I suck at decorating... need opinion

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svtcontour

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Ok I picked up a 12 year old house which is pretty small (1350 square feet) and the livingroom and dinning room area is combined and its roughly 10x20 feet. I'm going to be putting my 75 gallon somewhere in that room.

Right now the 75 is on a metal stand but I will be buying a wood stand for it but I cannot choose the colour. The floor is that fake laminate hardwood and its not the best colour. The walls are slightly pinkish but I will probably paint them white because I have no idea what to go with.

I'm confused about the colour of the stand. Also I'm not sure if the wall that I've chosen is the best spot for it. I was going to put a small diningroom table and 4 chairs on the side of the room that has the kitchen entrance. on the opposite side of that room I was going to have the sofa, chair and coffee table maybe. I dont think I will have a TV in there, if I do, it will be a small LCD one in a corner.

Anyway so which colour stand and canopy for my 75:
http://www.elmersaquarium.com/h105pinestand.htm

Also I have two crappy pics of the room from either end. It might give an idea of what is going on. Oh dont mind the horrible window coverings. They are going to be changed :)

http://powerthings.com/pics/newhome/1.jpg
http://powerthings.com/pics/newhome/2.jpg
 
Just a little tip about picking paint colors....in the ideal situation paint should be one of the last things you pick for the room (yeah I know its the first thing they do on TV but the rooms are all planned out ahead of time). It should be the element that pulls everything else together.

As for the tank I think the light color wood or the black stand will give you the most versatility when decorating the room. Plus remember...if you dont like it or it ends up not going with everything else you can always paint it, although if you just spent all that money on a stand you probably won't want to. :D
 
Really... so paint usually comes last? God I should really go online and see if I can find a resource that can teach me basics. Its my first home and I'm paranoid :) Oh and broke so what ever I do must cost very little. LOL.
 
Congrats on the house! :bday: Don't feel bad...the only reason I know about the paint is b/c I interned with an interior designer this past summer to see if thats what I want to do. But if you want to get rid of the pink quicky white's a good option b/c you can do alot with it and just about everything goes with it!
 
:) Thanks. I'm happy about the purchase. As for the wall colours, I will go white for sure until I've lived in the house for a while and can really decide what is what. I dont like the carpet colour either. Its this sandy..pinky rose colour. Its in good shape but not my taste but I will have to wait until I get more $$. Things will be tight for the next year or so...maybe 2.

I've saved just enough to get a stand and canapy for my 75 gallon and also for a 180 gallon tank thats going in the basement (glass only - I will build the stand and canapy myself). That will be a long term project.
 
As a woodworker, I hope my $.02 is worth a nickel.

Personally, I prefer the natural stand (the lighter of the three). It is exactly what I have. It WILL darken a bit over time (turn a warmer brown color, called a "patina"). My stand is pine just like the one in the pic.


Anyhow, I say get natural for several reasons. Stained wood, especially pine and maple (the two most common woods in aquarium stands, well, other than oak) blotch terribly and you will find darker, blotchy spots in any stain they use. Natural wood has 0 blotch.

Second, if you ding or scratch the stained wood, it will look hideous (this happens a LOT to my stand, lol). With natural wood, it only takes a lil time for the new scratch to darken to match the patina of the outer layer of wood. Then, it's barely noticeable. No stain to try to match and hide the ding.


Last, natural wood is natural wood. I you want a dark stand, find someone who can make you one out of something darker like walnut, brazilian cherry, american cherry, or red oak. Yes, more expensive, but have you *ever* seen an aquarium cabinet out of walnut or brazilian cherry? woooooo weee! schwing!
 
Hi everyone :) Thanks for all the responses. Well I've looked at the stand colours and I actually like the light coloured one and the walnut but not the black. I think I might be going with the light one because I also found a sofa and chair where the frame was made out of lighter wood and I think it would look good. I also did see a stand from a different manufacturer that was cherry wood but it was more expensive than my house. LOL.
 
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