We’ve {already} lived in our forever house for 6 years. It’s a house where there is a constant hustle and bustle with three kids running about, a puppy being… a puppy, my hubby Jonathan and I. We’ve renovated, demolished, renovated a little more and just kept busy all this time. I’d say that almost every room in the house has gotten at least a fresh new coat of paint in the past six years, except our bedroom. Sanctuary of our nights, protective haven of our stolen moments alone, our bedroom door has displayed a proverbial “do not disturb” sign since we moved in. Well no more. We needed to give the bedroom a little refresh all while keeping what was good about it (ie: the bed). Wanna check out the evolution of our room? It’s right here.
Here’s what went down and how you can give your own bedroom a quick refresh with these 7 tips
Picture frame mouldings
No longer than a weekend’s project project, adding wall trims to a room with otherwise little architectural interest can completely reinvent the space. Our bedroom felt very unbalanced with the south wall filled with beautiful windows and the north facing wall… nothing. Keeping in character with the Arts & Crafts style of the home, we chose a simple picture frame mouldings that are neither too ornate nor square and built rectangular frames in two heights. This is perfect for hanging art too, it really gives each piece it’s own space.
Paint
Paint is the Prozac of decor! Seriously, there isn’t a serious case of winter blues that a fresh coat of paint can’t cure. Our bedroom’s mushroom colour served us well for the past six years, it was soothing and not too “bossy”. But I grew tired of it and wanted something crisp instead. I really love a dark ceiling and so I started with that as a base on which I built the rest of the palette. Navy on the ceiling, a crisp white on the walls and a sand colour for the floors. Yup we painted the floor, don’t call the hardwood police.
Since our original 100 years old oak floors had some soft spots here and there, but still some good years in them, we decided to fix them and paint them rather than rip them out. I used a porch and floor paint to do it and the result is super strong and durable. We’ve used similar paint in our kitchen and it’s been two years of high traffic and we have yet to see a scratch on it.
Decluttering
It sounds basic (and free) but decluttering is probably the best thing you can do for any room. I mean let’s face it, life happens. Laundry, gym bags, macaroni necklaces, broken bits and bobs to fix, lonely socks waiting to find their long lost mate, unread books and so on, the master bedroom often turns into the receptacle of all things that have yet to find a proper home. Our bedroom, despite my very best efforts, had fallen prey to clutter too. So I KonMarie the s*!@ out of it and gave throw full bags of stuff to charity. Yes girl (in Jonathan Van Ness‘ voice)!
Pillows
Ok so let’s talk pillows. I have never found a pillow I didn’t love, seriously. The problem with that is that too much of a good thing ain’t good at all. Own your bed don’t be a slave to it that’s what I’m saying. So rule of thumb, for a king size bed there should not be more than 5 decorative pillows on it: 3 euro shams, one bolster and one 16″ or 18″ square pillow. In the case of my room, I went with 4 pillows total: three 24″ square down filled pillows with plain natural linen covers (19.99$ each baby yeah!) and a bolster from my shop made with 1970’s African Baule cloth.
Duvet cover
To give a room a quick refresh, all you need sometimes is a new duvet cover. Because the bed’s headboard has a personality of its own, I have shied away from patterns and vibrant colours in the past opting instead for a uniform grey or cream. I kind of grew tired of the grey and so went with a bold pop of amber coloured with this coco linen cover. Made from 45% premium percale cotton and 55% French flax linen, it breathes, wrinkles just enough and is super cozy.
Art
I can’t imagine a room, any room, without art. Art is emotion, it tells a story, it is everything and in everything. But one thing that art does not have to be though is super crazy expensive. There are loads of beautiful pieces of art, by talented artists or creators, that are very reasonably priced and that will last you a life time. For my bedroom I chose a piece of textile art which I absolutely adore by Canadian artist Ava Patacz. It is completely original and yet has a certain Sheila Hicks quality to it which I love. Then I added two farmhouses pieces one on top of the other: a painting by Montréal’s Emeline Villedary and a photograph of a covered bridge in the town of Woodstock Vermont. To balance things out, two simple round baskets surround the south side of the bed and add natural texture (similar here, here or here).
Plants
Last, but definitely not least, plants. Always and forever, they are the liveliest and healthiest thing you can do for your home. They grow in their own unique ways, they require a little of your time and attention (which is a really good “being present” exercise when you are stressed out and busy), they fill any corner where nothing else would really fit well and they are alive. Just that is quite enough in itself, these babies are actually alive and they are glorious all on their own. If you are still not on the plant train, today’s the day. Get a small one, one that doesn’t require a lot pf maintenance and is super hard to kill like a jade plant, a philodendron or some kind of succulent. I promise, you will not regret it.
shopping
photographer: Phil Bernard
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Lovely and useful tips… Thanks for sharing this post.