February 6, 2013

One Room Challenge: The Master Bedroom

Yay it’s the first day of the One Room Challenge!  I am so pumped to transform my bedroom from an empty space to beautiful, finished room.   I plan to do it up in my signature Preppy Bohemian Style and I won’t be afraid to use a little color along the way.  I’m probably totally crazy for agreeing to take part in this 6 week makeover challenge when I haven’t even moved into my home yet!!  (I’m moving in next Tuesday.)  I’m not going to lie, I’ll probably get a little crazed along the way, but I work well under pressure and nothing like a deadline to help you git her done.

As a reminder the One Room Challenge (ORC) is a 6 week start to finish makeover of one room.  I am doing my master bedroom because a girl’s gotta have a place to sleep.  20 total bloggers are taking part in the challenge and I will share all of their details below.  This isn’t an actual competition, but as I’m uber-competitive  I will treat it as one in my own head.

Here is the culprit.  I plan to decorate it hard.

master bedroom before

closet wall before

Cons: the room had several choppy wall sections plus the wall color and carpet weren’t working for me.

Pros: The big bay windows, Light on two sides, My bed fits.  Pine floors hidden under the carpet.

We made a few construction changes to the room which I shared on Monday.

(Including tweaking a few walls and refinishing antique pine floors.)

You can see that post Here.

Here is a little mood board of what I am planning for the room.

In my own home I always edit as pieces fill in, so I may change it along the way.

cottage bedroom scheme design manifest

What does it all mean and how will I use it?  You’ll have to stay tuned every Wednesday to see!

I’ve already taken the first necessary steps in completing the design…

Painting is complete!

I wanted the room to be moody yet also energetic, so I went bold with a teal wall.

1 bedroom painted main wall

I used Benjamin Moore Naples Blue on both the walls and trim.  (Eggshell for walls, semi-gloss for trim and doors.)

2 bedroom painted slanted wall

And, just in case you are wondering, NO I don’t think a dark color makes the room look smaller.

I think it makes it more fabulous and enchanting.

3 bedroom painted three doors

There are 4 windows and 3 doors in this room and I didn’t want them to make the statement.

When I use white  it will be a purposeful pop in this design!

4 bedroom painted bed wall

Enough about my room for this week, here is a list of all the amazing bloggers taking part in ORC this time around…

ORC Banner Blog Headers

Amazing talent here, guys!  I can’t wait to check every single one as soon as I’m back from my vacay.

You can follow along with their makeovers as well.   Take a little peek at the links below.

***
Coming Up Next Week:  Since I move in on Tuesday, I will be sharing the room essentials next Wednesday.
Previous Bedroom Updates
January 22, 2013

Cottage Talk: Painting Trim, Glorious Trim

True to my word, I did some serious painting last weekend.  In my bedroom I did just the first coat of the walls and trim- so nothing to share yet- but its looking to be very TEAL.   I decided to paint my trim and doors the same color as the walls (BM Naples Blue) but in semi-gloss.  In a deeply saturated room WHITE makes a big statement, so I want to use it wisely (think crisp punctuations in curtains and bedding.)  I didn’t want the doors or windows to pop, thus why I painted out the trim. It’s going to be like a little jewelbox in there… I am very excited.


Trim is SO important in a room and often I think its overlooked.  It can be used for contrast or to simplify and it certainly doesn’t just need to be white.  Here are a few of my favorite looks for painted trim.


Imagine this room without the black doors and trim?  Totally different right? – Sara Story


White is used as a purposeful contrast in this teal room. – Michelle Workman


Look closely:  There is some kind of wall moulding in this room, 
but you can’t really tell because it’s been painted out the same color as the wall.


No plain white door and trim here!
A color is pulled from the gorgeous wallpaper to give the door its own statement.- Hutton Wilkinson


Mona Ross Berman gave her clients’ dining room the total pale lilac paint treatment.  
Imagine all of those mouldings contrasting in the room?  It would have been a much busier space. 

Pink trim is bold, even for me, but I love what it does to this space!



Windows and trim have been painted out the same turquoise shade as the walls, 
allowing other pieces to stand out in the room.- Miles Redd


Images 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 

RE- Yesterday:  You guys are the bees knees.  
My readers constantly surprise me with their intelligence and compassion.  Thank you.

January 2, 2013

Cottage Talk: Master Bedroom Bedding

Thanks to gift cards from generous family members and a 25% off holiday sale, I was able to buy my bedding for my future master bedroom.   I’ve long admired Serena and Lily’s Berry Border Frame Duvet and embroidered sheet set and was happy to snatch it up.

I already told you that I made the decision to paint my bedroom walls dark teal, so I knew I wanted crisp white bedding to contrast the rich hue.    I thought the pop of berry would go nicely with my teal.  The bedding arrived and I couldn’t resist trying it out last night, even though I’m not in my new space yet.


I’m not planning to use my Caitlin Wilson coral fretwork pillows in the master, but I actually like how they work with the berry frame.  As for the actual bedding, the sheets are divine.  They are really soft and I love the embroidery detail.  The duvet is fine too, but for some reason I thought the berry border would be wider.  They explicitly say it’s a 1” border on their site, so I don’t know why I thought it was more substantial.  Just thought I would mention it.



Also the bedding is a perfect white.  My furry throw is more creamy.



I’m enjoying the change in my “temporary” bedroom and look forward to putting my master bedroom together in February!




** Serena and Lily did not sponsor this post.  Just wanted to share my thoughts **

December 17, 2012

Tape Trim Obsession

I’ve stated this before- My style is Preppy Bohemian.  I love patterns, colors, ethnic accents and organic elements that compliment a bohemian look, but I also love tailored, crisp, traditional and chic.  To me, eclecticism is about balance and these two styles complement each other perfectly. 


In my own cottage, a lot of the “Preppy” look is going to be achieved through tape trim and grosgrain ribbon.  Each room will have a different feel but will be unified by the same curtain- white with black ribbon trim.  Greek Key will be making a revival in more ways than one.  My skirted sofa may be getting a mini-makeover in the form of a tape trim at the base.  (Who remembers my beloved sofa, Martin? He’s been in storage for like a year!)


Today I’m back again on Meg Biram’s site talking about my favorite ways and detailed uses of tape trim.  It dresses up just about everything!  Please check out her site to learn how to achieve the custom tailored look in your home.


And below- Just a few of my favorite Tape Trim Items.  Incredibly Chic and still pretty cheap.  What’s not to love?

December 13, 2012

Cottage Talk: First Floor Wood Debate

Hello friends!  I’ve missed you all.  Though I must admit this internet break has been just the R&R I’ve needed.  There is a possibility I won’t be a Christmas Grinch this year and that would be awesome.  I’m sadsies I can’t decorate my Cottage fireplace mantel (its currently covered in debris) or put up a tree (table saws and hvac ductwork crowding up the floors) but good things come to those who wait and I know that by this time next year Me and My Cottage will be in a whole different state.

The post today is focused on my current debate- Wood finish for the first floors.  For those of you who follow me on instagram or facebook, I apologize because this is old news.  But I know a lot of you check in via the blog (or subscribe to the RSS feed and get DM delivered to your email) and I wanted to share with you as well.

So the deal is that Dad says my original painted pined floors are too beat up and I need new wood.  I spent a few weeks being depressed about this,  but construction must go on, so now I want to choose a wood that I love and feels really fitting for my 100 year old cottage.

The top contenders are “Walnut” and “Espresso.”  Both are by Appalachian Woodand the species is Red Oak.  Appalachian doesn’t provide room views of their wood and only gave me a single board to use a reference which makes this process much more difficult.  Vendors, don’t you realize that provided samples results in sales?  So frustrating not being able to make an educated decision.  But the price is right, so I’m going to try.

(FYI- I’ve already tried discount places like Lowes and Lumber Liquidators and no one has anything I Like at the price-point I want to pay.)

Here is what the internet tells me Espresso and Walnut look like…



Based on this sampling alone, the walnut looks a little red and I prefer the neutral brown of the espresso.  


Then we factor in real life photos taken by me, against my rugs with my single board samples.  Don’t be fooled by the grain- it is the same wood, just different grain variations on each board.  This is typical of red oak.


(Above is my bedroom- the 2nd floor will maintain the original pine)


I love drama of darker floors, but they also feel a little modern to me.  My cottage is not modern and I want to keep the architectural elements in line with the cozy, traditional feel.  That being said, the darker looks much better against my blue kitchen cabinets.  (No picture, sorry- the doors need another coat.)

Then to confuse me further, I spy that Appalachian has another finish “Treebark” that looks really spiffy on the interwebs, but looks totally different in the sample version.  What the What?



I think I will need more boards of each sample before I am able to commit.  I sure do like the internet version of Treebark.

As is always important when planning a big purchase, I have looked to my inspiration for direction.  Here are some floors that inspire me…  (All taken from my pinterest “Wood Floors” board.)



As you can see, I am drawn to both dark and medium tone woods.  Confusion!  I wish Santa would just deliver me a perfect surprise.