Ch-ch-changes in the master bedroom

Something has been bothering me about our master bedroom for some time. When we moved in, it looked like this:
It really felt like living inside a toybox. I love wood, don't get me wrong. But the floor matching the walls really made it feel very, well... toybox-like. After a lot of sanding, priming, and painting (as chronicled here), we had this:


I absolutely love the pale pink walls. The furniture that has followed me around for the past 15 years just wasn't cutting it for me. It was SO BIG! And I really wanted another look. I ended up buying a cast iron bed from LL Bean (super reasonable shipping, by the way).

The old bed and dresser were sold on Craigslist. I saved the nightstands for quite awhile now... but with the new influx mid-century modern pieces in the house, I really wanted to bring something smaller and cleaner in. Steven began wiping up some new nightstands from my hand-drawn sketch (a post on those to follow).

But even with new nightstands and a new bed, I felt the room needed something else. I think there really is not a focal point in the room. There are planks everywhere, running every which way. One end of the room has built-ins, one has 2 doors. One wall has 2 windows, the others a huge expanse and a door on the end. It is all very asymmetrical and there is nothing to balance it.
My solution for this was for Steven to add some solid panels between in the windows. I thought if we "connected" the windows with solid panels (thus eliminating some of the planks), it would give a focal point for displaying artwork. The panels would be painted white, to make black frames pop. In my head, at least, it gives the eye a place to rest.

Are you feeling it? Are you with me?

Steven has the panels and trim caulked and ready for primer. The nightstands are assembled and ready for paint. I cannot wait to share. Stay tuned!

One area I haven't decided on yet is the closet... not sure I am digging on the curtain I made to replace the cheap-o closet doors. Also, the knickknacks over the doors are on their way out as well.

and... decorating for the holidays in the bedroom

Steven suprised me with a little holiday cheer in the bedroom. Work has been taxing lately, and it was a happy surprise!

This is the built-in dresser in our bedroom. He cleared off all his usual books and whatnot and added the little pink tree the boys helped me decorate.

I picked up this little pins from Etsy. I thought they looked cute under the tree, but can't wait to leave them up year-round.

I love the gumdrop garland on the tree!

Don't you love genuine patina?

And another of Steven's radios. He is getting quite a collection going. :)

a little reward for my new job

The first week in Denver went great. I had forgotten how tiring flying is, especially since my flight there leaves at 7, which means I get up at 4 a.m. The flight home is jam packed as well... so... but I enjoy my new co-workers and love that my hotel is right by the mall. I walked into the mall, and Anthropologie, PB Kids, Williams Sonoma, Restoration Hardware and Crate and Barrel are all on the same corner. It is like a little beam of light shown down on my head and I could here angels singing...

Anyway... It will be a busy (holiday) weekend for me. All my lights came in so the kitchen will be a construction site. Steven snagged a gorgeous 1936 Detroit Jewel gas stove off Craigslist for us. Really, the design is more modern than I thought. Stoves that old usually have those long spindle legs and the tower on the right. This one is so cute, and in perfect shape. It will live in the basement until we can redo the entire kitchen, including cabinets.

As a little reward for myself, besides a couple pieces of bling from Nordstroms, I ordered this chair for the bedroom from Overstock:

I can't wait to rock the baby to sleep and read stories to the boys. I plan to put it, space permitting, in front of the window, in front of the built-ins. So pretty. A little more "mod" than I usually go for, but the clean lines drew me in.

Ikea shipping costs are freaking INSANE!

I have been Googling beds lately. I sold the massive Ralph Lauren bed and dresser that used to dominate our bedroom and have been searching for a vintage-looking metal bed. Antique cast irons are not available in Queen, because, well, Queen beds didn't exist then. The new cast irons beds are gorgeous, but, aren't in my budget right now. So, I have been searching for a lovely (steel) bed.

I really fell in love with this one from LL Bean called the "Cottage Iron Bed." It has clean, simple lines. I adore the gentle bend at the footboard. Gorgeous. And it comes in the matte black I wanted. It is a reasonable $600, with $60 shipping. Behold its glory:

Then there is the "Lillesand" from Ikea (below). Not as pretty and probably not as sturdy as the LL Bean one. But it has the simple lines I want, and at $179, the price was right. Amazingly enough, Ikea will SHIP this one. I was practically jumping up and down when I clicked "Buy Now." And then, Ikea pops up with a message that they will email me the shipping and handling costs, and then at that time would collect a credit card number. Rut-Roh. Why so long for a quote? The next day, I got the email. Get this... Shipping for the $179 bed would be $299. Shipping costs more than the bed?? A bed that isn't as heavy as the LL Bean costs 5 times more to ship? What exactly are they smoking over there at Ikea? Cripes!
I am thinking LL Bean, baby. I am toying with the idea of welding up my own creation. I drew it up and am sending my quantities to my metal fabrication contact to see if it will come in SIGNIFICANTLY less than the LL Bean one. Time is at a premium around my house and I am still toiling away with my fabulous Hollywood Regency chairs. I can save my pennies awhile for the LL Bean.

guitars hanging in a closet? works for me!

Steven got a chance to install the guitar hangers in my walk-in closet over the weekend. I love having my other closet accessible. No more guitar stands impeding my shoe selection!

A pink guitar? Could you ever have guess that?

Left is my DR Wildwood, Right is my Fender Telecaster.

And my basses... Left is my Gretsch Jr Jet, Right is my Fender P-bass.

Of course, the studs didn't line up exactly as we hoped... but I would rather have the guitar alignment be a little off than chancing it and hanging the guitars just into sheet rock. (And subsequently having all my guitars smashing into the floor.)

It is hard to get a picture in there being tight quarters and all. You will just have to imagine what it looks like all-at-once! ;)

I think it is interesting how the flash changes the color of the closet. Sometimes it looks bright pink, others it is practically white. The color is actually a pale pink called Ballerina Gown. It is a more noticeable pink than the bedroom - but I wanted a funkier closet so I don't mind. It looks nice with the orange and aqua in there... I will take pictures of the rest of the closet (once I get my laundry done!)

Before: a mess of guitars in front of my other closet. The amp will be moved to my walk-in, with the guitars, as well. Steven has to put in an outlet first.

handpainted hydrangea wallpaper and pink pom-poms in the closet

The closet is painted... but not complete. I still need to find some guitar wall hangers so I can move all my guitars into the closet and out of the bedroom. I also have some tidying and accessorizing to do.

It is looking really cute so far!

My handpainted hydrangea's go all the way to the ceiling. (Really high!!)

The ever-popular Martha Stewart flower pom-poms. They look so pretty, and my closet ceiling is so high, they draw your eye up.

I gotta get some guitar hooks and a few more binnies, paint a mirror, scrub the floor. Yikes!

my wild pink, orange & aqua closet, in progress

There is a method to my madness. Really! See... I fell in love with a wallpaper I found online. (Bloomsbury by Villa Nova). It was a UK site, and I haven't located a stockist in the US. The wallpaper had an Arts & Crafts influence, which makes a historic preservationist happy. Yet, with all the stress wallpaper removal has caused in the house, I don't know if I could bring myself to actually hang it myself. Parts of the closet are drywall to boot - which is way more a PITA than steaming off of plaster.

Anyway... I decided my closet was a "fun" space, since I will be hanging my guitars in there. (I can't wait to have them out of my way!) I took the original design, enlarged it, and injected it with a lot of color.

It is not all done yet - but here is a preview. The walls are Behr's Ballerina Gown. The flower petals are Behr's Fresco Cream, the aqua buds are Glidden's Tropical Lagoon, and the centers are Fuschia craft paint I had on hand. The brown edges are leftover dark brown craft paint.

A bit further back...

The original design would have driven me batty. WAY too small and detailed. I enlarged this design 4 times.

I kept the trim Ralph Lauren's French Pink, for now. If it reads too Pepto Bismol, I may paint it white. I am also thinking of doing the backs of the shelves in the orange.

So stay tuned... Hopefully I will have some finished pictures by this weekend! :)

brainstorming colors for my closet

As if I didn't have enough projects going already, I want to circle back around and work on my closet a bit. This is the closet that connects the master bedroom to the kitchen. In the kitchen, this is the door that I painted with the one -two - three... we put the table in front of it, so you can't pass through it anymore. This was likely the pantry, but later converted to a closet when the house was remodeled in the late 40s.

I have another closet in the master bedroom that I use for my work clothes. This one is for my casual clothes since everything is folded up in laundry baskets. Awhile back, I painted the trim pastel pink and the walls a pale pink. I don't know... the pale pink isn't doing it for me. I like the pastel pink trim, but I am just not convinced on the pale pink.


Artwork in the closet? Yeah, kinda weird. My very good friend, Dave, a.k.a. Damage in the recording biz, painted this huge portrait of me. I am going to get it framed once the closet is all painted up.

The wood floor in the closet is great. I love the old distressed look of the wood... authentic from years of use... I will clean up the little paint blobs. Really, I will.

I found this globe at Habitat Restore for $3. I thought it was an interesting shape and will try to use it in the closet. I just have a bare bulb in there now. I was going to try a jewel-drippy chandy... but this was too cool to pass up.

So there you have it... I am looking for suggestions on what color to paint the closet. I need a wall color, and suggestions for a trim color if you hate the pink. I know pink isn't everyone's thing... but pink, for me, is right up there with aqua / robin's egg blue. :)

Help!!!

master bedroom update

Our master bedroom is long and narrow, and the windows leave little room for creative furniture placement. The bed has to go between the windows, and therefore, the bed goes in the middle of the room. This divides the room into two areas. The area nearest the doorway has the dresser that we set the TV on. My sweater drawers have been taken over a bit by the Wii games. To the left of the dresser is the door to the walk-in closet. This closet used to be a pass-through to the kitchen, but I have placed a Hoosier cabinet in front of the doorway in the kitchen. (When we remodel, we will get rid of that doorway in the kitchen, but I do think about leaving the door on the closet side as a sort of door that goes to nowhere. Could be charming!) To the right of the dresser is the door to the master bathroom. That doorknob I took from a door we found in storage. Such a pretty lavender color! I think it fits in well here.














Above the doors are these cute little shelves. The Barbies and such will be moving into my closet. I began buying Ballerina Barbies a few years ago because I always wanted a real Barbie growing up. And I danced ballet for years. But, she doesn't really need to be displayed so prominantly in the room. I do like the vases and Bougeureau print.
















This side of the room is used mainly to get over to the bathroom, but we also play Wii and do Wii Fit in this area. We also have the cloth diapering supplies in pink woven baskets by my nightstand. The wall between the walk-in closet door and door to the living room, I have added 3 decorative hooks. I hung up a couple pretty dresses that I thought matched the look of the room, as well as my oldest son's baptism gown. (Every 11 year old boy likes to remember that he once wore a dress!)














The other side of the room has the antique dresser I found at Goodwill. A coat of cream-white paint and some pink glass knobs, and it is so pretty. I made the runner from Amy Butler fabric. I used the remainder of this fabric on a little chair I also found at Goodwill. I painted the chair a pale blue. The dresser is not decorated yet, so I threw a few things on the top just for now. The built-in closet used to have cheap sliding doors that made it difficult to get to my clothes. I replaced them with curtains I made from another Amy Butler fabric.
















So... decorating dilemma... The antique dresser used to have an attached mirror. I am actually fine with not having a mirror over the dresser. I know what I look like. And I have a full-length mirror in my closet. So, I thought of either attaching a large round mirror directly to the wall. Or, doing a grouping of framed pictures over the dresser, sort of like a parlor wall look. Which do you think? I am really leaning to the framed prints. I have so many great shots of my kids... but perhaps it would be odd since it is so expected to have a mirror there.



















The sand in the jar is from Malibu. I spent all summer flying back and forth from Kansas to California for work. My boys are glad that project is over! The starfish are from the Rachel Ashwell shop in Malibu. The frame will soon hold a poem that Steven wrote for me. (He is a musician as well. In fact, we met playing in the same band! Musicians write such wonderful love poems!)




















In front of the closet are a few of my favorite possessions: the oldest amp in my collection, my acoustic guitar, my favorite bass, and my favorite guitar. Maybe someday I will have a recording space to display all my instruments. The giant built-in drawers hold my husband's things. On top tends to collect books he has finished reading and what not... but I am trying to clear those out a bit.



















I have had the same artwork for a few years now and really, it doesn't do anything for me. It is pretty to look at but doesn't inspire any emotion in me. When I get a chance, I will replace them with some of my own work. I really like the “birdcage” hollow-spiral lamps. The blue glass lamps get so much use. Steven and I like to “set the mood” with tea candles. Steven's clock radio is pretty cool. It looks vintage, but allows him to plug his iPod into the top!



















The bed will be replaced as soon as it and the matching dresser (which is now taking up valuable storage space!) sell on Craigslist. I actually like my nightstands, so if they do not sell, I won't be heartbroken. I plan on replacing the bed with a beautiful wrought iron bed finished in flat black. I think that would really pop against the pale pink walls. The shams I got on clearance from Pottery Barn. The duvet on clearance from Restoration Hardware.



















Above the bed flutter these feather butterflies. Our baby boy likes to watch them float around when he gets his diaper changed on our bed. (Remember, his room is in chaos, so his crib is set up in the living room, right outside our door.)














Speaking of pale pink walls... the wall colors I choose tend to be hard to photograph. This pink is a pale creamy pink that sort of changes colors throughout the day. At night, it is more pink, and day more cream. It is a nice, girly color without being blatantly pink, or stark white. I have stenciled a few faint bumblebees on the walls to echo the embroidered bees on the bedding.
Yet to come are some nice area rugs to make the place cozy.















And, finally, a shot of my lovely ceiling fixture.

Master Bedroom

When the Hitchcock's remodeled, they joined part of the front porch and the office/study together to create a master bedroom and bath. Pretty much every surface was stained wood... Wood ceiling, floors, walls... It felt a bit like living inside a big toy chest.

I always wanted a girlie-girl room, and this is the only room that I could really use lighter (not kid-proof) colors in... Steven does not seem to mind sleeping in a pretty pink room. In fact, it is rather cozy.

After the walls were scuffed up with the sander, a layer of Kilz primer was sprayed on. The trim and ceiling were sprayed "Milk Sugar" by Laura Ashley / Valspar. Next, a few coats of "Bella Pink" by Behr. I painted my oak bed and dresser "Chocolate Souffle" by Ralph Lauren. The nightstands were painted "Creme Brule" by Ralph Lauren.

We added a dresser for the TV sit on. The curtains are vintage sheers that I found in an upstairs closet. I found a pink crackle glass pull for the closet light as well. The doorknob for the bathroom door is vintage lavender-colored glass from a door we removed upstairs.

I found an old chair at a thrift shop and painted it "Navy I" by Laura Ashley / Valspar. I recovered the seat in Amy Butler pink fabric. We found an antique dresser at a thrift store which I painted "Sweet Woodruff" by Laura Ashley / Valspar. Pink glass knobs and pink paper drawer liners were added. I made a runner from the same fabric as the chair. Steven took the cheap closet doors down and I made curtains from a different Amy Butler pink fabric.

The brown dresser is being sold, along with the bed. I plan on replacing the bed with a gorgeous flat black iron bed. The nightstands, if not replaced altogether, will be repainted the same cream as the dresser.

I am on the look-out for many rugs that I plan on layering around the room. Perhaps flokart, cheetah and pale pinks.... Yummy...

More pictures to come!!!!