LAST WEEK OF THE ONE ROOM CHALLENGE AND FINAL PHOTOS

I am so excited to be showing you the final reveal of this Tiny Master Bedroom Makeover.  Improving this space has been transformational in both style, decoration and motivation to get other areas done. The artwork is perfect, the bedding is just what I wanted, and the accessories and styling turned out beautifully. I am extremely pleased with the results. And strangely enough, last night after the photo shoot, I slept so well with the peace of mind our new room brought me. The feeling is incredibly calming and serene, and the project is something we did for ourselves. What an awesome (and well overdue) feeling!

Do you remember the inspiration for this room?

   

Take a look at the graphic I made to enter the challenge, and the subsequent progress pics…

BEFORE 

DULL, LACK LUSTER, BASIC AND NOT PULLED TOGETHER… BY ANY MEANS OR STANDARDS.

 

 

ONE ROOM CHALLENGE TINY BEDROOM MAKEOVER

Wait until you see the finished product- I love it. I had to compromise on some aspects of the makeover and pivot when something didn’t work, but in the end, it all came together.

Some of the challenges were the budget.  My husband and I had to buy bedding.  We hated the old sheets that pulled off overnight because they were loosely fitting after hundreds of washes. The Challenge announcement and my desire to no longer live in a basic bedroom anymore is where all of this started.

One of the other challenges were wrong colors for the throw on the bed. I ordered at least five throws, and although the color name was some variation of Rust, none were the right color.  Guess where I found the right one?  The Home Depot Home Décor Department. 

Even though the bed frame is not anything we would choose today we had to make it work. I focused on overcoming the challenges presented, and not giving up  just because something was not perfect.  I guess this attitude stems from my growing up in the UK, making do and re-inventing things.  When we originally purchased this bedframe it wasn’t necessarily because we loved it, but because we had had a basic bedframe, box, and no headboard for well into our tenth year of marriage. This bed was on sale and we had a bigger master bedroom at the time and the bed was a total upgrade. So it has served it purpose and it served us well…and investing $130 dollars to change the look was very well worth it.

 

HERE IS THE INTRODUCTION TO THE TINY BEDROOM REVEAL 

 

To recap, here is a list of all the changes we made… what a huge difference!

 

1- BEDDING – I recommend always going for higher thread count cotton sheets in white. We also needed different sizes of pillowcases- I personally  use five and my husband only uses two. This portion was approximately $65 for a new set, fitted sheet, flat sheet, and four pillow cases as I purchased two extra separately.

2- THE TOP COVERLET- We have a few, but nothing that was new and fresh. I wanted something a bit different as I usually tend to purchase solid colors, and mostly white or a variation of white.  Since this portion was very inexpensive, I also asked for new CURTAINS too. My husband was surprisingly willing to change out the basic ones we had before.

The previous curtains as you will see on before pics were a pain to open and close, and the black outlining had peeled off after a wash.  So, new panels were in order.  The new curtain panels are nice and full, (a total of 4 panels) and are absolutely lovely- giving the window treatment in this room a very custom look. That is the result when the panels are nice, good quality, and you are not trying to stretch two inadequate sized panels to cover a window.  (I could have gotten away with 3 panels, but I hate the one in the middle having to split when closing them).  The fabric, the colors, and the manufacturing on these panels is great for ready-made panels. The cost for four panels was under $150.  Of course, we also replaced the blinds as the old ones were broken, dull, and yellowish from age.  The new ones are nice and bright and function well. The cost for this was zero because we were fortunate enough to have a landlord who paid for  the replacement at our request. 

The coverlet was very inexpensive, coming in at under $70. Sadly, the matching shams were out of stock but I know I will find some gray ones that will go great.

The hardware was roughly $90

 

 

 

 

3- Although THE WALLS were already white, they were a tired white. Seven-year-old white, to be precise. There is nothing like a fresh coat of paint to enhance any space…to breathe freshness into any room. This part of the project did not cost anything either because we had the paint left over from painting other areas of the condo.  We just had to invest our labor.

4-THE BED, OH THE BED!!!… As I mentioned on my previous posts, I disliked the bed style a lot, but it is a very sturdy piece that is made of good quality. In addition, all the new beds that were considered a contender were not in the budget. This time I wanted a bed that I loved…and not just because it was one that was reasonably priced. So, painting the bed proved to be a great decision and solution. I purchased really good quality paint per painter specifications, something like a lacquer, under $36 +/- for a quart. The painter (who I give a lot of work to) charged me only $100 for sanding, priming and painting the bed. The color of this bed is the perfect blend of gray and beige with the slightest pinkish undertone that only shows in certain lights.  It’s so light and soft that it is interestingly different and perfect for the space.  It goes great with the white walls because of the subtle calming contrast.

 

 

Here are the options for the bed that I considered:

Loving white spaces with black accents and wood floors… of course I considered these two colors.

• White- just like the drawers on the dresser-too stark and I believe it would emphasize the style.
• Black- too dark for such a small room, and the bed would have dominated the room.
• The color I selected almost makes the style insignificant and gives the room a collected feeling and an earthy eclectic vibe, which is exactly what I wanted.

 

 

COMPARE WITH BEFORE PICTURES DOWN BELOW:

 

BEFORES

                                                                                                                            

 

 

5- I wanted SOMETHING SPECIAL without going overboard because the room is so small. I did not want to wallpaper because the texture on the bedroom walls is thick. Besides, the entryway, which was also a #ONEROOMCHALLENGE project, is right there and I did not want conflicting patterns. So, I DECIDED ON A PAINTED ARCH on the wall you first see when entering the bedroom. This was a bit more difficult than I thought because the top of the arch was perfect once painted on the left side, but there was a disparity on the right side and that took some time to correct.

Cost: $10 – I had the paint but added a quart of white paint to lighten the color.

The cost of the picture ledge, art, frames, etc. was around $100. However, I am still waiting on a ceramic bell that is going to go on the arch for a bit more interest. I already had the necklace hanger but it was previously black and gold. Painting it was zero cost because I already had the supplies.

Stay tuned for an Arch picture with the bell…

 

 

HERE IS THE “SOMETHING SPECIAL” I WANTED FOR THE ROOM (OTHER THAN WHITE WALLS AND ACCESSORIES WITH PRETTY BEDDING):

 

 

 

This is how it looks coming in from the hallway:

 

 

 

6- THE MAKEOVER OF THE NIGHTSTANDS AND DRESSER. OMG!!! If there is any kind of Transformation, it is in these pieces. The nightstands were brown and white and they had the tiniest little knobs for the drawers. The dresser was all white and the hardware was really outdated. With a little creativity, imagination, and peel-and-stick wood grain paper, these pieces turned ended up looking brand new.

NIGHTSTANDS- I spray painted the legs and the drawer fronts, and then applied the wood grain black paper on the top and the sides. I changed the hardware (sponsored) to a beautiful piece from @Schaub_and_CO and with sleek, clean lines.  The nightstands now work perfectly in the space. I also chose to have wall mounted lamps for the bedside to save space on the top of the very small nightstands. 

DRESSER- I also took out all the drawers, sprayed painted the drawer fronts and changed the hardware to a larger version of the ones used on the nightstands. The wood grain paper was applied and Voila! The three pieces look clean and modern, and they contrast well with the cottage style of the bed.  The new color on the bedframe makes up for the style.

 

Wood grain paper, peel and stick, mat: under $30

Hardware Sponsored by @Schaub_and_co

Spray paint and materials to cover the old hardware holes: Zero.

Wall mounted lamps: under $40 each, plus the cost of two new power strips to plug behind the bed (one for each side). Now we each have a power strip attached to the back of the headboard, right at the edge where we can reach and plug and unplug things with much ease. 

 

 

 

NIGHT STANDS, NEW LIGHT FIXTURES OFF THE NIGHTSTANDS FOR MORE SPACE, NEW SHELF.

 

 

TAKE A LOOK AT THE HARDWARE, A BEAUTIFUL PIECE FROM #Schaub_and_co,  Vinci 3″ for the NIGHTSTAND.  6″ FOR THE DRESSER:

 

 

 

 

THE DRESSER LOOKS LIKE NEW…

 

 

 

 

 

BEFORE AND AFTER SIDE BY SIDE FOR APPRECIATION OF CHANGE

 

 

 

 

7.  THE ARTWORK AND THE ACCESSORIES- such as the lamp and the vases were also critically transformed to fit in the bedroom’s new style and colors. The “theme” was a calm and peaceful place to rest. I wanted the space to be organic and modern with an eclectic flair, and very much a “LIVED IN LOOK”. The effect is now a room in a bed and breakfast or boutique hotel. The soft white light of the lamps really enhance this space even more.

THE LAMP (main source of light on a hot outlet) got a makeover of her own: a new base color with the newer painting technique of adding baking soda to the paint.  This trick makes the item look like stoneware… it is a nice matte finish with texture. The base of the lamp was metal and had ridges… so the paint allowed those lines to still show but it is now much more interesting. Cost- $0, I had everything. Color? If you know me you know I have to mix my own, because despite the millions of colors out there I probably won’t find the right one for me. But because this was a project that was born out of creativity and items we already had, I mixed some of the bed paint color with white and then added the baking soda.  The result? A perfect off-white, with a gray undertone.

THE LAMPSHADE was a nice gray with trim in a darker gray on the top and bottom. Once the base of the lamp was painted the off-white stoneware color, the stark gray of the shade did not go well.  The solution was a peel-and-stick grass cloth texture and the perfect colored paper, (gray & beige with an off-white background).  I left the darker Gray trim to show and just applied the paper around the middle portion of the shade. Cost: $5.00 for the paper on Amazon Prime. The inside of the lampshade is a metallic gold to enhance reflection, but it shows more as a glow now that the fixture is on and the base is lighter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There truly is a great view from anywhere in the bedroom now.

 

 

LOVING MY VASES AND ORGANIC ARRANGEMENTS

 

 

THE RESULT: a bedroom that feels so good to go to sleep in, read in, or just go through our daily routines in. During these unprecedented times when we are all home 100% of the time, we needed another space for one of us to be able to take a time out… alone. This transformation has given us a sanctuary to relax and enjoy.

 

OVERALL BEDROOM

 

THE CURTAINS AND ARCH WITH ARTWORK MAKE IT SO INTERESTING.

 

 

THE BLACK HARDWARE FOR THE CURTAINS LOOK GREAT AGAINS WHITE WALLS.

 

 

I FOUND A RUST THROW THAT WAS PERFECT FOR THE RUST PILLOWS.

 

The pillows and the throw: all under $100

 

 

THE FABRIC AND HAND OF THE CURTAIN PANELS IS SO BEAUTIFUL AND THE COLORS ARE PERFECT.

 

The leather strap shelves I believe were under $80 for two.

The artwork above the bed was $25

 

 

 

 

Dried grasses, flowers and wheat sprouts, bunny tails and flowers – Splurge $100

The vases, the big one I had- was baby blue. The other two pieces were glass from the secondhand store, $4 dollars total.

 

Aren’t these shelves cute? The leather straps give them that earthy, organic look.

 

Pillow fluffing and making sure curtains are dressed is my obsession too. 

 

 

 

So pleased with the color of the bed.

 

 

All is calm.

 

 

I encourage you, even if you have to do it over a period longer than the six weeks of the ONE ROOM CHALLENGE,  go for it… start with one element that is a given, for example the floors, or the furniture you already have..

Think about it, go on your computer, and create a collection of things, lifestyle shots, colors, and textures you like, or you are drawn to…. Then create a board for that room/space you want to transform. Acquire or change one thing every month, build on that. You will love it, and this will inspire you to work on other spaces that need a lift also. Before you know it, your house/condo/cottage will be a home and it will be a layered look of you. A home uniquely yours. It doesn’t matter if you are renting or own, make your home yours. 

Thank you to the #ONE ROOM CHALLENGE team that allowed my participation as guest and are always ready and willing to answer questions and encourage progress. To the Better Home and Garden Magazine who sponsors this event for the THE ONE ROOM CHALLENGE.  https://www.oneroomchallenge.com/blog/orcguestss20wk1-khx3f-955p7-bj33w-24pb8-kfs9p-5jbw6

To @Schaub_and_co who are always so willing to sponsor my projects. To Deborah Shields who is the dream photographer, Torrey Daniels who kindly edits and improves my blog posts, to Rachel Moriarty a fellow designer who allows me to bounce ideas and questions about her expertise “COLOR”. To my husband who was willing to participate and offer some of his handy man skills. I am so grateful for this bedroom, for the ability to complete it better than I dreamed it, for all my blessings and experiences while on the Challenge.

 

Thank you to you, who is here reading this post and following the progress of my Tiny Bedroom Makeover.