Love everything especially the kitchen backsplash.

Annie, is that a Spiegel bed? If it is, I actually ordered the bed years ago but it wouldn't fit into a new place I had just moved to, and so I cancelled the order.

Not sure if you are still asking Kevin, but my vote goes for no canopy. Still, I'm sure if you go with the canopy it will look lovely.

I'm still leaning towards keeping it. But I'm also thinking about painting the room red when I get the plaster repaired and that stupid bump out demolished (which will also allow me to reposition the bed where it probably should be.

Any thoughts on red walls (deeper than this, but the plaid on the bed would have to go obviously)? Yes, it will make the room feel smaller, but I kind of like that, and it's so damn bright during the day it doesn't really matter how dark it is.

[Eclectic Bedroom design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/eclectic-bedroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_715~s_2104) by New York Media And Blogs ABRAMS

Your home is amazing.And yes to the red btw. I repeat, you made a small home look grand. swoon.

dominoswrath, no idea....I just search for an image on line to illustrate what I'm thinking of....could be, maybe not, don't know.

After seeing the pics without the canopy, I think you have to keep it...without it, it looks like the posts are trying to support the ceiling and didn't quite make it.

To keep it less feminine, perhaps you can get a single width of fabric to run over top of the canopy....maybe with a flat edge or a slight wave over the foot of the bed, hanging down about 12" or so, then run straight over top of the canopy and down the back side. So it would completely cover the top, but have no sides on it. It would reduce the froufrou factor significantly.

Alright, I guess I tired you all out since I received only one response regarding painting the walls red. I bought the paint today, and I had already picked out Pratt & Lambert Accolade in Velvet finish in China Closet Red (historic Williamsburg color). It'll look very similar to the picture above (and is identical to the same color made by Martin Senour paints). I've just put on one coat, but it'll need one more (at least). I'll post in the AM.

Vote for red (assuming it's not too late). My contractor is trying to squeeze me in on Thursday or Friday to do the plaster and rip off the stupid bump out.

I agree on the keep the canopy but keep it bare - it looks great as is! The framework seems to improve the dimensions of the room.

I think a deep red would be fabulous. Check out BM Mexicana, we used it for an office and a fireplace accent wall and it's lovely.

I love your colors and decor, especially the kitty :)

Hi Kevin(my oldest son is Kevin), just an FYI on red paint. It will never get to the color it's 'supposed'(or you want!)to be without doing a base coat of charcoal gray, and it makes no difference on the brand of paint. It may make a difference on the intensity of the red as to how many coats you will need over the base.

I used RL Balmoral Red several years ago, and only needed two coats over the charcoal~had I put it on a bit heavier, I could have gotten by with
only one.

Since you've already started, and want to avoid 4 or more coats, you will unfortunately have to cover up your first coat with the charcoal.

Red! Yes! I love the red in the above picture, it's reading very coral on my monitor and I find it fresher and more up to date than a deep red. One of the few things I have disliked is the plaid comforter- too puffy, too old style looking, so getting something different there is good, imo.

That picture is so attractive/interesting too, I saved it for reference; the pillow arrangements, open frames, etc.

About the red color - Picture 'When Harry Met Sally', and Meg Ryan in the diner with Billy Crystal...'yes, Yes, YES!!!!!'

If my old cape was anything like your townhouse, I'd be saying, like Rob Reiner's mother in that scene, 'I'll have what (s)he is having.' and copy all that I could, as it's so darn beautiful.

Instead, I'm settling for re-doing an antique chair in the Stewart Hunting tartan plaid on your Ralph Lauren master bedroom chair. It's a start... :-)

Yes, rip out the bumpout and rotate the bed. The shape of the canopy will work much better with the ceiling slope in that orientation.

And yes on the red. I really like the current color, but the red will add to the cozy, masculine feel you're going for.

I think the red will be stunning! Do you have a plan for the bedding? A camel would be lovely with both the wood tones and the red.

i have two red walls--ben moore moroccan in my house.
it glows and i love it.
i say go for it.

Kevin, I didnt originally like the canopy because of the bump out and the way it plays with the roof. My initial thought was ditch it, then I saw another picture and it didn't bother me as much (those day light ones).

Before you buy a crochet canopy, would you consider throwing a basic comforter on the top of the bed and seeing how it works with the push out on the loft as well as the ceiling? I actually think a crochet one won't work myself but I'm thinking that the fabric might kind of hide the bump and give that cozy feel you're after...not to mention that if the room is that bright it will help keep the sunlight out of a guests eyes when they are sleeping in the morning.

I am an old home lover so I love your house. I have a bit of house envy LOL My rooms are all huge which seems nice...til you get into plaster repair heh heh Red would be perfect for that room! Rich and enveloping like the rest of your lovely home.

Kevin, you don't necessarily need to use a 'crochet bed canopy' to have a crochet canopy. This is what i've had on my 4 poster Rice bed the last several years. I've just stretched it to fit over the posts.

I'm sure a crocheted piece like this is a few dollars less than the real deal. Just thought I should make the suggestion.

Here is a link that might be useful: crocheted topper

Love the canopy.

As for the necessity of using a base coat of charcoal before painting with red - I'm not sure that's necessary. Perhaps that depends on the amount of light in the room.

Our painter used Ralph Lauren Hunting Coat Red and he used two coats to cover the white walls. But this bedroom is north facing with one window.

Here is how it's come out with two coats. It's not as dark as it appears in these photographs. I really hate the glossy white ceiling. Should I paint it red, leave it alone, or paint it the same matte off white used in my bathroom and kitchen above?

My contractor is coming tomorrow to fix the plaster, so I will have finals Saturday.

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Your home is very handsome. Love the new color. If it were me I would go with a matte white on the ceiling, I like the relief from the rich color with white. Its a big contrast but I don't think thats a bad thing. By the way, I would definately do the canopy, I really like the curved canopy. I wouldn't worry about the recess in the ceiling -whatever it is - it just adds to the character I think.

What a lot of action on canopy vs. no canopy. Who would ever have thought such a topic would elicit so much interest. ;)

I thought of this discussion last night as I was leafing through a design book I'd checked out of the library. One of its many images was of a canopy bed. To me, the canopy "made" the room. The bed was a lighter wood than yours, maple or natural cherry probably, but the effects were similar. There was no fabric over the canopy, and the bed and the room looked really good without it. The bed was very architectural, in a spidery, lacey way. I'm sure the canopy threw interesting shadows onto the walls at night, too.

I don't care for the white-white ceiling with the red walls either. However, because I usually don't like high contrast looks anyway, I'm not a very good judge of whether rooms with contrasting colors work. Even so, I wonder: what about a ceiling color that's not a true white at all? Could an off-white that reads as pale, pale tan or beige work? Would that read as a coordinating color, or would it merely look dirty or dingy? If you don't like contrast, what do you do with red walls? (Which, in your case BTW, I really like.)

I don't care for the bright white either but you have an interesting ceiling, so I wouldn't do red. You would at least need some crown molding to break it up. I wonder if you could do crown and the soft gold you had in there or maybe a lighter version of it.

One issue with crown molding is whether the room originally had it or not. In older houses, at least in ones that were not grand to begin with, my understanding is that upper-level rooms would not have had crown molding. Of course, a home owner may not care about maintaining that degree of authenticity. We had crown molding installed in the MBR of a Victorian we lived in. The house was on a street with some of the grandest houses in town, but it definitely was not one of the grand ones. But the whole thing had been so remuddled by the POs that one more new element in the place didn't matter.

The other issue is that our MBR was quite large. Kevin's room looks to be much smaller. Would crown molding make the room look cluttered and too busy?

It looks like he may have limited it to the dining room downstairs.

I did and that was intentional. None of these homes would have had crown originally because poorer people lived in them. I'm not trying to keep the house as minimalist as it would have been 200 years ago, but I still want it to be traditional (in the sense of the style, not in the sense of how a trinity house would have been). And I am not a fan personally of crown on vaulted, pitched ceilings.

I think red would be too much for the ceiling, but I'm going to paint the trim more off white, so the ceiling could be off white too.

ooh, off white matte paint on the ceiling would be great with off white satin woodwork. very rich and glowing.

I just noticed the molding on top of your kitchen cabs . I have never seen it done that way before. I wish I had thoughT about it in my last house. it would have been a great place to display my plates. I like how it sort of frames that space.

Random question - I love your sectional in the living room photo that you posted? Any chance you can share where you found it?? Thanks!

The moulding on the cabinets was not ideal. I had to have a soffit because of the angle on the drain pipe for my new shower stall and tub (above the kitchen) and because of the duct work for the hood. So that's why the crown is where it is.

The sofa is a Thomasville Mercer sectional with scoop arm and exposed, tapered legs (you can build it with different options) (mine has two love seat sides and one corner). It's a deep sofa, which is great. If I were you, and you get this sofa, I'd definitely get the spring down upgrade for the seat cushions.

This paint looks orange at night, which is a little weird, but I knew it wasn't really red red but more of a colonial type red. I think I'm going to stick it out.

I like the molding too, maydena.

Your bedroom looks just like ours with the same bed. I took our canopy off because my husband referred to our bed as the "covered wagon." lol

What a beautiful, tasteful home that screams cozy!!

Love the canopy with the wood slatted top

Love the red paint with your furniture and rug

Also love your sectional :)

Look forward to seeing the finished room. You are brave with your paint colors!!

I was too ambitious, thinking that my contractor could do this all in one day, but his truck needed a new starter so we didn't get started until nearly noon. Before long, he had to leave early. So he's coming back at 7 AM Sunday morning to finish.

But I thought I'd post some during photos for you to compare to what was there before. We still have to saw off the boards that are hanging over, but he wanted the new plaster to dry first. But you can see how the wall will be. All that's left is sanding and painting. So that'll be all day Sunday, I suppose. I'll probably try to put a first coat on the ceiling tomorrow.

And after seeing my floors again, it's a shame to cover them up... But I prefer rugs to walk on.

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I love the red. It definitely needs a cream or warmer off white ceiling and trim though. Or if you want to be really bold do the ceiling the same color!

Are you going to cut off the overhanging wood from the loft as well as the built-up part that was under it?

That wood is being trimmed off; I just have to wait for the plaster to dry before cutting it off so that the plaster doesn't crack. I've already taken off the end board (a 1"x6" that was running horizontally to cap it off).

Thanks for the RL update.
I use lots of red in my house. It really wasn't planned, but it worked out that way, and we are very happy with it. Yes to the red room. I'd even go with a red ceiling. Emphasize the warm, cozy aspect of the space.

Kevin,
What is the hardware you used in your lovely bathroom with the edenton tub? btw, i am copying it completely. I love it. excellent job!

I like the red. It's got more umph. I don't think I could handle it on the ceiling though.
Thanks for the tips about The Dump. I'll look for the short skinny guy with the bad dye job.
One more question, does your dining room get a lot of natural light? My dining room is in the earliest part of our house from the early 1800's with deep set windowsills facing sort of northwest, more north than west. It doesn't get much light until late afternoon. I love the drama of the darker color on the walls, but I'm not sure it would work in there. I painted the dark beams the ceiling color when we moved in so the room would flow better into the newer parts of the house, but the doors to the attic and basement and the beam across the stone fireplace are still in the original state. I wonder if I've have to paint them to match the trim if I went with a dark wall color. The white in your dining room looks nice and crisp against the dark blue.

The bathroom hardware was all Kohler Pinstripe Pure (bought online and saved at least $1K over Ferguson). The vanity hardware is from Restoration Hardware (Felicity, or something like that (the bail pulls are discontinued, however)). There's a long, detailed post on the bathroom forum. You wouldn't believe what it looked like before. Totally 80s.

Love your Home.
Love the bed with the canopy.
Love the red walls.
You have wonderful style & taste!

I'm finally just about finished. I just have to paint a piece of moulding to cap off the plaster/wood area from removing the loft bump out and pick up my tartan wool afghan from my parents' house over Christmas for the foot of the bed.

In my opinion (which is the only one that counts), it turned out better than I had expected. There's still the issue of what to do with the loft. That'll be the subject of another thread for another day. Enjoy, and thank you for all of your encouragement. (You'll see that I painted the ceiling off white (MAB Luxe Low Lustre custom matched), the trim a high gloss off white to match the rest of the trim from my first floor (a BM custom match in the Alkyd variety), and the walls red (Pratt & Lambert China Closet Red in Velvet finish (historic Williamsburg color. I also changed the bed orientation, changed the bed linens, removed the extra slats from the blinds, removed the bump out from the loft area (PITA), added a Library wall sconce from the Restoration Hardware outlet here in vintage brass, and changed shades to get matching ones from Restoration Hardware outlet (European Drum Shades in Goldenrod).)

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I'll take some photos in the daylight. The day escaped me. I was working on the damn thing from 9:15 until 4:30.

This post was edited by KevinMP on Sat, Dec 15, 12 at 17:37

It looks awesome! What I would do with the loft - put some large decorative baskets up there, used to store bedding and extra pillows etc.

At first, I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me while looking at your home pictures
.....then it dawned on me Kevin...I was swooning. I didn't recognize the feeling because I hadn't felt it since 1982!!!

Love the canopy and would leave it bare. Love the red walls...I had teensy tiny guestr and painted it red. Love the furniture.
You have exquisite taste and it shows ....even in your choice of Kitty Cat on the sill!

Now that's gorgeous!

I think it's a perfectly cozy guest room.

Love, love your canopy and I would certainly be using it, with mesh or something similar!

I can't think of a cozier space I would rather retire for the night. You have done some amazing things with your new home and I hope it brings you much joy! You have great taste!

It looks great and very cozy!

Did you paint the ceiling matte? It looks shiny in some pics, but not others.

What a wonderful room. I agree with everyone else about it. What's particularly caught my eye the most at the moment are the little details. For example, Kevin, you might have mentioned this before, but where did you get the bed linens? Like the bed skirt, which I really like. I also like the fact that the bed skirt and bedside table lamp shade work so well together. As another example, the pot for the plant (orchid? staghorn fern?) - what is it and where did you get it?

I've been thinking of repainting a room. It's not as small as that guest room, but it's not overly large either. I'd already been considering a warm, rich color and the sucess of the red on those walls confirms my feeling that deep colors in small spaces can be both beautiful and cozy.

Stunning! I would have said keep the canopy. Thanks for sharing your lovely warm home with us. It's very inspirational for those of us who have tiny spaces to work with! And, the cat is beautiful!

Lynxe, duvet is Ralph Lauren Summer Hill (bought it at the Polo outlet locally). The skirt is from the Restoration Hardware outlet (I paid $6 or so (originally over $100, which is a joke)). The shades are matching European drum shades from the Restoration Hardware outlet in Goldenrod. The plant is a staghorn fern that has gotten finicky in its fourth year so I moved it up to this bedroom to get some better daylight. The bullseye glass vase is from Homegoods (several months ago). Good luck, and thanks.