Click Here to see Part 1 of Master Bedroom REVEAL - Before Pictures
Click Here to see Part 2 of Master Bedroom REVEAL - After Pictures
Now comes the FUN part!!! Woot woot!
Let's have a moment of silence in memory of the before picture:
Ahem. Moving on...
I totally and
thoroughly enjoyed taking these pictures and seeing my room once again through fresh eyes. I truly still absolutely positively LOVE it, even after almost a year of living in it now! Funny thing is, I honestly do not have an eye for decor. Promise you I am telling the honest to God truth.
However, Pinterest has
completely changed my life in that area! You know how, when you get braces, you notice everyone's braces all of a sudden? Or when you're into keeping your kitchen sink super sparkling clean (yes FlyLady, talking about you!), you start noticing other people's sinks are pretty yucky looking even if they have the most beautiful home?
It's got to be the same thing with Pinterest. After looking at my favorites over & over, and seeing picture after picture and blog after blog, I started to trust my gut. If I immediately got flutters in my stomach I knew it was a style I loved! Others, not so much, so then I knew what I didn't like. In the end I realized that for some reason, the combination of white and blue was
IT for me. With gray, silver, black, crystal, and then a POP of color. Still working on that one, so far green in plants has worked great -- but I would love to add in a pop of bright pink or bright yellow. See, still pretty insecure about my abilities lol!
My point is -- I realized that I especially adore white. The milky, flowing into endless white with no seams....no color to stop your eye from the soothing clean and freshness that is pure white. So whenever I wasn't sure what color to paint something or what color of this or that to buy, I decided that my motto was going to be WHITE always works. I love white on white on white on white. Probably because it's impossible to have WHITE in any other area of my house with 8 kids! =) Gotta be real here!
(can I just say, is that not a breath of fresh air after the above picture?)
Here is my favorite after picture that really captures the essence of the look I was going for, which is French Shabby Chic in Paris. I wish Blogger didn't make the pictures so small, it just takes away the fun details! Be sure to click on the picture to see a bigger version with more pretty details. BTW the curtains are NOT pink. I just forgot to turn off the bathroom lights to the right, oops, and you can also see the yellowish cast on the bed. Ah well, it's still a purty picture!
The gorgeous king size duvet cover is from Target, love love love it. Exactly what I was looking for! It came with two matching shams, so I was one happy girl to have found that -- the set was $60. Flowy stunning, In Love With bedskirt I found online somewhere for $30. It's sheer chiffon with an inside liner of white, and is pretty fragile, unfortunately. My bed is pretty high so the kids step on that bottom box spring to get up and it has already ripped at the seam in several places which I promptly either safety pinned or stitched. =(
The mirror was one of my favorite finds! Squeal! I knew exactly the look I wanted for this bedroom, I just loved the sunburst beveled mirror look. I found this one on Craigslist advertised for $50 -- the picture made it look like it was about 8" by 8". I remember when she responded to my email by saying it was 36" across!! Whaaat?!! Oh my gosh! Upon arrival -- she had THE most amazing to die for home, one whole wall was a humongous beveled mirror! This one had a small chip that she had just found, so she offered it to me for $35. On the back: Pier One tag for $199!!
The blue pillows on the bed I found at JCPenney's for $19.99 for the set. The pillow in the middle, is actually a Target reject found at Goodwill, it's silver with funky sparkling embroidery. It was only $6 so I took a chance, and it was just TOO much funk for my bed. I had purchased a small quilting square of material at JoAnn's a while back that I thought I might use to line the dresser drawers with (modpodge) and it was the perfect size to be safety pinned to cover one side only of the pillow, lol. So just don't pick up the pillow when you come in my room and flip it over....
Chandelier, purchased on Ebay for $120. I spent many hours poring over chandelier's on half.com, Amazon, Ebay, even Ikea. I wanted the look to be like clear ice, the perfect glam to the otherwise flowy and romantic room. The black scroll design is beautiful against the crystals. It came with little lampshades which I took off immediately lol! DH had quite the time installing it, he came to my rescue on that one. I have to say...it absolutely and positively MAKES the room. It is so stunning, reflected in every mirror - just, wow. Love, love,
ADORE.
This is the view from where I sleep - it's my favorite!! I love how the sheer curtains soften the light, love that the ceiling color is 25% lighter than the walls (that's literally what I told the paint lady, just to lighten it 25%) and makes for the yummiest, dreamiest blue soft colors ever that just flow and eb and make for a gorgeous morning light!
The dresser was one of my all-time favorite finds on Craigslist EVER, hands down. It was $45 (!!) and a deep brown wood, very old -- it had that old musty smell to it. It belonged to the previous owner's great aunt-in-law and she didn't really care lol. Kinda dirty, lots of dings -- of course I wish I had taken a picture of it!! This was my second biggest project that I tackled, having never actually painted furniture before. I sanded it as much as I could to get the finish off, making the top nice & smooth. Very heavy, I had to drive 45 minutes with 5 crying kids to see it, pay for it, and have DH come get it the next day. =) It was my changing table up until just a few days ago!
This picture shows the dark brown color it originally was, still inside the drawers. I knew exactly the look I wanted, complete with the matching larger sized crystal knobs from Home Depot -- french feminine chic with a touch of Paris. Love it sooo much! The mirror actually is not attached to the dresser, it's just leaning against the edge. The mirror is also really old and has lots of smudges and a scratch or two -- but I figure whatever, it's the beauty of decorating in antique; anything goes!
The black wicker laundry basket was from Ross for just $5.99...I kind of feel like it's a bit too much black, and am on the hunt for something probably white instead. But for now it'll do, especially so cheap!
Love these tulips from Ross - they look so real! I am not brave enough yet to add in major pops of color, so the subtle green with of course, white tulips, in the glass vase with faux water just called out to me immediately. I think this was $19.99 so pretty spendy, but I really love what it adds to the whole room. The shoe was my very first piece of decor I bought, at Goodwill, long before I started my room. Kind of like a promise of things yet to come! I suppose you could say I designed my whole room around this shoe, lol! Catalogs are Ballard Design & Pottery Barn.
I love doing these types of fun little decor projects, and love having surfaces to decorate! This is one of my favorite necklaces to wear on date night -- lots of good memories of feeling like a princess! Found these 3 little jars at a thrift store somewhere. One has a candle in it, and the other a few of my silver diamond (faux) rings. My little ones keep on trying to pick up the necklace and put it back in the jar, lol. It concerns them that it "spilled". =)
I love the double doors in my bedroom - one of them is locked into place all the time, but it's just that added little bit of charm that makes a room, you know? I bought this dress at my favorite thrift store for a few dollars, loved the color, haven't worn it yet but I love the way it kind of blends in with the blue in my room! So I just left it hanging there with a silver & black diamond necklace...waiting for the perfect date night occasion! (and maybe just a few pounds less of weight....hmmm) Notice the gold knob on the door? This is on my "to do" list still - I want to switch to nickel plated knobs. (heart)
This is a sweet little shelf that I bought at Goodwill for $4.99, it came like that! Already white shabby painted over dark wood. I love the curves and also the little nails in the dips...perfect for hanging things like a crystal stolen from the chandelier, a silver chain, and a few jars & pretties picked up here & there. The lace camisole I bought at a thrift store thinking it was so pretty! Haven't worn it yet (maybe under the blue dress??!!) but until then, it looks dainty and feminine in my french room!
The jury is still out on that picture - picked it up at a garage sale for $15. It's more on the cream side and I'm trying to keep everything white white...but I do love the couples dancing in the dreamy mist with the moon. The colors are the same blue, and black, as my room so -- we'll keep it for now.
The mirror, ah, that mirror! Such a heart pounding find at Goodwill --- I think it was $12.99 and it is BIG and heavy. It was kind of dirty, and where you see black, was all silver but with a big huge smudge almost like someone had put duct tape on it and then took it off and it ruined the paint. I slapped on some of my regular black paint just so it would look decent, right before I had the baby. But I plan to repaint it with chalkboard paint and write a french saying in fancy script! I was going to paint it all white but instantly fell in love with the depth the silver adds to my room, once I got it in there.
This little stool I found at Goodwill for $4.99, and loved the little curvy legs. I was originally going to paint it white, but ended up leaving it because I just LOVE that dark wood next to the white!! I recovered it in the same quilt square from JoAnn's that matches the pillow on the bed. Someday I hope to get hardwood floors in that same color throughout the house.
I love my window dressings - love the sheer, love the black ribbon with a round crystal orb in the middle that makes rainbows dance in my room, just everything about it! Except the ugly air conditioner, but, it makes my beautiful room a cool one in the heat of summer which is in my book 100% okay. =) Also the blinds - I plan to get wooden ones soon! I found it to be a challenge to take pictures of a window during the day so, this one was taken at night. Notice the shadows from the chandelier? So fun at night!
I found this lovely little rod at a garage sale for $2, it's super cheap quality and turns out it's Walmart brand, lol! But does the trick, as the curtains that I have up on the window are very light and sheer so it doesn't need to be heavy duty or anything. This is what made me decide to go with the black chandelier -- it ties in nicely with the curtain rod, pillow on the bed, chandelier, and bathroom sink base. The curtain rings were from Amazon, super easy and I love the dainty detail they add to the rod and a little more black for the room.
Daytime picture of my window sill -- LOVE this little fern! The basket I found at Goodwill smashed in with many other rejects...it had an UGLY plant in it that I promptly threw in the trash! Found this adorable baby fern at Michaels and loved the end result! It looks especially nice in the winter when the air conditioner is gone.
The curly iron scroll is one of my favorite finds because it was actually nailed to a scary looking canvas picture. I had two of them, each had one of these scrolls nailed on the top & bottom. I unscrewed them, painted them white, and you'll see them in various places around my room including under the big round mirror sitting on the board & batten. Love little details like that!
Another lovely pretty -- I tend to pick up anything with crystals like this just in case I can find a good home for them in my room. This was a candle holder -- I removed the top part, and it became something...um...unique? Whatever, I love the whimsy of it!
Yes, my dear husband does sleep in this room -- and this is his side. My original plan was to paint both his nightstand and the dresser white, but I ran out of time....3 weeks until my baby was due and I was still working on the big white dresser! So it had to stay, and bugged me to NO end. Aaagh! Brown! Then one day a friend of mine came to see my room who is to me, THE most talented decorater I have ever met. Her style is one I could only hope to copy, I adore it! The first thing she said was that she loved the brown, it "grounds the white"! Oh! Oh yeah, it sure does! Ha ha there goes all my supposed knowledge. =)
It works out well because
now he can have his kind of more masculine side to the room, and I also attempted to make it so when I added in the few decor items on top of his dresser. The picture is from Ross, $14.99. I bought the books specifically in those colors to blend in with the blue hues -- I have no idea what the titles are, lol! The little chair serves as a change catcher -- perfect!
The rocking chair peeking out from the corner, I fell in love with upon sight at Goodwill for $39.99. It was an oak sort of color, but very old. The seat had a gnarly roses ooold print that I immediately took off when I painted it, and underneath the stuffing is HAY!! It's really really old, pretty neat.
I am not finished with it, actually -- it is just primed. I was planning to do the same white antique-worn look as the dresser, but I am really liking the "white washed" look. The seat is all torn up so to cover it's ugliness I draped an eyelet lace square pillow case I found at a garage sale for 50 cents. Certainly does the trick, for now! It's got these 5 little "button" looking things at the top middle, that remind me of those old fashioned women's french boot buttons! Unique and pretty with lots of personality.
My nightstand that I painted white -- it was an awful oakish color. I drilled a hole and added the crystal knob so that it kind of looks like it matches the dresser. It holds all my decorating catalogs, and I love the dark basket with a candle in it to, again, "ground the white." =) The two lamps on my and DH's nightstands, I found at Salvation Army for $10 total. They were both already nickel silver...I just added the matching lamp shades from Lowe's for $8 each. One is taller than the other, I wanted something similar but not matchy matchy and was so happy to find them at the same time!
The drawers here were an awful faded oak. Very faded, and had no knobs. Painting it black really made the white counter top POP and completely changed the look of the whole room! I wish I had a good before picture of the oak look. Note to self: take better before pictures! The light was brass and on clearance at Lowe's for $9.99. UGLY. Painted it black and DH rescued me by putting it in for me.
I love this little corner of my room!! So bright and cheery! DH is gone on a trip during this photo session; normally his many different plugged in things (shaver, electric toothbrush, phone charger, etc) are contained in this silver basket. It usually looks kind of messy, but at least it's not all sprawled out on the counter like before.
In the back you can see a mason jar filled with q-tips; sitting on a candleholder for height. The faux wheatgrass was a $2 garage sale purchase, and the adorable "freshly laundered towels" rack was purchased for $20 at a local antique mall. I LOVE it and would not usually pay that much (!!) but love what it adds to my bathroom!
The mirror was a Big Lots find for $29.99 that I knew immediately was exactly what I had been looking for. Love the chunky black frame that ties in the light with the newly painted black drawers. You can see another one of those scroll thingies on the ledge, as well as a glass jar filled with extra crystals in the corner. The silver bucket holding my toiletries is from Goodwill, and the glass soap dispenser from Ross Dress 4 Less was actually filled with pink rose scented lotion! It was fun to get imaginative and find these little goodies.
Thank you for making it this far!! I look forward to sharing more before & afters with you as I slowly but surely transform my home.
The End. =)
