ROOM REVIVAL
Story-Rob Kalesse Photos-Jessica Bratton(SPARK)

Like most of you out there, I have no vision when it comes to decorating the interior of my apartment. I pretty much leave it up to my wife to accessorize our living room, just as long as the TV stays in the same place.

But if you're like her, you might be looking for ways to jazz up the boring old living or dining room with something that catches the eye. And since I do what she tells me, I visited with someone who could help us out.

Hector Correa, of DelCor Home Interiors, was gracious enough to take us to his latest project, a living room in a historic showcase home in Middletown, where he gave us tips on how to go from a blank slate to a beautiful room.

BEGIN WITH A BLANK SLATE

Your best bet, when attempting to redecorate any room in the house, is to try and start from the beginning with a blank slate, if you can. That way you can determine the direction you'd like to go, rather than being controlled by a certain color or accessory in the room.

"It's always best to tear everything away and start from scratch, depending on your budget," Hector said. "Take away everything personal, but leave one dominant piece to work with." Hector said that piece can be a sofa or chair, or something of sentimental value.

DRAW INSPIRATION FROM DRAPES

Once you have that piece of furniture you'd like to center the room around (in Hector's case, the sofa and matching chair), the next step should be picking out the fabric for the draperies. And don't be afraid to be a little bold.

"The more color in your draperies, the more colors you'll be able to pull out and use in the rest of the room," Hector said. "Here I chose a red and gold fabric that, when held up against the solid, cream-colored sofa, really made an impact."

For the surrounding walls (and ceiling), Hector recommends painting instead of wallpaper, and that it's important to choose the paint colors after the fabric pattern has already been chosen. (Hector used a chocolate color for the ceiling and restrained gold for the walls.)

"In the case of paint, you have thousands of colors to choose from, whereas with fabrics, you don't have that large of a selection," Hector said. "Basically, it's all about the fabric for the drapes. That's going to be your color palette."

CAMOUFLAGE EYE SORES WITH GREENERY

You see those lamp wires and cable wires coming out from behind the TV? They go a long way in disrupting any kind of vibe you have in the room, mostly because they're ugly, they get in the way, and they don't add anything to the mood you're trying to create.
"Adding greenery helps to hide wires and corners or outlets; basically anything you want to hide," Hector said. "Fake plants are fine, as long as you go with a quality silk that makes them look more realistic."

INCORPORATE A VARIETY OF ELEMENTS

Other than color, a room also needs some texture. Picking out accessory pieces of different shapes and sizes is a good idea, but also keep in mind that they should vary in the kind of material from which they're made.

"Again, you don't want to get boring with just wood, wood, wood," Hector said. "So I always try and incorporate different elements as I go along. Anything like metal, glass, bamboo, fabrics; they all help to mix things up."

Hector used everything in his room, from bamboo columns to a wiry Asian-influenced wall hanging above the Mexican statuettes on a the table. Combined with the silky greens, fabric drapes and leather furniture, the room felt much more alive.

CHANGE UP THE HUES

The last thing you want to encounter when redecorating a room is boredom. Hector recommends changing up the hues as you go from piece to piece.

"The room won't look right if the pieces of furniture and accessories match the wall colors, or are all the same," Hector said. "Because when you decide to introduce a new piece, something that varies in color, it could stick out like a sore thumb, rather than blending seamlessly. Changing up the colors makes it easier to incorporate new pieces into the room."

In Hector's case, there are only two sets of furniture in the room that match. The end tables are a dark brown, and the sofa and chair are a light cream. When he added the leopard-like black chair, the colors were already present.

"If the colors were the same and I introduced this exotic chair, it wouldn't work," Hector said. "But because there is plenty of contrast in the room, and all the colors are based on what's present in the drapes, the chairs work great."