My Bedroom Redecorated

Hello! Welcome to my bedroom! I'm thrilled to finally be able to show you around.

If you missed my previous posts describing the process that led to my owning a new bedroom, and pictures of the pre-decorating phase, visit here for post #1, and here for post #2.

(To summarize, this is the first time I've had my own space to decorate as I please, and I did it little by little over the course of the past year. Now I feel like it's "arrived," and I want to share the finished product with you.)

So come on in!

(Regular readers, be warned; this post contains a record amount of pictures, and will likely throw you into shock over that fact. :) :)

Here's the photo I left you with last time - the view from the doorway:
(I realize these are rather small. Please forgive me - they load faster, and I'm short on patience when it comes to uploading things.)

I made the quilt for the bed, finishing it just days before I moved into my new bedroom. The headboard belonged to my mom when she was a little girl, but it was dark brown and the rest of the bed frame was non-existent. My brother Curtis built the new bed frame according to my directions, Dad drilled holes for the rope, and I painted the whole thing.
The bookshelf was made by Curtis several years ago, especially for me, and it matches my hope chest.

My closet is at the foot of my bed. I can select my outfit in the morning in comfort! :) (I don't really do it that way. I have to touch clothes when I'm picking them. :) There's a verse painted above the closet doorway. (Isaiah 26:3) There was no door for the closet, so I sewed a curtain, and I like it better anyway. The fabric is home decor weight, and is pale blue, white, and brown stripes.

I store my instruments in their cases at the foot of my bed, too. And don't you like my two big windows? I chose a sheer swag rather than a full curtain, to let in as much light as possible. I had the perfect fabric - all I had to do was hem it.

Here's a better look at my bookshelf:

I love my touch-lamp; it's one of the more recent additions to my room.

Now, here's my favorite corner:

I custom-designed this desk to suit my needs. It fits perfectly in that corner, and the two matching shelves hold my "pretties" and some old books. This is where I'm sitting right now, and where I sit to do my writing and computer work. I built the desk and shelves myself - with occasional help from Dad, and I'm quite pleased with it. The top of the desk and shelves is coated with a varnish to make them glassy-smooth. :) I love the look of stained wood, but I chose to paint part of the structure white so it took up less visual space.


Here's better view of the shelves. I love my old books!

And here's the top of my desk. I love my jars with paint brushes and pens and pencils. And see my miniature oil lamp? It's a pencil sharpener! :) That stack of books it's sitting on has continued to grow; it's where I keep my writing books (dictionary, thesaurus, writing inspiration, etc.). At this moment it's 10 books and about 12" high.

Don't you love my drawer handles? Too bad you can't see them up close. They're a pretty iron weave design.

And here's the wall to the right of the desk:

Dad made my shelf, with my name carved in it, and I use the top to display pictures of me with friends. The bouquet of flowers is from my sister's wedding.

Here's my hope chest. I love it. Daddy made it for me several years ago, and it's full of linens and kitchen items. I sewed the cushion cover and pillow cases when I moved into this bedroom.

The pink tote on the floor by my hope chest is my portable craft room. I have a sewing area in the basement, but I always have a little project or two (or three or four....) that winds up in my room. This tote helps contain everything, and saves me from running downstairs every time I need a pair of scissors. I also like that it's next to the computer, so I can pick up stuff to work on it any time my hands are free while my eyes are busy.

Aaaand this is what I see when leaving my room. I built the peg rail (well, teased Curtis into doing it, really) and painted it the same blue as my ceiling. It's nice to have a place for purses and hats, but I really need more that that, because those pegs are always overflowing! My full-length mirror makes the room seem larger, and it's nice to see what I look like when I'm heading out the door to face the world. The vintage luggage on the floor by the mirror is my "compact vanity," and holds all my hair items.

So there you have it! I love my little paradise. It's compact, and everything has a purpose and use. Practically speaking, I've put out comparatively little money for what I got in return:

- The low-odor paint for my walls, ceiling, and bed was my birthday gift (by request) from my parents last year.

- The wood for my bed and desk were probably my most expensive purchases, and I bought pieces a few at a time over the past months.

- The lamp was a gift from my mom (thank you!) to help me with my room.

- I bought the fabric for my quilt long before I started working on my room, so it was already taken care of. I had to buy fabric for the closet curtain, but had leftovers for two matching pillows for my hope chest, and leftover fabric from the quilt made one more.

- I didn't have to buy any of the foam for the hope chest cushion and pillows; the foam was from one of those "pads" that goes on top a mattress (from the double bed I used to share with my sister), and the pillow forms were "recycled" from other sources.

- The wood for the peg rail was scrap wood from Dad's projects over the years.

- I already had my bookshelf and hope chest.

- Someone had given me a bag of fabric, which is where my curtain fabric came from.

So, most of what was "spent" on this room was effort and time, not money. I'm pleased with how it turned out. I think it has a country, colonial feel, but not strictly so. It's "me," and I'm pleased to say that my family seems to enjoy hanging out in my bedroom.

What do you think? What are some decorating tips you use in making your bedroom a place of peace and comfort? And how do you incorporate workstations into your room without letting them take over?