Our Gothique Bedroom
Whew! It's been the same burgundy faux tapestry comforter on our bed for the past twelve years. It's time for a change. Yes, it's dramatic. Yes, it's purple and black.
Bed
Our king sized bed has a faux wrought iron head and foot "board". It's black of course. I recently received the new purple and gold bed things - a comforter, bedskirt, three toss pillows and two pillow shams. The colors are perfect; deep grape purple and antique gold with touches of black. I have some purple sheets, but the color is different enough from the bedding ensemble that the sheets make the comforter's purple turn brown. I founds some grape sheets at Target this week; the color isn't a match, but it at least doesn't turn the comforter brown. I'm unsure about durablilty, since these sheets are a cotton/rayon blend. The care instructions say to wash them in cold. Not a good sign.
I also got king-sized pillows for the shams from Target, and of course some additional toss pillows are in the plan.
Drapery
The bedroom is on the north side of the house, which is situated near the top of a hill. This means that the cold winter winds come banging against the windows, and when the outdoor temperature drops, so does the bedroom temp. We need drapes.
I picked up some drapery hardware at Lowes. The finials and brackets are from Kirsch, in an antique white. They must of course be painted. I used American Accents by Rust-Oleum Black Granite to paint the finials and brackets, and the curtain rod, a 12' wood closet rod. Due to the length, I also picked up some functional wood brackets to support the middle of the span. They have also been painted with the Black Granite. It took three cans and numerous "touch-ups" to get adequate coverage.
After trying to install the hardware, we found several.......issues. The curtain rod is about 14" too short, and the clearance between the left bracket and the wall is too narrow for a finial. We decided that a second rod would be needed, and an additional bracket to support the structure in the middle. Chris will have to pick up extra paint of course.
The bed is centered between the two windows in the bedroom; the assembly will span the two windows and the bed, providing a focal point for the room. The drapes (which at this writing are still on the cutting table in the studio) are black moleskin. They will be backed by sheers of netting flocked with large black openwork roses. I have some of the sheer fabric left, and I hope it is enough to swag from window to window. If not, I have located another bolt, but since I purchased the first bolt at half-price, I'm not eager to pay $10 a yard for more.
Additionally, now that I have the purple bedding in my possession, I picked up the final drapery element, purple fabric for swags. It was half price at JoAnn's (the good news), but 5 yards of the trim was at it's full $7.98/yard. Yes, the trim cost more than the fabric. "Quartz" tassles and tiebacks - also not on sale - from the JoAnn's Superstore are a perfect match with the tassle on one of the bedding ensemble's toss pillows. I'll bought tiebacks, because although I'm fond of the batcave feel, I also like sunshine. I just want to be able to control it.
From Lowes, I picked up shower curtain hangers in silver that have fleur-de-leis on them. I intend to sew buttonholes in the drapery's header to insert the hangers through. With all the gold in the room, I'm not sure that silver's the way to go, but I guess we'll have to see if we like them. A friend has tassles ornamenting her shower curtain hooks. I'll borrow that lavish touch to embellish the curtain hooks with "quartz" tassles. They only had six, of course, so acquiring a complete set might involve several trips.
Candles
If there's one thing we have in abundance in our house, it's candles. For fragranced candles, the Yankee Candle Company has no equal.
One of my favorite finds were tall holders on sale from JoAnn's at 60% or 70% off. They sit on the floor in a corner of the bedroom, and I use Yankee's jars on them. I like the jars, because they are safer - the flame is within a glass - and because they burn completely. Well almost; we do put the last half-inch or so on a candle warmer to get out the last of the fragrance. We found that they were unstable on the carpet, so Chris picked up some grey stone tiles from Lowes to place them upon. Considerably more stable, and something I would recommend. I believe he said that he got the tiled at about a buck each, so it's a cheap solution, too.
For Christmas, my mother purchased a pair of gothic lanterns for herself and one for me. She thought that we needed to save the boxes to pack them away after Christmas. No way! These are cool! My set has already found it's way to the bedroom. I have no idea where she got ours, but they're available from Iron Accents. Actually there's a lot of cool stuff from Iron Accents (I could go seriously broke there) but if you go to Garden Accents, you can look up the lanterns. I have one Dorchester and one Pickford. The Pickford is highlghted in yellow; I'm not fond of that. I think it's supposed to be verdigis, but it looks yellow. I have a feeling that I'll be adding to the Gothic lantern collection.
Lighting
Some time ago, I picked up wrought-iron scroll-work lamps for the bedside. With the new decor, the white botanical paper shades must go. JoAnn's had lampshades available in purple and black. The purple didn't coordinate at all, and the black were lined with gold, so I decided to look elsewhere before taking the plunge. Good thing, too; I found black shades at Target. I hot-glued beaded trim added to the bottom edge.
I found that hot glue works well, but care must be exercised, since the glue has a nasty habit of turning bright white anywhere it has spread a little and shows up on the surface of the black. To apply the trim, I start from the left side, since I'm right-handed.Rest the shade on a table, and sit on the floor below it. I used the side of the bed, but I don't reccomend this unless you're adept at using a hot glue gun. Hot glue is easy to make a mess with, and it doesn't clean up easily. The beaded trim comes on satin ribbon, which should be placed so the satin faces out. Apply a small dot of the hot glue to the shade near the edge, and press the left end of ribbon - satin out - into the hot glue. Hold the ribbon in your left hand, and apply a thin bead of hot glue to the edge of the shade. Drop the hot glue gun. Grab the ribbon with your right hand and gently stretch it to the right, pressing it into the glue with your left. It's important to keep the ribbon straight for the best appearance.
When I got to the end of the ribbon, I had intended to fold the raw side under and secure with a spot of glue. My fingers are too big, and the hot glue is too hot. I made a mess of the first end, discovering just how bright hot glue can appear on black fabric. Being rumored to be a tool-user, I grabbed a pair of tweezers (I was in the bedroom after all). It really helped to manipulate the ribbon with the tweezers while I applied the glue.
I have to say that the shades look great. Because they are black, there is a significant reduction in the light levels around the bed, but since the lamps are above the surface of the bed, there is still ample light for reading.
I have two small lamps for the vanity. The shades are white with beaded trim; I've draped a black lace scarf over the shades to soften the light.
Art
I love botanical prints. I have found prints of some favorite plants to frame up for the walls. Nightshade, foxglove, hemlock... you get the "picture", I'm sure. I just need to find suitable frames.
Hiroshige prints are grouped on one wall, framing the bookcase behind the door.
Other wall embellishments
I have two small shelves; one of which I have yet to decide placement for. One is from Hobby Lobby. I have found some great accessories there both gothique, and not. It is brown wood with gothic arches backed by mirrors. My gargoyle kitty with the marble eyes (a candle illuminates them) that Chris gifted me with some years ago sat there for years, and he has resumed his former haunt. The other shelf was a 70% off sale from JoAnn's. It's black wood and smaller. We just can't figure out where to put it.
My hat collection also decorates the walls. Over my nightstand are the black and purple ones; the straw collection is in the opposite corner.
I like to hang jewelry on the walls. I use what they call "picture hangers" that are decorative push-pins. Look for ones with decorative tops; they may be subtitled "Push Pin Decor". They're for light-weight applicaions, and the hooks are pretty small. I tend to cluster them in convenient places. The small hook means that I can only get three or four necklace on a hook, but that's fine - you get to see each one rather than a mass of beads and chain.
I found a large round wall decoration at JoAnn's a few days ago. It's hard to describe, but it's metal, with a central roundel surrounded by scrollwork. It's now centered over our bed. I'm toying with painting it black with Rust-Oleum's American Accents pounded metal finish spray paint, but Chris says that he rather likes it with the rust finish. I also purchased a pair of candle sconces that are companion peices; they are very long scrollwork, with fleur finials at the bottom ends. They frame the vanity's mirror nicely.
Other furniture
Bookcases, of course. Three talls and a short in one corner, one tall behind the door in an otherwise unusable space. Mostly the fiction collection, but also the natural science, magick and magic collections. They are of course the usual walnut faux wood, but the investment to replace them with black is a little out of reach right now. Besides, they're still functional.
A wing-back chair. Recovered in the 70's, I'm sure you can imagine the horror that awaits the intrepid person foolish enough to lift the elegant purple and gold tapestry throw. It is a very comfy chair, and is situated in the corner of the bedroom with the bookcase ensemble. The implication is that reading takes place here, but it usually functions as the clean clothes repository.
A cedar chest. Also a repository for clothes and bedding, it sits at the foot of the bed.
Dresser and vanity. These are antiques or near-antiques, from my great aunt's house. Finished in mahogony, they feature a classic empire or neo-classical style. The dresser is a "highboy", or a dresser which sits off the floor. It currently sports a bouquet of black roses in a ivory lace-embellishe vase and a couple of "bat-kitties". The vanity has an accompanying mirror, with a scroll top which I am fond of draping with necklaces or feather boas. My Gothic chest or casket sits on the vanity, and it holds part of my "kit" - Gothic jewelry, personal care items, etc. - for SCA use.
Folding bookshelves. Found at Target, these bookshelves function as tall nightstands. A tall lamp is placed on each (these are the lamps which need the shades replaced with black or purple), and baskets provide some organization. Mine has a plush black cat that I got at JoAnn's after Halloween this year at 70% off. I'm fond of him; he's got a maribou ruff and tail. Part of my collection of wood boxes is on the bottom shelf, and books and a junque basket occupy the middle shelf. Chris's usually has magic props and books on it.
The Master Bath
Our house was built in the seventies. This is significant, because the bathrooms have been preserved largely in what is kindly called "vintage" style. Thankfully, the landlord updated the vanity mirrors and lights before we moved in, but otherwise the avacado and harvest gold remain. At least they aren't both in the same bathroom - the avacado bathroom is the main one on the second floor, and ours (in the "master suite") is gold. Gold I can work with. We moved in with celestial towels and curtains, but as the towels disappeared, and one of thehand towels became suitable only for wiping up after cats, it became clear that a change was in order. Interestingly enough, I'd decided on changing the bathroom long before I decided to change the bedroom.
I decided on purple. (I know that comes as a surprise.) Purple and gold. Calontir colors. Yes, that makes me smile, now that I reside in the Outlands. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, find another "me" at my SCA pages.) Trouble is, it's bloody hard to find purple towels. Lavendar, steel, mauve, yes. But purple isn't common. I even put them on my Christmas list this year.