If you haven’t figured out already since finishing our makeovers of our master bathroom, breakfast area, foyer, daughter’s room, and hallway bathroom…I don’t sit still for very long.
Last week as I was putting the finishing touches on our last room makeover, I was already brainstorming how to tackle the next one on the list, the master bedroom!
UPDATE: See the full master bedroom makeover reveal + source list here!
When we first moved in here less than two years ago, we slept with our mattress right on the floor and that was it. It was all we had.
Eventually, Robert and I saved up enough for our bed that we purchased during a Christmas sale at Ashley Furniture. After searching for months for the perfect nightstands, I finally found a pair at Nadeau. And we picked up our dresser from Craigslist. Then the progress stopped.
We were determined to focus on mostly the downstairs first because this room that’s rarely seen by anyone else felt more like an indulgence. But I’m SO ready to make this space our own.
This is really a room that left me stumped for a long time, and if you’d asked me to decorate this room when we first moved in, it would have looked completely different from what I’m about to show you guys.
That’s the great thing about discovering your decor style. It’s empowering to finally know who you are and what is “you” and not second guess a million different design directions. And while I’ve never taken an interior design class in my entire life, I’ve definitely learned a lot in this new homeowning adventure of ours.
So for this space, the idea that started it all was our bathroom and closet doors. Our bathroom door opens up smack into our shower door, and it sometimes creates a traffic jam in there.
Robert was actually the one to say to me one day, “Hey, let’s take these doors out and build sliding barn doors instead.” Oh my goodness…like I didn’t love that man enough already. He knows me so well.
So do you see those two doors in that picture there below? Those are going buh-bye if we have anything to do with it.
It’s rare that Robert has an opinion on any room I decorate, but this is his bedroom too, and I wanted his input.
His requests this go-round: blue/gray walls, a deer mount, and no floral print fabrics. Done. No worries, babe. I’ve got this.
(Affiliate links are provided below for sources. For more information, see my full disclosure here.)
Fan | Dresser | Mirror | Bed | Curtains | Pillow | Rug | Door | Paint
You ready for it? Here’s the whole breakdown.
1. Plank Wall
I’m starting to develop a board and batten / shiplap addiction, and I plan to create a focal wall behind our bed. I love how Jenna from Jenna Sue Design Blog came up with this one (below). The wall color is very similar to the one I’m thinking of using too- Benjamin Moore Moonshine. Paint and plywood strips can do magical things, don’t you think?
2. The Bed
Our current bed is very dark, and I’ve been going back and forth on the idea to brighten up the wood with a lime wash and paint the fabric with a lighter color to resemble this one from Restoration Hardware. We’ll see if I can work up the nerve.
3. Barn Doors
I love the color and design of these barn doors from Unskinny Boppy, and we’re pretty confident we can build a pair for our bathroom and closet doors for fairly inexpensively.
4. Windows
I want to keep the windows simple but still with plenty of texture and character. We’ll definitely frame them out with our DIY window trim and hang these white Ikea curtains similar to the ones I used in our breakfast area. If there is room in the budget, I would love to switch out our white blinds for bamboo shades as a way to balance out the wood on the barn doors on the other side of the room.
5. Ticking Stripes
I’ve had a thing for stripes lately, so I would love to add some ticking stripe pillows and maybe a duvet on our bed to go with the crisp white linens that are always a must-have for me.
6. Rug
If there is one home decor item I have a love/hate relationship in shopping for it’s rugs. (I rounded up my no-brainer faves because I wanted an easy go-to list.) The choices out there are overwhelming, and they are not cheap. But oh my stars they make a HUGE impact in a room!
It’s taken me weeks to decide on this one. Although, by the time this room is finished who knows…I might have changed my mind again. Isn’t it beautiful though? And you better believe I’ll be watching this thing like a hawk until it goes on sale.
7. Mirror
We already have a mirror over our dresser, but it’s one of those hung up just for function. I think I found it for $20 at some point in college. I’m ready to replace it with something that has a little more charm like a window mirror.
8. Faux Taxidermy
This is one of the few requests from Robert that I’m happy to embrace because deer antlers remind me so much of our honeymoon suite.
Maybe it’s the trendy thing right now (or maybe it’s going out of style…I don’t even know where that stands right now with any design gurus out there), but for our honeymoon we stayed in the gorgeous Grand Bohemian Hotel in Asheville, NC to visit the Biltmore Estates. It was the first time I really started to understand what styles spoke to me, and I remember walking into our hotel room and thinking, I want our bedroom to look like this one day. This was our hotel suite:
And because we’re ultra classy people, we immediately did this when we walked through the door:
Come on. You know you want to do it too when you walk into a nice hotel room.
Whew! This was a way longer post than I’d originally thought. What do you think? Am I starting off in the right direction?
Follow:
Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | Twitter | Google+ | Bloglovin | Hometalk
It is going to look gorgeous and not at all like a box! I love the rug you picked out and all of the blue hues. I also like your bed very much. Is it that dark that you need to lighten the wood? No worries you are an expert at wood painting. I also agree with you about the fabric on the bed. But my advice is wait till you get the rest of the room in order and then look at the fabric to see how it goes with the rest of the linens and textures. P.S. I have uploaded the post about the nomination where I mention you.
I definitely think I’ll wait until the very end to worry about the bed just to be sure that’s what I want to do with it. Or maybe I’ll just lighten the fabric on the headboard but leave the wood alone. We’ll see how things go. I’ll probably at least hold off until I add the bedding to decide. 🙂 Thanks again for the nomination!
I love your design plan. It does look so much like you. The pictures of y’all jumping on the bed crack me up. I can’t wait to see it come together on the blog.
Nancy
Thanks, Nancy! I’m really excited about it. Oh and we still jump on our bed. Growing up is optional anyway, right? 😉
Love your plan! We did a barn door to our bathroom and love it. I bought the hardware (which is typically the most expensive part) at Home Depot and it’s worked great. You should be able to find it online and pick it up in the store (I couldn’t order to be delivered for some reason). Can’t wait to see how it all turns out! http://lovelandlodge.com/master-bathroom-renovation-reveal/
Wow! Love your bathroom reno! Thanks for the tip. I’ll definitely have to look into that.
Love your design plan – especially the barn doors!! I’m not sure I would do anything to the bed….maybe see how it looks first with everything else. Can’t wait to see what projects you have up your sleeve and how it will all turn out!
Have a great week,
Lanita
Thanks, Lanita! Yeah, I think I’ll wait until the very end to see if I really want to lighten the bed or not. We’ll see what happens. That’s on the “maybe” list. 😉
My husband and I are in the process of building a house, and of course, I have been looking at all the fun decorative touches I’d love to add eventually. I’ve had my eyes set on a similar mirror to the one you posted from Target. The one I’ve been looking at is from Kirkland’s. The Kirkland’s one comes in a few different colors and is less expensive than the Target version. They’re not just alike, but I thought I’d share since it’s always nice to save a little money 🙂 http://www.kirklands.com/product/Mirrors/Decorative-Mirrors/Natural-Sadie-Arch-Mirror/pc/2450/c/3056/182060.uts
Yes! LOVE Kirkland’s! I’d had my eye on that one too, and I do think that’s the one I’ll end up with. $300 for a mirror? Ain’t happenin’. Haha! Thanks for the heads up. 🙂
I have to say, I love the look of barn doors, but I don’t like how they take up so much wall space. But from the look of your room–they would be perfect for that wall since the wall space they will use is wasted anyway! I can’t wait to see the completed room.
I know exactly what you mean. I had wanted barn doors in other places in our house before but they just didn’t make sense with the wasted space in those places. For in here, it’s almost a necessity since our shower door and bathroom door open up and slam into each other. And I like that I’ll be able to utilize more wall space in our closet for storage if the door slides on the bedroom wall rather than opening up into the closet. Love it when function and decor work together like that. 🙂
Love ALL your ideas for your master bedroom. Can’t wait to see the finished room especially the barn doors. Hope you show how you make them. Have been trying to convince my hubby to put a barn door to our bathroom since we don’t have a door at all.
Thanks, Rhonda! I will most definitely show how to make them when we get to that point. Maybe after we share our tutorial, it’ll help in the convincing. 😉 Here’s hoping anyway.
Your bedroom plan looks awesome, Lauren. Can’t wait to see how you and your husband make it happen. Cheers, Ardith
P.S. I love the last two photos, brought on the big smily face.
Thanks so much, Ardith! Those last two photos make me smile every time too. Good times. 🙂
Love the plan! The colors are lovely and all the wood elements are perfect! Can’t wait to see how it all comes together.
Thank you, Angie! I can’t wait!
I love all of the elements you picked out. I can’t wait to see the barn doors!
Thanks, Jenny! Me too!
I think planning is so much fun! I planned both my girls’ rooms several times over til they moved out and then replanted those small rooms. But I’ve never totally planned rooms anywhere!! They just evolve over time and yes, dictated by my color choice themes but also by what’s out there at the time. And so it’s been and you are young so you would not believe ALL the styles that have been in since September of 2001!!!! So I learned to evolve over time and can you believe it??? Even my oh so popular couches color is out!!!! And it’s only four years old. So it goes!!!!
But I’m so glad you have a plan!! And you are flexible!!!
Totally agree. Visualizing everything is one of my favorite parts…other than finishing it of course. 😉 I remember some of the decor styles growing up and there really were a lot. There was that mauve and mint stage I believe and then the folksy country stage with the wood cut out hearts everywhere? Some people still pull it off just fine. I hope this farmhouse stage is here to stay for a while though.
Good reason to buy what you love, instead of what’s in style at the moment.
My forever sofa lasted for almost 40 years and never went out of style, but it did get new upholstery fabric when the first fell apart.
My living room rug was bought in 1975 or so. Been in a couple of rooms since. Now back in LR.
Somehow, I can’t imagine loving a deer head that long….but a man might…I guess. LOL
I’d love to have your Ikea bedside table lamps (it’s now Feb 2016!!) but they don’t carry them anymore……..and yours would fit perfectly for reading at night…better than those they do have in stock. Sigh.
Thanks for sharing the evolving bedroom. You gave me to push to install a barn door in a tricky spot in my house and I love it. Thanks so much. MJ
I totally agree! Buy what you love. Trends will come and go. I think the deer head has more sentimentality because it reminds me of our hotel from our honeymoon that had antlers all over the place. Even if it wasn’t a trend right now, I think I’d still want it as a remembrance of that. The IKEA lamps we just got are definitely great for reading. I’ve seen other styles that are beautiful but a heftier price tag. So glad to give you a little barn door inspiration! I can’t wait to get ours installed. Never enough time!
I am excited to see what you do with this room! We have two doors on one side in our master bedroom and they are both closet doors… it is just a long hallway-type closet. I LOVE your HM suite, especially the light fixture!
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com
Thanks, Carrie! I’m excited to see how it turns out. We have a long hallway-type closet too. Although, it’s a total disaster zone right now. 😉
I love your plan! I would like to do a lot of similar things to our master bedroom- especially the barn door and the plank wall. I haven’t been able to talk my husband into the faux taxidermy…but I’m working on it! Can’t wait to see the space when you’re done!
Thanks! I’m so ready to tackle this thing. My husband is the one who had to talk ME into the faux taxidermy. But I like it better than the real taxidermy so I’m going for it. 🙂
Where did you find your bedside lamps?
I found them at HomeGoods a little over 2 years ago. 🙂
Well, love all the choices you are making. I think it will turn out lovely.
Thank you, Heidi! This room is officially done and we absolutely love how it has turned out.