Bedroom makeover...part 2? 3?

I don't know how many times I have griped about my master bedroom. So this past month I began chewing away at a few little things I dislike.

It is my favorite room in the house AND my least favorite. My favorite because it is an awesome room...big, bright, cozy. Least favorite because after 13 years, I STILL haven't decorated it the way I REALLY want it.

I blame it on the furniture.

Ornate, heavy, dark, veeeery traditional! I paid entirely too much for it, so I can't bring myself to get rid of it. One bad thing about furniture...no matter how much you paid for it, chances are you are only going to get pennies on the dollar. 

There are a few pieces I would never get rid of...my dad's walnut chair and my grandparent's old trunkThe rest of it...honestly, if I had unlimited funds, it would all go.

But I don't...so it won't. The next best thing is to change it up a bit with a little bit of paint! 

I featured the beside tables and the high boy here!

The next big project was the bed! 

Honestly, this set would be perfect for a chalkpaint and distress treatment. I painted it with Kilz and sanded it and it was so cool looking. But alas, that is not my "thang" so I just went with my go-to Valspar Dune color.

I did finally paint the top of the Duncan Phyfe drum table...bye, bye beautiful mahogany!

I still need to do some kind of little vingette around this table...in time!

I'm not real thrilled with the bed. I had originally planned on painting all the raised part of the head board and just leaving the inset stained but Brian talked me into just painting the top scrolly part...which is really the part I disliked and it seems the paint just highlighted it. (See, I take his advise!) Oh well...it is different and that will do for now!

I also picked up this darling little antique fan at an auction. I'm not really into "froo-froo" stuff just sitting around and eventually it will probably go to one of my flea booths. But I like the color and retro style and it looks kinda cool on top of the highboy...for now! Until I have to dust it!

Now that all the furniture is painted, I REALLY want to install hand-scraped laminate flooring. And I really want to reupholstery the big chairs. Someday!

I found this AWESOME color chart on Pinterest....

I have some white and tan in the throw pillows and bedding but the majority of my white is a little more "off-white" and my walls are more of a "cream" than a tan. I can live without the grey...I like black better. But the blue is the color of my fireplace wall and I am itching to throw the cranberry color in there somewhere. Maybe in the upholstery on the chairs or a large rug on my new floors!

The paddle fans? Hum...might have to do a little a little paddle fan treatment!

So much I WANT to do.

That is one thing one has to understand about home decor. Unless you have A LOT of money and can afford to have a professional designer come in and do it top to bottom (my choice would be Candice Olson!) the best approach is a little bit at a time. 

Don't be afraid to buy used and do a little work to make it your own. As much as I disliked this furniture when it was all stained and matchy-matchy, I'm kind of digging it now! Still want something different, but I like it a lot more now than I did two weeks ago! The floors will come in time and I know someday a piece of upholstery fabric for the chairs will "speak to me" ...someday.

I always tell my kids...it's a good thing we don't have a lot of money...think of all the great things we would never have learned to do had we had the money to pay someone else to do it!

Seriously how much personal satisfaction could one get from having a bazillion dollars and being able to design, built and decorate your "dream" house without concern for costs?

See what paint fumes do to you....

Ivy and Elephants

Little house projects...

When you get your miter saws this year, let me know and we will start on the bookcases and fireplace surrounds.  I built all these over the years and have NO doubt you can whip one up in a matter of days....lol!  Just kidding...I would never expect the average person to tackle this size of a project...but my point is, if I can do THIS, you CAN do the smaller, simpler projects! 

And I will let you in on a little secret...when I had to do the "inside corners" of the large crown molding on the den fireplace, I went over to a house being built down the street and paid the trim guy to do it.  I know there is a trick to cutting inside corners on crown molding...something about backwards, upside down, stand on you head...but I haven't ever gotten the hang of it.  Outside miter cuts on crown...no problem.  So when I do the tutorial on building up your door trim, not a problem.  But maybe we can get a "guest"  to help us learn the art of cutting inside corners on crown molding!  Or better yet, I'll just teach you how to build those cool little corner doodads that look so classy!

In the next few days, I will post some pictures of my staircase...stripped the carpet and put in new treads and risers...seriously, it isn't THAT hard.  And when you get your new tools, you CAN do it.  I will also posts pictures of my master bath...with just a teeny effort, you can completely change the look of your bathroom.   And I promise to show you before and afters on my kitchen under counter lighting...seriously, you can't imagine the difference it makes in your kitchen!  

Until then....

My den...I painted this wall 12 years ago when I built this room...perfect example of "paint it a color you love and you will always love it!"  It is true!  I've never had any desire to change this color!   Now the TV stand...that's another story and a project I look forward to doing in the VERY near future...just have to find a piece that speaks to me...

 

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I built these built-in bookcases in my living room when the house was under construction.  Originally, there were just two walls with weird windows.  Had NO idea how to place furniture or decorate around them so I did the next best thing...just built some bookcases around them! Perfect spot for the Christmas tree, and I love decorating the arch window in the fall and at Christmas!

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Can you tell I read...A LOT...these are just a few!     

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Someday I MIGHT get around to putting up curtains...they are all the decorating rage. For now, I just enjoy waking up to the view...and the sun, if it is up before me...rare!