My bedroom needs a room-make over design plan!

I admit it, I know what I like.
My personal design style is loving relaxing, peaceful, beautiful spaces. I love tranquil blues, calm greens, and warm natural tones. I call my style Beach Cottage Chic. My idea book is full of inspiring bedrooms where you just want to curl up in and read a great book or enjoy a glass of wine and make plans with your significant other for a romantic adventurous trip or open the windows up and listen to birds outside chirping away.
(stay tuned....my next blog posting will be about 'idea books')

My bedroom is not all of that right now. It is relaxing but it's boring and too plain Jane.
There's too much white in there and not enough interest.

Here's what I have so far to work with:

The new king bed and new Pottery Barn white slipcovered headboard are staying. I am kicking myself for buying the white slipcover though for the headboard (too much white!) but maybe after making some changes in the room the white slipcover on the headboard will work. The white bedspread just adds to the whiteness of the room. I am researching interesting coverlets and quilts at my favorite stores. I want to decide on the paint color for the room first though before purchasing new bed linens.

I covered this old lamp a while ago and this could stay or go, not sure. I love my bedside table which I found at an antique store in Lucketts, Virginia.

Steve's lamp could stay or go too, but I also love his bedside table which I found years ago at an antique store in Vienna, VA....maybe I should paint it????? hmmm......

This little sweet bookshelf was dirt cheap at an antique store in Frederick, MD. It definitely needs to be staged better and maybe I should paint the inside of it to make it pop.....hmmmmm....

 
I made this shell mirror a year or so ago and it used to sit on our fireplace mantel. This old large dresser was bought by my parents at the Salvation Army store in Fairfax, VA. I took it to college with me and it has stayed with me since. I have painted it many, many times....many, many different colors (let's just forget that horrible green sponge painting job I did on it once...terrible!).

This room definitely needs color. The cheapest, quickest way to make an impact on a room is to paint it! This summer my favorite painter (my husband Steve) will tackle this project. He actually doesn't want me to paint once he saw how I paint. Actually, I am a fine painter but for some reason he is really picky about painting! (How come he doesn't see the dirt he drags into the house on his shoes????)

Here are some possibilities for art work. Three large white (I know!!!! Too much white!) tin tiles and three blue framed shell notecards that I picked up at Pawley's Island.  I believe if you like to travel (like we love to do!) you should make some purchases on your travels of items to put in your home to remind you of your adventures. These super inexpensive shell notecards remind me of family times at the beach. Plus I like the colors on the cards. I know, I think we need to travel some more and pick up some cool stuff for our bedroom! Steve?

As you can see, there are no window treatments. Just some window hardware left by the previous owner. I am thinking about maybe bamboo blinds which would add an element of natural warmth to the room and maybe a striped panel curtain.

Here's my newly added 'two hour ottoman slipcover project':

You can probably tell that I prefer mixing pieces of furniture as opposed to buying a bedroom set. I picked up that decorating tip from decorator Geneieve on HGtv. She mentioned that having different pieces in a room adds interest to a room so she recommended finding pieces which compliment each other and have a similar style or color or something in common. It actually seemed to make sense and made me feel better about not purchasing a grown up bedside set of furniture.

Relaxation Tip: One reason our bedroom is relaxing is because there is no television in there. When Steve and I went away on our honeyroom six years ago to the amazing island of St. John, there was no tv in our room at The Canal Bay Resort. We noticed how relaxed we felt after a day of snorkeling and playing on the beach. I know, I know, rough life....ahh! I wish I was back there! At night we would curl up into bed with our books and read (okay, we are huge readers). We would fall asleep so peacefully and get an amazing night's sleep. Maybe hearing the soft crashing of the ocean waves on the beach outside our window had something to do with that! We talked about the fact that because there was no tv we were forced to be more quiet before bed and we felt less stimulated and therefore relaxed. On the plane ride home we talked about wanting to keep that relaxed feeling going and agreed to not have a tv in our bedroom.

Well, things changed......right after returning from our awesome honeymoon in St. John we found out we were going to have a little honeymoon baby (Bryce, now 5). And this momma got a little cranky and tired and talked her sweet new husband into putting a tv into our bedroom. We would stay up much later than normal watching mindless tv and often wake up not rested. Having a tv in a bedroom is very stimulating for a mind that needs to go to sleep.

So, fast forward 5 years. We have moved to a new larger home in Raleigh, NC. We only have two televsions. My husband shares with me that he really wants to go back to that peaceful bedroom concept with no tv. I give in and say okay, no tv in the bedroom. And you know what? It's the best thing ever! Now we talk at night in our bedroom or read and peacefully go to sleep. We really do end up getting a great night's sleep. I am sure the new king size bed might have something to do with that amazing sleep too! ;)

Okay, so as you can see, we need to get cracking on this bedroom! First things first, we are headed to the paint store to consider paint colors! You know I'll have a stack of blue paint chips to consider!

Do you have some ideas for our bedroom for me???? I would love to hear them.
Happy decorating-
Megan