Creativity; Sometimes it’s inspired by a problem to be solved, sometimes it’s just inspired! This space has evolved over our 9 years in this home due to both. I would say it’s been one of the trickier spaces for me in our home, but a bedroom also offers the opportunity for a lot of low cost creativity. Six weeks ago this space wasn’t on my radar to do anything to; we are working on a bigger project in our living room, (coming VERY soon!), and with several large-scale design projects occupying upwards of 50 hours a week, I wasn’t looking to fill any remaining time. But when the opportunity to work with two of my favorite companies landed back-to-back, well, who am I to turn down a quick makeover?!
By quick, I don’t mean subtle. I really wanted to try a different look on in this room, and for the first time in a long time I did not draw up any sort of design plan. It was a feeling of warmth and coziness I was after and I pulled tangible elements together from there.
The process was made infinitely easier by Loloi Rugs where I found this plush ivory shag rug. The subtle pattern is perfect for my preferred simple bed.
While simple, this is my favorite bedding we have ever had. I knew I wanted an earthy green tone and had attempted to dye our white duvet using Rit Dye’s formula for Olive Branch. I had to double the recipe I found for such a large piece of fabric and it ended up much more kelly-green than I was hoping for. Cultiver Goods saved the day, though - their line of linen duvets come in the most beautiful colors all in the earthy undertone that I’m drawn to. Their ‘Olive’ set looks exactly as I had hoped when I had tried to dye my own. And bonus, it doesn’t have the telltale splotchy marks of a DIY dye job! Hah!
A more successful dye project in this space is the curtains! I risked perfectly good coffee and dyed our white linen curtains in a coffee bath. Super easy and no lingering coffee smell, either. I did both panels at the same time in a large plastic storage bin. I filled it most of the way with the hot bath water and then added 6 cups of black coffee. I stirred the coffee into the hot water and then added the curtains, submerging them all the way and then stirring off and on for about an hour. At one hour I pulled them out and rinsed them under cold water and dried in our drier! No dark spots or splotches - it really turned out so even!
Another fun DIY project in here was refinishing this cute antique rocker I found on Facebook Marketplace. Painting the detailed trim black gives it a modern touch but maintains its classic appeal.
The leather bench I made last year after crushing on it in this post by Cate! I can’t get over how scrumptious it looks against our Olive duvet.
Our previous bedside tables were vintage green metal filing cabinets that we mounted to the wall. I love green so very much and when I had this thought to do the olive green duvet, I knew the hunter green bedside tables would have to go. I found these walnut nightstands on Facebook Marketplace, (really my favorite online shopping destination these days), and I love how they tie in Matt’s walnut dresser and the platform bed, and allow my refinished ‘greige’ dresser to be the only black sheep. I don’t need a matching bedroom set, but I realized I had so many different colors, elements and finishes in the room that it felt a little hodge-podged. Tying 3 of the 4 furniture pieces together makes the space feel a bit more peaceful now that everything isn’t competing.
That mirror was a fun and final DIY to complete this space. I have been crushing hard on a similar mirror for over $400 from Anthropologie, so to make this one for $20 felt really good. Sharing how right here in a couple days, so stay tuned!
Final stop: unfinished gallery wall. I’m waiting until after this season of birthdays and holidays to get the frames, but in the mean time I couldn’t wait to get these printed moments up on our wall. I really try to show you our home as we live in it and the reality is we have unfinished projects peppered around. Like most everyone, we do what we can when we can and sometimes loose ends take a bit of time to tie up.
That’s it! This was such a fun transformation as it involved a couple new items, but a lot of found used pieces and DIY projects. Our home feels so much more personal to me when we can tackle some things ourselves, or recall the adventure of how we found a particular piece.
On that note, I’ll share how I made that raffia mirror later this week for anyone interested!
Thank you so much for stopping by!!
