the other elements in the room. Circa Lighting and Rejuvenation are great places to find a vintage or reproduction over-mirror fixture that will add a lot a character to the room. For more budget finds, don't overlook eBay or your local architectural salvage yard. A great old piece can often be rewired for very little expense.

A vintage side table or cabinet topped with fresh flowers, a shade-tolerating plant like a peace lily, a collection of small treasures, a basket full of rolled hand towels, or an interesting objet will complete the look.

The most important thing, I think, is to have some fun. Because a powder room is a space that's only experienced for a few minutes at a time, there's no better excuse to just go for it.

Readers: Any other ideas for jazzing up Harriet's lackluster powder room? If so, please leave a comment and share them!

Design Dilemma: We Need Furniture That Won't Make Our Living Room Too Dark and Heavy

More Ways to Waste Time reader Heather writes, "My fiance and I recently moved to Los Angeles, where I'm attending grad school. We scored a beautiful apartment in a 1928 building that has all the original fixtures and details. It was so gorgeous I almost didn't want to put anything in it -- except I did, and now I have a problem.

See, I bought this desk. It's a great desk, and it looks great in the living room. But now it needs a chair. As I discovered upon bringing the desk home, along with the TV cabinet below, the finish is very close to the finish of the window frames, beamed ceilings, and other woodwork. So to add a chair in a dark finish would be putting another piece of heavy-feeling furniture in a room that doesn't have much else (aside from a white sofa). I worry that the space is beginning to veer dangerously close to 'stodgy.'

Can you suggest a desk chair that will keep the vintage spirit of this room alive, or something that will liven up the place without looking, well, out of place? We're also agonizing over what to do about a bookcase. All of my books need to get off the floor!

I absolutely love this apartment, but it's got a very specific look and I'm not sure how to maintain that and still make it young and fun. Any suggestions would be much appreciated!"

First, Heather, the apartment is gorgeous! You totally lucked out on that one. Still, it's a tough nut to crack in terms of decorating.

Like you, I love vintage architecture -- and I especially love vintage homes that maintain their original features but are decorated with modern furnishings. But that dark stain on all the woodwork makes it a little tricky. In magazine spreads featuring modern interiors housed within classic spaces, all of the woodwork is usually painted the same chalky white or charcoal gray as the walls. I wouldn't recommend doing that here -- not just because you're renting, but because it disrespects the wonderful Spanish Colonial Revival architecture of your new home.

Top photo from Domino magazine; bottom photo from House to Home

The way I see it, you have two options for decorating in a way that will make the space feel younger and a bit more lively: Go with the old-world vibe of the place but take it in a sort of rich, bohemian, "souk-chic" direction -- using white and jewel-toned furnishings as a base and layering on lots of details like filigreed metal and exotically patterned textiles.

Photo from Point Click Home

Or go for contrast and keep everything but the woodwork light, bright, and a bit more modern -- which would provide a clean palette that lets the dramatic woodwork be the star of the show.

Your white couch is a great start for the light-and-bright option. Follow suit by swapping out the desk for a white one, painting it (if you don't think that would ruin the piece), or leaving it as is but partnering it with a light-colored chair. You could give a nod to the historic style of the room in a surprising way, for instance, by splurging on Philippe Starck's Louis Ghost Chair ($410 at Design Within Reach). It has a simplified Rococo form but is rendered in crystal clear plastic, so it won't add an ounce of visual weigh to the space.

Alternately, Restoration Hardware's Martine Chair in white linen ($495) has more unabashedly traditional styling, but the light upholstery keeps the look from getting too heavy and old-fashioned. For a less-expensive option, pick up a traditional-style occasional chair at a thrift store or garage sale and spray paint it glossy white.

As for a place to stash those books, you can't go wrong with IKEA's white Expedit Bookshelves ($199) in any kind of space -- modern or classic -- because they're simple, clean-lined, and affordable, but have tons of storage and display space.

Finish off the room with simple, creamy curtains (I love IKEA's Aina Curtain Panels, $50 a pair, in white or unbleached linen); a light-colored rug (a sisal, white flokati or felted shag, or even a graphic cowhide would be great); and possibly some streamlined modern light fixtures. (Just be sure to carefully disconnect and store the original ones you have now so you can reinstall them before you move out.)

Readers, any other thoughts on how Heather can honor the vintage architecture of her apartment without veering into the realm of heavy, dark decor -- as well as specific desk chair or bookcase suggestions? If so, please post a comment and share them!

(P.S. Have a Design Dilemma of your own? Send it in, along with a snapshot or two showing what you're dealing with, and I'll put it up here for a communal brainstorming session.)

Design Dilemma: A Round Coffee Table with Storage?

More Ways to Waste Time reader Kara writes, "I have high hopes for a multipurpose coffee table to replace the one I have now, but have thus far failed in my mission to find a piece that fits all my criteria:

1) Round in shape
2) Modern in style
3) Lifted off the floor somewhat so my rug isn't completely hidden underneath
4) Firm enough for a tray with drinks and food, but soft enough to kick up my feet
5) Storage for blankets and remotes

Any perfect pieces come to mind?"

Kara, that is a really hard list! I spent some time searching, and came up with a few options that meet most of these criteria, but couldn't find one that met all of them.

Here are some modern (or at least contemporary) round coffee tables that won't totally obscure your rug and that offer storage:

Imfors Coffee Table, $129; Strind Coffee Table, $139; Stockholm Coffee Table, $179, all from IKEA

Danish Modern Round Table, "Buy It Now" for $140 on eBay

Genoa Coffee Table and Concord Coffee Table, both $170 from Target

Panier Tables, $314 each at HiveModern

Tonic Coffee Table and Ginger Coffee Table, both $399, and Prairie Coffee Table, $299 from EQ3

Metropolitan Coffee Table, $349 from Pottery Barn

Sax Coffee Table, $1,295 from the Conran Shop

Rosewood Coffee Table, $2,800 from StellarUnion (My favorite, hands down. But that price? Ouch.)

If you're reasonably handy, you could make a padded top for one of these to provide softness for kicking up your feet. It wouldn't be too hard: Just jigsaw a circle the same size as the table top from a piece of plywood, cut a piece of foam to match, wrap batting and fabric around the wood and foam, staple-gun them down, and attach the whole thing to the top of the table with strong Velcro strips.

Or you could get a large round ottoman to use in place of a coffee table, and store your blankets and remotes in a side table with drawers or in an attractive basket next to the couch.

I really like this Giant Moroccan Pouf, $1,250 from Tazi Designs, for instance. (Though it isn't raised off the floor like you want.)

Of course, the perfect solution would be a large round ottoman on legs, and that has a lift-off top revealing hidden storage. Unfortunately, I can't find anything matching that description that isn't super-traditional.

Readers, any ideas for Kara? If so, please post a comment and share them!

Design Dilemma: What's Black and White and Blue All Over?

More Ways to Waste Time reader Jacqui writes, "When my husband and I bought our first house last fall, we painted nearly every room before moving in -- we figured that was easier than having to 'move out' of rooms later in order to paint. But painting before establishing a design plan has left me unsure about how to really finish our bedroom.

We love the wall color and the contrast with the black and white bedding and furniture. But I'm stuck on finding a rug, curtains, and something to go in that weird little corner next to the bathroom door. Do I stick with black and white for the textiles, or is that overkill? Do I find an accent color or are the three colors enough already?

Finally, please settle a long-running debate in our house: What do you think of the enormous IKEA artwork over the bed? Any other suggestions you have are most appreciated!"

I know you really like it, Jacqui -- but to be honest, all that dark blue and black together looks a bit dreary and dated to me. You can cheer up the scheme a lot -- but still retain the high-contrast black, white, and blue look you prefer -- simply by replacing some of the black elements with white ones.

Photo from House to Home

See how all the white and other light-toned pieces in the pictures above and below pop against the inky blues and make the wall colors even more dramatic? To follow suit in your room, you could keep the patterned blanket at the foot of the bed, for instance, but switch out that black duvet cover and sheet set for snowy white ones.

Photos via Rearranged Design and HGTV

Add a white drum shade on the bedside lamp and clean white curtain panels to the window to cover the bland mini-blinds and inject even more brightness into the space. (IKEA sells great white linen curtains for next to nothing.) And though you might not want to go this far, I'd consider painting the metal bed frame and the leaning bookshelf next to the bed white as well.

Photo from Domino

Speaking of the bookshelf, I'd move it to the wall to the right of the door, lose the small metal table that's there now, and look for a substantial bedside table or small dresser to balance the one you have on the other side of the bed. I do like the black on that piece -- it looks dramatic and sophisticated. And with a mostly blue-and-white color scheme, a few black pieces will help ground the space -- as the black bedside table does in the otherwise light and airy room above.

Top photo via Nibs

A white or light-colored rug will make the room feel extra dreamy, while a faux zebra hide (you can find them pretty inexpensively on eBay) or other black-and-white-patterned rug, like these two options from IKEA, will inject some fun pattern in a way that's not overwhelming.

Photos from Domino (top), HGTV (middle), and Apartment Therapy (bottom)

Once you've scaled back the black, you could add in one or two colorful accents. As shown here, yellow or orange both compliment blue beautifully, and add energy and zing to these spaces.

Photos from House to Home

Red, as shown at top, is another classic compliment to blue -- just use it sparingly. Apple green would make a deliciously crisp foil to the particular shade of blue you've chosen for your walls. And even a rich lavender, as shown in the bottom photo, can work with blue.

Photo from the Sex and the City movie (please don't bitch-slap me!)

As for the picture currently above your bed, well -- it does sort of scream "generic IKEA artwork." Even when your budget is small, I think it's important to find art that's more unique and personal -- especially in a spot you look at every day. Blow up one of your own photographs and hang it above the bed; stretch a piece of fabric that you love over a canvas; visit Etsy and other sites to stock up on inexpensive prints from artists whose work you admire, and then hang a bunch of them in a grouping similar to the one shown above; or display found objects -- a vintage sign, an assemblage of pressed leaves, even a gnarled piece of driftwood you found on your last trip to the beach -- in place of the boring IKEA print.

Readers, what's your take on Jacqui's blue-and-black bedroom? What would you keep, what would you lose, and what would you change? Please chime in with your advice for her!

(P.S. Have a design dilemma of your own? Send it in, along with a photo or two, and I'll put it up here for a communal brainstorming session.)

Design Dilemma: Help Me Find a Yellow Shower Curtain

Photo -- which is NOT of Joanna's bathroom -- by Jenn Hsu

More Ways to Waste Time reader Joanna writes, "My bathroom has turned out to be the greatest design challenge in my condo. The color -- a 1970s neon yellow -- is very strong. I've tried to compliment the yellow with aquas and apple greens, but it doesn't work. I'm looking for a lemon-yellow and white shower curtain that isn't vinyl with ducks on it, but I'm gun-shy after failing with the last six shower curtains I've tried (yes, six). Can you or your readers suggest anything?"

First of all, Joanna, can I just say that I'm actually a little jealous of your lemon yellow bathroom? Yellow's such a cheerful color, and though it's been a challenge to match, at least you're not stuck with an impossible pink-and-maroon bathroom like mine.

Anyway, my initial thought is to simply use a white shower curtain. It's fresh and clean and might help offset all that yellow a bit. I especially love the frilly, feminine White Devil Shower Curtain from India Rose, above, $96 at Burke Decor. Or you could just get a plain white shower curtain and jazz it up by sewing a band of yellow fabric across the bottom, or by simply glue-gunning on a length of yellow ribbon or rick-rack as contrasting trim.

But if you're set on a yellow-and-white patterned shower curtain, I scoured around a bit and found a few options for you:

Pottery Barn Tile Print Shower Curtain (center), $59

Anthropologie Languid Leaf Shower Curtain, left, and Sundew Shower Curtain, right, both $88. I like these because they have just a dash of sunny yellow on a mostly white field.

Marimekko Unikko Shower Curtain in Lime/Yellow (left), $49

Restoration Hardware Butter Collection Shower Curtains, $79 each

IKEA Saxan Shower Curtain, $4

When I started thinking about it, though, I realized that you shouldn't limit yourself to just shower curtains. Pretty much any kind of curtains could be pressed into service in a bathroom -- you'd simply need to use a waterproof liner so they don't get splashed and retrofit them with grommet holes or hang them on a pressure-mounted rod if your regular shower rod isn't detachable. (I like Anthropologie's Spiral Vine and Climbing Dahlia curtains, above, $98 and $88 for one 50-by-84-inch panel.)

You could also just pick out some fabric you like and have your local seamstress or drycleaner seam and hem it for you -- and voila, a totally custom shower curtain. Here, some yellow-and-white fabrics that caught my eye:

Marimekko Skulptur Yellow Fabric, $70 per 59-by-36-inch section, and Stilla Yellow Fabric, $30 per 54-by-36-inch section

IKEA Katrin Fabric, $6 per 59-by-36-inch section

And here, again, is that great OD Zig Zag Fabric, $14 per 54-by-36-inch section at Hancock Fabrics

Readers, any other yellow-shower-curtain suggestions for Joanna -- or ideas on other hues that might work with the neon yellow in her bathroom? (She mentioned that apple green and aqua didn't jibe with her particular shade of yellow, but perhaps a graphic black and white, a dark chocolate brown, or a soothing, sophisticated gray would pair nicely with the bright yellow.)

If you have more ideas for Joanna, please post a comment and share them!

P.S. Click here for lots more yellow decor.

P.P.S. Have a design dilemma of your own? Send it in, along with a photo or two, and I'll put it up here for a communal brainstorming session.