Bedroom Design, Post #2

Are you ready to see more of my new bedroom?

This month, in honor of my one-year anniversary in this bedroom, I'm posting photos of how I've decorated it. To see the first post, click here.

Now, as I explained before, this is a modest-sized room, and there is nothing extra spectacular about it except that it's mine. A few basic statistics:

~ The room measures approximately 8'x12' (minus the space the closet takes up).
~ There's one double window, on one of the long sides of the room.
~ I have a small closet, with two rods for hanging, and two shelves.
~ The floors are wooden.
~ The walls are simple, with no molding or otherwise "extra" architecture.

It was a blank slate, just waiting for some love and imagination. And I was happy to provide both.

My tastes in room decor are basic and traditional, with a touch of my own personality. I believe in the old saying "have nothing in your home which you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."

I lean toward colonial furniture and colors, and I love to have echoes of nature about me.

My idea of beauty in a room is sunlight, and real flowers, and fresh air, and good, sturdy materials that can stand up to wear and tear. I hate idle little knickknacks that do nothing but collect dust, and fussy arrangements that can't last through real life. I want things about me that I use, and I want to use beautiful things. I don't like to be tied up in trends, and I'm not fussy about sticking to a particular "style," though I love historical-looking rooms. If I enjoy having it around me, then I incorporate it into the decor. Everything matches because everything is "me."

I love space. I think space and light are two of the most valuable things to put in a room.

Here were my main goals in decorating my bedroom:

~ Make the room look larger than it is
~ Have a place for everything I use on a regular basis, and make it easy to put things away
~ Have some blank spaces, just for visual peace
~ Make the room feel peaceful
~ Have a work area, for writing and business
~ Have only furniture that I love

To accomplish this, I:
~ Chose to use a lot of blue and white in the decor. I love that combo anyway. White makes things look larger and emptier, and blue give the impression of calm.
~ Took a lot of effort in designing a closet that could hold a lot of things
~ Concentrated my storage in some areas so that I could have the luxury of empty spaces in other areas
~ Did not use full curtains on my windows. I wanted as much glass and light as possible. I used a light white swag on the top, and I pull down blinds at night.
~ Got rid of a lot of stuff. :) :)

Of course, I had to make at least one compromise:
~ I picked a bed that was high off the floor, because I loved the colonial style, and I did not use under-the-bed storage. It was a lot of storage space that I gave up, but it would have ruined the effect, and by leaving the floor visible, I gave the appearance of having a larger floor. It gives a touch of luxury to the room, by having nothing under the bed. :)

(This is coming from a girl who spent her childhood stuffing all her pack-rat-collected items under the bed and pulling the comforter down a little farther to hide the mess from Mom and Dad.)

Oh dear. I've just realized how very opinionated and brisk I sound in all my lists and descriptions; "I can't stand this," "I hate that," "I love that." You must think I go around criticizing every room I enter.

The truth is, I love interior design, and I love the variations one finds in every room. I love how personalities are displayed in each room, ...and I love having a room of my own to play with. Don't think that because I love one thing I hate everything else. I present this room to you as enthusiastically as I honestly feel about it. I don't expect everyone to love it like I do, but maybe you can get some pleasure from my honest excitement, even if our tastes are different.

Now, ...last time, I left you with this picture:

I had just finished painting the room, and cleaning the floor and windows. And I had begun to hang things on the walls.

With the exception of the chair I am sitting in right now, every piece of furniture in my bedroom was made by me or someone in my family. I didn't start out with that goal, but I think it's pretty neat. Of course, that meant I had to wait awhile to furnish my room. One doesn't just walk into a store, pick out wood and paint, and say "I'd like that in my room next week."

Actually, two of my items of furniture came with me from my old bedroom; my hope chest (made by Dad) and my matching bookshelf (made by my brother Curtis), but the desk looked like this until just a few months ago:

I am very proud of my finished desk, but it took me almost a year to make, working whenever I had a free Saturday or Friday (which wasn't often!). I cut out all the pieces in the above picture by myself, which was a first. :) :) I'm rather scared of Dad's table saw. :)

My bed is part new, and part history. I mentioned in my last post that my headboard used to be Mom's, when she was a young girl. The headboard, however, was the only part of the bed that remained, so I added to it:
That bed took awhile to make, too. And it took a lot of help from my brother Curtis before I got it right. He basically made the bed; I just gave directions, and then painted it. :)


But then the room went from looking bright and empty, to looking kinda like this:











Um..., that is....rather messy. Are you sure you want to see? .....

I lived in a mess for several months. Ugh. Of course, it wasn't always this bad, but it took awhile for things to get better. I needed a desk to organize my writing supplies. But, ignoring the mess, doesn't my bed look nice? An "authentic imitation rope bed."


Here's the other corner. Not much better (usually all the mess was stacked in this corner, but here I was cleaning out space for my desk):
Now, as for linens....they were all homemade, too. I finished my quilt just before moving into this room. And it took only a month or so to finish the curtain for the window, a curtain for my closet door, a cushion for my hope chest, and throw pillows to match.

Then the room began to come together. Now it looks like this:

But that's all I'm going to show you until next time. That's when the fun will begin!!!!!! A photo tour of my finished product. :) :)