Trading Handsome for Pretty
We have lived in our home now for 6.5 years & this is NOT our first redesign. However, it is by FAR our favorite. Even though we really liked our bedroom, we needed an update.
We originally were inspired for our old room by a picture I found in a "Domino" magazine {it's a SHAME they stopped making that mag, it was my FAVE!}. We liked it because it felt masculine, handsome, & cozy. Chris thought it was the kind of room you should smoke cigars in {of course that never happened}. I kind of felt like it was something my husband needed after living in a house with 4 ladies!
However, it's been green for 4 years now. When I mentioned redesigning our bedroom he was all in {what a guy}! I warned him that I was thinking "light & airy & pretty" & he said, "Sounds good!". The man is not hard to please. Here is our old bedroom... the BEFORE!
........ Before ........
We removed the bed frame & used pictures as a "headboard". We chose pictures from our post-college trip to Europe. It's a time in our lives that always reminds us of a time {long ago} when it was just the two of us. Ahh, to be young again. ;) To save space in our small bedroom we used wall mounted shelving units as bedside tables. We hid box-spring by covering it with fabric.
My favorite part of the original "inspiration pic" was an olive-colored blanket. I loved it so much we decided to use it as the wall color. I'm going to look through my back-issues of "Domino" for the picture so you can see what I inspired this room.
This is one of my favorite pieces of furniture in the house. We found this dresser at Goodwill 4 years ago. It was part of a children's set of dressers & the drawer fronts were a bright blue. We decided that "crayon blue" wasn't part of our design so we covered the drawers with fabric (I'll be adding a tutorial for that soon). The mirror was found at Good Finds & we painted the frame black.
This is not a great picture of the Lucite handles on this dresser. There will be a better pic later in the "after" photos. The clear Lucite handles were the deciding factor in purchasing this dresser. SO cute.
.......... After .........
Wow. I have to say, this is not only a big transformation, it's kind-of my dream bedroom. The wall color was the biggest job, but I'm telling you, the best invention for DIYer's since the staple gun is the paint+primer. It's more expensive, but we were able to cover the dark olive green with this white/grey in TWO coats with NO primer! WHAT?! The color is "Reflecting Pool" from Behr @ HomeDepot. It was an easy choice as we (I) love all things grey & it will never have to be changed again (my promise to Chris as this is our 3rd color change in 6 years). It's hard to see the paint color in these pics, but it's a VERY light grey. It's almost white. Just grey enough, though, that you can tell the difference between the walls & crown molding. Plus, here's a tip straight from Mr. Mojock... buy the first gallon as paint+primer, but the second gallon can just be regular paint. It'll save you a good $10. Smart man!
So, here are the deets -
Paint :: HomeDepot :: $50
Headboard :: RePurposed French Door :: FREE
Bedding Set :: HomeGoods :: $50
Side Tables :: TomatoLand Produce :: FREE
Lamps :: Target :: On Clearance for $10 each
Curtain Rods :: Target :: $17
Curtain Fabric :: JoAnns :: $35
Picture Frames :: RePurposed :: spray paint :: $3
Here is the finished headboard. We are THRILLED with it! We were looking for a headboard that would let light in since we were putting the bed in front of the window {ex. light & airy}. We went to HomeDepot & decided on a picket fence piece. We bought it & got in the car. Then, I remembered an idea I had a while ago about using an old French door we removed from the entrance to our Florida Room. We immediately returned the fencing & saved ourselves $45! We had all the materials for the headboard construction so it was totally FREE! I'll have a tutorial for the headboard soon!
Closeup of the headboard. Look at all that beautiful diffused light!
My freebie tip for this project... Your local produce stand will GIVE you produce/orange crates! You could spend up to $45 for one of these puppies at home stores. These are the perfect size for our room. It doesn't take up much of a footprint & adds so much texture & visual interest! Plus, it quadrupled the night stand storage in our room.
Everything on this wall {except the curtains & rod} were already in the room. We painted the picture frames a pea green color {Eden - Rustoleum, HomeDepot} to match a color in the bedspread. We also changed the color of the floor lamp from black to white. Spray paint is a beautiful thing! I do want to find a new shade for the floor lamp, but was willing to wait 'til I found something I loved. We love the look of a "gallery wall" & I especially love that you don't have to line everything up perfectly!
Here is our "sitting area". I've always wanted one. The little monkey is the base for a glass top table that Chris has had since college. I think someone gave it to him as a joke, but he's always kept it. His ONLY request when redesigning this room was not to paint the monkey. I really wanted to paint it all white, but his strong opinion was "I'd rather not". Yes, that's a strong opinion for Chris! Anyway, this area makes me want to sit & read. And I don't even LIKE to read! ;)
Tony loves this room too. He loves to sleep on the pillows in the warm sun. His only complaint is that the bed is now 6" higher & it's getting harder for this old man to jump that high! We're contemplating stairs of some kind, but for now he seems happy getting the exercise & showing-off how high white dogs can jump.
Ok. This makes my stomach flip for joy. I have a new obsession with burlap so it was an easy choice for recovering the dresser drawers. The Lucite handles are more visible in this design so we love it even more. We repainted the mirror white {from black} & repainted the lamp the same pea green as the picture frames {in the previous pic}.
Are these Lucite handles the best or what?! Stay tuned for the "how to" on the dresser drawers. It's not hard. You basically just wrap them like a present, glue, & staple. Words cannot express my love for this piece.
It's funny. I can't make up my mind about which part of this room I love the most! Each time I see something I say, "Oh, that's my favorite part", but then I turn & see something else.
These shelving units were our old side tables. We painted them white & turned them sideways to make a space for us to display our favorite things. Before, we had things on the dresser & side tables, but little fingers would always pick them up & move/break them. It's nice to know that these will stay put! We even have room to add new pieces!
We found the bench at Good Finds for $20. I originally thought we'd put it at the end of the bed, but this was the better fit. We are going to add hooks under the shelving to hang things that end up on the floor like pajamas & such.
Chris & I are super proud of this room & especially proud of the fact that we started & finished it in TWO days. We weren't messin' around. We had all the pieces {well, most of them} we just had to put in the work & it was TOTALLY worth it!
Now, time for a nap...yeah, right.
{S}
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