Master

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, Mike and I spent most of the month of October doing some home improvement projects. It was mostly chaos and hard work and we are totally sick of painting, moving furniture and hanging things, but we are really pleased with the results of our industry. We didn’t do too much, mostly cosmetic stuff like new carpet and paint, some new bedding and pillows. Mostly we just rearranged and re-appropriated things that we already had around the house.

I’ve decided the Mike and I make a good team. I enjoy the design aspect of the redecorating process and Mike is a true handy man.

So without further ado, the results…

Before…

After…

As you can see, it’s not that different…just some color changes, a fresh coat of paint, new carpet (after 20 years of use out of the old stuff), a rearrangement of the book shelves, some new drapes.

My jumping off point for this room was the Pottery Barn bed duvet cover that I found on EBay for way less than I would have paid at Pottery Barn. Definitely the way to go if you like Pottery Barn stuff but don’t want to pay through the nose. I knew I wanted to go with gray on the walls (and the duvet has some gray in it), but I wanted to warm the room up with some golds, browns and corals, so it was perfect.

My favorite things about the master bedroom now are the paint (Martha Stewart’s Bedford Gray from Home Depot, highly recommend it) and the picture frames above the bed displaying photos from my trip to Paris. I got the frames about ten years ago from Joann’s for like $5 dollars a piece. Still love them.

Before…

After…

My other favorite thing in our new room is the vanity that I got for free from a neighbor’s garage sale. Mike and I repaired and refinished it together this summer. You should have seen it before. Now it looks as good as new! I also love the pictures on either side of the vanity mirror. They’re of Mike and I when we were kids. They make me smile.

The pictures in the gold frames above the rocker were hanging in my room at home when I was growing up, and on the opposite side of the window is a picture that used to hang in my Grandpa’s office. I’ve always loved it, and it matched perfectly. I like the sentimental touches that these things add to the room.

We also redecorated the bathroom.

Before…

After…

We stripped the wall paper and painted a coordinating color (Martha Stewart’s Morning Fog from Home Depot. Martha has helped us a lot with our painting projects this time).

My favorite thing about the bathroom is the new caulking around the tub and shower. I scrapped up all the old stuff and now it looks awesome, almost like new! I can’t believe how much difference little things like that make. I also love the little white cupboard that keeps all our toiletries out of sight. Much more neat and tidy.

As you can see, our improvements aren’t anything earth shattering, but it’s nice to have everything looking fresh and different.

Now if I could just convince Winnie that she can’t sleep on my new bedding…

*I would still like an end-of-the-bed bench for this room, something to fill the empty space and to sit upon when tying shoes and such, but I can’t find the right thing for the right price (I don’t want to spend too much for it). Any suggestions out there? Maybe I should have Mike build one? You up for that Mike?

Good night…