Master Bedroom

The master bedroom in our new house is proving to be a tough space to decorate. We have done a lot in the room but it is just missing those pretty details that make the space more inviting. It has come a long, long way from being an empty, white-walled space so here are all the things we have done to date.

We found our bedroom set at Ashley Furniture the same day we got our dining room set, more on that here. It was so hard to pick a set that H and I agreed upon! I was oogling over this one bed from Ethan Allen (a very expensive bed might I add). Though it was a lighter wood than I originally wanted, it was beautiful and I just could not get it out of my head. Ashley had one similar but it was white and didn't seem to come in a different color - we were looking for darker wood, something that wouldn't go out of style any time soon. So we looked everywhere and finally found one at Ashley. It just so happened to be one of their top quality sets with the drawers made of cedar and having dovetail joints. Me, I had no idea what that meant, but H seemed to really like it. I believe this was part of the Porter Collection at Ashley.

Now, one thing I always forget is that you can haggle at furniture stores! Yes, that's right, haggle away! (Well, within reason). So we talked the guy down in price and then they added a 50% off discount because it was one of those, "this weekend only" deals, and then we had a multi-room discount because we bought our dinning room set on the same day. Needless to say we got an amazing deal!

Originally I was expecting to get a queen size bed, NOT a king! H had been trying to talk me into a king bed for a while at this point, and I kept saying no because not only is it more expensive to get the bedroom set, but then you have to buy the mattress AND sheets which aren't cheap. So the added expense of getting a king would be more than we originally wanted to spend. H doesn't ask for too much when it comes to furniture or home decor but this was something he wasn't going to let go. It wasn't until we talked to my good friend and MOH at the wedding who "knew a guy" in the mattress business and told us she could get us a mattress for pretty much at cost. This in combination with getting a great deal on the bedroom set changed my mind, and H won the bed size battle. 

When we had the bedroom set delivered we didn't realize that it would be another few weeks before getting the mattress so we had to sleep on our double size mattress on the floor for a few weeks, that was fun! But surprisingly enough it fit in the room with all the new bedroom furniture! I am pretty sure our master suite is larger than our entire apartment was in the city which I know is hard to believe! 

H and I also had some trouble finding a comforter set that we both liked. He was begging me for some color since we just painted the walls grey. We painted the back wall Creek Bend by Behr and we absolutely loved it! But, it was way too dark for the whole room so we painted the remaining walls Porpoise by Behr. This one we did not love. In some lights it has this lavender tint to it and while it is a nice soft grey, purple was not the color we were going for. Oh well, for now it works and maybe down the road we will change it up, who knows. So anyway, we found this orange/grey comforter set at Macy's on clearance and used a $100 gift card we had from turning in our credit card points so I think we paid $50 total for the comforter, two shams, and three accent pillows that all came in the set. It is a bit more masculine that I would like, but it works for the space and it is something that we can change out later on with a duvet cover or something if we feel like it. 

I also purchased two silver colored lamps from Ross and two white/grey lamp shades from IKEA. Though the shades are a bit small for the lamp they work for now. A great alternative to spending an arm and a leg for lamps at other stores, who knew how much lamps could be! 

The mirrors on either side of the dresser were a DIY project. They were hand me downs with a gold frame. So we bought some spray paint, sanded 'em down, and went to town with the white gloss paint. I wish I had some before and afters for this project because a little bit of paint really does go a long way. We are thinking we might rehang them a bit higher, but for now they frame out the space nicely. Oh and PS, don't mind the mess!

Here are a few more detail shots of the room.

I would eventually like another chair in the seating area and a stand mirror for the far left corner.

We really love how the room turned out but as I said before, it is very masculine. I think I need to find some nice artwork for the walls or just a few soft touches to make the place more inviting. I am trying to keep track of where I get all the decor items so here goes:

• Curtains - IKEA (though they still need to be hemmed)
• Curtain rods - Home Depot
• Love pillow - Home Goods (left over from our wedding)
• Ceiling fan - Hunter brand at Lowes
• Decorative frames above the bed - Pier One (on sale! 20% off!)
• Comforter and bedding set - Macy's
• Lamps - Ross
• Lamp Shades - IKEA

So, now here is what our to do list looks like:

- Purchase bedroom set
- Paint the room
- Purchase a comforter set
- Buy and hang window hardware
- Buy and hang curtains

- Reupholster love seat

- Find colorful artwork/frames for the walls
- Put up crown molding <- if H lets me : )
- Print four 4x4 pictures to fill the frames above the bed
- Hang TV on wall above the dresser (maybe)
- OR hang a gallery wall of wedding photos above the dresser
- Purchase a white print tufted bench
- Buy a floor lamp for behind the love seat
- Purchase a side/end table for seating area
- Possibly purchase an accent chair?
- Find or make a jewelry stand armoire with a mirror front

Most of these things are details and can be hammered out over time. I am so glad that we have this space more or less finished now. It will be even better when we get the master bath painted! Then we will really have our own little retreat : )

Check back for updates!

JP