Before:
After:
This small-scale redo of our bedroom started a few months back when we learned we would be staying in our home for another year. It was really a long time coming. Most people who've been married as long as we have at least have purchased things as basic as lamps for their bedroom, or had something .... anything hung on their bedroom walls. Right? Well, for the last 13 years our room has had empty walls, insufficient lighting, and a broken and cracked nightstand we picked up before it was thrown away. Curtains are another story. We rent the home we've been occupying for the last five years, and for a long time now I've wanted curtains but couldn't justify buying or making them for a rental home. Every year I thought we'd either buy a home or move into something larger, so I put off window treatments. Now I see how finished they make the room look and wonder why I waited. Patrick and I are proficient at delayed gratification. Even though sometimes it makes me feel unprepared or makes my home feel unfinished, I'm convinced it is a good way to live. We don't fill our desires whenever we want, we try not to have more than we need, and we don't waste. Those things make for a pleasant home regardless how it is decorated.
So, what was changed here? First I'd like to mention that the room is not finished. Finishing requires replacing my pine furniture (or at least painting my current pieces), painting the walls- in Glass Slipper by Benjamin Moore, and adding a lovely bench or settee at the foot of the bed. One day...but like I said, this is a small-scale remodel. The only major purchase for the room here was a new nightstand, which was desperately needed (I'm pretty sure our old one is going to crack in half any day now.) Of the smaller changes, six months ago we finally bought lamps (reading is so much more pleasant!), and new bedding. White bedding is very versatile and you can find it almost anywhere cheap...Target, Home Goods, Marshalls, etc. I used a combination window treatment of standard (not custom - a huge cost saver!) linen roman shades and curtains. I tried just the shades, then just the curtains and somehow neither really worked, but together they really pull the room together. A tip for curtains....full length, i.e. from ceiling to floor, makes a room look bigger and more finished. I picked up the botanicals at art.com for $8 each and had them framed at a wholesaler locally.
A tip for hiding electronics and their cords besides artwork? Baskets. I picked up a set of three of these small, medium and large baskets at Home Goods for $12. Baskets are wonderful because you can string your cords through the basket weaves and behind, making them invisible.
They're also great for storing other miscellaneous items one might have strewn across her dresser (baby socks, allen wrenches, candy, you know...that sort of thing).
I still have to finish the artwork for the wall opposite our bed. I'm still practicing on small canvases and my last attempt was....em....not so pretty. Finally, Patrick and I have been antique/consignment shopping for a large, old, worn crucifix for the final wall. I know what I want in my head but can't seem to find it anywhere. Which, as my husband would say, means I'll probably end up making it. :)
Finally, everything in the room was either on clearance, purchased at wholesale, or free. If anyone would like source detail on anything here, let me know. It was all very affordable.
