Easy Bedroom Updates

Why is it that we never take our own advice?  As a designer and artist I create beautiful spaces for others so why wouldn’t I create a master bedroom retreat for myself?  It’s no secret I love to sleep. On any given night I need my minimum of nine hours of sleep.  Yes, you read that right. I spend the most amount of time in our bedroom then any other room in our home. This year I vowed to make our master bedroom more cohesive, bright and reminiscent of a cozy bed and breakfast. It was now my turn for a few luxuries.  Here’s 5 ways that I created our new serene master bedroom suite of our own.

1.Paint It Perfect

For 10 years we had large 12 inch stripes in antique white and light sage. It was the only room in the house that hadn’t been repainted since our original renovation.  I loved them but I always felt the antique white was too yellow and a bit dingy. I wanted a bright white and light greige color that would go with any accent color to make this master bedroom shine!

If you follow me on Instagram , you would’ve seen my tutorial on painted stripes. To this day it was my most watched tutorial. We painted over the stripes with Sherwin Williams SW Egret White 7570 and  SW 7008 Alabaster.   These whites are so close when they go on but once dry they have the perfect amount of contrast. This week happens to be Sherwin Williams National Painting Week.  Go out and grab your paint brushes and start painting your dream space. 

2. Let There Be Light 

Our master bedroom is located in the back of the house with loads of light.  Like I said before, “lighting is the jewelry of the home” and at night I LOVE ambiance lighting. The bedroom lighting in here has changes so many times over the years that I cannot even keep count. There were the green ginger jar lamps that I found at the school rummage sale and then the bright red coral based lamps. Every season when it came to accessorizing I was stuck with a color scheme. So I went neutral with our bedside lamps. Tall white and brass two light lamps from HomeGoods balance the room with the height of the upholstered Kari king bed.

These tall lamps added so much height that they left space to the left to hang art.  A simple pen and ink line portrait hangs over Ross’s nightstand. It’s framed in a brown velvet and gold leaf frame.  I love everything and anything French so when I found these French porcelain place settings for $3.00 each they jumped in my cart.  Just so we know who’s side is who’s… You know how we all become territorial with our sides of the bed. 🙂

I added wicker baskets to hide all of Ross’s reading material and a brass souvenir Eiffel Tower serves as a doorstop. All our doors in our home are original inlaid solid wood. When renovated the master bedroom we had these doors restored and kept the brass hardware. We love the character it adds.

3. Creating a Cozy Corner

We all need a place to sit, rest and kick off our shoes at the end of the day. Or in my case a place to stop and rest after you get out of bed in the morning. Near our fireplace I purchased the most gorgeous and comfortable Boutique Accent Chair. Oh my, I have been eyeing this chair for some time now and it’s navy blue velvet upholstery, down filled pillows, and weathered carved wood are so luxurious and adds just a touch of country French.  No ones allowed to sit in it. Just kidding. It is one of my favorite purchases and it’s the first thing that you see once you come into the master bedroom. Let’s just call this my “Happy Corner.”

Gone went the cast off hand-me-down rug form client and in came the Bella wool sisal rug. I love the look of sisal rugs and the feel of the wool is so soft on your bare feet. You might have seen me post these rugs before. I’m so stranger to these neutral beauties. I have one at our lakehouse.  It takes a beating and cleans up like a charm even with all the mud and sand from the shoreline. I cannot tell you how much I love these carpets. If you’d like to see it in a Rustic Farmhouse Lakeside Cottage or in my sister’s Family Room ReFresh  I think you all get the picture I love these carpets and they go with every decor style. 

4. Art and Accessories

A mirrored small brass side table gets a few of my favorite accessories and behind the chair a small gallery wall of art and initials. Typography was one of my favorite college courses so I’m always drawn to letters and lettering. The Gold A and R are vintage leftovers from D-R-E-A-M that hung over our bed when we were just married. A tall glossy white floor lamp adds more light for night reading.

Gallery Walls

As an artist I love collecting art. There is something about finding a vintage etching or small watercolor that gets me excited. All of these prints were found either at a tag or garage sale and none more than $10. each. The bottom etching of a young woman is a gift from my mom when her and my father had their first apartment. Although the subject matters of each don’t relate the gold guilded frames tie the look together for a cohesive collected look.

Indigo Love

Now moving over to my side of the room I bought a  classic 32 inch large round brass mirror for over the dresser. Two tall ceramic chinoiserie lamps caught my eye while shopping and worked great with my blue brass and white theme. More art and a few of my favorite jewelry pieces in a mirrored and glass box along with my favorite perfume are displayed. Emphasizing on less is more.

The white tall winged back chair got moved to accommodate my pillow obsession. I often refer to my pillow section in the attic where I hoard several accent pillows. Pillows are an affordable way to change the look of a piece of furniture. I take the mix and match approach and there are never too many pillows!

Balance and Symmetry

Here’s a close up on the indigo lamps. Like the bedside lamps these lampshades are tall and frame out the mirror.

A small acrylic landscape of a Virginia farm sits on a easel and adds just the right amount of color to the mostly white dresser.

In keeping with the symmetry of the room my nightstand mirrors Ross’s. A sweet ceramic rabbit duo hold my wedding rings at night. Fresh lilacs from the yard give off a fragrant Spring smell.

5. Sleep Like a Queen

A few year back I spent a few night in the business suite of the Weston Downtown Atlanta. The all white bedding was like a page out of a magazine. I have never slept better in my whole life. I felt like Sleeping Beauty. After my deep sleep I asked what kind of sheets they used and they told me all organic high thread count cotton linens. Well that was it for me.  I have never looked back. Since then I have invested each year in organic cotton bedding. This year I discovered bedding from Under the Canopy. I invested in the navy Shibori Euro Shams, all white percale sheet sets and the blue and white Amalfi pinstriped comforter and shams. I suffer from allergies and sleeping on all natural fibers has helped me tremendously. Their products are sustainable, beautiful and affordable. And you should see the packaging!

Last night was the first night to sleep in our room with everything all back together. It rained most of the day and at night I turned on all the lights.  The shadows from all the lights casts the most beautiful shapes on the walls. I jumped into bed early to read and I was happier than a clam.

Baby Steps are OK

Making changes to your master bedroom doesn’t always have to come all at one time. Plan your attack and make the room that you spend most of your life in special and relaxing. Try painting your walls with a soothing color, investing in that piece of furniture you’ve been admiring and surround your self with beautiful thing. You will never regret it but I can’t say that hitting the snooze button will be any easier.

Sweet dreams my friends!

Amie

  • I have partnered with these affiliates and received products in exchange for this post. All expressed opinions are 100% mine. Amie Freling

 

 

 

3 Comments

  1. Reply

    Kathleen

    May 26, 2017

    What a lovely and serene retreat you have created for you and Ross! I love everything about it, but that gallery wall is just so perfect! Job well done, my friend!

    xox

  2. Reply

    memehillstudio

    May 26, 2017

    Hi Kathleen! Wow you sure do read fast my friend! Thank you so very much. You know that means the world to me. Love you! Amie

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Amie Freling

"Life's too short for white walls .." Amie Freling-Brown, a Rochester, NY-based designer and artist who transforms ho-hum spaces into works of art. Her creative designs can be found in many fine homes, restaurants and businesses. Her work has been featured in national magazines, on HGTV and has been sold through retailers nationwide from True Value Hardware to Nordstroms. She proudly offers such professional services as design, staging, color consultations and fine art.

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