Pretty Bedrooms.

I am totally digging these two bedrooms.  I love the neutral color palates -- it's so relaxing.  Yet neither room is boring.  Both rooms also have glamorous chandeliers, white French-inspired chairs, and white tufted headboards.  I'd say all of those things combine to make for some pretty spaces.

Source: marcusdesigninc.blogspot.com via Emily on Pinterest

Source: paloma81.blogspot.com via Emily on Pinterest

Hope you're having a great week! Friday is just around the corner!

Vanity/Desk Lamp.

Back in my bedroom vanity/desk update here I mentioned that I was looking for a new lamp to replace the silver one seen below. 

 

This blue ceramic lamp from Lamps Plus was the one I had been considering for the space.

(photo: lampsplus)

While cruising around Garden Ridge, I found a little table lamp for $12.99 that I liked the shape of.  But the color was ugly . . . with a capital "u".  Here it is with the lamp shade from the previous lamp.

I figured the hideous brown color wasn't anything a little spray paint couldn't fix.  Here it is ready for its transformation. 

I first gave it a couple of coats of primer.

Then used Valspar's Gloss Mediterranean from Lowe's to give it some color.

And here's the after.

Even though it's not exactly the same as the one from Lamps Plus, it was a whole heck of a lot cheaper ($12.99 plus the cost of a can of spray paint). 

I am still on the hunt for a different shade (one that's not so tall), but the current one works for the time being.  

(Yes, that picture frame is still empty.  And I changed up which books to display on the desk.  I received some more of them recently and am still trying to figure out which color combos looks best in the bedroom and the living room!)

I like the fun pop of color it gives the desk area. And it's nice to know that if I ever want to change it out, a quick paint job will keep things fresh.

Bedroom Vanity/Desk Update.

The vanity/desk (or whatever it is since we don't use it as a vanity or a desk) in our master bedroom, has been in some major need of help.  I didn't really know how to accessorize it, and what I had been trying so far hadn't been working.

I finally feel like I am on the right track, but certainly still have some tweaking to do.

For starters, I need to get a picture for the empty picture frame.  I also need a new lamp.  The current one isn't bad, but I am thinking about a ceramic lamp.  I've been eying this one.

I originally included another (empty) frame, but decided it may look a bit too cluttered. 

I don't know why something that is seemingly so simple can cause such a mental block!  But I am glad to be making progress. 

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Wallpaper Panels.

The wallpaper panels in our master bedroom are done!!  I am thrilled with how they turned out.  Yippee!    

The project was fairly simple.  (But I guess I should speak for myself since Justin did 90% of the work!)  We picked up some MDF and wood trim to frame the panels out.  After we cut the trim, we spray painted it a muted gold color (I think the name was Rustoleum Caramel Latte).  Rather than messing around with wallpaper paste, we just adhered the wallpaper to the MDF using a spray adhesive (super easy).  Then we used wood glue to attach the trim to avoid any nail holes.  After they were assembled, we just did a little touch up painting around the sides.  And voila!    

The colors in the wallpaper work so well in our room.  It took me a while to commit, but I am glad I did.  I knew I wanted something metallic; and the gray, gold, and linen color work well with the existing neutrals in the room.

Stayed tuned to see what I did with the leftover wallpaper . . .

Mirror Twins.

While taking a quick break from drafting a massive brief for work today, I decided to look at pretty pictures of bedrooms on decorpad.  During my search, I came across this image that's from the blog Simply Seleta.

Remember my great vintage mirror find from craigslist (blogged about here)?  It's the exact same mirror! 

Maybe I am easily excitable right now since my head has been buried in case law and depositions for most of the weekend, but how cool is that?  Now I no longer have to imagine what the mirror would look like if I paint it white and can totally picture how the area will look once completed.  (As an update, I still haven't decided for sure what color to go with.)

Bamboo Mirror.

Recently, I have been on the hunt for an affordable bamboo mirror to hang in our master bedroom above the desk.  Here are some of the options I found during my search:

From ebay (buy it now price: $1,050):

(photo: ebay listing)

Hampstead Mirror from Williams-Sonoma Home (on sale for $466.25):

 (photos: here)

Greek Key Mirror from Ballard Designs (for $269):

 (photo: here)

All of those options were more than I wanted to spend.  But after some persistent looking, I happened to come across the perfect vintage bamboo mirror on craigslist for $150!  These are the seller's photos:    

And here it is in its new home above the desk:

I originally thought about cutting off the top part and hanging it horizontally, but I love the detail in the top.  Now I just need to decide on what color to repaint it.  Any suggestions?  White, black, something else?

Bedroom Update: Wallpaper Panels.

I posted previously here about deciding what wallpaper to use for the panels in our bedroom.  While I really love the look of the romo kimura wallpaper, after a lot of thought, it just wasn't the best choice for the space.  So I ordered 6 more samples from Graham & Brown.

(click to enlarge the pics to see the samples close up.)

I had to include this one because Riley is such a good helper!  

Here's a close up of the 2 on the far right.  After seeing them in the space, I'm not going to use either of them for the panels, but plan to frame them and use them somewhere else.  You gotta love $2.00 art!

Here's a close up of the 3 on the far left.  I love the pattern and that they're metallic.  We decided on the one on the left for the panels.  It's the manderley in gold.  It's perfect -- the flowers are gray and pick up the wall color and the duvet cover, and the background is a gold-ish beige, which picks up on the linen piping on the bedding and the headboard.

Hopefully the wallpaper will get here this week and we can put up the panels shortly thereafter!   

Bedroom Update: Gallery Wall.

I bought some Ikea Ribba frames a while back for a gallery wall in our bedroom.  I had a hard time deciding how to lay out the gallery wall, which would be on the same wall as the TV.  (note: don't let your husband have unfettered discretion in picking out the TV for the bedroom because his definition of "reasonably sized" may vary from yours.)

I couldn't decide if I wanted a random arrangement . . .

(photo: element interiors)

or a more organized symmetrical arrangement.

(photo: decor pad)

Then I saw this picture and was immediately drawn to the layout.
 

So from the inspiration pic above, our gallery wall flanking the TV was born:

Here's a shot of the layout straight on:

I like how it turned out!  Next steps:  deciding what to put in the frames, accessorizing the dresser, and hiding the TV cables behind the wall.

Bedroom Wallpaper Panels.

I mentioned in this post, that we are working on accessorizing our master bedroom.  One of the things that's currently on my mind are the wallpaper panels.  While I like the look of the chinoiserie wallpaper in the mock-up, I am just not sure it is us (and I am not 100% sold on the blue).  So I have been trying to find another wallpaper that has a fairly bold pattern that could work.

I ordered some samples in different colors of the Kimura wallpaper by Romo.  I had been eying it for a while, then came across this image with it and loved the way it looked.  Of course, it's a room designed by who else but Sarah Richardson.

 (photo: here)

Here are two of the samples shown with the sunburst mirror that will be hung above the bed.  (Don't judge, I didn't feel like making the bed for the pictures.  And most importantly, I would have had to disturb Riley in order to do so.) 

Here are the three samples together.  

I have a definite least favorite of the bunch, but will reserve my comments for later.  I would appreciate it if you would take a second to participate in the poll.  Thanks in advance for your opinion!  And if you choose "none of the above" -- it won't hurt my feelings one bit.  We are in the beginning stages of looking, so if you have any other ideas or suggestions, please leave them in the comments! 

Which wallpaper do you like best?

And, just for fun, here are two other samples that didn't work:

I am slightly obsessed with the imperial trellis pattern.  I will work it in somehow in the room!  I am thinking pillow cases on the sitting room chairs (and maybe even on the bed too). 

Bedroom Update.

One room I don't post much about is our master bedroom.  That's mostly because it was neglected for a long time.  But now that we are making some progress, I thought I would share with you where we are:

 

Here's were the exciting part comes in . . . we hired Erin of Element Interiors to give us some suggestions on accessorizing the room.  I loved the basics we had, but was struggling with wall hangings and accessories (clearly you noticed from the above pictures!). 

Here are her beautiful boards for the bedroom and sitting room.

And here's a fun mock-up of the bedroom!

We have purchased several items from the boards and are working on putting everything together.  I will post pictures of how things are looking as they progress (and I am sure, asking for some input too)!

Bedroom Update.

So while our bedroom is far from being done, we accomplished getting it painted this weekend! As you will see, we went through a bunch of grays to find the perfect color.

Thankfully for people like us who can't make a decision based off the little paper paint swatch from the store, Benjamin Moore has new pint sized samples available for $6.99.

In the picture below, we tried Pigeon Gray (the lighter gray/blue color on top and again on bottom), Deep Silver (the darkest swatch), and Silver Fox (the small more brownish swatch right by the headboard and right next to the window). All colors are Benjamin Moore.

Once we got the colors up, we realized Pigeon Gray and Deep Silver were too blue. We both loved Silver Fox, but it was too close to the headboard color -- and I wanted more contrast.

We got three additional samples, which we put over the previous ones. The swatch by the headboard over Silver Fox and Deep Silver is Sterling Silver (the color we ended up choosing). The swatch over the lower Pigeon Gray is Silver Dollar. We also tried Stormy Monday, which is not pictured, but it is very close to Silver Dollar.

Here they are again in different light. The big swatch on the left is Sterling Silver -- we wanted to be sure that was the right color.

Here's a shot of the room in progress.

And as always, a picture of Riley helping us with the project. His nose was under the paper.

Once the floor became to uncomfortable for our helper, he moved to the bed.

After the first coat -- love it! (Excuse the ladder.) Both of our windows are open, so the opposite wall is getting good sunlight in this picture.

Here is the bed against the wall. It is just as I hoped it would turn out. And, sorry for not making the bed -- I didn't feel like it.

Our duvet cover hasn't arrived yet, but we should receive it next week. Here is a swatch of it, our headboard, and the paint. I am digging it.

I am thrilled with the way it turned out! Our bedroom is fairly large (13.5' x 18') not counting our sitting room, so this darker color really helps it feel more cozy. I can finally see it coming together. I can't wait to get it all completed!