Peacocks and other things
Peacocking. It means “to display ostentatiously” and “to strut like a peacock.” In Texas, it’s a way of life.
In my opinion, 1989-1992 was the height of the peacocking trend in Texas (though I think it’s making a comeback—have you heard about the Lisa Frank leggings???). It was a rare occasion that I didn’t have some 3D material coming out of my neon-colored top. And this was a time when our Christmas sweaters were the Ugly Christmas Sweaters. Everybody was peacocking. Mr. L’s parents tell a funny story about Mr. L’s mom getting ready to go out and asking 5-year-old Mr. L for his opinion on her outfit. He said with an exasperated tone to his voice, “Mom, you look like a peacock!” Hey, maybe she did. It was the 90s! Ever since, it’s been her unofficial mascot.
I love peacocks too, and when I was deciding on a design for the guest room upstairs, I knew I had to go for it. Part of me also knew my mother-in-law would get a kick out of the peacock theme when she came to visit. But even though peacocks were my inspiration, I tried to keep it toned down—this isn’t the 90s after all.
When we first moved into our house, all of the upstairs bedrooms were painted a different color. The couple who lived here before us had three kids—two boys and a girl—and I’m guessing they let the kids choose their own paint colors for their rooms. This particular room happened to be a baby blue color. It was perfect for a boy’s room, but I had peacocks on the mind so baby blue would not do at all. Here’s the “before” from when the prior owners lived in the house:
Choosing a Paint Color
One thing I have learned about myself is that it is impossible for me to choose paint colors because there are just too many options. I am a firm believer in painting test spots on the wall in the room that needs to be painted because paint colors really do change in different lighting. When I wanted to paint our master bedroom a gray-white, I purchased no less than ten 8oz samples of various shades of white and wasn’t happy with any of them. And I’m still not sold on the color I ended up going with.
My solution to my slightly obsessive-compulsive behavior with choosing paint colors is to let a designer do the work for me. I do not go out and hire a designer—while this would be the coolest thing ever, it’s just not in the budget. Instead, I rely on the amazing designers who meticulously stage items for the Pottery Barn catalog. In the early 2000s, Pottery Barn started partnering with paint companies (first Benjamin Moore and now Sherwin Williams) to feature paint colors in their catalog. The logic behind the pairing is that customers will know what paint colors go best with certain Pottery Barn designs. I do not have a lot of furniture from Pottery Barn, but the pages from their catalog often serve as inspiration for my decorating and I’ve been happy with the paint colors I have used in the past. (See their current seasonal colors here).
When I decided to repaint the guest room, Pottery Barn had just released its early summer catalog and nautical decor was in style. I fell in love with the Sherwin Williams Naval color (SW 6244). Because the color was so dark I decided to paint just one wall in Naval, and then for the rest of the room I used the cream color that runs through the rest of our house (color-matched from old paint I found under the stairs).
Going back to that budget thing . . . as much as I love Sherwin Williams colors, I do not love the Sherwin Williams price. Both Lowes and the Home Depot have almost all of the Sherwin Williams paint formulas in their computer system and will color-match them to their (less-expensive) brands. I’ve used the Home Depot’s Glidden Duo brand as well as their Behr Paint + Primer in One, and have been happy with the coverage.
Choosing a Bedspread
If you read any decorating articles or books, they advise you choose your paint colors last because you want to pull colors from your accent pieces and see what paint color goes with them. I don’t do that. I think I get too excited about the prospect of painting, and then just impulsively start without thinking about the rest of the room. With that said, I have never been unhappy with the results (except for that pesky gray-white in the bedroom, but I’m not sure if I will ever find a color I am happy with). But I also tend to keep my color palette somewhat muted (I stick to blues, light yellows, and whites), and I also know that I can paint and modify whatever furniture pieces I have that do not go with my desired wall paint color. So to me, the cream room with the navy accent wall was a blank slate.
One item I do take very seriously when decorating bedrooms is the bedspread. To me, the bedspread sets the tone for the rest of the decor. I also prefer duvet covers to comforters because duvets can easily be removed and washed. Besides the paint, the bedspread was the first item that I purchased for the room. I went with the Rayna Paisley Duvet from Pottery Barn (can you tell I like Pottery Barn!?) because the paisley reminded me of peacock feathers. To save money, I didn’t splurge on the pillow shams from Pottery Barn, but instead went to SteinMart and picked up one of their basic quilts and shams in navy blue (similar one here).
Enter the Peacock
After the paint and bedspread, the rest of the items in the room sort of fell into place. I made some peacock feather art to go on the wall behind the bed (similar here) and added My Handsome Johnny (more on that later). I had a couple of bookshelves from Target that I didn’t have a place for, so I put them in the room. Because they were totally black, I removed the backing so the shelves would blend with the navy blue walls. I also took an antique wooden headboard and painted it coral to have a pop of color against the navy wall. I picked up the side tables for $30 each at Garden Ridge, and added a lamp that my grandmother made from a Chinese vase. The curtains are from IKEA. And **bada-bing bada-boom** the room was complete.
The Takeaway
To sum up my long diatribe, the following is what I learned when decorating my first guest room in the new house:
- When decorating on a budget, use what you have! You can always change furniture by painting it.
- Don’t buy expensive paint. For wall application in particular, there are less expensive brands out there that work and hold up just as well as the expensive stuff.
- Check out the home furnishing catalogs for paint color ideas. Find a room you like and work that color and palate into your design.
And always, ALWAYS, keep an open mind for peacocks ♥
Leave a Reply