Re-Thinking the Mom Cave

It all started with this...

Remember this roadblock to my Mom Cave/home office makeover?  Should they stay or should they go was playing in my head.  While the moldings are pretty in some spaces, I'm kinda over them in here and the limitations they place on wall art.

My fear is that should I try to remove them, the damage to the wall could be extensive.  They've been in place for 26 years, caulked and repainted multiple times etc. I have been firmly in the camp of keeping my beloved purple walls (read about that HERE). I had decided to go creamy white below the chair rail, leaving those moldings in place. But repaint the entire room after repairing walls? So frustrating!  Everything else was moving along (slowly).  This could bring it all to a screeching halt.  But the white moldings on the purple walls was just too much going on for me now.  What's a girl to do?

Don't you love it when inspiration/distraction arrives in the mailbox?  Enter October's House Beautiful. 

Hellooooo, Lover!

And these images...

*Sigh.*

Masterful use of the color purple in a decidedly feminine space.  But look at the wall color.

And when you see all the lucious fabrics and throws out now in aubergine and lavendar -- even Target is in on the action with Sabrina Soto's new line!  Rooms with purple walls are not easy to accessorize.  I can't believe I'm actually saying this: Rooms with cool gray walls look lovely accessorized with purple.

So...

Amazing how many different shades of gray there are!!

Yes, I'll have to a little repair work anyway.  Wonder how I'll feel about those pesky white moldings with soft gray walls?  Or maybe I'll just do as Elizabeth at The Mustard Ceilings suggested and paint them the same color so they just blend in (you planted a wonderful seed there, Elizabeth!)?  Maybe the same shade of gray but in a semi-gloss?

And here's how my art for the Mom Cave is coming along--  I'm tempted to hang them and see if I can work around those DMs (darn moldings) after all.

Aren't they awesome?

Ok, so weigh in and let me know your thoughts!  Go gray and have fun with pops of my beloved purple?  Preserve the purple paint? Keep the moldings?  Kick 'em to the curb and deal with the wall repair?  Can't wait to hear what you think. :)

Happy Decorating!