Master Bedroom: The Reveal

Now that we have our eyes and minds on our new house, it’s good that our current rental looks like the home we wanted it to be.  I am calling it finito.  We are done tweaking this place and patiently (well, usually not so patiently) awaiting our closing date in mid-March.  Even with the closing of our new house though, we’ll still be living in our rental until we can get a few big things done before move-in day (which will probably be May-ish).  While we wait, I’m happy to report that we’ll be sleeping in a master bedroom that no longer looks like a cardboard box with the kind of swag (ahem…curtains) that’s not so appealing…


but rather one that is full on SWAG:


Before I dive into the details, I just want to say that this room is an excellent example of decorating with things you find on sale/secondhand.  As much as I’d love to run into a store, buy a bunch of gorgeous things that all swim together in the same interior design sea all at once, and come home to put a room together in a day or two, that’s just not in the cards for our budget over here.  It takes time (and patience!) to hunt things down that all fit together and make a room feel polished.  But the end result, both the room and the contents of your wallet, are worth the challenge the hunt can be.  Remember that the next time you’re staring longingly down Pinterest’s endless boards of rooms decorated to perfection with the latest and greatest trends.  I know I need to.  ;) 

The very first thing we did to break out of the box was paint the walls white and add a bold green accent wall, which made all the difference in the world in this room.  Or maybe it was taking down those curtains that made all the difference in the world.  Or both.  Yep, probably both.

Then, a few months ago I was doing my usual scroll through a local secondhand site (Varage Sale) when I came across a set of mid-century modern dressers someone was trying to sell – FOR $125 FOR THE SET!  I know that’s not quite a thrift store price but for these solid wood (with wood veneer atop) beauties, we were sold.  All I had to do was figure out what to do with them since we already had plenty of dressers in the house.  Initially we were going to sell the long dresser, only keeping the tall dresser for storage in the nook behind the sectional but then, once Anthony got them home, I just couldn’t part with the long one.  So, we ended up selling our old long dresser that was in our master (which paid for the new set plus every other new thing we bought in this room:  WIN WIN!) and setting these two in our room.  This site I bought them off of isn’t one that’s used as much anymore (in my area at least) and the person selling them had only listed them on there and not on Facebook – where I’m sure they would’ve gone in 60 seconds and way before I could have gotten to them.


For their age (and price!), they’re in great condition.  There are a couple of small spots of peeling wood veneer and the tops are a little worn but we can remedy both of those situations later.



I have a stock pile of frames I had planned to hang on the empty wall above the long dresser but, now that moving day is semi-coming, I think I’ll refrain from poking more holes in the wall that I’d have to fill in a few months.  Also, the top of the dresser is NEVER this clean, in case you were wondering.  ;)  This dresser got moved in right after we potty-trained Gianna and eliminated the diaper-changing station that was here before and I just haven’t taken the time to style it properly…except with the regular laundry basket (that I had just emptied an hour before I took these pictures).

To the right, we have my (small) closet.

Let me tell you, it’s been SO GOOD for me to live with a small closet.  Going from a large closet to a really small one really helped me realize how many clothes I DON’T need.  Right after we moved here, I mailed two big boxes to ThredUp and sold some stuff locally just so I could fit everything in.  My scarves still didn’t fit but an over-the-door hook system helped me store them and, a fun side effect, they add even more color to our space.  ;)  The master closet in our new house echoes our old, larger closet so it’ll be nice to have a closet that can breathe.  (PS, I made a rule for myself a couple of years ago that for every new piece of clothing I bought, I had to get rid of one.  Usually that means that if I buy a new pair of jeans, an old pair has to go or if I buy a new tee, an old one has to go.  It has been AWESOME and I’d highly recommend trying it, as hard as it can be.  It stops accumulation in it’s tracks.)


Our headboard and nightstands are the same ones we’ve had but I added some new pillow covers a few weeks ago.  And, as much as I love our medallion duvet cover (seen in this post), after so much use plus a couple of ripping seams I had to fix, I just had to grab this striped cover when I saw it at Dirt Cheap last month to give our old beloved a break.  It had a big ‘ole red stain on it though that thankfully came right out with some OxiClean…phew! 



I’m hoping Anthony can help me add some legs to our nightstands in the coming weeks before we close to raise them up to the height of our mattress.  It’s something that’s been on our to-do list for YEARS and it’s funny how certain things just get pushed to the farthest of the back burners, isn’t it?  Hehe.  :(


A quick note about our lamps…I found them for $13 each on clearance last year and loved the look as bedside lamps but wound up NOT LIKING the light they give off.  They’re closer to spotlights than your norm, shaded lamp and I really miss the ambiance that the latter gives off.  So, I’ve been hunting for new lamps for awhile without any luck.  (PS, in case you’re wondering, I sold the glass lamps I made over a few years ago.  Sad, I know.  They were a couple of my favorites but I was itching for a change so to a new home, they went.  You can bet that our next lamps will probably be another pair to be made over…if I ever find them.) 

Another 90 degree turn will take you to the wall that the bathroom and Anthony’s closet open to.  (Pssst, if you missed our master bathroom makeover, it’s right here.)


The orange-hued wood trim in the house is still not my most favorite (probably bordering on least) but I feel like the addition of the green wall in here makes it feel a little more acceptable as a bold addition.  And maybe that’s just what I have to tell myself to come to a state of acceptance…

Last but not least, our fan got the shade treatment.

All I had to do with this fan was slip a wide-enough shade over the entire light kit.  I used twisty ties to attach it to the screws holding the original glass shades on and no one would be any the wiser.  Upon moving, there will just be a little untwisting going on and you can betcha that shade will go onto another fan in our new house.  No ceiling fan is safe from garnering a shade whilst it’s mine.  ;)  It is, hands and feet down, the best way to make a ceiling fan feel like a cool light fixture instead of, well, a ceiling fan (borrrrring).

Sources:
white paint:  Pure White by Sherwin-Williams in this line
green paint:  Basil by Sherwin-Williams color-matched to this cheap paint (I needed two coats but even still, only used about 1/3 of the can so it was more cost effective than buying an entire gallon of the good stuff.  Plus, even though this paint is supposedly just for “maintenance”, it works great on a whole wall application, in my opinion.  I used the same paint here in the kids’ play room and have had zero complaints.)
full-length mirror:  Target* (via Dirt Cheap)
dressers:  secondhand
over-the-door hook:  hand-me-down (similar)
faux bamboo, gold mirror:  secondhand (here on Etsy, similar)
framed dot print:  Target* (via Dirt Cheap)
round tray:  Target* - in white/gold (via Dirt Cheap)
sea urchins:  Target* (via Dirt Cheap)
candle: Baitx Made on Etsy
planter:  DIY from a thrift store find
nightstands:  hand-me-downs
lamps:  Target (clearance finds)
wood wall decor:  Target* (via Dirt Cheap)
headboard:  DIY (original bed frame is a thrift find)
duvet cover:  Target* (via Dirt Cheap)
pillow covers:  made by me – Bean In Love Studio
pillow inserts:  secondhand but from West Elm* (they have really great down inserts and occasional 30% off sales!)
curtains:  made by me – tutorial here
rug:  Dirt Cheap (not one I’d recommend buying sadly so I won’t even link it but I’ll link my true thoughts on it)
ceiling fan shade:  Dirt Cheap (similar)  (PS, if you’re interested in shading your ceiling fans like me, I can help you figure out what type of shade to buy!  Just shoot me an email – beaninlove@gmail.com)

Before I close, want a glimpse of the master in our “new” house?  Of course you do.  ;)


It’s a horrible picture of a plain room with LOTS of potential plus a monstrous ceiling fan tassel. 

What more could you want?

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*These links are affiliate links which means that, if you click over and/or make a purchase through the link, we may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.  All of these links will lead you to things we actually paid for or that are similar to the item we paid for in case ours is thrifted/sold out/secondhand.  This extra money helps us with the costs of running the blog.  Thank you for your support and for fueling our love to share all things DIY!

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