Do you have any over the top decorating in your house?

[Gypsy]

I just re-did my bedroom. Originally I was going to replace the furniture as well as the bedding and lighting and window treatments (and I even have new nightstands I have no idea what I am going to do with as a result ) but once I changed my bedding the old furniture really worked with it much better than the new would have. So I didn't get a new bed (am using a pillow at the pole by my feet to keep my feet safe) and returned a rug I ordered and am probably going to consign the new nightstands (not returnable).

And instead I bought an inexpensive crystal chandelier and mounted it above my bed. And it's the perfect size so it's not obnoxious but every time I come into the bedroom I feel like I'm in a Las Vegas hotel... which is a feeling I love. It's just over the top enough that it makes me smile.

I'm putting up my new window treatments (I actually broke out the sewing machine) this week and then I'll post pics. But just the way it is right now brings a smile to my face.

I love the lighting bling I bought.

New Bedding in Fog: So Grey and I'm using Teal to accent it (looks much better than it sounds)

http://www.restorationhardware.com/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod1498001&categoryId=cat90089

Old Bed: But in Black.

http://ak1.ostkcdn.com/images/products/L80001187.jpg

And new sconces (total utilitarian as they are cat proof, Hally loves breaking our bedside lamps)

http://www.lampsplus.com/products/Possini-Euro-Chrome-Plug-In-Swing-Arm-Wall-Lamp__K9303.html

And the chandelier:

http://www.lampsplus.com/products/Silver-Fabric-Shade-and-Crystal-Semi-Flush-Ceiling-Light__95993.html (Much prettier in person)


I have black nightstands and the window treatments are just teal drapes and white sheers.

I had no idea how happy the chandelier would make me. Now I'm wondering how to add (or where) to add something fun into my other rooms!

What do you have in your rooms that makes you smile cause it's just a little over the top?

 

[dragonfly411]

I have a seriously country bedroom. My bed is raw cypress logs for the frame. The bedding set is green with a border along the edges showing whitetail bucks with full antlers. I have two bookshelves full of books, and a third bookshelf with all of my makeup, hair accessories, and perfume and more worn jewelry. My dresser is a tall dresser with a center cabinet with two shelves. I have a silhouette of a running deer that is on the wall between the dresser and makeup shelf. I have two little birdy silhouettes above my closet door (one on each side) with an 8x10 painting of a deer in the middle over the doorway. I also collect pigs, so there are pigs EVERYWHERE. I have a wrought iron heavy duty pig doorstop that SO's mom painted, a little ceramic pig door stop that "sleeps" by my closet, piggy ornaments that hang from my lamp (which gets it's own story), little tiny glass pig figures on the dresser and shelves lolol. I have a matching set of iron deer candle holders, each in a different stance, with a larger one I found at Cracker Barrel that matches! And he has pine cones on his side. I have small wooden deer figures on a little wooden stand by my door that were my great grandmother's. The turtles are in on top of my smaller bookshelf.

The lamp. When I was first getting my bedroom furniture, I was looking for the perfect lamp to go with a sort of woodland theme (at the time I was planning my room to be very Rivendell style because we had a log cabin and my room and balcony looked out over our wooded pond, and the land was woods and horse pasture so it was very ethereal and enchanting, but the entire theme works with my woodland theme now too). SO we went to a furniture store and I saw this lamp in the front of the store and nearly DIED because it was GORGEOUS. It is two weaving "vines" that have little leaves and buds branching out, made of a deep copper toned Iron. The two vines end in two long amber colored "flowers" which are where the bulbs are. It is goooooooooorgeous. Well at first I was told no, and we went to a few other stores and I kept thinking about it. Well they decided if we went back and it was there (was also the store where my grandparents got their couch), then I could get it. When we went back it was not where it was when we left (only a few hours later). Someone had hidden it!!! I found it behind a table, and it was fate. It's my favorite piece in my room and I love it. I'll post pictures tonight, since I can't find anything similar online.

 

[kenny]

Like my wardrobe the contents of our house is all over the map.
We have stuff from garage sales, thrift stores, Ikea, uber-high end hand-knotted 60-Raj Tabriz Persian rugs under things I've pulled out of dumpsters and a piano that cost about as much as the house cost.
There is no theme, no period, no matching.
Nothing "goes" with anything, yet each item itself is inherently marvelous and just right.

I guess I'd say some of it is over the top, but some of it is under the bottom.

Works for us.

 

[elrohwen]

If DH answered this question he would say the conch shells! (like these: http://seafoodtreasures.com/catalog/images/conch.jpg, http://www.saildivebvi.com/p7ssm_img_3/fullsize/flamehelmet2_fs.jpg)

During our last couple trips to the Bahamas we've caught dozens of conch ourselves and eaten every single one (we had some friends to help). DH brought back three from the first trip (two like the first pic, and one like the second) and a couple from this year's trip (which haven't made it into the house yet). Two are in our living room on a bookcase and one is on the back of the toilet in the bathroom. I always thought they were so tacky when I saw them in gift shops, but knowing we caught, cleaned, and cooked those puppies ourselves makes me really proud of the shells! They're definitely over the top, but we love them (DH especially loves them). I just have to find a way to keep the newest two out of the house - I think three is enough!

Otherwise my decorating is pretty boring and non-funky - think Pottery Barn. When we get a house, I'd love to add a few more fun pieces, like a sparkly chandelier (love the one you picked, Gypsy!) for some zing.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Gypsy, that sounds really lovely! Have any pics?

I have a chandelier with amber coloured and crystal beads that hangs over my bathtub. It was a birthday gift from DH while we were building our house, and it really makes me smile. I also have one in the guest room that I just love in such an otherwise boring and Ikea'd out bedroom. The other unique piece in that bedroom is a pine nightstand that DH made once we bought our pine platform bed from Ikea.

 

[Ninna]

Beautiful Paisley Bedding G
Over the top? Rugs & Chandeliers. Too young for this stuff according to friends
Smaller in the dining room [no table yet lol] :

 

[Ninna]

Larger version in the Living room:

 

[zoebartlett]

I love the chandelier, the new lamps, and your new bedding, L! They're beautiful, and I can imagine how nice they look with your black furniture.

I've become a big fan of more modern decor over the past few years. I've never really liked country-style furnishings but we tend to go for things with simple lines (no carving in the wood, not heavy looking, ornate furniture). Think Shaker style. Anyway, I got two lamps at Home Goods last year and they're definitely the most modern things we've ever owned. I love them! My husband hates them. Too bad -- I'm not getting rid of them. I don't know that they're truly over the top but compared to the rest of our stuff, they do stand out. They're supposed to be in our guest room on round, black night stands, but our guest room is too small to hold both tables with the large couch we also have in there. Oh well. For now, these lamps are in our master bedroom (which needs an overhaul badly).

Here's a pic of the lamps:

 

[packrat]

Rooster wallpaper in the kitchen. Rooster knobs/pulls on the old cabinets. I did take a Rooster border years ago and cut it apart and pasted the roosters in the middle of my cabinet doors, and put rooster wallies on the ceiling fan blades. I've since taken that stuff down, but still have the wallpaper and the pulls on the fans are roosters/chickens. I had a cabinet made w/glass doors to display roosters and I have them all over the kitchen.

Our house is full of color-it used to be all neutral and now it's all fall colors on the walls. That in itself was enough to give my "take the lightest color on the strip and cut it by 75%" neutral color loving father a heart attack. When I told him we were painting the living room burnt orange he threw his arms up in the air and yelled "OH JAYZUS!"

We have a lot of things from JD's hunting, displayed in the basement. Lots of turkey fans/beards, some tanned furs and a couple buck heads. There is a support pole that we nail the antlers to, all the way around, and then it expands up onto the beam along the ceiling and will at some point continue on down the flat corners of the walls. It's very country, very rustic, outdoorsy and I love it. When we take the dividing wall down between his man room and the old computer room, he'll build out a three sided box around where the wall was to mimic the other side, and we'll continue w/the antlers there too. We also have used antlers as the door handles on his bathroom door, the gun cabinet he and dad built and on the bed he built for Trapper.

And I have frog idea stix in the bathroom all over..had more but Trapper has pulled a lot of them off.

 

[bebe]

Lighting and hardware - the jewelry of the home

 

[pierreone]

There are two things in our house that make me smile every day: the kitchen and the dining room light.

Our whole house is modern, and in the kitchen we decided to be even more bold and use red glossy cabinets. We debated long and hard about how it would impact resale, but in the end we both knew we loved the color and wanted to enjoy our choices. So glad we did. It's been five years and the color still makes us happy.



Also smile at our dining room light, especially since it's the only modern light that DH would agree to. The light runs down the ribs and concentrates in the tips. Came with colored filters that can be inserted to change the color of the light to red, blue, or yellow, but we've never used them.

 

[kenny]

I love those red cabinets!

 

[Jennifer W]

My biggest over the top decorating took place in the bathroom. It's an Edwardian house, so I wanted something that fitted in, without being twee or cutesy.

I ripped out the bathroom and replaced it from the stonework up, with sanitary ware and accessories from Thomas Crapper.
http://www.thomas-crapper.com/

Totally over the top and it makes me smile every day. I'm planning on replacing the en-suite sanitary ware with a Crapper Thunderbox.
http://www.thomas-crapper.com/news.asp?ID=35&page=1

I'm going for the single model- the double one is just too weird!

 

[zoebartlett]

Pierreone -- I LOVE the red cabinets in your kitchen! Red is such a happy color to me. I love how sleek your kitchen looks.

Jennifer -- I've heard Thomas' name before but it cracked me up to see his name spelled out. Yes, I'm THAT immature at times.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I have a seriously country bedroom. My bed is raw cypress logs for the frame. The bedding set is green with a border along the edges showing whitetail bucks with full antlers. I have two bookshelves full of books, and a third bookshelf with all of my makeup, hair accessories, and perfume and more worn jewelry. My dresser is a tall dresser with a center cabinet with two shelves. I have a silhouette of a running deer that is on the wall between the dresser and makeup shelf. I have two little birdy silhouettes above my closet door (one on each side) with an 8x10 painting of a deer in the middle over the doorway. I also collect pigs, so there are pigs EVERYWHERE. I have a wrought iron heavy duty pig doorstop that SO's mom painted, a little ceramic pig door stop that "sleeps" by my closet, piggy ornaments that hang from my lamp (which gets it's own story), little tiny glass pig figures on the dresser and shelves lolol. I have a matching set of iron deer candle holders, each in a different stance, with a larger one I found at Cracker Barrel that matches! And he has pine cones on his side. I have small wooden deer figures on a little wooden stand by my door that were my great grandmother's. The turtles are in on top of my smaller bookshelf.

The lamp. When I was first getting my bedroom furniture, I was looking for the perfect lamp to go with a sort of woodland theme (at the time I was planning my room to be very Rivendell style because we had a log cabin and my room and balcony looked out over our wooded pond, and the land was woods and horse pasture so it was very ethereal and enchanting, but the entire theme works with my woodland theme now too). SO we went to a furniture store and I saw this lamp in the front of the store and nearly DIED because it was GORGEOUS. It is two weaving "vines" that have little leaves and buds branching out, made of a deep copper toned Iron. The two vines end in two long amber colored "flowers" which are where the bulbs are. It is goooooooooorgeous. Well at first I was told no, and we went to a few other stores and I kept thinking about it. Well they decided if we went back and it was there (was also the store where my grandparents got their couch), then I could get it. When we went back it was not where it was when we left (only a few hours later). Someone had hidden it!!! I found it behind a table, and it was fate. It's my favorite piece in my room and I love it. I'll post pictures tonight, since I can't find anything similar online.

I don't think I could sleep with all of those animals staring at me!!!

 

[Cehrabehra]

My house is starting to look like bombay company lol I've been picking up things in my travels, a bodhran from ireland, a coocoo clock from germany, small (18") replica terracotta soldiers from Xi'an, carved mask and carved ganesh from bali, and so many other things I've picked up around europe and asia. Baskets, table runner (woven with sandalwood, smells divine), chinese paintings, a painting from bali... I don't think there's anything american left lol My couch is dania - I wonder how it will all look when we get back to the states lol So many intercultural tchotchkes! Though there are things like kaleidoscopes, huge picture books of the universe, the letters 'p-e-a-c-e'... I have a bay window that has a counter and it must be 10 feet wide by 2.5 feet deep and it's just FULL of interesting things. I even bought one of those balinese umbrellas! lol I have a curio case back home filled with more... an old chinese shoe from when the women bound their feet, indian baskets from extinct tribes... I think I'm becoming a collector of crap! hehe I console myself that I don't collect figurines or something Except ones that are carved out of stone or wood - or the terracotta haha - okay so I have figurines!!! I love art that you can touch. I just bought a new painting, I'm in LOVE with it!

 

[dragonfly411]

I have a seriously country bedroom. My bed is raw cypress logs for the frame. The bedding set is green with a border along the edges showing whitetail bucks with full antlers. I have two bookshelves full of books, and a third bookshelf with all of my makeup, hair accessories, and perfume and more worn jewelry. My dresser is a tall dresser with a center cabinet with two shelves. I have a silhouette of a running deer that is on the wall between the dresser and makeup shelf. I have two little birdy silhouettes above my closet door (one on each side) with an 8x10 painting of a deer in the middle over the doorway. I also collect pigs, so there are pigs EVERYWHERE. I have a wrought iron heavy duty pig doorstop that SO's mom painted, a little ceramic pig door stop that "sleeps" by my closet, piggy ornaments that hang from my lamp (which gets it's own story), little tiny glass pig figures on the dresser and shelves lolol. I have a matching set of iron deer candle holders, each in a different stance, with a larger one I found at Cracker Barrel that matches! And he has pine cones on his side. I have small wooden deer figures on a little wooden stand by my door that were my great grandmother's. The turtles are in on top of my smaller bookshelf.

The lamp. When I was first getting my bedroom furniture, I was looking for the perfect lamp to go with a sort of woodland theme (at the time I was planning my room to be very Rivendell style because we had a log cabin and my room and balcony looked out over our wooded pond, and the land was woods and horse pasture so it was very ethereal and enchanting, but the entire theme works with my woodland theme now too). SO we went to a furniture store and I saw this lamp in the front of the store and nearly DIED because it was GORGEOUS. It is two weaving "vines" that have little leaves and buds branching out, made of a deep copper toned Iron. The two vines end in two long amber colored "flowers" which are where the bulbs are. It is goooooooooorgeous. Well at first I was told no, and we went to a few other stores and I kept thinking about it. Well they decided if we went back and it was there (was also the store where my grandparents got their couch), then I could get it. When we went back it was not where it was when we left (only a few hours later). Someone had hidden it!!! I found it behind a table, and it was fate. It's my favorite piece in my room and I love it. I'll post pictures tonight, since I can't find anything similar online.

I don't think I could sleep with all of those animals staring at me!!!

Well the candle holders and the running deer have no eyes, running deer is a silhouette and the candle holders are like stick figures. One pig is asleep too. LOL

 

[NewEnglandLady]

I meant to take a picture of my "wall of memories" last night.

I just framed and hung 46 photos, a Christmas present to my DH, and I call it our "wall of memories". They are my favorite landscape shots from trips we've taken since we've been married. I seriously whittled it down to as few as I could and 46 is as low as I could go. I covers the wall up our staircase and while 46 framed photographs on one wall can seem overwhelming, I love having so many great memories flood me at once.

 

[Clairitek]

Gypsy, I love the sound of your redone bedroom! I think it sounds exactly as you said- like a Vegas hotel room (though I've never been, it just sounds as I would imagine it).

I meant to take a picture of my "wall of memories" last night.

I just framed and hung 46 photos, a Christmas present to my DH, and I call it our "wall of memories". They are my favorite landscape shots from trips we've taken since we've been married. I seriously whittled it down to as few as I could and 46 is as low as I could go. I covers the wall up our staircase and while 46 framed photographs on one wall can seem overwhelming, I love having so many great memories flood me at once.

My mother gave us a special photo collage hanging system thing for Christmas from Red Envelope that I really want to get out of the box and up on my wall. It comes with matted frames in a collection of sizes and you just hang one rod thing and they all attach, nicely spaced out. The problem is, I am not sure what to put in there! I would like for the photos to be cohesive, like your wall of memories. DH and I haven't traveled a lot together and I don't want to use wedding pictures since they are already around our apartment in larger formats. I envy your 46 different landscape photos! What a neat gift for your DH and I'm sure it was fun to assemble and put up.


As for me, I don't really have any OTT decor. Our style has changed a little since we moved into a really modern looking condo. We bought a new couch that is insanely modern and totally different from our last couch that is sort of driving the change. I wouldn't consider that OTT though.
This in chocolate brown. Its a lot more inviting and comfortable than it looks in the photos.
http://www.westelm.com/products/til...CTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules-_-

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I don't know about you guys, but I'm a Twilight fan, BIG TIME (it's a sad, sad addiction for a 30 year old woman). I would love to find ways to subtly work that passion into my decor. Any ideas?

 

[Jennifer W]

Pierreone -- I LOVE the red cabinets in your kitchen! Red is such a happy color to me. I love how sleek your kitchen looks.

Jennifer -- I've heard Thomas' name before but it cracked me up to see his name spelled out. Yes, I'm THAT immature at times.

Me too! It makes me laugh every day. It's written on the toilet and sink, too.

 

[movie zombie]

I........but every time I come into the bedroom I feel like I'm in a Las Vegas hotel... which is a feeling I love. It's just over the top enough that it makes me smile.

love it, Gypsy!: not a bad "feel" for a bedroom.

what happens in vegas stays in vegas?

MoZo

 

[dragonfly411]

HudsonHawk - Perhaps you could find paintings or photos of wolves? I'm going to do some browsing for you. I would think burgundy, reds, blacks, romantic gothic inspired things. Let me go look.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

HudsonHawk - Perhaps you could find paintings or photos of wolves? I'm going to do some browsing for you. I would think burgundy, reds, blacks, romantic gothic inspired things. Let me go look.

Um...thanks, but I'm team Edward!!!!!!!!!

 

[Octavia]

I meant to take a picture of my "wall of memories" last night.

I just framed and hung 46 photos, a Christmas present to my DH, and I call it our "wall of memories". They are my favorite landscape shots from trips we've taken since we've been married. I seriously whittled it down to as few as I could and 46 is as low as I could go. I covers the wall up our staircase and while 46 framed photographs on one wall can seem overwhelming, I love having so many great memories flood me at once.

NEL, my hubby and I started to do this exact project a couple months ago, but it got sidelined over the holidays. I'm looking forward to finishing it! I don't think we'll have anything close to 46, though.

We don't really have anything over-the-top. The closest is probably our original artwork, we collect pieces we like but they aren't all of similar styles and some are quite large, so it's pretty eclectic. I love it, though. Otherwise, because we rent, although I like the space to be nice, I don't see much point in getting fixtures or anything that isn't easily transitioned into a new space when we decide to move. Now, when we do get a house, there's no telling what I'll do...

 

[Gypsy]

I........but every time I come into the bedroom I feel like I'm in a Las Vegas hotel... which is a feeling I love. It's just over the top enough that it makes me smile.

love it, Gypsy!: not a bad "feel" for a bedroom.

what happens in vegas stays in vegas?

MoZo

Exactly.

Wow. I love hearing how everyone has personalized thier spaces. I do seem tame in comparison to some of you all though.

Zoe, I love those lamps. I wanted something similar for our bedroom but Hally is a PITA. Shoot my MS Office is not responding... gotta restart the computer, I'll comment more later (you know, after I get some work done).

 

[Circe]

I have a thing for peacocks. There's a huge vase of them on the mantle-piece in an enormous purple vase that has a very peacocks-eye-like yellow circle within a green circle on it: there's a smaller bunch in a tall, thin crimson vase on a high shelf in the bedroom; and, just to top things off perfectly, under the eaves of our 20-foot lost ceiling, I hung a 4' tall fan painted with peacocks.

The background of the fan? Is gilt. I also have a thing for gold. You can sorta imagine the rest of the house off the basis of that, I think ....

 

[Jennifer W]

I meant to take a picture of my "wall of memories" last night.

I just framed and hung 46 photos, a Christmas present to my DH, and I call it our "wall of memories". They are my favorite landscape shots from trips we've taken since we've been married. I seriously whittled it down to as few as I could and 46 is as low as I could go. I covers the wall up our staircase and while 46 framed photographs on one wall can seem overwhelming, I love having so many great memories flood me at once.

NEL, my hubby and I started to do this exact project a couple months ago, but it got sidelined over the holidays. I'm looking forward to finishing it! I don't think we'll have anything close to 46, though.

We don't really have anything over-the-top. The closest is probably our original artwork, we collect pieces we like but they aren't all of similar styles and some are quite large, so it's pretty eclectic. I love it, though. Otherwise, because we rent, although I like the space to be nice, I don't see much point in getting fixtures or anything that isn't easily transitioned into a new space when we decide to move. Now, when we do get a house, there's no telling what I'll do...

We have a wall (more like a room) of family photos. I thought they were really cool when I first saw them, with the exception of about six,they are all relatives on DH's side. When we moved here, I was really excited to have them all re-framed and placed around a room in our new house.

Well, over the years these things have started to creep me out. I'm seeing malevolence in these two dimensional faces as time goes. They're all formal studio portraits, from the very first days of photography. Some of these Victoria women look mean as snakes, and angry. They are starting to freak me out, to the point I don't go into our study unless I have to. I know what they think of me and my modern ways.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Jennifer W, so sorry that those old photos have started creeping you out. The eyes in those old photos can be really eerie, though.

Just took a shot of our stairway, though it was impossible to get a good angle. This project took FOREVER! I spent at least 6 hours choosing photos and ordering them, another 3 hours framing, then maybe 7 hours hanging them all. DH was travelling for a few days after Christmas and I finished it just a few hours before he got home.

 

[portia]

Gypsy, your bedroom sounds divine! I love the pieces you selected and totally understand that luxurious hotel bedroom feeling. I wish I could get ours looking like that!

Ninna, I love your chandelier. My style is modern, but I have a thing for chandeliers. Wish I had the space for one. I think yours is perfect!

pierreone, I love your modern kitchen!! Very cool cabinets!

I wouldn't say we have anything over the top, but the fun pieces we have are our arco floor lamp, pop chair and the palm pendants we're getting installed above our dining room table. They're so tiny (4" x 2"), but they look really cool grouped together at different heights. I can't wait to get them!