Forget 'Suite' Thoughts and go Eclectic with Furniture

Q: Our new master bedroom is very large and I'm not sure how to handle all that space. We moved in with a Hollywood king bed (no headboard) and a couple of bedside tables. Obviously, we have to buy some new furniture, but I'm not sure what kind of bedroom suite we should get. We are mostly traditional in taste.

A: My best advice: Give up any such "suite" thoughts. Furnishing any room with matching pieces is a very "yesterday" idea. Or should I say "yesteryear"? It was the French who introduced the concept of furnishing en suite, as they say, meaning more or less matching pieces.

What was novel in the 18th century became totally mundane by the early 20th century. Have you ever heard the term "Borax" applied to furniture? In the early 1900s, Borax soapboxes came with gift coupons that one could collect and redeem for chairs, sofas and such. All alike, of course, and all ... well, Borax.

By the mid-20th century, designers found another byword: eclectic. It's loosely defined as "the best of many things," which translates into rooms furnished with unlike pieces from many time periods in many different styles. Most often, eclectic furnishings include a personal mix of woods, wood-tones, painted finishes, metals and other materials.

As you can imagine, eclectic rooms are much more interesting and much more fun to decorate. In your case, size also matters. You'll need to find furniture with both height and heft that's in proportion to the size of your room.

Here's a traditional bedroom that should stimulate your thinking cap. The oversized four-poster bed (from Century Furniture's "Traditional Classics" collection of new "old" pieces, www.centuryfurniture.com) is in perfect scale for the height of the ceiling. Ditto, the soaring potted palm and antique Italian scenic painting over the bed's head —a souvenir from a Roman holiday? You'll also notice how wooden mouldings have been applied to the once-plain walls to add detailing and interest. For more info on mouldings and how-to's, click on hardwoodinfo.com and look under "Helpful Resources" for "Moulding & Woodwork."

As for furnishing the rest of the room, think practicality. You'll need bedside tables — but they need not match, remember — with good reading lamps or wall sconces. Plus, seating pieces that will allow you to enjoy your bedroom during waking hours, too.

Here, there's a comfortable lounging area any living room would envy, complete with a sofa, club chairs and a cocktail table.

The final ingredient in furnishing a large room is the grandly scaled rug that unfurls almost wall-to-wall, tying the large space into one lovely, cohesive unit.

Q: My husband wants to use a deep chocolate brown color to paint our apartment walls, the entry and living/dining room. Our floors are wood parquet, and we're in a building with not much natural light. I'm afraid it will be like living in a cave. He's all excited. Should we go with it?

A: Billy Baldwin, the quintessential interior decorator of the mid-20th century, did, and famously so. In fact, there remains an almost cultish following of young male designers who still hold Baldwin's deep brown in great respect.

That said, you do have a point: Any dark color will plunge a light-challenged space into eternal twilight. But not necessarily gloom. Instead think of it as glamorous.

Besides, you're probably there mostly at night anyway.

And there are ways to add a little light relief: Choose a gloss or high-gloss paint. Paint the ceilings with a bright, reflective white to catch and bounce back all the lamp light you have. Use light-colored furniture and an area rug over your parquet. Add sparkle with metallic accessories.

Rose Bennett Gilbert is the co-author of "Manhattan Style" and six other books on interior design.