DECORATING ADVICE : Window Treatments for Yellow Main Room

Q: I have primary yellow walls in my living room. The wall-to-wall carpeting is off-white with a red trellis pattern.

My sofa and club chairs are covered in white cotton and accented with various patchwork and needlepointed pillows.

My question concerns the window treatment.

I have purchased some lovely white linen fabric that I would like to use for drapery. Should I have simple panels, or should I go with something like ballon shades? Should there be a color accent on the panels if I do go with drapery?

Frank Danielson

A: I think you should use your newly purchased white linen fabric as drapery panels, and hang them from white rings and a white lacquered wooden pole. The inner side of the panel and the bottom of the panels should be trimmed with a bright yellow braid. You might have enough of the fabric left to make a table skirt. Trim the bottom of the skirt in the same bright yellow!

Q: I have decorated my home in earth tones using beige, rust and brown. In the living room the furnishings are traditional, and in the family room they are contemporary.

My carpet is beige throughout. The sofa and love seat in the family room are done in a rust and beige stripe, and a chair is done in rust. The draperies are a woven fabric of beige, rust and white blended stripe. The walls are painted antique white.

The room is coming together but seems very “blah.” Should I change the color of the walls? Should my wall be the same throughout the two rooms? Should my accent colors be the same in both rooms?

Shirley Nugent

A: I would bring your family room to life by adding some bright accent colors such as periwinkle blue and lemon yellow. Throw pillows in these colors for the sofa and chair would be a good start. If the room is a naturally bright one, I would paint the walls sky blue and the ceilings and trim white.