Pink Rooms

Old Hats

These glass stovepipes show the whimsical side of the material. The bigger the hat, the rarer and more valuable it is -- the one at the center is about as large as they come. The cane in the corner is an impractical yet perfect companion.

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Table Toppers

A hundi shade throws a rosy cranberry glow over mismatched pieces spanning a century of glassmaking. Colored stemware from any period is likely to have clear stems and bases. The small cranberry wineglass (far left) is from the 1880s; the Champagne glass (right of the plate) is circa 1930.

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Bold and Energizing

Too often a guest room devolves into a bland, one-size-fits-all space that really pleases no one. Why not make it an enclave where you and your family will feel like honored guests, too? Vivid-pink walls and an upholstered daybed transform the room into a retreat where everyone feels they belong (because the room "belongs" to no one). As a comforting counterbalance to the saturated color, the furniture and fabrics are cream and pale gray.

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Tips for Decorating with Pink

1. A striped wallpaper that might be overwhelming in big doses can add an unusual radiance to the ceiling. 2. Windows get a shot of matching stripes, courtesy of wallpaper adhered to a vinyl roller shade. 3. A fresh coat of rosy paint is a time-saving alternative to installing new shelves. 4. Spray-painting metal canister lids is an easy way to add spots of brightness.

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Pink Parlor

This pink room, a small parlor off the entry, features an early-baroque spark screen. The mirror is Danish rococo, and the crystal chandelier it reflects is Gustavian.

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The Pink Room

In this room, gray wainscoting and bare floors soften the vivid color of the walls, which are adorned with an asymmetrical array of small paintings, sea fans, and a framed collection of starfish. The Gustavian settee is upholstered in linen, the stool is from the mid-nineteenth century, and the side chair is baroque. A mid-twentieth-century Danish lamp stands on a rococo side table with Victorian decanters.

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Pink Dreams

Dusky pinks provide a subtle glamour when paired with neutrals and special touches, such as this cotton-canvas headboard slipcover decorated with twill tape.

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Bed

This bed frame is encased in thick bump padding, then in fine-linen slipcovers that are stitched together into a simple dressmaker shape that gracefully envelops the frame of the bed. Pink linens accentuate the pink in the wall color.

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Hint of Pink

These walls and ceiling were painted in beige-pink tones. A large, pinkish mercury-glass ball catches the light.

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Thinking Pink

The whole interior of Martha's guest cottage in Maine is painted a dreamy pink, a color scheme Martha had always wanted to try, if only the right space ever presented itself. "I've never had a house that was appropriate," Martha says. "This one is, because of the loveliness of the interior."

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Living Room

Under Martha's direction, pink seems to have found its decorative footing. One of her design tactics was to create a continuous wash of ambient color throughout the guesthouse. The mirror frame above the fireplace, for example, was painted the same pink as the cottage's walls and trims.

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Tea Set

Martha found the pink porcelain teacups in the South of France; some of the Venetian glassware came with the house.

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Decorating Details

Amber-and-gold Venetian glass candlesticks stand on the Victorian flip-top desk.

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A Restful Place

The once-mismatched wicker pieces, including a chaise and a star-shape table, are now unified, thanks to a coat of gray paint. The enormous mirror on the right reflects a view of the harbor.

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Bedroom

Martha had a lampshade made to match the Italian alabaster reading lamp; the ruffled edge echoes the fluted top of the lamp base. The sconce is one of a set of Italian lyre-backed pieces in the room that belonged to Martha's grandmother.

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Bedding

The bed expands the range of pinks with its French sheets and pillowcases and mohair throw.

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Desk With a View

The bedroom desk, which faces the water, is the spot for writing letters or just gazing out the window.

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Bathroom

Martha unearthed the pink Venetian mirror at a consignment store. The pink glazed tiles were made in the 1920s at Pewabic Pottery, one of Detroit's renowned potters.

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Bathroom Sink

Additional pinks are worked into the decorative scheme in the bathroom with a few embroidered towels and some soaps.