DECORATING ADVICE : Too Many Colors Spoil the Bath

Question: What colors would be best for the window curtains and upper wall of a pink-tiled bathroom? The tile has burgundy trim. The walls above the tile are painted aqua. The fixtures are white, and the floor is tiled in yellow and pink blocks.

SHERRY STEWART

Answer: A combination of pink, burgundy, aqua and yellow and white doesn’t sound very harmonious. Get rid of the burgundy trim by painting it a clean white with epoxy paint. Cover your aqua walls with a soft-pink, lemon-yellow and green flowered washable vinyl. The shower and window curtains can be sunny yellow to coordinate with yellow hand towels. The bath towels and face cloths can be pastel pink or white.

Q: We have a traditional dining room. The English chairs have ball-and-claw feet. On the floor we have a Persian rug that is mostly ruby red with beige and light-blue accents. We have damask-designed wallpaper in cream tones. Our draperies are cream colored, and the curtains are white. What color would be best for the seats of the dining chairs?

CHRISTINE BREEN

A: I recommend a stripe pattern for the dining chairs. And don’t limit yourself to just one of the colors in your scheme. A small blue and gold stripe on a creamy vanilla background would be charming. Or, if you are a bit daring, use a ruby red and vanilla stripe, and braid the sides of the dining seats in gold.

Author’s note: How can anyone enjoy eating in a stuffy dining room? I have seen some very handsome traditional dining rooms across the country, and I have seen some mighty dreary ones. But “dreariness” is not determined by style of furniture, as some people would have you believe.

If you have a bent for the traditional, think of how exciting your mahogany furniture would look in a lemon-yellow and white setting. Enhance the charm of a French provincial dining room with gingham checks. Show off your modern dining set against a scheme of clean, clear colors: lemon yellow, emerald green, shocking pink and white.

Is your dining room designed for formal, stately dining? Then give it paneling and adorn it with brocade and velvet in rich colors.

Or perhaps yours is a warm, friendly room in which the kids do their homework and friends play cards? If so, look for sturdy, practical furnishings in gay colors and prints.

Dining rooms are frequently small rooms. But any room can be “enlarged” with strategic use of the right colors. Dining rooms, in particular, are often visually expanded with mirrors or wallpaper.

For many people, apartment-dwellers in particular, today’s dining room is an area off the living room. The two areas can be coordinated in their colors, but don’t let a department store retailer persuade you that the furniture for the living and dining rooms must match. Matching living room and dining room furnishings will make your decor look too conservative, even timid.

If you have a mahogany Queen Anne living room, there is no reason why you can’t have a dining room styled with painted pieces of furniture. If the living room color scheme is gold and pumpkin with avocado lacquer, then upholster the seats of the chairs in a bright avocado, orange and white geometric print. Use that same print for draperies, and hang them on a walnut or mahogany stained pole with matching rings. Then lay down a beige area rug with a pumpkin or avocado border.

Speaking of rugs in the dining room, why not use a rug to bring a multicolor pattern to the floor? The days of plain Jane rugs under the dining table are gone. Pattern is the rage. When selecting a dining room rug, think pattern: geometric, trellis, stripe or floral. When buying a dining room rug, be sure it is wide enough and long enough. The back legs of the dining room chairs should be on the rug when the chairs are occupied.

When creating a restful dining room setting, lighting is of the utmost importance. I strongly recommend crystal, if the budget allows. Another possibility for a restful setting is a brass hurricane-type fixture, not with hurricane globes, but with translucent shades made of fabric. And, of course, candlelight for restful dining is a given. Many people think candlelight is pretentious. Phooey on this idea! Candlelight rests the eyes and the soul.

I love a dining table set with natural colors and textures. Find a set of place mats with a pattern that features natural green, spring leaves or autumn foliage. Or go for pure Irish linen. Colored paper napkins tied with a colorful yarn bow can make a table setting exciting. So can crockery plates and crockery clay soup bowls with their brown tops. Earthenware table settings are delightful.

Although I love fresh flowers, they are not the only decoration that’s appropriate for a centerpiece. Why not try a small sculpture, a handsome figurine or a glass statue? A clay pot filled with a spray of feathers makes a whimsical conversation piece. A bowl of fruits and dried berries is another alternative. So is miniature furniture. Imagine a young girl’s delight when she finds her doll house at the center of her birthday party table.