I know you all think I’m totally slacking off on the bedroom makeover – especially compared to the massive and transformational progress that Sage is making in her kitchen! And you’re mostly right. Life has definitely gotten in the way.
But I HAVE been working on it! I shared this mini-update on Instagram over the weekend:
Yes, painting windows. As part of this makeover, I’ve decided that it is finally time to paint those window sashes that have been hanging out as raw wood ever since our renovation years ago. And not just in the bedroom – throughout the whole house! This is a pretty time consuming undertaking since we have divided light windows (SO. MANY. PANES.) but really needs to be done. I’ll do a full post on that (and explain why we’re in this window-painting mess to begin with) once we’ve finished.
This is what my house looks like. DIY is super glamorous.
But back to the fun part: making my bedroom prettier! While I’ve been working crazy hours, battling the flu, and taping 104 (not joking) individual panes of glass, I’ve had the chance to think a lot about the advice you all gave me on decorating this room.
First up, I was really torn on the whole lamps vs. scones question, and asked for your help. You delivered! Most important was the folks who pointed out that sconces wouldn’t work for the space. With the big bay window, the spot we’d be able to mount sconces on the wall would be too far from the edge of the bed to be convenient, and might look weird.
You can also see the wood window sash in this pic!
I guess I knew that, but I was resisting because I LOVE SCONCES SO MUCH. But it is important not to force-fit something, and instead to get lighting in here that will really work. Your feedback was really helpful. Lamps it is.
I also got some great tips on other places to check for awesome lamps (hello new friends at World Market and 1-800 Lighting), using dimmer or remote switches if the lamp I like has a hard-to-reach on/off switch, and how to calculate the right lamp height.
But while we know it will be lamps, I haven’t picked them out yet. I know, I KNOW, this is supposed to be the room in which I shed my compulsive need to wait for the perfect rather than going with the good. But Brad and I are at a stalemate. He is now very much in the bird-light camp.
(via 1 // 2)
I had one bird lamp in my round-up, but some comments pointed out options for other bird lamps which derailed Brad from productive-lamp-decision-making and into a spiral of bird-lamp-advocacy and online-bird-lamp-shopping. (And for those of you who know Brad, you know that online lamp shopping is not a standard activity.)
On the other hand, I am feeling a very different vibe. These are my two favorites:
In fact, per my motivation to make quicker decisions and to just go with things that I like, I am totally ready to buy the Globe Table Lamp from West Elm. It isn’t ideal for a bedside light as the light is focused upward, but I love it, have loved it for a while, and really want it somewhere in the house.
However, Brad is convinced that it looks like NYC subway lights.
Please tell him that is not the case.
But enough about our lamp navel-gazing, and let’s move on to a purchase that I’ve actually made! I had also shared some of my favorite tapestry options to use as art on our large wall. I think this is a great affordable option, so I was glad most people liked the idea, and I didn’t get like 50 comments telling me it would be too “college dorm.”
A few people really liked this one by Julia Bars (affiliate link –read our policies), and I agree: it’s my favorite of the bunch. The colors and style match perfectly with the color scheme and other elements we’re introducing to the room.
However, Brad wasn’t a fan. He likes the one showing a dreamy night scene, with tree branches and lights. (We have a pillow in the bedroom with a similar image that Brad’s mom gave us, and it goes great and will be part of the long-term decor of the room.) But that particular tapestry wasn’t one of my favorites, so we decided to compromise on both of our second favorite: the moody mountain scene which several of you liked, as well (affiliate link –read our policies).
It is ordered and takes several weeks to make and ship – I can’t wait for it to get here! While it won’t go as perfectly as the Julia Bars one would have, I actually think that is good. I like having some elements in every room that bring in a different point of view. The color scheme and style is going very “spring” and “pretty,” so introducing a little moodiness will serve the room well.
There are still a few more spots for art that I’ll need to figure out, but I’m glad to have this largest piece figured out.
So, while I haven’t made as much progress in here as I would have liked, at least I’ve got a few things moving! I’ve found that when life gets really busy, maintaining some small wins within big projects helps to keep the momentum for when things quiet down. And, clearly, I’m only here because of so much great advice from readers! Thank you!
Here is where we are:
Hang shelves in the cornerBuy and/or DIY matching bedside tables (ideally with loads of dresser-like storage)- Buy and/or DIY a bench for the end of the bed (ideally with storage)
Buy a new rug and bedding- Install new overhead light
Decide between lamps or scones for beside the bed, and buy/install- Buy and/or DIY several pieces of art for the walls (PROGRESS!)
- Hang window treatments
Fix gaping hole in the wall by installing grate- Finally paint wood window sashes (PROGRESS!)
Can’t wait to see it all installed.
Thanks, I’m excited!
Clearly Brad hasn’t been in the subway in quite some time. If those lights were there, the “pickers” would have them by now.
Did you look at wall mounted swing arm lamps for bedside?
We did! But ultimately we decided that with the window, it would look a little odd to have them swinging all the way over. Part of the beauty of having the window as a headboard is that it is simple so having lights constantly askew over it wouldn’t give the right look! I do love those in other spaces, though, so it is a hard dream to let go of.
Brad is right that that lamp looks like a NYC subway light, but in a GOOD way. (Having a bedside lamp that shines up is fine if you have light walls for it to reflect off of. Now that my bedroom is finally white, instead of dark blue with a black stripe, I can see to read in bed without have the light shine in my eyes as I gradually slide down the pillows.)
Brad should get a bird lamp–if he can choose one. You should get your favorite. Is this why I live alone? 🙂
I’ll tell him it’s a good thing 🙂
The trick will be finding a bird lamp that will “go” with the lamp that I eventually choose!
I agree the lamps don’t need to match.
I think that if one of the lamps is very figurative, like a bird lamp, then the two lights SHOULDN’T match. It would look strange if they did. Go and get the light you want and let Brad pick his bird lamp.
Good point! Two matching bird lamps could look strange.
Maybe they don’t! I was thinking that I wanted symmetrical because we have other asymmetrical elements in the room, but maybe we can get away with this one.
I agree that you should go with two different lamp so each are happy! I do think that lamps that point up are not going to give decent reading light. If you read paper books in bed (ie not on computer) you will need a light that points down. And as usual I do have tastes more like Brad’s and I like the tapestry you ened up with a lot! Enjoy!
Thanks! Maybe it will be better to get lamps that direct downward.
Just curious… is there a reason you didn’t just use a razor on the glass to remove the excess paint after it dried? I think I’ve heard some windows have some special coating, but I’ve never taped a window before painting and never had a problem. Plus razoring off dried paint is weirdly satisfying…
Good question! That works well, but there are seriously so many panes of glass in this project. 104 is the literal number, not a funny exaggeration! And the trim around them is detailed, so it is hard to paint it cleanly (like you would edge a ceiling). Taping takes a while to start, but cleanly scraping off that many sounds insane to me. Maybe others would have done it the other way?
That is a crazy number of window panes. I can’t quite picture how it wouldn’t work, but mostly I’m just glad you’re familiar with the technique and purposely decided not to use it. I wasn’t, which resulted in me unnecessarily taping off a ton of windows to paint, and THEN discovering the razor technique. So many wasted hours :/
Thanks Joanna. I feel like painting windows is a giant waste of time with either method! The taping was a pain, but now that I’m on to the painting I am sure thankful for it…
I’m not entirely sold on the actual bird lamp (which is to say, I think it’s awesome, but my first instinct is pretty much always to go with whimsical animal thing, so I try to second guess this instinct lest my house be (more) overrun with whimsical animal things. Maybe you don’t have this problem), but I’m utterly charmed by Brad’s devotion to finding a bird lamp, and I really want him to have one.
I want him to have one too! But lest people think that he is bird-starved, I do want to point out that we’ve got a bird lamp in the living room, and a bird pillow, as well. I’ve also got a bird planter. And in that room we’ve got pig book-ends already! I think we could handle one bird thing in that room (i.e., wouldn’t be too overrun) but we do need to be careful, also!