Ok! Red and white then. This is kind of a neat room, but you do have a lot of furniture. So, my first thought is to move the furniture around a little bit to give you more functional space. The desk is really neat, but it is meant for a corner. Since you have the door to outside, one of your typical bedroom corners is missing. Let's consider if we can take the return that makes the desk an L off for now and put it in the garage / storage. It just doesn't work well for you here. It also seems that you need more storage by the desk. I would like to see the tall bookcase in the corner by the dresser where you have the short bookcase - that gives some height to that part of the room instead of having all the tall visual things in one place. Then, is there room to turn your bed onto the end wall and put both nightstands on either side? You may even be able to center the desk under the window so you can still look out, and put the short bookcase just to the right of the desk. If when you turn the bed, the desk doesn't fit where it is, then put it on the entry wall in front of the window left of the sliding door, and put the small bookcase at the left end facing the door when you walk in. You can swag back the curtains here to the left - and I have new curtain recommendations coming. Let someone else use the little green tiffany lamp for now - great in a bathroom! Center your dresser and mirror on the wall it is on now and add even rows of 3m command hooks (i like the silver ones) running up the wall on either side of the mirror and put your hats on them. Now for decor ideas. We need to find you some curtains to tell your color story - look at these - http://www.pier1.com/Flocked-Leaves-Panel/2689183,default,pd.html?cgid=curtains#start=4 they bring in your red and white, and also tie in your blue chair with the pretty birds without going all too patriotic in style. Use these on both sides of your window, two pulled together to the left on your door. Then, add an off- white comforter cover - called a duvet - this can be taken off and washed / bleached so it will be fine that it is white and you'll put your existing red spread folded in thirds at the bottom of the bed. With the duvet, you will get shams for your main pillows. Now you will need a bedskirt, but if you use a print here, it will add a lot of interest and we can make accent pillows that match to make your bed look very chic. I went looking for a red fabric with a small off-white print (you might find a red and white striped bedskirt with the red of your bedcover throw) , or buy some fabric and take it to the local tailor and they will make you one - here is a good fabric example. The red needs to be dark like your bedcover, but have a little white. Tell them you want a tailored skirt, not a ruffle - 2 yards would be enough to make a bedskirt and a pillow sham or decorative pillow bolster for your bed. Here is something that could help make the room look decorated - it matches something else we are getting to - http://beautifulfabric.com/asccustompages/products.asp?fav=0&fpage=1&page=1&categoryID=17&productID=6061&pStart=200&recNum=247 If you want to paint walls, you can, but I have some stencil ideas instead that will work nicely with the creamy white walls you have now. I think I would get a stencil to match the little print in the fabric - and stencil my closet doors with a reverse pattern -the off- white underneath and red on top. You can test sw rookwood red - match it to your red bedspread. You can even use craft paint so you can mix it to match the right red color - http://www.royaldesignstudio.com/collections/moroccan-stencils/products/casablanca-trellis-moroccan-stencil You can also do the wall where the head of the bed is changing to. Definitely don't do the whole room - it will feel too busy. Take the cork/ pin board and mask it off, then paint that frame red. Put it over the little bookcase. I'm going to suggest you and your mom go shopping for a headboard for your bed - sometimes craigslist has some terrific finds. Something solid against the stencil wall would be best instead of another open pattern. Paint the headboard the same dark red you use for your stencils. Here's rookwood http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW2802-rookwood-red/ Your dark furniture will look beautiful with this deep red and white. Put the art by your pinboard on the wall between the entry door and the window - it is too small for a big wall. Buy one large piece of art for over the bed - ask for it for a birthday or christmas - here is something like what I mean - this has your colors in it and was made by a fine artist - http://www.art.com/products/p12280045-sa-i1657569/joaquin-sorolla-y-bast-clotilde-and-elena-on-the-rocks-javea.htm?sorig=cat&sorigid=0&dimvals=5004429&ui=b5ff7eb13dc247bcb1178e6f636a3f96&ssk=joaqu%u00edn+sorolla+y+bastida You can get this in wrapped canvas that doesn't need a frame - just get a big enough size / around 2/3 as wide as your bed - or buy something that is just line art - a black sketch on white matted in the same deep red and framed in white. It might take you a while to get everything the way you like it. Be patient and work on this with your parents help and advice. Hope this gives you some visual things that could carry out your wish for your room.

Hello Lisa..thanks for your comments - so kind of you. The pictures are not good (sorry) and to be honest whilst I'm renovating I don't have the courage the post much at all ..well at least until it's finished but here are a few enclosed. My real idea is to get a discussion going that we might all enjoy. and yes how light strikes (as in angle?) can impact on even the paint colour etc. I see so many questions from readers about wallpaper paint colour etc and yet experts and skilled people such as yourself will know that it's the cohesion that has to work and light can play such a huge part. A wallpaper can be purchased and then prove disappointing if used in different a light as can paint - which is why we use your good services where possible! I've a pile of boards each with different colours (I use linen style artists boards as I can shift them around - I leave a white border on them to allow a suitable contrast) The small bedroom picture with the striped curtains was more to show that curtain colour - it's now blended with duck egg blue paint (sorry it's a New Zealand company called Resene's so it won't be known of there but called Robin's Egg Blue), ivory carpets which I had edged in a green/blue wool. Before these drapes (Laura Ashley) were in a different room and just didn't work. The bedroom hasn't been finished (See? I'm still a tad embarrassed) but I mentioned these as with incandescent lights this curtain colour did not work at all. Taking my courage in both hands and uploading a picture of the main living area which is to be painted next to do away with the strong saturated green..very dark and gloomy as the natural light is very limited. Hoping you can't see the paint splotches on the wall. Another lesson I learned is to paint a surface white and THEN paint the choices. If we don't do this the original surface colour 'bleeds'. So I really hope to have others including myself recognise that we have to have one eye to the climate and outdoor colours all the time as well as the same paint colour possibly being different from room to room. Regards...and thank you once again for taking the time to reply.

Have either of you thought of doing it yourself ? I did some furniture -- I assume this is similar . To practice , get some plywood , and play around until you are comfortable . I used a 5 gallon bucket , you add 10 cups of salt to the bucket almost filled with hot water ( I added an electric jug of boiling water to the warm water before adding the salt ) , then stir until the salt disolves , then add 20-25 cups of hydrated lime ( tip -- you can buy 20kg bags at Mitre 10 Mega for around $20 ) . It thickens , you can paint it on or rub it on with a rag . On the furniture I did , I waited a couple of days for it to dry , ran those green pot scourers over the corners etc to make it look old and used , and then did a really thin mix ( I used the original leftovers , but added about 4 or 5 times the water to it ) and rubbed it on , as some of the corners looked too yellowy wood after my amateur efforts -- this took that look off it . I'm not sure how you get rid of the polyurethene though -- lots of sanding and maybe paint stripper ?

Donna White Interior Design Donna White has run her Interior Design practise from her Auckland home for many years. “Covid-19 and Level 4 lock down in NZ were a shock to me, and the whole world. I knew, in fact, as we all knew, the world was going to change forever. Interior Design for me is about meeting, listening and engaging with my clients. I love the discussions, the banter and slow immersion into their lives, and their homes. I get the best results with face to face communication not only with my clients, but with my suppliers and manufacturers. On the eve of Level 3 lockdown moving into Level 4 the next morning, I had a second meeting with a new client. Prior to confirming the meeting, we tentatively checked with each other on our health and possible contact with Covid-19 carriers. We walked through his home, discussed his brief in more detail, and even ended up at an antique shop in Parnell, Auckland. OMG, the good old days, because the next day and every day since, the restrictions of Level 4 Lockdown have been driven home. What Covid-19 is doing to me, is making me embrace social media, something I have tentatively embraced – have you seen my Instagram? Now I have time and no excuses to adapt the way I operate. Of course, I am not alone in this.I am learning how to handle the Covid-19 and the Level 4 Lockdown impact by talking to fellow creatives. In fact, three of my professional interior design friends and I have thought about how to add value to our clients. We launch a Zoom chat next week on ‘What you can do to improve your living spaces during Lockdown’. I have work to continue with pre-Level 4 Lockdown clients, both existing and brand new. What I am doing is thinking about what they need right now, and finding new ways to deliver from my little bubble. This is exciting, and positive. A looming question is how are we going to attract new business - all of us from Interior Designers to suppliers and manufacturers? Talking, and being kind will help, and E-interior design too.” Designworx Amanda Neill is the lead designer in Designworx, has run a busy Devonport Studio for many years and is now based in the Bay of Plenty, working from her Design Studio there. “The days leading up to lockdown was a race to try to complete as much as we could in amongst the uncertainty of what was to come. Once lockdown hit, there was almost a sigh of relief and a stillness that you just had to go with. Nowhere to be…. No time to be there…. We completed a client presentation over a 2 hour zoom meeting on the 2nd day of lockdown. It wasn’t an entirely new way of working for me as I had done a number of remote projects, but it was a new way of working with NZ clients. Everything then came to an abrupt halt as the industry closed its doors for all but essential projects. The first week was spent sorting out my studio and catching up on all the tasks that had put on the back burner. It has been a time for reflection and planning. The creative process has been flowing and my bubble has allowed me the headspace and time to think about how I can add value during this lockdown period. Working with 3 other design colleagues, we are going to run a series of webinars to help people with their interiors during lockdown and beyond. The key will be adapting to use technology to work within the industry. Visual graphics will be very important to help our clients visualise a project. Like the below example of a project in the Isle of Man that we completed remotely. Cuthbert Interiors Anna Cuthbert is the principle Interior Designer at Cuthbert Interiors a three-person team based in Parnell, Auckland “Currently all working from home, my team and I are continuing to source and specify projects. The hardest thing for us is that a couple of extremely large projects have been pushed out as our teams of builders and tradies are unable to go to site, and other projects are somewhat suspended in mid air. The unknown is a little scary but with technology we have been able to adapt and continue to liaise with each other, clients and suppliers. This confinement has given me time to work on my business, a luxury that I rarely have. It has also allowed me to catch up on technical webinars and learning which is neverending in this industry. I believe that that most important thing I can be doing for my business is connecting with people. As we are all becoming so much more acutely aware of our immediate surroundings, people are thinking about changes and improvements to their homes which they want to implement at the end of this lockdown time.. I’ve been using zoom to meet with clients and suppliers so that projects continue to progress and the economy wheel keeps turning. While our doors cannot physically remain open we are always here on the phone or computer. I will continue to specify NZ manufactured products wherever possible as our borders may take some time to open, however more importantly we have amazingly skilled craftsmen and women in this country and we need to support local businesses.” Michelle Bevin Design Michelle runs her design practise from her home based studio in Karaka “The Covid 19 Lockdown happened suddenly in NZ, and everything felt so surreal. I went from a week of booked colour consultation meetings, to clients cancelling. My new build clients and development work ceased. NZ owned Traillite Motorhomes where I have been the interior designer for the last 8 years temporarily closed the doors. Having the luxury of time I have been able to think about how to improve my business, how I can add value to my services, add value to clients projects, work on my new website, and keep conversations going with existing clients and suppliers. With technology it has been nice to catch up with fellow colleagues, continue my presence on social media, and be constantly inspired by all our local talented craftsman and suppliers. They are going to need our support on the other side of this.