Our Bedroom: Work in Progress & Painted Pink

It's been weeks since Cody and I have done any real improvements around the house. We had all the holidays and just didn't have time to really start anything. Now that things have calmed back down to a regular routine I was eager to start doing projects again. Our bedroom was the next room on the list. Here are some before images of the space...


I hate those closet doors. The closet is so wide though, that our options are limited. I think we are going to keep them for now but I will paint them white to brighten up the room. I wonder how many coats of paint that's going to take? (I really don't want to know.) Here is the closet without the doors on. We actually plan to install all new shelving. I have ideas for getting us super organized and using every square inch.


We took both weekends days to work on the room. Day 1 we started with emptying the room and ripping up the carpet. I am so happy to have the original hardwood floors in our home. There are only 2 rooms that do not have hardwood floors, besides the bathrooms. One of the downstairs bedrooms and our kitchen.


Gosh, I'm short. The floors do need refinished. They have been abused. The whole house has been abused really. They painted over all the airvents and switch covers, leaving it all ruined. The walls are full of holes and gashes. It's sad really. We will do what we can to fix it up nice.

Chloe jumping over the carpet. She was so confused.


On Day 1 we also painted the ceiling a fresh coat of white paint. I painted all the baseboard trim and window/door trim bright white. We also said goodbye to our vintage ceiling fan. I love vintage things, but this fan had to go. It will be donated :)



I love our new fan. It's so simple and pretty. We purchased it at The Home Depot.

Day 2 of course was my favorite part, painting the pink walls. Originally I had planned on doing a ombre paint technique in shades of pink on the walls. I honestly do not have the time to invest into that project right now. Now that I have seen the room in one shade of light pink I am glad I didn't do it. The room is tiny and I like it's simplicity. Especially since it's where you sleep and relax at the end of a stressful day! The best photo I took was this one of Cody. Look at the disgusted look on his face...


I thank him over and over for letting me paint the room pink. It meant a lot to me and I LOVE it! He really doesn't care. It's just a room to him, but he does hate pink. It's a big deal that he let me do it since he hates the color so much. I wonder if it's in guy's DNA to hate pink? So strange really.
Later that night Cody said to me, "I like what you are doing here."
This was after I started placing the furniture back in. He understands my decorating vision. :)

I am very happy with the color. I used Valspar Semi-Gloss paint from Lowe's. The color is Utterly Pink (Valspar) 1003-2C. The paint was supposed to be low VOC and low odor. It has a VERY strong paint odor. I was extremely disappointed with this product. It also did not cover well. It was supposed to be paint and primer in one. I feel like I got ripped off! Today the paint still smells very badly and gives me a headache. It's cold outside so I can't really air the room out either. I ALWAYS buy Behr or Glidden paint from Home Depot. This was the only time I didn't. What a mistake! The Behr low odor paint is wonderful. Oh well, lesson learned.

I hope you enjoyed this sneak peek of the bedroom!
Stay tuned for more progress!
You can view a VIDEO TOUR of my home by visiting this link.

View all my posts about my home HERE.

Thrifty Finds: My Painted Nightstands

This isn't a major "diy" project, but I am excited to finally have my nightstands in my bedroom painted! I purchased the pair over 7 months ago for only $18! The were really beat up but I loved the style of them. Cody begged me to not paint them pink. I figured since he would actually have to look at the pair everyday and use one of them, I would give him his way. So, I have yet another white piece of furniture in my home, imagine that? HA!
I decided to not paint the hardware. I really like it the way it is!
I may consider putting new hardware on the nightstands someday.
I do think they would be pretty in PINK.
I am still loving my Union Jack painting! You can see how I painted it {HERE}.
I also found my orange lamps at a thrift store, $20 for the pair. I really love them!
I want to hang mirrors or some pictures over the lamps. The walls look to empty to me.
I just haven't found anything yet. Once I feel the room is more finished I will post more photos.
For now, Cody's side of the bed...

Design Board - My Guest Bedroom {think green}

I have been dreaming up a design for My Guest Bedroom. I want to buy most of my stuff from antique shops and thrift stores. (minus the mattress and bedding. Gross.) I am not against buying a cool vintage bedspread or blanket if it's clean. I am obsessed with the color green {today} and being GREEN. I thought it would be cute and fun to kinda have that theme in the guest bedroom...
The bed frame is from IKEA. The pillow is from JcPenney. Everything else is just things I found doing google image searches for vintage items and earth related artwork. The bedding is from Macy's....
I love the crisp clean look of this bedding. I think it would be perfect to balance out all the bright accessories I would like to put into the room. The price on the other hand, NO!!! I could never spend that much on bedding. I am not wired that way. I think it's an easy look and style to duplicate on a shoe string budget. (It's just white!) I am sure I can find something at Ross, TJ Maxx or Home Goods. I decided that my vintage green curtains were a great inspiration piece for my design. Green looks good with so many colors, but I lean towards adding pops of yellow and aquas to the room. I think the color scheme will go well with vintage accessories and furniture.

LINKS
1 2 3I am sure kelly green and yellow is out of style this year. Seems like last year that is all you saw everywhere. Well lucky for me I don't follow design trends,...I follow what my heart desires. (You should 2!) As much as I want to stick to only shopping for things at thrift stores, I am sure I will find some cute little ceramic owl on a clearance rack at Pier 1! With all this said, I am going shopping today. The sun is out and it's way to nice to sit inside on my computer.

Inspiration: Guest Bedroom

I am considering setting up a guest bedroom in our house. Plus, I just love the thought of a decorating project! I have never setup a guest bedroom that guests would actually use before. I had an extra bedroom setup at my old house, but never had anyone actually stay over. If I have a guest bedroom I want it to be very nice. Relaxing and comfortable like these rooms...

LINKS
1 2 3 4 5I love the above rooms because they have the crisp white bedding and comfortable upholstered headboards. They are simple with just a little bit of color. I love color though, but I don't want to make my in-laws sleep in a hot pink bedroom. I can put my love of pink aside for one room I suppose. I also love the idea of two twin beds instead of one bed....

LINKS
1 2 3 4Did you know that two twin beds are the same size as one king bed? I told Cody and he didn't believe me, so I looked up the measurements online. HA! I think that our bedroom is two small to have two twin beds. I would probably go with a full size bed. I posted this room on my blog months ago, I love it so much....
Decor PadI don't like to copycat rooms, but I think its just the right amount of color. I love everything about it. Fresh flowers, chrome, pops of orange and the awesome ottoman at the end of the bed. I kinda want to do kelly green or lime green in the guest bedroom though with lots of crisp white linens. Keep it simple.

What is your idea of the perfect guest room?

What would you like in the room to make it feel relaxing for you?

I would love to add a television to the room, but I don't even have one in my own bedroom!! Also this room would be decorated on a thrift store / IKEA budget!

Thrift Store Find: Nightstands

I am super excited because I finally found a pair of nightstands for our bedroom! Everything I found online was to expensive and there was nothing unique about them. I found these nightstands for only $18!

I plan to paint them white, but maybe pink. I love the detail on the drawer fronts. I will try to find some new hardware also! It's so nice to not have my lamp on the floor anymore!!

LOVE THIS ROOM

I love the simple design of this bedroom. This is a perfect example of a beautiful white room with pops of color!Decor Pad

Inspiration: Poster Bed Frames

The more I see them, the more I love them! Here are some inspiring images.... Vit House
The Style Files
Dwellers Without Decorators & Iconic Designs

The Lennoxx
Elle Decor
IKEA
Beauty & The Bourgeoisie
Bedroom Furniture

My Union Jack Painting

A few weeks ago I did an INSPIRATION post with images of the Union Jack pattern. I had planned to decorate my bedroom in pink and orange. I decided I wanted to just paint my own Union Jack painting to hang over my bed. I started by making this design in Photo Shop...
I wanted there to be a heart in the center with the word love on it. I have always also loved pink and red rooms, so I thought why not add red to my bedroom also?
I am fortunate to own a projector that I purchased many years ago. It has helped me with many projects. I purchased my canvas, paint and small paint roller from Hobby Lobby. It only cost me $22 because everything was on sale! I already had blue painters tape, which is perfect for making the flag sections of the Union Jack pattern. To start the project I made the room really dark and then traced the design onto the canvas...After I traced everything I laid the canvas on my dining room table and started rolling all the layers of paint on...The red took about 6 coats of paint! I decided to just free hand the word love on the heart so it would be my handwriting. I am pretty happy with the end result.For only $22 it was a great way to create a focal point for over the bed. It added the extra color I needed on the plain white walls and pulls the color scheme together. The small pillow in the front I have had for about 6 years. It was from Target and I have always loved it. It didn't work in my last house, so I am glad I finally had a room it matched!

(I can't find nightstands for my bedroom! Once I do I can finish the decorating and post pictures! Stay tuned...)

TODAYS COLOR : BROWN

Image source {HERE}The Garden Web

Image source {HERE} Decor Pad

Image source {HERE} HGTV.com

Image source {HERE} The Lennoxx Files

Image source {HERE} Hooked on Houses

Image source {HERE} Flickr user: Decorology

Master Bedroom Collage

My Guest Bedroom - March 2010

Mirror & Orchid from IKEA

Finally got my IKEA mirror I wanted for my bedroom!



I also bought my first Orchid.

*Love Me No Matter What*

I designed this today to frame in my bedroom. My husband & I are having to make some tuff life decisions right now. This really fits how we feel!







I am slowly working on getting a new "look" in our bedroom. I have a hard time placing items in the IKEA dresser. I am never happy with it. Today I put new picture frames on display with photos of my husband & I....