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Designer Tricks Revealed

Southern Living, Jul 2005 by Sandner, Julie Feagin

Make it easy on yourself. Follow these three rules for fabric, furniture, and accessories to pull together a gorgeous room.

You're about to get some top-secret information, so pay attention. We're going to crack the code of interior design. And while it may not bring world peace, it will do wonders for sprucing up your sleeping quarters. The gorgeous master bedroom of Keil and Chris Cadieux of Tulsa, Oklahoma, puts all the best tips into play.

Fabulous Fabric

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It only takes two fabrics, one main and one accent, to rev up a room's style. The couple enlisted the help of Tulsa designer Sallie Hughes. She presented Keil and Chris with several fabric options to get the ball rolling. Immediately they fell in love with a coral-and-sage green silk plaid. For an accent fabric, they chose a cut velvet material with a small leaf print. This picks up the sage tones in the silk plaid and brings a different pattern and texture to the mix.

* Secret #1 : Fabric stores are filled with so many options, it can seem overwhelming. Trust your instincts, and think about a rich mix such as chenille with silk. Bring home samples to see how they look in the space.

Key Placement

Placement of the fabrics in a space is important. Sallie skirted a round table with the bold plaid print and used the leaf-patterned material for large decorative pillows on the bed.

* Secret #2: Allow the fabric's entire pattern to be seen. Smaller prints are better suited for pillows and accent pieces, while large plaids and floral fabrics make gorgeous table skirts and draperies.

Perfect Paint Color

Use the main fabric in your room as inspiration for the wall color. Take home a few quarts or sample-size containers of different paints to test out in various places in the room. As light changes throughout the day, so does the color. Look at samples on the wall in the morning, afternoon, and at dusk before you make a final decision.

While the plaid is the bolder of the two patterns used in the room shown here, the green leaf print is more dominant. Sallie suggested using a warm peach tone to balance the sage green pillows and accessories.

* Secret #3: Pull a wall color from fabric, but don't use an exact match. Vary the color slightly; go darker or lighter. The difference will bring dimension to the space.

Designer Tricks Revealed

Southern Living, Jul 2005 by Sandner, Julie Feagin

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