Bedroom Mini-Makeover

When you like bold color like we do, it's a good thing to really, really think it through before slapping that color on the wall. Because while paint is an easy, inexpensive way to completely transform a room, painting something bright is a bit more time consuming. We primed and did three coats of red in our kitchen, and there are still areas I think could stand a fourth coat. For our bedroom, a deep orange called "pumpkin spice" by Pratt and Lambertt, we didn't have to prime, but we did need three thick coats.

So when I started to desire a lighter, airier look to our bedroom, repainting was not an option. Especially not with a mobile little one. I needed to make the orange work. Which is why I redecorated using linens and accessories to brighten the space.

Here's the before:

Master bedroom before

We had fully embraced color in this room, and played off the wrought iron Ikea bed by creating a Moroccan theme. It was fun for awhile, but it started to feel too heavy, dark and, well, theme-y.

Wow that's a lot of accessories! Picture frame, three candle holders, two ring boxes, a fancy-pants Chinese takeout box and a Japanese fan. Culture clash!

 
So we pared down the color scheme from the deep jewel tones of red, gold, purple and of course, orange, to a simpler scheme of orange, cream, slate blue a little brown, as I talked about a few posts ago.

I got new bedding for my birthday; it's from Target's Dwell Studio line, and it was just the thing I think the room needed. Not only did it add sophistication, but it's WAY brighter in here now.

Master bedroom after

We replaced the previous bedside tables, which were old, dark wood end tables, with new, birch tables (also end tables. Hey, they weren't being used in our living room anymore, so why not?) Then we pared way down on accessories (because not only did it make our bedroom too cluttered, but they were also just things to be thrown around and broken by our son). What accessories we did choose, we bought in colors that went with the new bedspread.

Ahh, much better

After our son was born, we moved our office into a corner in the master. It's not ideal, but we have a really large bedroom, so it made sense. There I added a couple of desk accessories to brighten the space: a pretty mug from Pier One and a cream paper tray from Target. These help keep the desk clear and organized. I also took a magazine file I had sitting around from Ikea and placed our modem inside. I was inspired by this post.

It solves a lot of issues, since I not only hated the cord mess, but the little blinky led lights kept me up at night!

There are still a few more places that need some brightening - we have heavy blackout curtains and a window seat covered in a wide-wale corduroy. I also want to get new artwork for over the bed, since what's there right now seems too small in scale and is pretty dark. But it's already made a huge difference! It's a much calmer, more serene space. And aside from the new bedding, it was maybe $20 in new accessories. And far less hassle than repainting.