Inspiration needed with decorating!

[3GirlsMum]

My DH has finally given in and said that I can have the cream leather sofa I have always wanted, despite our old suite only being 3 years old . The problem I have is deciding what colours to put with it. We have decided to completely redecorate our lounge, including carpet but cant decide on colours. Any suggestions please..have to take into account that I have a 2 year old (I would love a cream carpet but dont think its practical)..plus a 7 and 9 year old. DH says wooden floor is a definite nono! Thanks xx

Hello 3girls mum,

I think the beauty of cream is it goes with any color.
I have a blue and cream living room.

whicj way does it face, the room,?

Message withdrawn

The room is southfacing...I think thats right..sun comes in there..lol

i have not decorated in new home yet but in my last house i had tan walls and dark green carpet and loved it so much i think i may just do the same here

I have a south facing living room and its cream - Ivory cream i think, and we have pale green a nd cream curtains.

the pale green is very restful and people always say how light and fresh it looks with the sunstreaming in.
its hard to find a green that isnt pepperminty though

www.crownpaint.co.uk/colour_advice/crown_colours.asp?ComponentID=8092&SourcePageID=8509#1

a bit like the green on this webpage

We have a green carpet just now and I fancied a change in colour as we have had that for 5 years.

Thanks for the link codswallop didnt realise there was an online colour chart for paints..very useful. x

think the green on that page looks quite nice with the cream

Does anyone else have a cream carpet and have young kids and if so how easy is it to keep clean?

You could always experiment with Mouse Painter !

Hope you get some good ideas, 3GM!

butterfly

You should make yourself a style board, cut out all the home sections from magazines sunday papers etc. and pick all the things you really love. Stick them on a piece of card. You will get to see what like and have down on paper your style. If your style is quite diverse you, ve got to start thinking about what atmosphere you want to create. Is it going to be a calm serene lounge or a family get together type of place. Colours then will play an important role. I could go on about this loads but without knowing your taste its difficult. I know how to make rooms bigger smaller etc. just email if you need any specific advice. I have done courses in interior design and textiles

Or then again you could always try this .

butterfly

Lol Butterfly...I want my house decorated tastefully thanks. I shudder when I have seen how most the rooms on changing room end up, not just because of the decoration but because its always done in such a rush and the workmanship looks more than a little shoddy! x

3girlsmum, we have a cream rug, bought pre-ds. i should say it was cream, now it's grey... even regular carpet cleaning doesn't seem to do much good, i'd say steer clear...

hth.

3girlsmum, buy Living etc this month, it has a great supplement with loads of colourschemes.

all i will say is would you wear the colour on your walls on yourself!!!???

Well since I work for a home interest mag (not Living etc which I find too expensive and impractical - sorry)

DON'T DO A CREAM CARPET!! I did a beigey colour recently with a great texture and even that seems to get dirty easily. Try to find a carpet with pattern, not the swirly horrific 70s stuff, but there are nice ones with textures and flecks of colour.

Secondly decide what colours you are drawn to. For instance I hate green, I couldn't live with it, whereas others love cool pale colours, I need warm strong colours. My house is all deep blue, bright yellow, strong red etc. The living room is creamy, but the sofas are deep terracotta and we have a huge beautiful rug and dark wood furniture so It doesn't look too plain.

With a cream sofa you could go all cool and calm with pale green or a china blue, or you could go strong and contrast a deep red wall with cream heavy curtains and cream sofa.

Personally I would buy a few mags and see which schemes you are drawn to. Then if you notice a theme between them, look at why you like them, is it style or colour. By now you should have an idea of a colour or if you want a traditional or modern look. Fabrics are also a great place to look, go to John Lewis and get loads of samples around your colours that you like, and slowly as someone said, get a mood board together. It really does help. I had Carpet, wallpaper samples when I went shopping as I could get teh best idea for lights etc that would work.

Good Luck