Operation Bedroom Renovation

I've mentioned before that my big New Years Resolution is to redo my master bedroom. When we first moved in it was the last thing I got around to and I had definitely lost steam by then. The long and short of it is: I hate it. During an extremely short green phase, I painted one wall a kind of pale green. Hate. Our ex-cats destroyed our comforter and bed skirt. We were too cheap to buy a headboard when we were newlyweds so I hung a curtain rod and looped fabric over it. It's a great idea but it's hard to keep looking nice (the fabric is always shifting) and I'm ready for the real thing. Our dresser and bedside tables are old, fairly ugly, and cost us $100 at a garage sale. We do not have NEARLY enough space for our (my) clothing in our dinky closet and dresser.

So, here's what I want to accomplish with a redo:

1. Change the color scheme
2. Increase our clothing storage space
3. Make our bedroom a comfortable, interesting place I'd like to hang out in

And I must accomplish these goals as cheaply as humanly possible.

I've been thinking about it a lot over the past 2 months and today I finally sat down, hammered out some details, and put together my idea board.

This is our bedroom (obviously not to scale). And, in reality, north is the opposite direction. But this is the way I think of our bedroom so, to avoid confusing myself, I'm just letting the wall opposite the door be the north wall.

Click to enlarge

We love the nursery so much we decided to go with a similar color scheme in our room. The blue is a lighter, more beachy blue (called Sea Rover from Behr) and I'll be doing all 4 walls instead of just an accent wall like I have now. I'm going with tan and white as our major accent colors with dark brown as a lesser accent color.

1. Tan rectangular upholstered headboard

I scoured thrift stores tonight looking for a headboard I could reupholster to no avail. Will probably just suck it up, buy some plywood from Home Depot, and do the whole thing from scratch. I want to do a kind of textured material (the stuff I'm using to reupholster my glider would be awesome. Too bad it's almost all gone).

2. Branch curtain rod w/ panel curtains

Because our window is quite a bit wider than the one pictured I will probably go with 2 branches, one on either side with the tips pointing inward. Our panels will be made from a sheer lightweight white fabric I already have on hand. Currently on the look out for interesting, medium sized branches (I'll be painting them white).

3. Bedding

I ordered this nice striped sheet set and bedskirt today. After gift cards, they cost me $22. Will probably just fold a quilt at the foot of the bed instead of going with a comforter (especially since we sleep with our own).

4. Branch Jewelry Holder

I really need a better place to hang my necklaces. This particular jewelry tree is from Urban Outfitters, but I plan on making my own. I'm just going to find a good branch, paint it white to match the curtain rod, plant it in some sand in a pretty vase, and stick it on our bookcase cum dresser/clothing storage unit.

5. Dresser/clothing storage unit

The Expedit book case from Ikea. We've seen them in 3 iterations: 1x4, 2x4 (shown), and 4x4. We, of course, are looking for a 3x4 version. I need to check with the store and see if it exists. We'll turn it on its side along the south wall of the room and have a kind of tallish dresser with lots of cubbies for clothes and knick knacks. We will put a few of the drawer type things in for undies, but otherwise just leave it open for easily accessible clothing storage.

6. Starburst Art

Will be setting this on or hanging above the Expedit on the south wall. I got a large canvas painting tonight at Big Lots for $20 (sooo much cheaper than buying it blank from an art supply store). I'm going to be painting a very light tan over it then adding the lights.

7. Light Bulb Vases

Going to hang a large grouping of these on the west wall between the door and the bathroom entryway (it's a really awkward wall, hopefully this will work). Probably with white silk flowers since I don't see myself constantly changing out fresh ones. Possibly with that rubbery fake water stuff (my mom did it in some vases at her house and I love the way it looks).

8. Jewel case photo display

To be hung in a grouping above the headboard. Probably fill with Aaron's photography.


I'm sure we'll be able to find cheap bedside tables at Ikea or refinish a mis-matching thrifted set (saw LOTS of those while headboard shopping tonight). Maybe we'll even just keep the ones we have and replace the hardware (they're dark brown). I haven't thought about it much yet.

We also have one of these which will go in the south east corner by the Expedit:

Our rolling tan canvas hamper goes in the north west corner (which is actually quite a bit larger than it looks in my drawing).

The nice thing about this project is that the Expedit book case will be the most expensive piece we buy (the 2x4 goes for $80 and the 4x4 goes for $150). I have a lot of this stuff on hand. Materials shouldn't cost me too much, which makes Aaron very happy since he doesn't actually care what our bedroom looks like.

So, that's where we are. The starburst art is my project for this week since I've got all the materials and I'll maybe get to painting the walls next week. After that I'll do the headboard and buy the Expedit. Hopefully by then I'll have collected enough jewel cases and light bulbs to pull those projects together and get them hung. I'll do the branches whenever I find suitable ones (I'll go scout my parents' trees this weekend).

Ok, you got all that? Ready? Break!