Mandy's Master Bedroom Mood Board

A while back, well, a LONG while back, like a month before we moved, our cousin, Mandy, contacted me about brainstorming ideas for her master bedroom. I wanted to get some ideas back to her right away but I was hoping to get some photos first and then my life as I knew it basically blew up in my face.

So, long story short, I'm just now getting around to blogging about this and revealing a mood board that I created for her room.

Here's what she said, "Ok Katie, here is one of my many dilemmas: All the rooms in my house are white, and my husband, who hung each sheet of dry wall, is pretty insistent that they stay that way. The trim in each room is a mahogany type brown. The bedroom furniture we have is a hodgepodge of hand me downs, some pieces black, some brown. I'd love any ideas on how to pull them all together and make the room cohesive, for under $200."

At first, I was having trouble generating ideas because I felt so "thwarted" having to design around white walls and wood trim. I just didn't see how that could be done. But just in the past few weeks, I have read a few great blog posts that have inspired me to be more of the "work-with-what-you-have" mindset. 

Here is a post from Emily A. Clark's blog and here is another from The Handmade Home that discuss working with wood trim rather than painting it white (or some other color).

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And here are a few of The Nester's inspiring thoughts on white walls. . .here and here. She even has an entire Pinterest board dedicated to white walls!

 

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I also know that Mandy loved the master bedroom in our former home.

And she loves John & Sherry's first home's bedroom, from Young House Love. Um, who doesn't?? I am obsessed with the lighting and the built-in wardrobes flanking the bed. It's just so luxurious!

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So, I whipped up a mood board using Olioboard with grays, browns and blues. 

To check out sources on any of the items, just go here. I'm not sure if Mandy's husband will like it, since it does seem slightly feminine. But, let's go with it for now.

I spent a bit of time sourcing very affordable options at stores I know are near Mandy to yield the same overall feel as the mood board.


First off, I think bedding is THE most important item in transforming a bedroom. I could NOT believe what a difference the bedding made in pulling together our master bedroom in our old place and making it look more polished.

Here's what it looked like before purchasing new bedding:

At here's what it looked like after I found our comforter and pillows at Home Goods on clearance for just $49!!

A quick online search yielded so many affordable options - at the time I even found some great clearance deals at JCPenney.

I suggest Mandy check out Lowe's for curtain panels similar to the blue ones shown in the mood board. That's where we scored the ones in our former master bedroom - and they typically range from $7-15 per panel. If you can sew, you could even buy just 1 panel per window and cut it down to make 2 panels, effectively cutting that already low price in half!! You could hang them on inexpensive tension rods or spend around $25 per window for decorative metallic rods.

I recommend that Mandy hit up Wal-Mart (or Garden Ridge or Target) for inexpensive throw pillows. I have seen several awesome Better Homes & Gardens throw pillows at Wal-Mart that I've been very tempted to purchase! One in particular that I recommend is this fabulous find for under $13:

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Another tip that I have gleaned from The Nate Berkus Show is that you really don't have to have matching bedroom furniture. In fact, he's often encouraging guests to break up matchy bedroom suites by moving dressers into dining rooms or painting the matching bedroom pieces various colors, etc. I bet she could paint her mis-matched dressers and maybe even give them a distressed finish or even this fabulous mirrored treatment (that I know Mandy pinned already) . .

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And Nate also suggests bringing in a comfy arm chair in the bedroom so you have a place to sit, other than the bed, to put on shoes or read a book. I've always been enamored with this idea and I'm thankful to now have a bedroom big enough to contain a sitting area!

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I have not seen Mandy's bed to know if this is at all a good option or not, but she could always DIY an upholstered headboard to bring in another layer of interest to the room. There are tons of inspirational headboards on Pinterest.

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And even in a bedroom that is already carpeted, I think an area rug can add a lot of character to the space. This 4 x 6 zebra print rug from Wal-Mart.com is only $114, with free shipping to your local store. And I've often seen rugs at Garden Ridge for $50-100.

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Personally, I also think lighting is hugely important in any space, but especially a bedroom. You want the bedroom well-lit enough you could read but also have the capability to set some mood lighting. I recommend an overhead light like the chandelier shown, with lamps on nightstands or dressers for some softer lighting. And I love the idea of checking thrift stores for old lamps or fixtures that can be painted and DIY-ed to create unique pieces.

So, given the ideas I've presented, I think Mandy could keep her white walls and wood trim, and with a little bargain hunting, she could probably re-decorate her bedroom within her $200 budget, picking and choosing some of the items suggested on the mood board.

For example, let's say she:

paints her existing dressers and adds new hardware - $50
buys a couple new throw pillows - $26
gets some bedding on clearance - $50
picks up a couple lamps at Goodwill - $24 total (and paints them with paint she already has)
"shops her house" for an armchair for the bedroom - $0
and finds an area rug on clearance at Garden Ridge - $50

Total - $200

It's totally do-able. What do you guys think? Anyone ready to redecorate their Master Bedroom now? I know I am!!! Now all I need is time and money! ;)