The amount of light your living room gets impacts color. A room flooded with sunlight can handle more saturated color, but pale shades tend to get washed out. For help in picking the most comfortable color, take your room’s temperature. Cool color counters strong sunlight, but north-facing rooms get cozier wrapped in a warm color.
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The 1980s are often referred to as the decade of decadence, with trends of big shoulders, big hair and big furniture. Big rooms were also in vogue, with vaulted ceilings popping up in contemporary homes, ensuring adequate space for all that teased hair. Dusky rose and teal, while sounding like a pop recording duo, were actually hot trend colors and were almost guaranteed to appear in some type of home accent, whether it was a floral arrangement, throw pillows or a textile pattern. If the ghosts of the '80s are still haunting your vaulted room here in the 21st century, it’s time to exorcise some of that outdated decor. Take advantage of the design options that vaulted ceilings offer, which aren't possible with traditional flat ceilings, especially when it comes to lighting.
Furniture
![80s 80s](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/fd/3f/7c/fd3f7cba23032960e1e668ac6fceb2c0.jpg)
Overstuffed furniture was everywhere in the 1980s, often paired with brass tables with glass tabletops. Start by donating those poofy sofas and chairs if they’re still in decent shape. Otherwise, leave them as an offering to your neighborhood garbage truck. Keeping the brass tables is an option if they fit within your decorating style. Design trends often come back around, and brass is shining once again in many modern, contemporary and upscale styles. Another option is to refinish those brass tables with some metallic spray paint in oil-rubbed bronze finish. You’ll have a completely new set of tables. You can stop there or keep going by painting the underside of the glass tabletop with a stencil pattern.
Lighting
Replace any ugly or outdated track lighting with decorative, modern designs or recessed lights. Multiple hanging pendants or multiple chandeliers in rustic or modern designs can add a dramatic effect. Hanging pendant lights with extra long rods can give a vaulted room a sophisticated look. Make sure there is adequate task lighting in the room with updated table lamps or floor lamps. Wall sconces make nice accent lighting. You'll need several layers of light for a large space like a vaulted great room.
Mirrored Walls
Large mirrored tiles glued to drywall can be very difficult and dangerous to remove.One option is to slip piano wire or a guitar string behind the mirror and use a sawing motion to release it from the adhesive. However, the glass can easily break, so safety goggles, a drop cloth to catch any glass shards and gloves are a must. It may be better to call it a professional glass company for removal. If this is cost prohibitive and you don't want to risk personal injury removing the mirrors, decorative window film or a glass frosting and etching spray can be used to create stenciled designs and tone down all or some of the reflective surface.
Mirrored Closet Doors
If your vaulted room has mirrored closet doors, you have several options. Remove the mirrored doors and replace them with wood doors or hang curtains from either a tension rod, ceiling track or curtain rod installed in the ceiling or on the wall above the closet opening. Another option is to remove the doors and transform the closet into a nook for reading or for a computer desk. Like the mirrored wall, you can also keep the doors and treat the mirrors with the frosting or etching spray and stencils or cover them with decorative window film.
Walls
A few cans of primer and a fresh coat of paint will take care of those hunter green, teal or turquoise walls that whisper, 'too much of the wrong shade.” Replace outdated wallpaper with an organic textured paper such as grass cloth, jute, hemp or bamboo. One design element from this decade that is worth holding onto is a glass block wall. Unless you absolutely hate it enough to suffer the expense of removing it, a glass block wall can still find favor with many 21st-century designs.
Ceilings
If your '80s-style vaulted ceiling gives the room a cold, sterile vibe, add interest and dimension with ceiling beams. The beams can be painted to match the ceiling, painted a slightly darker shade or stained with a natural wood finish. Box beams can be installed for a coffered ceiling. The ceiling can also be refinished with wood planks, similar to a hardwood floor. A vaulted ceiling with a flat center can be embellished with a ceiling medallion above a chandelier. Warm up the ceiling with a darker color than the walls. Skylights can be installed for additional natural light and will give the room an ambiance that wall windows can't provide. Multiple skylights provide an excellent environment for a few potted palms or indoor trees.
Resources (3)
About the Author
Michelle Radcliff owned a retail home furnishings business for eight years. Radcliff offers decorating advice on her blog, Home Decorating News, is a regular contributor on interior design at LoveToKnow.com and earned certification as an interior decorator from Penn Foster College in 2013.
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