Decorating Ideas for Soft and Restful Rooms

by Miriam Schulman

Cadet, the perfect marriage of blue and gray, is another indisputable classic color for the home This Pantone color was featured for men's wear on the fall 2011 runways but is timeless in the home. This color is decidedly gender neutral that is neither juvenile nor feminine so works in bedrooms for both sexes.

Get the whole sheet set or just a decorative throw pillow in this easy to live with organic color that is not too girly. I would love to see the Donna Karan duvet pictured here mixed with the unusual throw pillows by etsy sellers pictured below. The brown and blue polka dotted throw pillows add a contemporary masculine punch while the Brunschwig and Fils toile pillow would add instant old world style.

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All it takes is a new coat of paint in cadet blue. Interior Decorator Brian McCarthy advises "Find a piece that has good lines and trick it up. I've taken a plain pine chest of drawers from a junk shop and done a simple, cottagey finish with milk paint. Start with a base in Swedish blue-gray and lightly brush over it with white, pulling back with steel wool in spots to reveal more color." 

You can also repaint kitchen cabinets Decorator Sandra Nunnerley complains  "I'm so tired of all those off-white cabinets. I'd paint them this dark Swedish gray-blue and make the whole room very Gustavian, with chalky white walls, Carrara marble countertops, and stainless-steel appliances." When I repainted my own kitchen cabinets for a secretly budget saavy makeover, I had considered this advice but decided my kids would ruin white counters in a month and painted the brown cabinets bone white and went with slate gray countertops and saved the white marble for the backsplash.