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! ;)

Day 27 - Home Offices Revisited - Rebekah's Office/ Homeschool Room

Welcome back to Day 27 of the 31 Days to a Clutter Free Home Series. We are quickly coming to an end, folks!


In response to my post where I announced I'm seeking opportunities to volunteer to help people with real -life problems, one of my readers, Rebekah, messaged me and asked for some tips on her office / homeschool room. She said that she and her children live out much of the day in this room.

Rebekah wrote this to me:

"Hi Katie,I really appreciate you taking a look at this for me.  I noticed on your blog that you prefer things out of sight, and I share that mindset.  Your home is absolutely beautiful, and you have done amazing work.  Here are my pictures from different angles.  The room measures 12' wide by 10' deep.  This is the first room to the left when entering the front door.  (It is actually the formal dining room.)  The carpet is absolutely worn, and I'm thinking of putting travertine down where the vinyl floor entry is through the office and into the kitchen.  The three file cabinets under my desk house home papers, bills/receipts, homeschool papers, my husband's contracts and business info.  The middle file cabinet is actually a cabinet that hides the computer CPU.  I think the last photo may capture the cluttered feel best, and this is when the room is pretty tidy.  I tried putting a pretty mirror up on the main wall to maybe make the room feel bigger, but neither my husband nor I liked that look.  Feel free, of course, to use these pictures on your blog if you want to.  Thanks again so much,Rebekah"

And in a subsequent email she added:

"...Currently, our coat closet next to the front door houses our craft supplies, the kids' school books, household manuals, shipping supplies for eBay, etc. I guess this room feels full to me, especially when we are working in it a lot of the day. It doesn't feel welcoming/pretty to me. ...Maybe the room is too beige?..."

Here are the photographs as the room appears today:

Originally I thought that Rebekah was mainly looking for storage options for the kids' things to make the two small childrens' desks seem less cluttered. But after her second set of comments I realized that she also was looking for ways to make this room feel more inviting and beautiful. So I took a little more time to gather my thoughts before writing up this post...

First off I'd like to say that I just LOVE Rebekah's office. Especially the desk and her chandelier. The space is extremely well organized and obviously well thought out. There's really nothing wrong it, but I can tell that she wants to change it somehow. That being said, here are my thoughts and suggestions. Rebekah, you can take them with a grain of salt. But I hope that something I say here is helpful!

I think when it comes to any space that we spend a lot of time in, we really need to love the way it looks. As I've mentioned before, I absolutely hated our old office. I didn't like the color scheme, it was tucked away in our spare bedroom and it was easy to just throw papers and random junk in there then shut the door and not look at it for weeks. I am much happier with my office space in our family room. We have a warm, cozy wall paint color (Valspar Arid Plains) and window treatments that I love. And I have a nice view of the backyard and most of the house from my computer desk. I'm much more apt to deal with paper clutter, etc. in a place that I enjoy spending time in.

So, I would urge Rebekah to look into adding some color to this office space. I think that would go a long way in making the room more inviting. Since I don't know her other than through the blog, I'm not sure what accent color(s) she would choose, but anything would really work with the neutral scheme she already has. 

I would consider adding color and pattern through an area rug, a different slipcover for the chair, curtains or artwork. I'd also consider painting the inside of the front door a bold color, or even black or white to make it seem a bit less brown. For the sake of the post, let's say she chose blue as the accent color for the room (since I see hints of blue in other rooms of her home in the photos). I will also throw in some greens since that's my fave...

I might also consider repainting the room a slightly warmer beige tone or even a more daring color (although I hate painting, especially when there's carpet nearby!). Maybe something a bit more like we have in our Great Room would warm it up. But what is there could still work just fine. I also personally love the chandelier in this space. But I know that round shades are definitely more "in" these days. And I almost feel like the light fixture could be larger. Again, not a huge deal. What is there can work just fine.

And here's the colorful mood board I prepared using Olioboard.

Now allow me to break it down using the numbers on the items...

1 & 2. First of all, since Rebekah mentioned that the carpet is worn and she is considering travertine for this space, I thought one of the colorful area rugs shown above would be nice. Not only will it add color and personality to the space but it will also cover up the worn carpeting and then would provide some comfort under foot when the tile is installed. Both of these rugs, by Layla Grace are about $125. 

I also found this option on Target's website. The 5' x 7' rug is $160.

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3. I would also consider a colorful slipcover for the desk chair (or perhaps with the addition of other colorful elements this would not be necessary). Maybe the existing one could just be inexpensively dyed like John & Sherry on Young House Love did their dining room chair covers here.

4 & 5. One of these curtain panel options could even be combined with the existing white sheer panels. Kind of like what we did in our master bedroom...

The green panels shown in the moodboard are just $29 each from Target. And I've found similar curtain panels for even less than that at Garden Ridge and Lowe's (especially check out their curtains on clearance!). I think we got the blue panels from Lowe's for about $14 each. Or, ribbon could simply be added to the existing white panels to dress them up a bit. I'd do a google search on that. I'm sure there are great tutorials out there on that.

6 & 7. I'd consider some sort of colorful artwork over the computer desk. You could DIY your own canvas art, cover a handful of shoebox lids in decorative scrapbook paper or fabric, make a gallery wall of family photos (with all the frames spray painted one complementary color). Anything to add some height and color to that side of the room. I don't think the computer desk is too large for the space. In fact, it is probably really nice having all those drawers, etc. But I think that Rebekah could use something catchy to draw the eye up and away from the desk. And I might also consider spray painting the mirror above the console table a color that would compliment whatever rug/curtains are chosen. 

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8. I'd also consider an upholstered storage ottoman or bench (blue or green or even leather or woven natural materials with some blue/green throw pillows on it) in front of the window. It would add some softer texture to the room since everything else is hard (desks, console table, etc.) and some additional storage. Plus, it would be a great comfy place for the kids to hang out reading a book or something. I think Garden Ridge or Walmart are fabulous sources for inexpensive, decorative throw pillows (usually $10-20).

I've purchased all my storage ottomans at Garden Ridge or HomeGoods or Target. I've also seen tutorials online where people have upholstered old $10 coffee tables from garage sales!

9. Perhaps it works fine for Rebekah and her family to keep office related supplies in the coat closet near the front door, but I would consider possibly integrating a bookshelf or small painted dresser or something in place of the console that would provide the same storage inside the room. It seems like it would be more handy. An Expedit from IKEA, as shown in the mood board (only one of the smaller units), could be inexpensively  incorporated. Then I would use colorful, closed decorative file boxes and magazine files to store paperwork and supplies. Adding more storage to the office would open up the coat closet for something else! We all love ample storage, don't we?

10 & 11. Colorful accessories such as a green or blue lamps (or even recovering the existing lampshades on the lamps on the console with a complementary blue or green patterned fabric) might be a good idea. Lamps like the ones shown are always available at locations like Home Goods for maybe $30/each. A colorful lacquered tray or tall colorful candle sticks would be great for the desktop as well.

12. I threw the colorful, playful clock in as another possible accessory. This might be nice over the kids' desks. I think this wall could also use more substantial decor to draw the eye up away from the desks.

Moving on from the mood board, other ideas I have pertain to adding a little more closed storage to the kids' desktops. Rebekah expressed that she felt their area really seemed cluttered to her. 

Some ideas I came up with included using closed file boxes like the blue one on the desk next to the little girl here for corralling all that is on their desks now.

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Or rather than the two white desks Rebekah's children currently use, they could opt for fold down desks like this one by Ana White. 

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Or this IKEA version...

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As for the other side of the room, if the colorful canvases or gallery wall don't appeal, crates or floating shelves could also be mounted to the wall over the computer desk. They could be used for additional storage as well as decor, also drawing the eyes up away from the computer.

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Thank you so much, Rebekah, for the opportunity to brainstorm a few ideas for your homeschool/ office space. If you have any questions, please let me know. And if you get around to implementing any of these ideas or even go a whole other route, please send me some "after" pics so I can see what you do with the space! I love room transformations!!

And if I can be of any help with anyone else's design dilemmas, please let me know via email.  My dream is to someday make a living providing organizing, de-cluttering, and decorating services and it would be extremely helpful for me to gain some real-life experience now (in person or virtually through email, at no cost to you). 

Bold Home Office Mood Board

I used Olioboard to create this home office mood board. While browsing thru the items available to use, I spotted this gorgeous purple and white rug from Etsy. I knew that it would be the foundation of this design.

I also wanted to use chartreuse green accents and tie in other purple and white elements in the space, such as a white IKEA Expedit Bookcase and green magazine file boxes. Once I found the colorful wall clock I decided to add in a couple turquoise elements as well.

So what do you think...wouldn't you just love to work in this space?!?

Below is a breakdown of all the elements with sources....if I know them.

1. Faux Silk Curtains - Target
2. Expedit Bookcase - IKEA
3. Purple Lamp
4. Cargo Elements Magazine File Bluebird - Home Decorators Collection
5. Cargo Naturals Dual File Box Sage - Home Decorators Collection
6. White File Cart
7. Library Magazine File - The Container Store
8. Bubble Chartreuse Office Chair - CB2
9. Melbourne Linen Double Storage Ottoman, Teal - Target
10. 4 Magazine Files - Crate & Barrel
11. Kaleidoscope Wall Clock - Home Decorators Collection
12. Sutton 36" W Chair Velvet Purple - Home Decorators Collection
13. Protea Screen - Printed Fabric Rug - etsy.com
14. Lacquer Desk Tray, peridot, yellow - West Elm
15. Glass Architects Desk - Bailey Street
16. Stacy Garcia Calligraphy Tree Spring Giclee CFL Desk Lamp - Lamps Plus
17. Stained Bamboo Strip and Plank Hardwood Flooring - US Floors