Painted walls help unify different themes in twins’ room

DEAR GAIL: I have 15-month-old boy/girl twins. Right now they are still in cribs and sharing a room. One has a baby Noah’s ark theme in pastel colors; the other has zoo animals in blues, neon greens and different animal colors with lions, zebras, giraffes. The bedding would be too much for us to change so we just want to add to the room and maybe tie it all together. We have nothing but their cribs in the room and white walls. How can I decorate their room to tie the two together? — Dee

DEAR DEE: One of the easiest ways to pull a room together is with paint colors. You mentioned that you have green in the zoo bedding, so I’m going to assume that there is a pastel green in the other bedding or that there is a yellow in both. Both yellow and green are neutral colors for boys and girls, so pick one of the colors that works best with both.

With that color, look for an in-between color and then go one shape lighter. I’m suggesting a shade lighter because I’m guessing the zoo colors are a bit bright and you don’t want the room to lean too much toward the brighter colors since the other is pastel.

Now, paint 12-inch-wide tone-on-tone vertical stripes on the wall. The easy way to do this is to first paint the whole room in a flat paint. Then tape off and paint every other stripe in the same color but in a semigloss finish. So that you can wipe off the walls if they get dirty, purchase a washable flat. It is a bit more expensive, but worth the extra cost in children’s rooms.

You can paint the stripes from floor to ceiling or use a painted chair rail at 36 inches from the floor. Paint the chair rail white and the area below it the flat solid color. If you prefer less color in the room, paint the area below the chair rail white. Most times I prefer the visually heavier color or pattern below a chair rail, but with two cribs, a changing table and other items you may put in the room, I want to make sure we see the color.

For artwork, put together words from wood letters and paint them white or stain them the color of their cribs. The words can be a mixture of the names of the animals and the sounds that they make, like cow and moo or lion and roar. By just using the animals and not the different themes, you’re bringing them together.

Next, bring colors from both of the children’s bedding up onto a simple valance window treatment. If you’re lucky enough to find a stripe with both pastels and brighter colors, use it. Look for a fabric that has thin stripes or one that has multiple widths. I’m suggesting a stripe to keep it generic and not to introduce another pattern into the room.

If you can’t find one, you can make it by combining solid-colored fabric. If you don’t sew, use the press and seam tape. Try to use the wall color as one of the colors in the fabric to pull the walls and window together. Do a simple straight header with no pocket and use a metal rod with ring clips.

By bringing out the similar colors and theme of the animals, you’ll be able to pull the room together.

Gail Mayhugh, owner of GMJ Interiors, is a professional interior designer and author of a book on the subject. Questions may be sent by e-mail to: gail@gmjinteriors.com. Or, mail to: 7380 S. Eastern Ave., No. 124-272, Las Vegas, NV 89123. Her Web address is: www.GMJinteriors.com.