Master Bedroom Makeover.

This week I fluffed the pillows, rolled out a new rug, and tucked a few fresh flowers and some newly framed artwork into our new master bedroom. This was a huge project for us, and one of the best makeovers we’ve completed in our house. I had to go back to my email account to figure out when exactly we started the project and I laughed when I realized we’ve been working on this room since mid-April. Projects used to go a whole lot faster pre-baby, but after nearly 4 months of chipping away at the renovations, we’re “finished” with the bedroom!I put finished in quotations marks because I’m never really finished, I’ll be looking for new bedding before the paint fully dries on the walls. But before we dive into what finished looks like right now, I have to share with you where we started with this room. It was one of two rooms in the house that almost made us not purchase our home in the first place (the other one was our home office that had a hair salon built into it, I should probably share those before and after pictures here sometime!). The reason it was such a deterrent for us was that it was previously an in-law suite and there was a kitchenette that ran alongside one wall. We bought a house with a stove in the master bedroom, so clearly we’re either crazy or completely brilliant. My friends would come visit the house and make jokes about how easy breakfast in bed would be with the appliances in arm’s reach of the bed!The kitchenette was an eyesore, but the rest of the room did its part to add to the ugliness: 1970’s beige textured wallpaper, barf-green shag carpet, a bit of dingy cracked linoleum for good measure, and a drop tile ceiling with fluorescent track lighting. We joked when we first moved in that we hit the jackpot in terrible home design decisions and they’d make amazing “before” pictures — because there’s almost no way the room could look worse.We had to hire a contractor to come in and do some of the bigger demo and updates, and that started with ripping down the old ceiling and pulling out the kitchenette – oven, sink, cabinets and all! We also had the carpet and linoleum ripped up and refinished the floors to match the rest of our house. It’s amazing what a fresh ceiling and wood floors did for the room; the ceilings are on the lower side in this room so we also had some recessed lighting put in, which is my husband’s favorite part of the room. A fresh coat of paint went up on the walls in Paper White. It’s got a bit of a bluish-grey tint and looks less white when you see it next to our White Dove trim. I love how it has just a tiny touch of color while still looking very neutral, crisp and clean.The wall that formerly housed the kitchenette turned into a wall of his and hers closets. This is such a gigantic life improvement for us; as a couple we’ve never each had our own proper closet in our bedroom. Across three apartments and a house over the last decade of living together one of us always had a random hall closet or an armoire or some makeshift clothes storage solution. Having our own closets has been a major upgrade – we each got a small dresser to tuck inside and I love that we each have our own dressing spaces now. We found simple brass door handles for the closet doors! Another major life upgrade was finally getting a headboard for our bed. Again, after 10 years of co-habitation, we’ve never had a real headboard and bed! My friends at Raymour and Flanigan helped us pick out this linen-upholstered headboard in a wingback style. It’s so cozy and anchored the whole room. We upgraded to some new smaller nightstands too that I scored for a deal online. I upgraded the hardware on the drawers with some brass knobsto match the closet doors and each one has some cute pom-pom basket storage underneath for books and pillowcases. A big marriage compromise was getting Mike to give up his bulky black alarm clock that he’s had since middle school, but he agreed to let it go in exchange for one that was more aesthetically pleasing – if you’re in the market for a sleek alarm clock he found one that was a steal (under $20!) and looks really nice!
We decided to stick with the bedding we’ve had for a few years, mostly because I’m still on the hunt for something “perfect” and I just haven’t found it yet. Adding in some fresh textiles around the room though has made the bedding feel fresh and new. I stole my mom’s great idea of recovering some throw pillows with colorful Turkish towels, and updated an old armchair with a piece of gorgeous over-sized buffalo check fabric. We brought the linen texture of the bed into the window treatments, some simple roman shades that are cordless so they’re safe for kids! With the wood floors now exposed, we needed a big rug to soften up the room a bit (especially now that Jane is nearly crawling). I worked with Raymour and Flanigan to find this Greek key beige rug that fits perfectly in the room, and it has a touch of metallic thread going through it that is hard to see in pictures, but adds a lot of interest. Just a few little decorative details were all it took to finish off the space, like a new artwork addition of that preppy blue and white bathing suit print, and some old favorites like our Adventure Begins print from our wedding day.
The project took a lot of time and sweat and a few tears, but it’s now my favorite room in the house. I love that we finally have a “grown-up” bedroom that we actually enjoy being in; it’s made it a lot harder to get out of bed in the morning!

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Please note: I was gifted product by Raymour and Flanigan for this project. All opinions, images, and content are my own. Thank you for supporting brands that support this site! 

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