ONE ROOM CHALLENGE- MASTER BEDROOM REVEAL

The day is finally here!  Ever since Monday when I realized I'd actually be able to finish the room in time (it was doubtful there for a while), and after many late nights, scraped knuckles, countless empty cans of spray paint, several do-overs, and hours of hard work, I finally get to share our new Master Bedroom with you!

If you're a new reader checking in from the link party, I'm SO glad you're here.  I hope you'll like what you see, gather some new ideas that you can use in your own home, and are inspired to make your home just a little more "you"!

Now, I know this room won't be for everyone.  I'm a color lover.  I can't get enough of anything that is bright, bold, patterned, shiny, and colorful.  So although I used lots of color, I tried to give it balance with a neutral, calm base.  But there's also hot pink.  And yes, it's my husband's room too, but no, he doesn't mind how I decorate it.  If I'm happy, he's happy.  #21years

OK, so here we go!  It was a long time coming, but every second of hard work for the past 6 weeks was totally worth it.

Just to show you how far we've come, how about a few reminders of how this room used to look?  Technically we started here around three years ago-

I can't tell you how it pains me to see those photos.  BOY, has my style changed!  Actually, back then I don't think that was my style, I just did what colors and styles I thought I should do for a "grown-up" room.  Lesson learned.

We painted the walls then, but afterwards the makeover stalled out as other projects (like my Son's Room, Daughter's Room, Dining Room, and Kitchen, along with just keeping up with life!) took priority.  I knew what I wanted to do in here for the most part, and gathered ideas and materials for literally 2 years.  So, as of 6 weeks ago, the room still looked like this-

basically a storage room for things to come, but everything was still a project needing to be done.

I completely DIYed my way through this room.  The 6 foot tall upholstered headboard commands attention upon entering the room.  Last weekend I nailed every. single. nailhead into that frame... at least 640!  Not sure I counted right, it seemed like one million.  ;)

I also sewed pillows and more pillows, customized the bedskirt and duvet cover, made the curtains, and recovered the cube ottomans.  

The craigslist nightstands got a makeover with a little surprise fix that I'll be sharing that soon.  Even more than paint sometimes, hardware can make or break a piece!  I've loved these scalloped ring pulls since the first time I saw them (thanks D. Lawless Hardware!), and knew they would be perfect for updating the out of style pieces that these were before.  
  

I pulled things into this room from all over the house... the Dining Room lost a few of the Audubon bird prints, but I couldn't resist using them to flank the bed.  The colors fit perfectly into my palette, and they provided interest without competing with everything else on that side of the room.  The frames were recycled from my "way before" bedroom, and the warm tone ties together well with the darker armoire.

Thankfully, my husband agreed to switching out the ceiling fan for a chandelier.  I agreed to use a standing fan in the room, which we can tuck out of sight if needed.  SO worth it to have a pretty light (plus, we can SEE at night a thousand times better than we could with the dinky fan light)!  It was a Craiglist purchase that didn't start out so pretty, and you can read about it's transformation here.

This week I shared about this armoire that my Dad made years ago, and how I updated it by darkening the stain.  It provides great storage for the room.  

The doors leading to the bathroom (another makeover for another day!) were flat and I had painted them black a few years ago.  With the dark armoire right next to them, I wanted to lighten them back up, and add some interest with moulding.  58 feet of trim and 64 mitered cuts later, here's where we ended up!  I love them... they feel so fancy.  See the tutorial for the doors here.

Turning towards the opposite wall from the bed, we created a sitting area surrounding an electric fireplace (that's worth it's weight in gold in the winter!).  Even though our bedroom has wall to wall carpeting, I'm a huge believer in layering rugs.  This bold trellis rug adds color,interest, and defines the sitting area.  Rugs USA graciously provided this one for my room, but I've purchased two other rugs from them in the past, and have been beyond happy with each one.  They run major sales often (mine is 75% off right now!) so there are great deals to be found, and a huge variety of options.

From the moment I bought the brass tray table from Craigslist, I knew this is just the spot where I'd want to use it.  

The greek key swing arm lamps (thank you Lamps Plus!) definitely steal the show on this wall.  They were the perfect choice here since they extend far enough to provide good light for reading in the chairs, and the wall mounts are nice since this space wasn't really cohesive for a floor or table lamp.  We also love that the on/off knobs are actually dimmer switches, so we can select the brightness and the amount of light that we need.   

I filled this wall with some of my favorite family photos and great memories, including the plaster casts of my babies' handprints, a plaque commemorating the year we were married,

and some mementos from our travels abroad last year.  We photographed the swans on the Thames River outside of Windsor Castle, and included a print of the Rynek in the city center in Krakow, Poland and another of Windsor Castle itself on the other side of the tv.   

The fireplace gallery wall looks so pretty at night with the swing arms on...  I've just been sitting on my bed and staring at it!  And, as soon as a chill hits the air this Fall, we'll enjoy a cozier room with the flip of a switch. 

The cube ottomans are easy to use at the end of the bed, or pull up to use as a footrest at the wingback chairs.  I've found a new favorite spot for blogging!

I didn't want to conclude this post without giving a HUGE thank you to my family...  they pitched in, lived amidst chaos for weeks and didn't mind one bit, fended for themselves for many a meal, and happily helped move, hang, assemble, lift, cook, and load the dishwasher.  ;)  I truly couldn't have done this without them!

If you want to catch up on my makeover from the beginning, you can check out these posts:

Week 1- Before photos and the plan

Week 2- Lighting & Furniture

Week 3- Work in progress

Week 4- Furniture
Week 5- More furniture and final projects

Beginning next week, I'll share more details and several more tutorials from projects that I did for the room.  I'll also share some styling tips and photography tricks that I used, so stay tuned!  If you have any questions I didn't cover, leave a comment and I'll address those next week too.

Many thanks to Linda from Calling It Home for organizing this challenge.  Just about everyone in the home blogging community rates ORC reveal days just about up there with Christmas Morning, so even though I'm so happy to share with you today, I can't wait to see what all of my friends have done in their wonderful spaces, too!  Be sure to check out everyone else's reveals here, and if you missed any of yesterday's reveals from the Wednesday group, you can see that list here.  So, so much good stuff, I know what I'll be reading all weekend! 

If you're a new friend visiting today, I'd love for you to stick around so we can get to know each other better!  There are lots of options for us to stay in touch... sign up here to receive every new post in your email inbox, or click to follow me on your social media platform of choice.  

Facebook  ||  Twitter  ||  Instagram  ||  Pinterest  ||  Bloglovin'

SOURCE LIST:

Trellis Rug-Rugs USA  ||   Swing Arm Lamps-Lamps Plus (Phila Gold-Leaf Swing Arm, out of stock right now but keep checking back!)  ||  Nightstand Ring Pulls-D. Lawless Hardware  ||  Fireplace- Craigslist with DIY upgrade  ||  Wingbacks- vintage Ethan Allen, Craigslist  ||  Chair Fabric- Richloom "Olson"  ||  Chandelier- Craigslist Makeover  ||  Armoire- made by my Dad, re-stained in darker finish  ||  Brass Tray Table- Craigslist  ||  Cube Ottomans- Craigslist  ||  Pillow Fabric:  Xu Garden, P Kaufmann "Amazed", Leopard-Hobby Lobby, Blue Ikat Dots-name unknown, Fabrics Unlimited in OKC ||  Headboard Fabric- Robert Allen "Malachite"  ||  Ottoman Fabric- Robert Allen "Malakos"  ||  Curtains:  Duralee "Kalah", made by me  ||  Curtain Rod-Home Depot wooden pole, finials were thrifted  ||  Bamboo Shades  ||  1994 plaque-Ramsign  ||  Sunburst Mirror-Hobby Lobby (old)  ||  Frames- mostly thrifted, thin ones from Michael's  ||  Wall Color- Sherwin Williams Amazing Gray

DIY projects coming soon:  Upholstered Headboard  ||  Nightstand Makeover  ||  Semi-Custom Duvet Cover and Bedskirt  ||  Upholstered Cube Ottomans  ||  Custom Molding for Flat Doors 

Linking up with:  Thrifty Decor Chick

*This post contains affiliate links