Who followed along as I transformed our master bedroom from what felt like a college dorm room to a colorful, cheerful master retreat!? This was an extremely satisfying project to take on. I know I am not alone when I say that our master bedroom was seriously neglected. As homeowners, it seems that the room we actually spend the most time in gets the least attention to detail? Am I right? We make excuses such as “no one sees this room anyways.”…or “I’ll finish out the kids’s rooms first and then we will take that project on.” Well I am here to remind you – YOU DESERVE A SANCTUARY in your home! A place that speaks to your soul. A place you to retreat to after a long, hard day! Read on folks, and prepare to get inspired!
Before
Now, don’t get me wrong. When we first moved in to our home a little over 2 years ago our bedroom certainly had all of the elements it could need. We had a bed, 2 nightstands, a dresser, curtains, a rug, table lamp, etc, etc. However, most of these items were pieces that made the move with us and didn’t fit our personal design aesthetic. They didn’t make me want to spend time in the room. The pieces made it feel cold and uninspiring. Keep in mind – these photos are styled and edited to make them look the best they can!
There were also a few functional aspects that were driving me wild. For example, the windows behind the nightstands. I dreamed of the day I could open my windows up and see out them. It all felt extremely cluttered and claustrophobic along the back wall. I understand that this is typically how a bedroom is laid out when there are 2 windows along a wall – but you know I am all about breaking those “design rules”. What is important to me is a functional space, and a space that makes me happy and inspired. Having these windows covered like this – did neither of those things for me.
I also was not a fan of the paint color. This was the color on the walls when we moved in (I’m not certain on what it is, sorry!). I am a huge fan of green and I am a huge fan of blue. But this color reminded me of toothpaste. It was a minty Colgate blue/green. Never heard that description for a paint color I’m betting!?
Once I stripped back the room I was feeling ALLLL kinds of inspired. Here are a few before photos once most furniture and decor items were removed from the space. You can now see those beautiful and tall windows (as well as the true color of that hideous Colgate).
After
Can you even believe it is the same room!?
The first thing that I did was move the bed from the window wall to the adjacent wall with the door. Doing this limited the nightstand that I could get as the wall was not as wide – however, I made it work!
I wanted the light to still be reflected throughout the room as well as the stunning drapery panels to be visible from all angles (more on those later) so I used mirrors behind the nightstands to reflect the entire room. I am obsessed with the turnout.
Inspiration/Design Plan
We live in Minnesota – and if you live here or anywhere near here, I know you feel me when I say it gets dang cold….for most of the year. It is also dark outside for many many months and it can make for a tough time. I am a summer lover through and through. I love everything about it. I love the bright colors, the flowers, the shining sun, the warm air! I wanted all of those feelings to be evoked while in our bedroom.
I was on the hunt for the perfect drapery fabric – one that fit the bill for all of those requirements. I wanted bright, eclectic colors and a floral print (because if ya know ya know..I’m obsessed). I came across the Autumn Blooms fabric from Spoonflower and immediately knew it was the one. I am usually not a yellow fan – but in this room it just works and honestly the yellow hues are what I love most about this space now!
I went bold with choosing a yellow nightstand but I love how it plays off the yellow florals in the drapes. I also love how the clean lines of the dresser contrast with the ornate floor mirror.
LVP Flooring
One of the biggest projects of this transformation was ripping out the carpet and installing brand new LVP (luxury vinyl plank) flooring. This project was so so worth it! I am not a huge fan of carpet, and knew this room wouldn’t be complete without new flooring.
If you haven’t heard about LVP check out this blog post where I explain the various kinds of flooring and the pros and cons of each. Based on what we needed for this space I wanted something affordable and durable (3 kids = lots of messes).
What is great about LVP is installation is a breeze. It is a lock and click method where you just lay the strip of flooring at an angle and click it into place. You won’t even need a miter saw as you can cut the LVP by simply scoring it with a utility knife and bending it a few times.
This entire project (from ripping out the carpet and all that comes with that to installing all 250 sq ft of LVP took approximately 8-9 hours.
Selections
My goal with this project was to keep budget in mind. I mean isn’t budget always in mind!? But, I wanted this project not only to be inspiring for you but also obtainable as well! It can be defeating when you come across a stunning design that you love but are struggling to find affordable options.
Now, in full transparency – I can’t comment on quality because as I mentioned my priority for this room was not for the pieces to last us a lifetime. I just wanted this room to feel fresh and happy and work for a few years….. (AKA we have kids and they destroy everything). I don’t recommend “lower quality” furniture for my clients – but sometimes budget just isn’t going to work out for those higher end pieces! And that is okay too! One thing I did splurge on was bedding! I wanted that “luxurious hotel feel” every time I got into my bed!
Furniture/Accessories
As I previously mentioned, I wanted that lux hotel feel and with that comes a crap ton of throw pillows. One of my favorite parts of the day is after I get my comfy jammies on and I jump into the middle of these plush down insert pillows. Truly a magical thing. 🙂
The euro pillows and extra long lumbar pillow covers are from Spoonflower in their brand new Belgian linen fabric. This fabric is so so good. It is buttery soft yet is structured enough to really hold its shape with the pillow insert inside of it. The euro pillow fabric color is solid fuschia pink and the lumbar pillow is in their autumn blooms fabric (same as the drapery).
I chose the drapery in the same autumn blooms pattern but in the celosia velvet fabric. I have a thing for velvet drapery panels.
Spoonflower is a fabulous option for that custom look for a fraction of the cost. They have so many amazing patterns and fabric options to choose from and you can have almost anything made out of your fabric/pattern choice! I highly suggest checking them out!
The green leopard print pillows are from one of my favorite Etsy shops Little Design Co. They carry a wide range of Schumacher prints, which are some of my favorites. This specific fabric is the “Iconic Leopard Print” by Schumacher.
I chose a tufted velvet headboard because it is hard for me to sway away from the traditional design style in my own personal home. The shape and fabric of it is something I know I won’t grow tired of. It is such a classic look. This bed comes in several other colors as well. The navy color isn’t a deep dark navy – it has a metallic reflective look to it – which I personally love!
The hunt for the perfect nightstands wasn’t an easy one. I needed something that was approximately 18″ wide. I went with this scroll vine bone inlay nightstand from Anthropologie. The bone in lay is what sold me. So gorgeous.
I wanted to incorporate pops of pink throughout the room to pull out the fuschia color in the drapery panels. I wanted fuschia pink table lamps, but wanted them to feel mature.
I love the shape of these and the acrylic base is an added bonus!
My original dream was to have the Regina Andrew Malibu Chandelier. But I brought myself back down to reality because my main goal was to complete this room on a budget. The Malibu Chandelier by Regina Andrew is absolutely stunning, but would have blown my budget.
I found a similar option, that actually works even better in the space as it has an ombre of blue colors, which pull in the various blue hues I have throughout the room.
The rug is a total Ballard Design dupe for a fraction of the cost! If you are curious on what size rug to get for your under your bed I wrote an entire blog post on it. You can check that out HERE.
Paint
I wanted to stick with a fairly neutral backdrop to the room to avoid it feeling too overdone. We recently painted pretty much our entire home in Sherwin Williams Alabaster. You can read more about that HERE and HERE. Alabaster is my favorite warm white paint color. It works in pretty much any lighting (our bedroom is an eastern facing room) and with any color palette.
To make things more unique, because you know how I roll, I decided to use a contrast trim for molding and doors. I used one of my favorite color mixes – a 50%/50% mix of Sherwin Williams Stardew and Sherwin Williams Uncertain Gray. I have this exact color mix on our front door as well. It is the best french gray. In my opinion, 100% Stardew is too blue and 100% Uncertain Gray is too gray.
So that is it my friends! A complete bedroom makeover completed on a budget! I hope you found your source of inspiration to tackle your own bedroom. Because – like I said – YOU DESERVE IT!
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