If there’s a silver lining to this pandemic, it’s that we’ve sat in our houses long enough to appreciate the corners that bring us joy, identify what we want in a home if we were—say—stuck in it with no where else to go for a year, and tackle some projects on our list to make the corners that need a little help more functional and more expressive of who we are. I recently tackled our bedroom, prompted by a partnership that gave us a new bed because if you give a mouse a new bed, she’s going to ask for a fresh coat of paint, a furniture refresh (new paint and hardware on a dresser) and an encore of the creative high that comes from switching things up.
Let’s start with the before.
It wasn’t bad but definitely needed a little love. The gray paint had served its time, and I was ready for something more airy and light. My dad and I had built that headboard, and I love it; but the elements in the room just didn’t feel cohesive together. (Thankfully, I was able to pass the headboard on to a friend, so it will still be well loved.) Our bedroom is often the first neglected room in the house because we’ll pretty up all the other rooms and sacrifice ours to hold the clutter. But I think we’re all feeling the importance this year of rest havens and loving our spaces, so I was so excited about giving our room this makeover.
Enter the room’s focal piece. I did an Instagram partnership with The Inside and fell in love with their fabric choices for upholstered beds. They encouraged me to choose a bolder pattern rather than playing it safe which was just the push I needed, and I LOVE the result. This blog post isn’t sponsored, but I can truly say the bed is amazing and the process of choosing it was so fun and easy.
I chose a big black and white check upholstered frame, envisioning blush walls for it to set against. I made a vision board of all the pieces together, and the outcome is as dreamy as my vision board.
Since we refreshed everything, this room has gained major popularity with everyone in the family. It’s our cozy place to watch shows together Saturday mornings. It’s where I’ll retreat to at night earlier than usual to unwind and read a book. And the bed is made early every morning because we love the way it feels to walk into a welcoming room.
After the bed, the new wall color is the MVP here—the most delicious shade of blush that was well researched thanks to my paint color genius sister and a slew of Pinterest pictures showing it in rooms before I chose it. I fell in love, and it’s even better in person (I’ve answered DMs about this color every day since I posted it). Get a pen. Write this down: MALTED MILK from Sherwin Williams.
The dresser used to serve as our dining room hutch. I love giving rooms new looks in my house simply by switching things up and repurposing. At the end of this post, I link all bedding, pillows, bed, art, curtains, lighting, rug, etc. The art over the dresser is one of my favorites, and it’s a $5 download from Etsy, enlarged, printed at Walgreens and placed in a Michael’s frame.
The down blanket on the bed is another favorite. I had a down comforter but was so tired of duvet covers bunching up or hanging off the bed (and I had been through many). I definitely wanted down though. Last year, our power went out late summer and we had to sleep at our neighbor’s house who happened to be away. My neighbor is a designer, the queen of hospitality and the Linens Queen. After I enjoyed the most glorious sleep in her beautiful bed, I called her the next day and asked for all her bedding sources—Pacific Coast satin-lined down blanket (perfect for Florida weather and no need for the duvet cover). I bought two twin sized blankets for Nella’s room and loved them so much I ended up buying the king for ours.
Once I painted the walls blush, I decided to paint our dresser blush as well. I used our airbrush paint sprayer for the first time and painted it a shade darker than Malted Milk in a glossy finish. I added brass and leather hardware, and I think it looks SO much better than it did!
The blue chairs used to be in our living room. They’re Brett’s favorite, and they work perfect in our bedroom now. In keeping with the clean, airy new look, I went with monochrome for the curtains and found the perfect blush velvet ones. They’re super affordable, and they look and feel amazing.
It feel so good to love our space again, and I’m more motivated than ever to keep it a joyful haven for us.
Link Round-up:
Pacific Coast Down Blanket
Blush Velvet Curtains
Rug
Large Scale Vintage Portrait from Belle Art Prints
Green Velvet Throw Pillow Cases
Round Salmon Pillow
Tiger Pillow
Over the Bed Art: Lost in Thought Portrait, “Florida” Woman Portrait, Floral Still Life
Bed Sconce Lights
Blue Velvet Chairs
Diane says
I love your room! Everything is beautiful. I first noticed the Malted Milk paint color on a crafting site where it was used to paint canning jars. I’ve wanted to paint something with it ever since.
maggie whitley says
…but what about your pink bookends? SO PRETTY! 🙂 This is a great bedroom refresh.
Lori Kolb says
Cute white sandles!! Where are they from?
Sharon says
I am so glad to have found your blog again. I just love your writings. Your bedroom looks amazing
I have the same approach to decorating. More creative and not crazy over the top designer Kind of redoing. posts like this one always inspire me to makeover a room.