Guess who got new bedding for Christmas? ME! And it has inspired me to write this big long post about the transformation our room has undergone, the history behind the special pieces that reside there, and what plans I have for it's continued metamorphosis. Is it just me or is the Master bedroom always the last room in the house to get decorated and settled in? I'm not sure just how long our room sat neglected with odd bits of furniture, outdated mismatched bed linens and bare walls. It makes sense to focus on the parts of the house that guests actually see first, right? Well, a couple of years ago I decided that it was time to start focusing on the romantic bedroom I had been dreaming of. It started with a Christmas gift of a few gallons of pretty purple paint and several hours of manual labor! You see, at that time I was prego with son #2 and was in no condition to be painting a room...lucky me! Soooo, my gift from hubby and my dad that year was the painted bedroom! And it just so happens that my dad and husband make an excellent painting team! They did a fabulous job and I love love love the result! Not because I am proud of this picture, but because I know everyone loves a good before and after photo...here is the sad, lifeless master bedroom of years past..
Good bones I suppose...but overall pretty boring, don't you think?
 |
| The paint itself transformed the room, everything else kind of fell into place. My new Simply Shabby Chic quilts and shams are the icing on the cake! |
 |
After a whole lot of searching for just the right bedding, my mom and I came across this set at Target last month! I immediately knew it was what I wanted! I wish I could tell you what the name of this bed set is. If you're familiar with Rachel Ashwell's lines..you know that she usually names them. This one just says "Rachel Ashwell Simply Shabby Chic for Target" and I can't find it anywhere online, not even at Target.com! My mom secretly went back to buy it for me for Christmas (yes, I am spoiled blessed!) and was disappointed when she couldn't find any coordinating throw pillows. She said that she proceeded to look at 3 different Targets only to find that the others didn't even carry the quilts! We've decided that they are either very new or have quickly sold out? |
 |
| This one I purchased from Rachel Ashwell's line at Mervyns years and years ago. If I remember right it's called Fiona. I just love it and would have had it on our bed but it's too small...it does however make a wonderful slipcover for the little settee in the sitting area. |
 |
| I hope to one day have the settee reupholstered (it's a hideous orange brocade, but has a cute shape to it). I paid just $30 for it at an estate sale and I think the Fiona quilt suits it well for now! |
 |
| This sweet hand decorated pillow came from the same estate sale as the settee! I am always on the lookout for violets for my room and I couldn't pass up this cute pillow! |
This cozy and charming chair has a sweet story behind it! I picked it up at a yard sale about 9 years ago, just after my husband and I were married and bought our first home. I had it recovered in this cream textured fabric and we used it in the living room. When we moved into our current home, it spent a short time in our bedroom but soon took up residence in what would eventually become the nursery. I don't know if I actually verbalized the idea or not but when I first purchased the chair and picked out the fabric for it, I envisioned it in a nursery someday! I sat in it every night to nurse my first son, and then my second. And now that my youngest is 2 yrs. old, we have converted the nursery into his "big boy room" and the chair has been added to the cozy little sitting nook of our bedroom where we often read books with the boys. This is one piece of furniture I don't think I'll ever part with.
 |
Here is the little living room of our
first home, a cozy 1930's bungalow. |
 |
| My sweet baby and his buddy resting in the same chair when it sat in the nursery...circa 2006. |
As sad as it was to admit that my baby wasn't a baby anymore as we disassembled the adorable nursery for project big boy room...I love the chair in our bedroom and as soon as we find a new fixture for the big 2 yr. old's room, something else will be making it's way to the master bedroom...
This pretty chandelier! Can you believe I put a chandelier in my little boy's room before I had one for my own? Well, when I brought this chandy home I wasn't sure if I was having a boy or a girl...but I felt pretty confident that God would give me a girl...Wrong! Regardless, I thought a chandelier was a nice addition to a baby's room, even for a boy baby. But, much to my excitement dismay, hubby says that chandys don't belong in big boy rooms...except for maybe his own ;) Okay, he didn't say that last part but he pretty much agreed to it! Ideally the chandelier would go over our bed where the ugly fan is now...but hubby insists on a bedroom fan overhead for the summer months and seeing that he doesn't have much input in the rest of the decor decisions, I am not arguing. Plus, I like sleeping under a fan as well... So, the chandelier will be retro-fitted to plug into an outlet and will hang somewhere in the sitting area...over or to the side of my special chair! And someday I hope to replace the ugly fan with this beauty from Lamps Plus...
 |
| Finally someone is manufacturing chandelier fans! Have you seen these? Pretty cool, huh? I am just waiting for this one to go on sale. Never pay full price for a fixture at Lamps Plus, unless you're in hurry...they all go on sale eventually. |
 |
| The cornice above our bed was a $3 Goodwill find, painted and shabbied then paired with a vintage lace tablecloth, a cute scarf I just received for Christmas and all of the luscious pink satin ribbon that was included in the packaging for my new quilts and shams! |
Another item on our "wish list" for this room is a king sized bed. In fact, the quilts are kings in anticipation of the new mattress we've been saving up for! So, when the time comes, this metal headboard/foot board will go and I think we'll do something like a tufted fabric headboard...don't you think? Something like the one that Melanie at
Southern Life has in her lovely guest room! And someday, when the cutest little antique dry sink or petite vintage cabinet makes it's way into my hands for a killer deal, it will receive a fresh coat of cream paint and replace the tired little bedside table.
 |
| The vanity beneath the floral fabric was part of my mom's bedroom set when she was a little girl, and has been in my bedroom ever since I was little! I have big plans for a full, layered, ruffled skirt when I come across the perfect fabric for it! The little stool has always accompanied it and was actually created by my Grandma! I believe it was originally a floor lamp base that she cut, painted and added a swiveling chair seat to. How cool is my Grandma??? The cupboard top was an estate sale find that I restyled and re purposed and the yard long violets print was an EBay purchase...I was told that it is over 100 yrs old and in the original frame. I wish I had a better picture of it to share. |
 |
| I've been collecting old violets cards with the idea of a pretty garland to drape across my dresser mirror. This is what I have so far. I am still playing around with it... |
 |
I am so glad that I opted for vintage dressers when I shopped for bedroom furniture for our first home. I am sure that nothing I could have picked up at a furniture store 9 years ago would be as timeless today. And with a fresh coat of cream paint (hopefully this summer!) these sweeties will look even lovelier!
|
 |
| This wicker bed tray is fun...in more ways than one! I like the "idea" of using it for breakfast in bed (maybe someday!) It's perfect for when I want to sit in bed and use my netbook. The boys think it's a great tunnel for their cars when racing on the bed. And someone else thinks it's a pretty nice little fort to crawl into for a snooze fest... |
 |
This is Boots, a Christmas kitty. Santa discovered him wandering the North Pole, remembered my son's request for a real kitten for Christmas and promptly stuck him in his bag and delivered him to our home on Christmas Eve. This is not the first time I've found him sleeping away in this very spot.
Okay! I think I'll stop here...I am sure I could go on and on and on about the ideas I have to further transform our romantic master bedroom suite but I think this post is quite long enough! If you're still reading, bless you! If not, that's okay too...thank you for your visit! Please stay tuned as I work on more projects in this room and others around my home! It is always a work in progress...and the dreaming and scheming is half the fun, am I right?
Best Wishes and Happy Decorating! - Amanda |
