A Flea-Market-Chic Bedroom

Celebrate your love of one-of-a-kind treasures by decorating with vintage finds. This bedroom, outfitted in blue and brown, mixes the new with the old for a look that is truly unique.

The original maple tone of this 1950s chest was too light to fit into the room's palette. Designer Cathy Kramer remedied the problem with a coat of chocolate paint and teal accents. Adding a large cushion to the top allows the storage container to serve as extra seating.

Tip: If your chest has a shiny surface, roughen it with fine sandpaper or liquid sandpaper before applying paint.

To get this look, paint the flat surfaces of a tabletop brown, trim the beveled edges blue, and add a stenciled paisley accent. Next, attach it to the wall with brackets for a helpful shelf.

The room's furnishings may be vintage, but the designer opted for modern bed linens to give the space a fresh, new style. To lighten the look for summer, she chose an icy blue duvet and shams. Easy-to-sew pillows made from the window-headboard remnants pull everything together.

Tip: When chilly weather sets in, switch out the blue for a warmer color like honey.

Originally scratched and dented, the lamp was proof that everything vintage needn't be perfect to shine again. To create this look, spray the base a dark, rich brown and then cover the shade frame with a striped fabric. To finish off the shade edges, apply narrow chocolate brown ribbon.

Vintage advertisements are a dime a dozen at most flea markets. Choose a set you like, mount the ads in inexpensive discount-store frames, and hang the artwork at eye level. Align the tops or bottoms of the frames, or position them so they appear to hang about midway, relative to the other framed pieces in the room.

One single window frame by itself wouldn't have been enough to fill the wall space left by the absence of a headboard. Together, though, they're just right.

Get the look: Find windows that measure approximately the width of your mattress. Remove the glass and install fiberboard or thin plywood over the back for safety. Cut fabric to fit each section and secure it in place with spray adhesive.

Add a splash of color and texture to your bedroom with functional and fancy decorative pillows. Detailed ribbon makes for a great pillow accent while geometric patterns add a dash of the unexpected.