Gosh, we lucked out with another pair of great homeowners. This main bedroom project was a treat to work on. They built the house in 1990, and they were ready to treat themselves to a renovation (a well-deserved treat in our opinion!).
The Before
Since the homeowners had an amazing stash of inherited antique furniture—so much family history wrapped up in these pieces!—it was clear that the furniture should be showcased. The room was dark, so a new neutral wall color was the first thing tackled. Then it was time for a game plan.
Goal Time
Overall, we wanted to keep the traditional feel, but bring the room into 2021. To achieve that, we wanted to do the following:
Pare down some of the furniture in the room
Utilize some of their stunning antique pieces
Create a functional seating area (more on that below ⬇️)
Update flooring, bedding, lighting, window treatments, and accessories
Incorporate storage to help keep surfaces clear of clutter
Take a Seat
A seating area was a must-have element for the room to be functional. The homeowners often relax in the bedroom during the evenings, and since it is the era of telework and Zoom conferencing, work is sometimes completed in the bedroom as well. The two recliners previously in the space were very, very comfortable according to the homeowners, but we all ended up agreeing that they were not going to fit with the new aesthetic. The mission became finding more modern chairs of equal comfort. Clean-lined leather armchairs scored high on the comfort meter and they complement the traditional look. The large storage ottoman wins the award for hardest working piece in the seating area. It anchors the seating area, works as a place to set a laptop, keeps extra work stuff out of sight, and the light gray color breaks up the brown in that area of the room.
A Bed You Want To Curl Up On
We wanted the bed to be a focal point of the room. To avoid an overload of the color brown, we wanted to skip a wood bed and go upholstered. This navy one straddles that traditional/modern line perfectly. It has a presence in the room but still lets the antique furniture to shine, like those antique nightstands that the homeowners already owned and bring such warmth to the space. A white duvet keeps the space bright, and then the patterned bolster pillow and throw give the bed some personality.
Adding personal touches is one of our favorite styling tricks. It’s an easy way to make a newly designed space still feel like it belongs to the homeowner. In this case, using the homeowner’s wedding invitation (in the smaller brown frame) was a no brainer. First of all, it is beautiful with its blue beadwork, plus it looks right at home on the side table with all of the blue accents in the room.
A ceiling fan in the bedroom is downright practical. Thankfully, there are really modern looking ceiling fans out there. It’s so easy to ignore a ceiling fan for years (not speaking from experience *cough cough*), and then when you replace it…BAM…it instantly elevates the room. Not to mention, this is one of the homeowners’ favorite upgrades in the room because they can conveniently control it through their phones.
When I say the homeowners live in a mecca of interesting antique furniture, I am not joking around. Isn’t this antique dresser a stunner?! The detailing at the top is so good. Its previous home was in the main bathroom, but when we gave the bedroom a new furniture layout, we knew the piece would be commanding enough to stand on its own against this wall.
Let’s Talk Flooring
The bedroom previously had carpet, and the homeowners definitely wanted to replace it with something. Now, I know some people are 100% team carpet-in-the-bedroom, but vinyl plank is such a great option. It worked especially well in this project with the homeowners’ two cats. We ended up choosing a shade called Sandhill Antique Oak. Since most of the wood furniture was varying dark tones, we knew a lighter floor would contrast beautifully with the furniture and keep the space feeling light. The rug pulls together all those shades of blue we have throughout the room.
The homeowners said the room has become a sanctuary for them, and we honestly can’t think of a better compliment. It was an honor to design it.