It’s hard to believe that it has been over a year since I set out to makeover my bedroom in early 2016. I have learned a lot in that time – mainly that I am not good at making over rooms in a reasonable time frame. I like to go slow and if I’m not “feeling it,” I’d rather move on and work on something else for a while.
However, today I am thrilled to finally declare the room DONE and get to share it with you all!
But first, a trip back to where we started. When we bought the house, this was a small beige room with warped luan board walls and tiny windows. In our renovation before we moved in, we added a new bay window and re-did the walls in plaster. We painted and furnished it with mismatched pieces that we brought from our previous bedrooms and called it a day.
It was livable but not that pretty, even with my best attempts at blogger-styling. So what does it look like now?
I’m crazy about this room. Most of my house is bolder and filled with primary colors, so it is nice to have a softer space to retreat to for bed.
It is also lovely to wake up here, because the light streams in and the room feels very bright and happy.
I love the wall color (Iced Slate by Benjamin Moore). It changes in different lights, sometimes looking gray, sometimes blue, and sometimes with a purple undertone. I warmed it up with a rug I found on craigslist for $150. The pattern and colors are perfect, and the yellow accents in it picks up the color of my painted doors.
With uncharacteristic restraint, I went with clean white bedding: this duvet cover and these sheets, both from West Elm. They are simple, but have nice details and texture that makes them feel special.
Another favorite moment in this room is Brad’s super cool dresser. This is one of the few pieces of Brad’s furniture that have made it as a permanent part of our decor, and it is pretty amazing. He bought it in New Mexico and liked it so much that he had it transported all the way to Massachusetts.
It is actually the main reason why the room is the color that it is: I wanted a darker color in there, but knew that this piece would look better in a light room.
I am also thrilled with the light fixture, which is a bit of a crazy choice for a bedroom. I found it at Brimfield, had it rewired, and then finally installed it a few weeks back as one of the finishing touches to the room.
I feel like it adds a little edge to the serene space, and therefore ties the room in a little bit with the rest of the house.
Here are the major projects that went into this room:
Hang shelves in the corner: This asymmetrical choice was actually Brad’s idea, and I used a pricey red oak board because I wanted the warm wood tone to stand out. (You can also check out how I styled them.)
DIY Bedside Tables: I resisted the blogger urge to do a RAST hack, and used some flat pack bedside cabinets from Home Depot to create bedside tables of the perfect size and style that I was looking for. I also had to learn how to install hanger-bolts to get my MCM legs to work…
Custom Storage Bench: With a narrow space at the foot of the bed, I couldn’t find a bench that would fit but I really wanted the storage. I built my own in a simple but modern shape, and finished it to match my red oak shelves.
Hanging Tapestry: I had a lot of wall space to fill with new art, and I wanted the space to be soft and flowy, so a tapestry was the way to go! I spent a while looking for my favorites, and then hung it with a thick wood strip along the top so it wouldn’t look tacked up like in a college dorm.
Personalized Art: I wanted to incorporate a picture of me and Brad in this room, and so when Sage and I challenged each other to create wall-worthy art from snapshots, it was the perfect opportunity. I also got to echo the yellow color again to tie everything together.
And the things that shouldn’t have taken so long:
Covering that Hole in the Wall: I had “grate expectations” for a quick and easy project to cover up the ducts in our walls with wall grates, but it ended up being a tumultuous and ultimately ambiguous endeavor.
Painting the Divided Light Window Sashes: Finishing this room finally gave me the motivation to paint the window sashes throughout my house – a long project that I had been putting off since replacing the windows a couple of years ago. Key lesson learned: just get the windows that are already white.
Buying Lamps: It took forever to pick out lighting to go on either side of the bed, and embarrassingly that is the real reason why this room took so long to finish. I wanted matching ones to counter the asymmetry of art and shelves, but I couldn’t find the perfect choice. I pulled together a list of my favorites all the way back in March and ultimately decided to go with lamps over sconces, but nothing was quite right. Finally, I got sick of waiting and got these ones from West Elm on a whim when they were on sale for $60 each.
They’re not my favorite lamps objectively, but I really like them for the space. They go well with the other lighting and the vibe of the space. I only wish they were a little taller.
Thanks for checking it out! I am sure that I’ll keep fussing with this room and changing things now and then, but overall I’m satisfied with where it is now and I look forward to stopping working on it and thinking about it for a little while!
It’s gorgeous! Very serene, and a little bit funky. Tres chic!
My favorite thing is the hanging watch. Is there a story behind it that I missed? Is it functional? Does it ring and wake you up and somebody has to bat it around until they find the turn-off knob?
Don’t even bother to answer those questions. I have a vision in my mind that makes me laugh. 🙂
Thanks, Bonnie! I did almost include a piece on the hanging clock but I thought I was going into too much detail so I left it out.
It is one of my favorite things. I found it in a little shop in Nantucket MA, and then my grandfather got it for me for my birthday after that. I hung it on the wall as part of a gallery wall set-up in my apartment, and then have been waiting and waiting to finish this room to get to hang it up. It is from here: https://www.yelp.com/biz/freedmans-of-nantucket-nantucket
I won’t answer your other questions so as not to ruin the fun 🙂
Wow, wow, wow! Looks so peaceful and interesting… i.e. styling that catches the eye but not overpowering.
Thank you Carol! Just what I was going for.. I like/NEED interesting but recognize that most of my house can be pretty overwhelming…
Love it .. restful . I am curious about the hanging watch/clock as well – LOL
Thank you Lynn! Wow didn’t realize the clock would be such a hit! But I see why – it is pretty awesome 🙂 See above reply to Bonnie where I told more of the story.
Well worth the lengthy endeavor. And the dresser is stunning.
Agreed 🙂 Worth designing a room around!
I love it too. Lots of great choices. Calming and happy so I am happy for you. I like the new lamps too.
Thank you! The choices sure took me long enough!
A room that is very personal, very “both of you”…that is the goal of great decorating. That your choices are beautiful, too, is just icing on the cake.
Thank you!
Just a thought… put MCM legs on those lamps. Ha ha ha.
The bedroom is beautiful!
Ah, Zoe, you know me too well! The perfect solution, all bloggers agree.
I was thinking along the lines of making an inverted shelf…like 2 sides, a back and a top, whatever width and length you’d like, painted white, to set the lamps on and also give you room underneath for storage.
Beautiful! Nice work Naomi!
Thank you Lynne!
The whole room looks great but the dresser is incredible! I think it’s okay to take time to finish a room. It means you really get to live in the space and think about what you want.
Agreed Ananda! Just not as good for blogging content 🙂 Thanks so much for your kind words!
Well done!
Thank you!
It looks fantastic!
Thank you Allison!
You say your lamps feel too short, but how much too short are they? Could you make a base that they would sit on?
Set the lamps on some books.
Or on a shiny cake tin.
Why is the before photo so dark? Other than that quite a nice room now. Looks relaxing.
Yeah, sorry about that 🙂 I didn’t have a blog when I bought this house, so my “true befores” were just taken on an old cell phone with a plan that they would just be personal reference.