Time on your hands? Bored with the view? Need a project?
Umm... yes, yes, and yes.
I think this is how a lot of us are feeling right now, so I thought I would share with you all a little 'lemons to lemonade' inspiration. In other words, a tale of a makeover. You know that room in your home that's less than stellar, or has outlived its purpose, or that maybe you just plain hate? That you've been thinking about doing something with for months, or years, but have never quite got around to?
Well, my beauties, the stars have aligned, and have handed you this perfect time to get it done :)
So, in the spirit of DIY home beautification projects, and by way of encouragement in your own redecorating plans, I bring you the tale of my daughter's bedroom. It was a pretty room that had served her well in many different iterations over the years, but now it needed to be repurposed as a more general use guest room. Here's an iPhone pic of what it looked like in her late teens, before she headed off to school:
That sofa you see was one she purchased herself, as her 'forever sofa', or at least as the one that would go into her first grown-up apartment, which is where it now resides. In the meantime though, it had to go into her bedroom via the only means possible-- through the second story window:
And it went out that way about a year ago :)
Which left me with a room that needed a makeover. So, like you, I walked by it for months and months, thinking 'Some day...', but never quite finding the time.
Eventually, I did finally find the time (hence the photos for this post), and it was actually done before social distancing became a thing, or I would be doing it right now for sure.
I felt this was an opportunity to do one of those moody spaces that I love so much when I see them on Instagram, but that I'm not sure I could actually live with long term. This was perfect though: I could see it everyday when I walked down the hall, I could visit it whenever I wanted, but I could step back out into my light filled living spaces when I was done being moody for the day ;)
I decided to go with a deep mossy green, a colour I love and know I won't ever tire of. Of course, I tested it in a large swatch before going ahead with the whole room. You can see from the photo that I toyed with wrapping the whole room in a mid-tone blue, but decided to go bold and stick with the original dark green plan. I painted the ceiling and wall above the molding blue, though, to keep it from being too dark in there.
I like to throw in one colour that doesn't quite go, it adds interest and creates a less contrived feel, which I like :) In here I actually started with this velvet lampshade-- it looks kind of gold in this photo, but actually is more of a chartreuse, which is nice and 'clash-y' with the wall colour in real life.
Then it was time to try out some art and lighting. Here are a few finalists:
Some made the cut, others went on to star in other projects.
The grasscloth visible in the photo below is actually in the closet: it's a small room, and since Olivia took most of her VAST, and I mean VAST collection of clothing with her, I didn't need the closet space as much as I needed floor space. Wallpapering the closet created a pretty nook for the dresser :)
But this is where that painting ended up, once a mirror was installed in the closet:
I wanted the room to have a tone-on-tone feel, so I selected drapery fabric that was as close a match as I could find to the wall colour. Linen is my favourite for drapery, but I couldn't find a close enough match in linen, so settled for a 'linen look' in the perfect colour.
(Upside: less ironing-yay!)
I love the old-time feel of the little moss green lumbar pillows on the bed, and I added the rust coloured throw pillow to keep it all from feeling too matchy-matchy. A simple modern light fixture and a black and white photo (seen in the first photo at the top of this post) counter-balance the antique and vintage pieces and create a little tension. I don't have a picture showing the ceiling fixture, sorry! (And I apparently don't feel like walking all the way upstairs to take one, sorry again)
Now this room is a nice cozy space for Olivia to stay in when she comes home to visit (and happily she got a chance to test it out before we all went into lockdown mode), plus it's given me a pretty little sight line every time I pass through the hallway. It's a view that's gifted me a lot of little moments of quiet happiness, and I'm so grateful--now more than ever-- for all the little things that make my home feel so pleasant to me. I wish the same for you, and I hope this simple room makeover will maybe inspire you to add a little joy to your own living space during this enforced down-time that we're all experiencing together-but-apart.
If you're going to take the leap, have fun with it, and let me know how it goes! (I really, really love before and after photos)
If you'd like to take the leap with a quarantine project, but need help coming up with a plan, I have virtual decorating packages that can be adjusted to fit your needs perfectly. You can reach me here to set up an exploratory phone call.
And just for fun, I'll end with the "Reverse Before and After" combo of this room that originally appeared in my storied a few years back:
So, all in all, I think this room has come a long way ;)
Until next time, friends
Susan
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