Our master bedroom update

Here’s a brief history of our master bedrooms: it was dark, it was grey, it was beige, it was dark green, it was bland, and then it was bright.

Just for fun, I thought I’d go back as far as our master bedroom in our condo …

I was so proud of the colour I picked for the walls — English Toffee, I think it was called — the poorly-sewn cotton curtains, and the “fancy” silky bed-in-a-bag. Oh, and of course I had the “Two Angels” print — so artsy! — and the Walmart lamps with yellowy bulbs. This was, of course, like 2008.

A couple of years later, we upgraded to NICE bedroom furniture, painted the walls grey, and bought a thin grey coverlet.

I sewed more cotton throw pillows and cotton curtains (and clearly didn’t purchase enough fabric to make more than one skimpy panel per window), and created my first gallery wall above the bed. Lots of white, grey, and yellow. I was super proud of it.

When we moved into our current home almost EIGHT (!!!) years ago, in October of 2011, the walls were creamy beige and the curtains were dark brown. Total blank slate.

Shortly after moving in, we painted the walls a deep, dark green. We’d painted one of our bathrooms at the condo the same colour, and I’d really liked it. Somehow, that translated into WE MUST PAINT THE BEDROOM THIS MOODY, INTERESTING COLOUR I HAZ FOUND.

We kept the brown came-with-the-house curtains, used existing beige bedding — a thin coverlet, just like our grey one — and bought two Target pillows that had beige, green, and brown in them. I printed out black and white photos of us (pre-kids us) and hung a gallery wall with all thin black frames.

Overall, I liked it a lot at the time. Dark and moody. Frugal. Fine.

Once the bedroom started feeling TOO dark, we embarked on another master bedroom makeover. I was over the green.

I had my Handy Husband repaint the walls — Revere Pewter, when it was just starting to be THE paint colour everyone wanted — but we kept the black and white gallery wall and the bedding.

Within a couple of weeks, I’d sewn new curtains (a white, grey, and red print I’d fallen in love with) we’d built pelmet boxes to go above the windows (oooooh, felt so fancy), I’d sewn new throw pillows to match the curtains, and I’d painted some clearance mirrors red and hung them between the windows. We went back to our grey coverlet and kept the gallery wall.

For a long time, nothing really changed in here. The only difference was that I didn’t like that Michael didn’t have a nightstand, so we built a “fake” one. It wasn’t similar to mine in any way except for the height was the same, on purpose, to trick the eye into seeing a symmetrical set-up.

I also bought two big old lamps at a yard sale, painted the bases black, and kept the original shades.

Up until the other day, this was EXACTLY what our master bedroom still looked like …

… and now it looks like this!

Even though we hardly changed anything, it looks a LOT better, doesn’t it?

What we kept the same: curtains, wall art, throw pillows, furniture, lamp bases, wall colour, etc.

What we changed: bedspread, sheets, lampshades, light bulbs.

I used birthday money to buy this fluffy white comforter + sham set from Winners the other night.

I’ve been wanting a white comforter for ages — not a duvet, as I didn’t want to deal with stuffing it and my allergies mean I can’t have anything down-filled. I liked the idea of a comforter — one piece I could throw in the washer/dryer easily.

I was also determined to buy a KING-SIZED one, even though our bed is a queen, because I wanted it to hang down nicely all the way around. Our bed is extremely tall, so king-sized blankets are a must.

This one’s made by Kort & Co. and has grey piping around the edges and a small grey polka-dot pattern on the underside. I can’t find it anywhere online, but if I do, I’ll link to it!

I also bought these gorgeous red buffalo check flannel sheets. I LOVE flannel sheets in the winter. Plus, they bring out the red in the curtains and throw pillows I already had!

Once I had the bright white bedding on the bed, I knew I had to lose the yellowing original lampshades from my yard sale lamps. Their black spray-painted bases were still great, but the shades … nope.

So I replaced them with these two plain white drum shades I stole from another project-in-progress. I also replaced the old “warm” bulbs with my new FAVOURITE bright white lightbulbs* and instantly the room felt brighter and more modern.

Everything else in the room is exactly the same.

The old red clearance mirrors I spray-painted red years ago. The curtains I sewed years ago — with the blackout lining that I still haven’t finished sewing in place, oops.

The Bon Jovi “Livin’ on a Prayer” lyric art I made for the wall.

Last night was the first night in our “new” old bedroom, and I’m happy to report the fluffy white comforter is just as soft and dreamy as I’d hoped. The sheets are still a bit stiff after one washing, but I expect that’s because they’re nice and thick (and not cheap — $49.99 for the set) and they’ll soften up with more washings.

It’s interesting to see what changes over the years, and what stays the same. The black and white gallery wall is STILL hanging in there — and I still love it.

Who knows how long our bedroom will look exactly like this, since you know I like to change things up. But I’m happy with it at the moment, and that’s what matters.

xoxo

Products used in this master bedroom makeover: