Rich chocolate brown?

Oh my gosh, that mural is going to look great when finished. I did that once in my tiny bathroom years ago, a Roman lady holding a bowl of fruit! behind the toilet! lol and then a Grand Canal scene on another wall. My friends loved it. Many years later when I painted them over, they were all so sad. Anyway, you've brought the idea to my attention again. Good luck, can't wait to see the end result.

I like the red velvet curtains, but I see what you mean about the rug. Which jewel colors are you contemplating?

I was think of a deep gold colored drape, are your walls a shade of blue?

I'm not understanding how the rug relates.

In your inspiration pic, the red in the rug complements the blues in the chair and the wall, while the blue in the rug echoes the chair and the wall.

This rug doesn't have the blue or white or green you have in the room so far.

Are there any colors in the rug you could pull out? Looks very neutral on my screen.

Your interpretation seems to be overall lighter in color. You might be happier with light color curtains, a buff color, or shade darker than your sky blue for the mural.

I knew I recognized that wall paper, I just couldn't remember the name.

From the article, "The walls are papered in a 1970s reproduction of "Monuments of Paris", ("Les Monuments de Paris") originally produced by the atelier of Jean Dufour in 1814."

Form firstdibs: " "The monuments of Paris is a hand screened, full color reproduction produced by "The Twigs" in cooperation with The Metropolitan Museum Of Art, after a scenic panorama originally manufactured in Paris in 1814 by Joseph Dufour. The Twigs cooperated with the museum to reproduce in faithful detail one of the most important examples of this genre. The reproduction measures 8 1/2 feet high by 48 feet in length and is printed in full color- depicting a variety of pastoral scenes against a backdrop of architectural monuments. Documentation was exhaustive throughout its manufacture. A limited number of additional copies were printed and available for private sale. The Twigs was commissioned by the Met to reproduce the panorama for the Museum's newly renovated American Wing. Original fragments were located and documented in situ. A team of Artists worked for two years to produce the drawings and more than a thousand silkscreens were engraved to complete the printing - after which the screens themselves were destroyed. Each set was numbered; 25 panels, each of them 27" wide made a complete set."

Here is a link that might be useful: AD october-2013

Here is a link that might be useful: new york social diary 2014

This post was edited by Lilylore on Wed, Nov 26, 14 at 14:49

I'd use a taupe dupioni silk for the drapes.

I am a bit confused as well. Your inspiration room has a colorful rug with blues and reds. How did you decide on the neutral rug?

With your rug, furnishings and chairs, I would stick with a neutral color curtain in the beige family. Could be darker beige or chocolate. Could be creamy beige. I would stay away from a color a saturated color.

Yes, my inspiration picture rug does not go along with the one I think we are leaning towards. That is mostly because of the ikat chairs: I couldn't find any red orientals that played well with them. In the inspiration picture, almost all of the fabrics are solids. I feel like the ikat with a strong colored rug would be too busy. There will be a red oriental in the adjoining dinning room in the future. Then again, if someone finds a great red one, it would really make this so much easier!

As for the rug we picked, there is (although not terribly noticeable in that particular picture) bits of grey-blue. The walls in the living room are a grey blue. Plus, the mural will have many beige architectural pieces that will coordinate with the rug.

I like taupe or chocolate brown. Although I was hoping for maybe something more dramatic. Would gold be too much? Curtains are something I have so much trouble envisioning. My immediate thought is a berry color. That might be too divine... :)

Lilylore: I just love those images! It makes me sad that they destroyed the screens. For what? So that the wall paper is rare and limited edition? :( This is why I have to paint it.

I love how you are looking at the original room as an "inspiration" and not slavishly trying to copy it, but make it your own. As I observed, you seem to be going for a more faded pallet than the original. And a more faded, or even neutral color, for curtains is what many good designers here are expecting will work in your scheme. In fact, I think the pops of color you want will be easy to accessorize and your mural will be vivid enough, besides, I would hate to have the curtains distract even a little from the wall painting.

You know, Andrea Anson, was an agent for opera talent. As such he probably dreamed in "red velvet curtains" and in fact, the red curtains may have been the starting point of his room design because they are symbolic of his profession. That is understandable. You have to ask yourself then, what do bright colored curtains 'mean' to me. The answer is probably "nothing". Am I wrong? Because you didn't buy the curtains first as a starting point, suggests, you might be wise to stave off a hasty decision.

Might I suggest you wait to complete the entire room, since curtains always seem to be a problem for you? Complete the room, then go buy some cheap remnants in the color you want or marked down fabric, or dye old sheets, that you can drape by the windows to pick a color. Sort of like getting a pint of paint to slap on the wall to test how it will look in the room?

If you search for the pattern by name, you will find mostly examples of the old wallpaper, add the word 'reproduction' to the search and you will find examples of the 1970s repro (which I like better myself) It seems that the repro's are selling for maybe $10,000.

The 'destruction' of the silk screens isn't so amazing. First of all the museum and the firm went to great length to create the project, which was certainly funded through the sale of the wall paper. So, yes, having exclusivity, would be attractive to collectors. (It should be noted that that factoid was related by a dealer trying to sell the paper) But silk screens have a life span. They can only be used so many times (like a run in a silk stocking or a fuzzy edge on a paper stencil) before they depreciate and no longer create a crisp image. The destruction of the screens would have been more than symbolic. It would guarantee that all editions of the print would be up to quality standards, and that some unscrupulous printer wouldn't start running off inferior product from the silk screens, thus jeopardizing the veracity of the print that the consumer would purchase.

Considering that these were hand made and hand printed, the cost of the extant prints made in the 70s are probably about what you might expect to pay if the exact same hand printed paper was issued today, printed on crisp new silk screens ($5,000-$10,000) for a full set.

What I find strange, isn't that the useless silkscreens were destroyed, but that a modern, computer printed, reissue copied from those prints made in the 70s, isn't sold thru MOMA, either as print on demand or limited runs every so often, and then I would expect the price to be about $2,500 for a set like that.

Here is a link that might be useful: "monuments of Paris" wallpaper

This post was edited by Lilylore on Wed, Nov 26, 14 at 0:29

First of all i would like to congratulate you for that creative approach that has transformed your interiors into 19th century castle. One thing i would like to add is please give some space for natural sunlight to pour in. It will give your room properly ventilated as well.

gold would look nice with your rug and if you include gold in your mural like the insp pic has, it should look nice imo... I would probably go with a light or at least a muted gold tho...

I don't think making random changes piece by piece and out of context is going to produce the kind of room you want. Especially not if you abruptly keep picking neutral elements just to be "safe." Your inspiration is far from a neutral, realtor-approved suburban Pottery Barn wasteland.

You are in no danger of slavishly copying that room unless you suddenly inherit the contents of an Italian palazzo. The style leaves plenty of room for you to fill with your own finds.

However, I do think it's important to take another look at the role that red plays in the original. It gives the room structure. It is the first color that the eye notices. And he carries it around the room not only in major pieces but in small touches like the candles against the wallpaper.

You can get rid of the red if you want. But then, what color will play that role?You can choose a dark gold or, yes, a neutral if you want, but it will need to be strong enough to provide definition in the way that the red does in the picture. (Although, if you go neutral, you may want to restrict the color palette to be calmer and much more narrow than his. Please, no "pops" of color in that room!)

I would take a moment to think about this now, to keep yourself headed in the right direction. At minimum, you may want to incorporate your key color in the mural.

Awesome project! I can't wait to see how it turns out.

I think that the question is "what is inspiring about this room", rather than, what are the key elements and color story of the room.

Except for the wall mural, that seems to be the only part of the color story that the OP has adopted, her slipper chairs, secretary, coffee table and rug all seem completely out of sorts with Anson's colors. So why should she only stick with the deep or dark of the curtains. The red curtains do dominate the room, and like I stated, seem to be a cheeky nod to the stage.

If you choose an inspiration room because of the 'feel' of the room, then you should interpret that feeling and see how the elements in the room reflect that feeling and will be necessary to sustain that feeling. But we are all going to pick up on different feelings in this room, or any room. And those impressions my not be dependent on the color story. If you're inspired by a room because of the individual objects and the colors, than you will want to stay true to those kinds of objects and colors. But an inspiration room doesn't mean you have to curate a "High vs Low" half hour HGTV program.

What I found fascinating about the room is that it is in the US, but looks like a room that was built, and not designed, per say. They started with the family antiques, purchased the wall paper in 1975, and moved this over to there, and added that or what not for some 50 years. The room evolved, The Mario Buatta slip covers and crowed tablescapes that probably dominated this room in the 1980s, have given way to more contemporary and relaxed textiles and open spots on the table where you can set a cup of tea. Like so many of the European rooms I love, that look can only be achieved once a room is lived in and loved. It's a design style that can only evolve over time and trial and error, something even Americans with the best intentions rarely achieve.

Look at the two published articles of the home, one shot with brilliant lighting (AD) and one with the images under natural light (NYSD). The AD layout looks planned and 'cleaned up', like several maids were hired for a fortnight and all the spines on the offensive books turned the other direction because "AD is coming." The later NYSD layout shows the room how it really is, which I find infinitely more pleasing because it is infinitely more approachable. We see the chairs, not how they are suppose to be 'designed' but set as they are typically used. Rather than parts of the room arranged in planned seating arrangements around a chessboard, which is typical, there's a pair of arm chairs set before a tall chest, so you would have to move them to open the drawers. Other chairs sit, blocking closed doors, which are possibly closets, or maybe doors that aren't used anymore. Chairs are set inside a wide archway between the sitting rooms, on either side of the 'bar' in the later photos, and removed elsewhere for AD because they blocked the flow of the room.

I can't speak for the OP, but these are the elements of the rooms that I find inspirational, and that is more about feel, and tone, than the color of the drapes or the pattern of the rugs.

This post was edited by Lilylore on Wed, Nov 26, 14 at 15:29

I thought the question was what color curtains the OP should get.

So did I.

This post was edited by Lilylore on Fri, Nov 28, 14 at 10:02

I thought the question was what color curtains the OP should get.

Okay.

This post was edited by Lilylore on Fri, Nov 28, 14 at 10:03

Well I have certainly enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts. And I do see a lot of great points on both sides of the issue.

Yes, I do want the room to have a similar feel the inspiration. I love the 'acquired from family heirlooms' vibe and the dark moodiness of it. The red is carried around the room so well - something that if I were to choose red curtains, could easily do in my own living room. (I also despise 'pops of color.')

But no, I do not have any more attachment to red other than I love the bold choice of color. However, I tend to stay away from neutrals.

There will red (mostly in the form of rugs) all over the house eventually, so the red wouldn't be totally out of place.

I think the next step is search around for rugs again. I'm leaning towards the red, but I do agree that it needs a red on the floor to anchor it.

Thank you so much for your comments!

I too am confused by the choice of rug after seeing the inspiration picture. The Ikat fabric certainly gives the whole feel a more modern/ eclectic boost but I think you lose the essence of the room when you eliminate red.

There are millions of rugs for sale in blue and red hues in varying amounts, and I think I would keep looking for a rug before choosing the curtains. The red velvet curtains are gorgeous (although I would use panels without the pelmet) and nicely enhance the strong colors in the mural.

Good luck with your project! I think having an inspiration picture can be a difficult starting point for the very reasons you've stated.

These are all FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLY. You can find them on One King's Lane under Rugs, if you filter for red and blue. Open up your photos on a separate browser and kinda scroll these rugs past them.

I wouldn't say any are right but they might help you decide what proportion of red vs. blue etc. you are looking for.

I think since the chair is patterned, one possibility to consider is a red aged-looking rug that has a monochrome pattern. It might have variations that would allow you to select one of the reds for curtains. And it might coordinate with a busier but smaller area rug as well. But I wouldn't rule any type out yet.

After all this work, I have a suspicion GW is not going to accept this file type. If that's try I'll have to come back later to try to fix.

I found these on Overstock in just a few minutes with a couple of filters in place. Although I don't know what kind of quality you'd get for $500-$1000in a large area rug, a lot of people seem to have ordered from OS and have been very pleased with their purchases and they have looked great in the rooms.

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Thanks for the suggestions! I've mostly been looking on ebay for antique orientals. I've found a few that I really love! I'm crossing my fingers that my husband doesn't freak at the price - they are really quiet reasonable. :)