Ikat Inspiration

Recently I started focusing on my bedroom. When I moved in, I painted the walls a dark navy blue. And I loved the color. Mostly because it felt like I was sleeping outside every night under the stars. Ok, I didn’t have stars. But it was dark, and made the room feel much smaller than it is. So a year after I painted it navy, I re-painted the room in Benjamin Moore’s Titanium.  And the color was beautiful-like floating in the clouds on a foggy day.  (I apologize for pictures with bad lighting--I'm a very poor photographer!)

In fact, I loved the color so much that I decided it was too good to keep contained in a room I only see when the lights are off and my eyes are closed.  So I took that same color and splashed it in the main living rooms. And then, because I have this philosophy that rooms in a house should not be the same color (unless they are open to each other), I was back at square one. And the same-colored room has been nagging me for the past two years.

Then, I saw the May issue of House Beautiful. And I heard angels singing.  Christina Murphy had designed the most inspiring apartment-and I got lots of ideas. One of those ideas was the bedroom she’d designed.  And this became my inspiration shot:

House Beautiful, May 2012 issue

I love the Ikat wallpaper and the pop of color against the neutral colors of cream and gray.  But since I cannot commit to (or afford) wallpaper, I’ve been on the hunt for stencils.

And I just may have found the perfect stencils at Olive Leaf Stencils on Etsy.

Olive Leaf Stencils, Etsy, Ikat Pattern #2

Olive Leaf Stencils, Etsy, Ikat Pattern #3

I’m a little torn between the two patterns. While the one on the bottom looks very similar to the inspiration shot, the one on the top seems a little less busy.  So until I make a decision, my bedroom is on pause. The walls have been painted cream. I’m just waiting for inspiration to make a choice.