When I have trouble with decorating a room, I don’t ignore it. I don’t shut the door and focus on rooms I do like. Instead, I decorate and redecorate and redecorate to the point of ridiculousness until I get it right. The best example of that is my bedroom. Since I’m walking you through the current makeover, I thought I would share how it’s changed over the 6+ years we’ve lived in this house. (My husband says I need a picture of him pulling his hair out somewhere in this post, but I never took one of those…)
This is what it looked like when we moved in…
The mauve walls and border were there when we bought the place and the red and yellow fabric was a carryover from my last house. The furniture pieces were mostly freebies and yard sale finds. To help you with the orientation of the room – in the picture above, the closet is to the left, the bathroom through the door in the middle and the door to the right goes through to my office. That doorway is now sealed.
In my pre-blogging days, I painted the room with some leftover red paint (from my last house) to coordinate with the bedding and fabric I already had. After about a year, I was ready for a change, so I painted the room in a greenish/gold color that I picked on a whim to match some fabric remnants I had. I didn’t have much of a budget to work with…none really, so I had to make do with what I already had. I lived with the greenish/gold for about a year as well, but never loved it.
So, I moved to what I always love and never get tired of…blue.
I picked a blue I liked out of the paint deck, bought the paint and plowed ahead. I also started painting some of my hand-me down furniture at that point.
The problem with the blue is that I couldn’t find fabric to match it. Lesson learned. Pick out your fabric first, then your paint color. After about a year of walking around with a paint chip in my purse, trying to find a match, I gave up and painted the walls again.
This time, I went with something neutral that I would never get sick of and could easily find a fabric to match…cream. This is also when I saved my birthday and Christmas money to buy some bedding. Sigh. Lesson number two…don’t buy cheap bedding. The duvet cover got pilly within a month. The brown bedspread faded after the first wash.
There’s a good shot of the door that connects to the office.
I realized that the room would work much better if that doorway wasn’t there, so I devised a plan to cover the doorway with a half canopy. I saved my pennies again and found some fabric at Hobby Lobby for 40% off to use for the project. This is where I learned another lesson…don’t buy large amounts of fabric if you’re not absolutely and totally in love with it. I knew, even at the cutting counter, that I didn’t love this fabric. I liked it more than any other fabric in that store at that moment. I thought it was really pretty, but what I felt for this fabric was just a passing infatuation.
I did love the half canopy, though. I would totally do that again with a fabric I truly and deeply loved.
After about a year, the infatuation faded and I wanted that fabric out of my room. I was also getting ready to work on my book and wanted to finally get this room right. I knew I wanted blue and white, because I never, ever get tired of blue and white. I found this gorgeous pale blue fabric and bought it. When I got it home and started looking at paint chips, I realized it wasn’t a pale blue, but an aqua!! How in the world did I do that?! Now I was stuck with this pretty, but not blue fabric and book deadlines on the horizon, so I moved forward with it. Lesson learned…don’t keep plowing ahead with decorating choices that you know aren’t right!
I made the headboard for a tutorial in the book and made a hurried skirt to match. This stage of my bedroom was all about making the room look the best I could for the book in the time frame I had to work with. At this time, we put drywall over the doorway to the office and I planked the wall on the other side.
This brings us to the current makeover. This time, I’m getting it right. I’ve learned from my past mistakes.
It all started with a $1000 HomeGoods gift card and back pain. Both my husband and I were waking up with sore backs and our 10+ year old cheap, now slouchy mattress was the culprit, so we went mattress shopping. We were also having issues with the covers sliding off the end of the bed every night, so we included a new bed frame with a foot board in the upgrade and I got my dream bed. I used the HomeGoods gift card to shop for a rug and pieces to achieve the farmhouse glam look I wanted. We were also finally able to install hardwood floors in our bedroom and family room. That made a huge difference in both rooms. We took the opportunity rearranged the furniture again at this point while we were at it.
I sold my beautiful, curvy craiglist dresser to a very excited local blog reader. It has always been too big for the room and we’re going to make our little closet super functional by building some custom cabinetry. We’ll get rid of the curvy highboy (to the far right in the picture above) when the closet is done. The rug was the first rug I bought at HomeGoods, but I started to realize it wasn’t going to work with the direction I wanted to go. I was going to get it right this time!!
I found this fabric online and fell in love with it and how it worked with the bed. This is the direction I wanted to go.
I took the rug back and found this neutral tufted wool rug that worked with the direction.
…and here we are today. Finally. After seven paint colors, five furniture arrangements, three headboards, six dressers, five fabric schemes, one very patient husband, and a lot of lessons learned along the way, it’s all coming together.
I hope this walk down memory lane and display of my decorating antics is an encouragement to you if you’re currently spinning your wheels in a room (or your entire house!)
At the very least, you can show this post to your husband to make him thankful that you only repainted your room five times.
138 Responses
You did, indeed, get it right this time! It’s stunning! And it’s probably best that you are just now getting it right. Otherwise you would’ve never accomplished all that you have in the past year for never wanting to leave your bed!
OH my such changes!! Well you got it right this time!!! I have NO decorating skills at all. In my bedroom I have changed it sooo many times until three years ago I got a new bed after sleeping on the floor on a mattress that was soooo bad and went with white bedding. I had a gal from etsy make me some vintage bedding and have loved it ever since!!! Love your room . If that was mine I would never leave!!!
love seeing the evolution, marian. and love the permission you’ve given me to change my room as much as i please. do you never have anxiety about sleeping under those plates? i feel the same way about all the peeps with mirrors above their headboards. i’d need ambien.
smiles to you.
michele
Hi Marian;
I was wondering what furniture pieces you have a available for sale. My husband is working our of state and i need to furnish a small house for him. I want it to be warm and cozy. I need two dressers, at least two end tables, some pictures and two club type chairs. Do you have anything available? I cannot spend a fortune.I have two girls in college but I want the home to be warm and inviting for him while he is away. Do you know where I can get some inexpensive rugs as well? Thank you for your thoughts.
Your room is absolutely gorgeous! Lessons learned and patience (and a sweet hubby) all paid off!
🙂
Looks beautiful! I am currently penny pinching my way to a room that looks less like a college apartment and more like a grown married couples bedroom.
Wow what a lot of work and changes you have inspired me I have a bright red bedroom, I am thinking of changing to a more soothing colour, I should give it a go.
Merle…..
O the Hey Girl post you could put together with the change’s you have made…You are so right when you say I got it right this time….you really have and when I think of what you have done. Floor check rug check walls check Nix a door check, remove ceiling fan check hang chandy and then plank the ceiling….crown molding to go top to bottom change Wow
Love this post, Marian! It is so fun to see the evolution and I absolutely ADORE how it looks now!
Thanks for the permission to change your mind every once in a while! I get guilty when I want to change things, but that’s ridiculous. There’s no need for me to stay annoyed with how a room looks as penance for a decorating mistake.
LOVE how your room looks now. Good job on getting your chandelier instead of a fan!
OH MY GOSH!!!! That is BEAUTIFUL!!!! I hear ya…I have redone my front room (http://customslipcoversbyshelley.blogspot.com/2012/04/my-front-room-redoagain.html) many times over the years and have learned the same lesson—don’t settle, you have to be EXCITED about each piece. Nothing is a maybe.
My new rule when shopping for anything….I always separate into two piles before I get to the register—“100% yes “pile (can’t live without it, no reservations) and the “maybe” pile (I like it, but not sure how much???)—-MY RULE—-Always, Always no matter what don’t buy your “maybe” pile.
You are so right, only buy what you love. I am planning a minor bedroom up-date so thank you for reminding me of that rule.
Love your new room.
Traci
Love the change!!! It seems that you also improved your photography talent!!
Seeing your beautiful wallpaper makes me want to run down to the paint store and pick out something to go behind my bed. Its stunning with all that you have brought to this room. Thanks for sharing.
Love the way it came out! What a great way to wake up every morning. The best is when we see our progress as decorators! Nothing feels better! Be proud : )
Your room is lovely now, but I’ve enjoyed the others too. Our husbands could share similar stories, but mine has promised not to throw me under the bus and tell how many rugs I’ve bought for our living room, only to return them a few days later. Ugh!! I hope I find the right one soon.
I’m so happy to read you don’t always get it “right” the first time…Your bedroom looks beautiful!
Very pretty. Really like the texture of the ceiling and the fabric wall. So you!
Experience really is the best teacher. You don’t know until you know!
I really enjoyed this post and watching your beautiful room evolve over time. I had to laugh at your ending statement about “spinning your wheels” in a room …or maybe your “whole house” because I feel that way with my whole house at this point! However, I have resolved to change that and posts like this give me motivation and encouragement to do just that little by little. Thank you!
The last picture is the only room that looks like ‘MMS’. Everything else is a miss. Glad to see you finally got what you wanted.
I had to laugh as I read this post and saw your metamorphasis…this was so me, back-in- the -day, before I learned the lessons you have learned! If you dont LOVE IT…don’t BUY IT!!! Dont buy cheap linens….i have mine custom made now(i have a very reasonable seamstress), dont be afraid to return things that dont work…things look different in your house than they do in the store.
You have done a beautiful job with your bedroom, but now…what room will become your labratory???
your room is beautiful! Sounds like you made a few laps on the decorating carosel!
But you didn’t stop til you got it right. Gives me hope for my ongoing projects.
Thank you for sharing your journey!
Thanks so much for sharing your bedroom evolution – it’s always a process isn’t it? I have to say, your last photo made me sigh – kind of like the Three Little Bears – it s “just right”. 🙂
One of your best posts yet! My tiny bedroom is a source of angst for me also. Watching the evolution in your room and by sharing your lessons learned along the way I feel much better about some of the choices I have made – cheap bedding, settling for – not loving, changing paint colors, and so on. But Marion – while looking at your photo’s your sense of style just kept getting better! It went from working with what you have to making changes (always for the better) to what you have now. Which is really chic yet warm and mature and elegant. You go girl! You have inspired me once more. Will you be at Haven? While not a blogger – I aa blogger groupie and wannabe. Would love to see you again. Cheers!
Wow, I got worn out just reading about all those changes! No worries, it’s a woman’s prerogrative to change her mind! I liked the fabric on the half canopy, but you are right, your bedroom now is georgous and it has Miss Mustard Seed written all over it. Thanks for sharing!
I am sending this post to my husband right now. I am glad to know I am not the only one. Now he will know I am not the only one who does this! Thank you.
I too have learned many of those same lessons in my “not-finished-decorating” bedroom. Good to know that it’s not just me and that perseverance pays off. Beautiful ending!!
I love this post SO much Marian! I am always telling my friends you don’t need to hire or BE a pro to design a look you love! I am going to share this link on my FB blog page! I love that your room started out so dis-jointed (no offense!!!) and evolved and came together so beautifully! This is a great example to use for my girlies! ~Lisa
I really like this, it is nicely pulled together, I love the bed. Do you still have the fabric that was hanging behind the bed? If so would you sell it? I have looked at it a million times at Hobby Lobby but they don’t have enough of it! Let me know. Thanks.
I love your new bedroom! As long as I can remember I have loved blue. I know in my mind exactly I want to decorate each room in my future home. Each room has something with blue….that’s just what I always end up liking most but how do you balance a favorite color not being to dominant in decorating….where it gets to be to much?
Iris♥
Oh, I so enjoyed this post and oh how I can relate! Love your blog. Love your Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint.
Thank you for sharing how your bedroom was a progression. It gives hope to us who are in the middle and waiting. Sometimes I get discouraged by my budget restrictions and waiting but today I feel encouraged. The Lord has greatly blessed you! Remember, it is always about HIM!
Reading this post is like reading the evolution of Miss Mustard Seed in summary. It is so great to see where you’ve been and what brought you to where you are today in terms of style. Practice makes perfect!
So nice to see all you’ve gone through with this room, now I don’t feel as strange for being on our 4th paint color in our bedroom since we moved in 5 years ago! 🙂 It’s already jaw-dropping gorgeous, as usual. That fabric is just yummy! I’m curious, did you get new mattresses too? I just wrote a post last week asking for help in selecting a new mattress. Would love to hear your advice on that!
I loved seeing the evolution of your bedroom!
I appreciate seeing a normal sized room in a normal sized house – great inspiration for me!
My friend Amy owns Fresh Vintage by Amy Soper and I saw her mention your products that is how I came by your blog!
Deanna
Just beautiful Marion! I love the wall behind the bed, so stunning!
Thank you for showing us that it is ok to make mistakes, and that it is really just paint.
That it is ok to change our minds. Your Hubby is super about the changes, give him and extra pat on the back.
A new bed does make a difference for our backs…
Nancy
Yes, that was inspiration indeed! There were a few incarnations of your room where for me personally, I would have stopped right there—you have great style! Thanks for highlighting that home design and decoration is an evolving process.
All I can say is “Wow”…I’ve changed mine over the years (wall colors and fabric choices) but never the furniture…guess I’ve never tired of mine; although I love looking at what you changed by painting and changing out the mirrors, etc. It just gives you a visual of how a simple change can have such impact. Thanks for sharing…love the look.
You give hope to those trying to get it right!
Oh my gosh that was an awesome, fun post. The part where your husband said, there should be pictures of him pulling his hair out made me laugh out loud. Soooo funny. I think alot of us have made the same mistakes trying to work with a budget and settling for things that weren’t quite right. I sure have, and it never works… When it’s right , you just know it.
Cindy
I HAVE to show this post to my precious hubby!!! Each year my style evolves and SOMETHINGS gotta give!! 😉 I just keep reminding him that we were SO young {and SO broke} when we got married that I’m finally starting to develop my style and have a true feel for the type of design I want to evoke! Thanks for the inspiration. I think you’ve truly NAILED it this time!! It’s amazingly PERFECT!!! xoxo, Brooke
the mauve and reds crack me up. just so not who you are now 🙂
Wow Marian! You sure did do it right this time.. It was so fun to see all the lessons and your decorative growth.. isn’t it funny how much our taste changes and our styles just finally evolve? So lovely. I have painted my dining room about 5 or 6 times.. and I’m finally {okay} with the color, but still not {in LOVE}. This was fun to see! I look forward to more! Jennifer
Hilarious post – this is making me feel much better about my own process of decorating. It seems it always takes many, many versions before I arrive at something I”m happy with… until I decide it needs to change. Husband does not understand it remotely.
Thanks for sharing, and the bedroom is looking divine!
That’s hilarious! What a ride it’s been for you! Thank you for sharing – I’m definitely going to show my husband to prove I’m not the only crazy (finicky) one with our home decor. 🙂
Wow, and I thought I changed mine a lot. Fun looking at all the changes and it looks super now.
What an evolution! I just love your bedroom now, gorgeous!
I can so relate sister! Loving what you’re doing now and enjoyed the evolution.
It is just amazing how your design style has evolved over time. It gives me hope!!
You certainly DID get it right this time…I love blue and white – although I did like the first rug you got at HomeGoods, I do like the neutral tufted wool rug you ended up with better…
Good job!
I am so happy to hear that I am not the only person who changes things so often. For me, it is because we don’t have a lot of money to spend so I find something that I kind of like but don’t love. I make due for awhile and then just like you, I NEED something different! Sometimes the hunt is fun (not so easy with a toddler anymore) but some days I wish I could just buy exactly what I wanted and not have to worry about the cost. I know that is not realistic for most people and certainly not for me. My poor husband though–I recently had 4 different dining room sets in our home in one month!! I am currently “making do” with a Craigslist find but it is not what I really want. Some day…
Thanks for your inspiration and making me feel a bit better knowing there are other people out there who make changes when possible–even if it seems a bit excessive to some. I say, change is good!
that is quite an evolution
Marian,
I love every one of your bedrooms! And I love that I am not the only one who stuggles to ‘get it right’. Your bedroom of today is simply divine and I am so very jealous. Glad it is coming together and making you happy!
By the way, I got my paint today! Yippeeeee! I ended up painting the table I had started with Luckette’s Green another color but am going to get a few new pieces at the acution tomorrow, so will send pics when I have something finished in that beautiful paint you sent! Thank you again for doing that!
Bev
I love this post, Marian! We have all been there. Sometimes you just have to try a lot of things before you find “the one.” But when you find it, you really know. Love your new direction…it’s gorgeous!
It may have been a journey to get there, but your room has evolved into a very, very lovely space. It’s absolutely gorgeous and screams MMS. I’ve been trying to redecorate my master bedroom for the last 2 years. I have come up with at least 7 schemes and sourced furntiure, paint, and fabric for each only to realize that I just don’t love it. Thankfully, I have FINALLY “figured it out” and hope to have a completed room shortly. Good grief.
I totally agree about the color blue. I painted my new master bedroom the prettiest color blue.
It is BM Paper white. Don’t let the name fool you, its blue… almost periwinkle on some days depending on the light. And I love it. The problem is every other color i try to introduce (like on bedding and upholstery) just dies on arrival. I do have a BP gold and light beige duvet cover that works but i feel like i am settling to make the color work and I am really not in the mood for gold drapes. But I am still stuck looking for window treatments and this has been going on for 15 months!!
So like you Miss M I have decided a new paint job is order. Something nice, neutral and NOT BLUE so my options will be more plentiful and easy to change when the mood strikes me. I will miss the color but not its limitations!!!!
Wow! I too have made some of your mistakes. Am getting ready to redo our bedroom so you have given me some very wonderful ideas. Thanks for sharing.
It’s nice to know we all make similar mistakes sometimes. I painted our bedroom three times and the third time I went back to get the paint the store owner made a friendly comment and I told him I was going to keep painting until I got it right. He told me that if I put on too many layers of paint the room will start to get smaller there will be so much paint on the walls 🙂 I haven’t painted it since!
Love your room now,
Julie
While reading this, I was totally thinking how I can’t wait to show this to my husband!!! Hahaha!!
The room now is fabulous!!! You totally got it right!! Way to go!!
It is so beautiful!!!! I love your style. I also love how your room looks inviting and warm. When you exhaust doing all the rooms in your home- I volunteer mine. : )
Hey Marian – what a beautiful room. Love the fabric wall. I am a lot like you when it comes to rooms I love and don’t love. My bedroom is one in which I have closed the door on…but I want so much to make it beautiful.
Can I ask you about your room – did it only have one window on the bed wall? That’s my problem.
My latest thought is to drape the entire wall with fabric and then make a header going across to hide the rods. Not sure – but I think it’s the best treatment for now.
Does your guest room have one window on the bed wall? To me it’s such a problem – don’t know why builders do that – one walled rooms!
Take care…and enjoy your beautiful bedroom!
Linda
.
i read this with my husband next to me and his words were…”you better not wat to change the room after we paint it.”..LOL of course our bedroom has lofted ceilings up into a loft so it’s going to be a bear to paint. I do’t think I’ll want to do it more than once either!
I see maturity in your design as the years have progressed. Money always plays a factor in what we can and can’t do sometimes, and I think you did the best you could do with what you had. Love the new look.
Thank you, Miss M! It is refreshing and encouraging to know that in order to get it right we don’t have to come up with a winning design the first time. Comparing my projects to the HGTV experts who look at a house, sketch a design, and end up with a “Voila! it’s perfect” room (all in 30 minutes) gets a little discouraging at times. You help us, yes, INSPIRE us to explore our own unique style… and make it fun again. Again, thank you.
That’s ALL I do is SPIN MY WHEELS…
I can’t get any traction!
You’ve changed your bedroom only 3 times that I personally remember, that is including this one…I’ve got two bedrooms, that have stayed over-crowdedly the same. (no. over-crowdedly hyphened or otherwise is not a word) But … you get my drift. don’t you?
Pat
I love this post! I feel a million times less guilty for changing things up constantly at my house.
I bought a new bed last Spring and I was ready for a change so I ordered a new bed from RH (19th C. Campaign Canopy White) a few weeks back.
It came this morning…..wooo-hoo!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey Marian, it happens that i just posted something about refurnishing my livingroom with exactly the same problems that you have with your bedroom!
Moving from one place to another leaves us with furniture and colors that no longer works in the new house. So, you start with a new color add some fabric and the result is just not what you want it to be so you (me) start again! You finished, with me? To be continued in my livingroom…..
Ha, so glad there are so many bloggers just like that!
Thanks for sharing!
Lots of love & hugs,
Maria
Oh my word – you are a real trooper, I don’t think I would have had the stamina to redo it so many times but … the final result is just to polished & right!
We all ‘make do & mend’ with things we don’t really want or love & to be able to just love your decor is so fabulous.
Thanks for the inspiration ….
I will gladly take that aqua tufted headboard off your hands. It would look really good in my guest room.
I love the latest version of your bedroom. So serene and beautiful.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who makes impulsive decorating decisions.
That’s a hoot! My entire house resembles your bedroom changes. Love the final one! Really beautiful!
This is one of my all-time fave posts! Evolution, is right! How interesting to see your taste develop over the years. LOVE the room now. And I think you could write a whole other book — with just THIS room as the topic!
Funny girl! My husband wishes it was only 5 or 6!
I have NO problem in other people’s homes…..zip…always have an idea for them. But my own? Oy Vey…on and on it goes! I have a girlfriend who is a real decorator…like with a degree …and she said it’s very common among even decorators, unless you have scads of $$ and can just have everything done. Otherwise even she struggles to do something she can afford that looks right. I am the opposite…maybe because I’ve been married so long and he’s HAD IT….LOL….I do nothing because it’s not what I really want….I even posted a funny story about how he got fed up with the bedroom that still had white PRIMER on the walls after EIGHT years…true…and painted the whole bedroom himself one weekend…..yellow….he likes yellow….I still haven’t figured out what to do with yellow…..sigh
This makes me feel so much better about my house! I find it really hard to give up on choices that were expensive but just aren’t working, especially when I don’t want to spend big bucks again to “get it right.” We have been in our home 13 years and it is definitely time for a refresh. Thanks for the encouragement!
It looks fabulous! I am so glad that I’m not the only one that changes things up. I always thought it was just that I liked so many different styles and ways of decorating, (which I do), but maybe I was just trying to “get it right”. I love your blog so much. Thanks for all the creative ideas and tutorials on how to do them.
I love it all so much, also, that black door is stunning…
I love all the different looks you went through & I truly understand trying to get it right . Having said that I am saddened by the fact that you didn’t feel you were able to get it right until you had a large chunk of money to spend. Yes the things are beautiful that you bought but where does that leave those who don’t have that kind of money? Your post left me feeling that other people are just going to have to struggle along with “make-do” things they don’t really like because they don’t have that almighty dollar. I would much rather have seen a post about turning the make-do things you had into something you truly loved i.e. stencil the design on the wall instead of buy fabric or paint & upholster a thrift shop bed into the same look as the bed you bought. It is being done beautifully on other blogs. I know it is much easier to just go out & buy what you want but I didn’t realize that is what your blog is about. Please don’t interpret this post as sour grapes because I have no money. That is not the case, I could go out & buy the exact room look I wanted without a second thought financially. I have actually done that many times, but I have come to realize that the creative process & work of making-do is much more fun & satisfying than simply spending money. I came here to look at your blog because I was thinking of buying your book. After reading this post I think I will save that money for something more in line with my own ideas.
My goodness. If you’ve read her blog very often you’ll realize that she gets a lot of things on Craig’s List and at tag sales and has even found stuff in the someone else’s trash.
Finally, she’s been able, through a lot of hard work, to get the room of her dreams. She also reuses pieces in other parts of the house.
I think your reply was rather mean and I don’t think she deserved that. She started out with a room that wasn’t her style, and we all change style along the way. I know I absolutely have gone from the blue/mauve scheme to green/grey.
I have her book and it’s full of yellow sticky notes where I can go back to pages I love.
Sorry you don’t get it.
Vicky, I see where you’re coming from, but I think you are making some incorrect assumptions. This room was put together on a very realistic budget, as is the rest of my home.
I bought the bed I’ve been dreaming about for years after it went on final clearance AND I sold other pieces of furniture to pay for it. I bought the fabric that was starched on the wall for 50% off plus a coupon code for free shipping. (I actually spent less on that fabric than I did on the materials for the half canopy.) We installed engineered hardwood floors instead of solid wood to keep it in our budget. The chandelier was bought for $50 at an antique store. The side tables were $25 and $35. The vanity is the same that was in the first picture and the mirror was free from my uncle. I could go on, but you get the idea.
All of this to show that getting this room right isn’t about having a lot of money to put into it. I love the challenge of “making do” and I’m proud of the fact that my furniture is slip covered in drop cloths and I paid $4.00 for my dining room chandelier at a yard sale.
You should only spend your time reading blogs you really love and if you aren’t inspired by mine, that’s okay. I respect that and wish you the very best, Vicky. I just didn’t want you (or anyone who reads your comment) to think that my point was one about money. A beautiful home can be achieved on any budget. I firmly believe that.
Marian, thank you so much for your reply to my post. Thank you also for the further explanation & financial breakdown of how you achieved this room look. This is much more consistent with the 1st impression I had of what your blog & book would be based on. Being a new reader of your blog the only information I had was that you bought a new bed, used a $1000.00 gift card to buy a rug & other pieces, installed hardwood floors in 2 rooms & bought a walls worth of fabric to get the look you wanted. The extra information & detail make all the difference in my understanding. It is that kind of detail that I am looking for in a blog. I am a single woman & recently retired firefighter trying to fix up a 100 year old house on a retirement income. In the past I had the money to buy what I wanted if I budgeted well. Not so much anymore so I am learning building skills & all the frugal decorating tricks I can. You are obviously a very successful & admired blogger with a huge following so I was hoping to learn from you. I am sorry if I was offensive in my post.
Thanks for the follow up, Vicky. I really appreciate it. I think we all go through seasons when we have to pinch every penny and times when we can spend money on luxuries. You just caught me in a time when I made some changes in my business and can finally spend some money on my own home. 🙂 Thanks for giving me the chance to let me share more about my room.
Can not tell you how happy it makes me to hear your story! I feel better about my evolving style trying to get right!
THANK YOU!
I love your room!
Thank you so much for sharing this. My family makes jokes about my house losing square footage because there are so many coats of paint on the walls! It’s good to know I’m not alone.
Your bedroom looks so beautiful!
You know, at first I was thinking WOW that’s way too much mental effort/time/$$ spent and then I thought…… that IS over the course of 6 years so a once a year really isn’t that bad… And anyway, it’s gorgeous now so maybe let this newest change last for at least two years (ha!) and you’re right about how if I showed my boyfriend this post he would be thankful!
Marion- Your bedroom looks beautiful. Blessings
I love seeing the evolution of the whole thing! It’s amazing how everything gets better with time! 🙂 Including our personal selves! It all makes my back hurt just thinking about all the work. Great inspiration!
What an amazing transformation and journey you have gone through the years. I believe some of us are doing the same . I am not in love with my bed . It is too chunky . Your bedroom makeover turned out beautifully.
I love your post. You do indeed have a patient husband. My husband is a retired painter. He wont let me paint my room cuz he thinks I’m too messy, but he also wouldn’t paint my room that many times . We’ve lived here 30 years, He has wall papered for me, Removed the wall paper, painted and painted and remodeled too.
Thanks for the post, I had a lot of fun reading it.
Loved all your bedrooms, especially the last!!
Beautiful transformation! I absolutely love this post and will definitely share it with my husband! Your talent is amazing!! Love looking at what you’re up to next!!
Angela
Yes, an understanding husband may be an understatement! But a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do! I hope you love it for a long time and I’ll bet your husband’s hoping for the same thing!
Cheers!,
Barbara
It is so fun to look back and see how your style evolves, and your choices change. I know that I too evolve, but thankfully you are ahead of’me to lend inspiration. I do love this new look, reminds me of my grandma’s porch(this sounds stupid, I know), but that was one of the happiest places on earth for me:)
I have to chuckle at your many changes. It makes me remember my parents and how my mother moved the bedroom furniture around so many times that he said he learned never to go to bed without first turning on the light to make sure the bed was in the same spot as when he awoke!!!!!
I think you did it “right” this time.
Hi Marian
I so love reading your blogs. It’s like chatting with a good friend over the fence. Your sense of humor and the comments about your hubby pulling his hair out made me laugh. I could write a book of my own on all the dumb things I’ve done in the decorating arena. Like you said, live and learn. Keep writing. All your readers including me look forward to seeing what you have to say every day.
And… the bedroom is fantastic so you DID get it right this time!
wHAT A GORGEOUS BEDROOM – YOU ARE SO TALENTED!!!!
Transparency is good for the soul…and very entertaining to read! I think you got it right!
Marian, the bedroom is looking gorgeous! I love that fabric so much! But I have to tell you, the canopy that you and your husband did was one of the first things I fell in love with on your blog. The other was your beautiful guest room – that became one of MY inspirations for my own bedroom!
I SO enjoy your posts. It’s very fun & interesting to see the “Many Lives of the Master”.
I love your vanity and the drawers painted white with the blue. It’s like watching a young teenage girl grow & development into a beautiful woman. I love the Blue fabric on the wall — do you have a tutorial on how you did that?
Do you feel like you get to end every day in this Gorgeous room — Like the perfect HOTEL Suite?
I am learning something new each day by reading your blog & tutorials.
Thanks,
Wow I thought my hubby was patient but I think yours’ takes the cake. I need to show this to mine so he will see how easy he actually had it!!! It looks lovely Marian. I just received some MMS chalk paint to redo an armoire in our bedroom. I will have to send you a pic when it’s finished 🙂
I don’t feel so bad now, I’ve been trying to get my master bedroom “right” for about 3 years!! In the middle of another paint color as I type! I just want it done finally. Lol. Love the highboy in the room, I just bought a small one that looks just like it on Sunday! I can not wait to give it some love and set her next to my bed!! Your room looks great!!!
Thank you so much for this REAL post. Honestly, every time I read your blog, I am inspired. Decorating, like life, is based on trial, error, and triumphs. I think your most current makeover is nothing short of stunning. Thanks again for sharing!
I like your decorating style. I really love that you get painting fiurniture. But, what keeps me reading your blog, is that you keep it real. I too, like to paint. I get exercise moving my furniture and I swoon over fabric. But knowing you have slept with mauve walls, knowing that you gave up a career in theater, and that you know how to stretch a dollar……is what keeps this blog honest. Making it better is never bad, but sharing the trials as well as the glory, is what keeps this mom coming back.
the creative process, yes. this sounds very familiar. i do this with knitting. with rug hooking. with furniture painting. and with decorating. i almost dreaded redoing our kitchen and adding on a studio simply because i felt sure that i would not get it right. i really wanted to find a house that i liked as is rather than try to make it into “my dream”. and now that we did build and redo, i like it all, but do i love it? it still needs something… i hope that i can figure it out.
Too funny and all too familiar! Regarding redecorating, then redecorating, the husband of one of my best friends told her….after witnessing many, many changes in wall decor…” If you put one more nail in that wall I believe it will crumble down!”
🙂
Yep, I can relate. Painted my dining room strawberry creme and should have painted it Merlot! Got my bedroom the right colors but having a problem finding the right quilt pattern, ah well, live and learn!
So much fun to look back and see where you have been and what progress you have made to where you are today. Looking better all the time. We learn by doing.
Blessings,
Audrey Z.
Timeless Treasures
Love, love, love the honesty! I also hate to stop with a room that I am not happy with. Thanks for sharing – love the new room – and the floors – and the fabric!
Absolutely wonderful. Just beautiful! You should be so proud of yourself for not giving up. We finally bought our dream bed as well from RH. Just have a cheap set of sheets and blanket until we can find bedding we love. Curious what bedding you have? Can’t wait to see your room completed!
I’d say you got it right this time – Practice makes perfect!
Not every husband has as much patience as yours – he’s a keeper! You are a very lucky lady!
Thanks for sharing your journey in decorating with us, Marion. You are so inspiring to me and I appreciate your honesty in the “mistakes” you made along the way. I am glad to know that I am in good company as I have done the same things. I love the fabric you have chosen. Can’t wait to see the whole room.
Love the evolution. One question: have you written a tutorial on how to make the half-canopy? I have had the fabric to do that for years (and a ton of pictures clipped and filed), but my extreme left-brain tendencies make me want specific step-by-step instructions as opposed to winging it. That, and I don’t want to waste my fabric making a mistake. 🙁 I only have a limited amount and I won’t be able to purchase more of the same colorway or pattern. I have searched the web and haven’t found what I am looking for in regard to a how-to. Do I see the writing of a new tutorial in your future, or can you direct me to a good link that can help this girl out? I have an ugly, odd window I need to block. Thanks!
You’re so brave! Sometimes my biggest problem is getting started, actually having to make a decision practically stops me in my tracks. This year is the year though and I’m starting with the bathroom!! Call me crazy … and much thanks for sharing your ideas alway.
I can feel your pain… we just purchased this house last summer and I’ve painted the living room and 1 wall in the dining room twice, and master bath twice (and hate it). I’m on the second set of curtains in the master bedroom and 3rd quilt. I’ve had two sets of drapes for the living and dining rooms and getting ready to order a third… and I’ve still got an entire floor of the house I haven’t even started on! I think I need help…
Smiled all the way through reading this blog post – both with you and at myself! My husband is a keeper and has come to expect me to paint and repaint a room at least three times before I get the ‘shade’ I’m after. He says the first go around is just the primer!
It is incredibly difficult when you have some vision in your head, but you can’t quite get the reality in sync with the vision. It all seems so perfect as you start to build it, and then you step back and have to admit to yourself that it’s not quite right.
Creativity is full of failures. I love that the creative process is always evolving. I love that I can come home from a long day of work and log on to your blog to tap into my own creativity and feel soothed to be grounded in something that has so much energy and passion.
LOVE it!!! I still haven’t gotten my bedroom figured out. I love alot about it…the paint color and the way I am going, but it’s just too much furniture in it. Such a small space. Not sure what to get rid of or how to make it all work in there. I’m thinking about painting the floor with ASCP, too. I painted it a peachy yellow (oops paint) when we first moved in, and it just doesn’t really go. Maybe summer, if I can EVER get the nerve to move that furniture out!
LOVE the wall paper. I had my dad wallpaper my half bath and absolutely LOVE it. It is colonial/victorian looking and just REALLY made that room come alive. Good paper is so worth it in the right places!!
Love what you do and how you encourage. Love your advice, too. So helpful!!!
I think it is only natural for a room to go through many experimental decor phases,
And more than a few coats of paint!
Because I believe through our paint trials and errors
we truly learn exactly what we like and what we don’t like!
Our tastes and needs change over time too.
I love the evolution of your bedroom!
Looking forward to seeing more….
Smiles,
Kathleen
I just love where this has led you. I too seem to have hit a few speed bumps along the way to exactly what we want. I do have a question in relation to the shutters that you have on display. I currently have cedar shutters in our bedroom and would love to change them to looking old maybe with a little scrap of paint here and there. Do you have any suggestions on how I could achieve that look. I don’t want to start with the possibility that I could wreck them. Any help will be gratefully received.
I will have to tell my husband about this post. He would sympathize with your husband about the changes. Your bedroom is beautiful and it is so you, it goes along with the rest of the changes you have made in your home. Our house has gone through many color changes, our bedroom has at least 7 different coats of paint on it. When I thought I had our bedroom just the perfect shade of glaze, we put the room back in order. BUT, I told my husband the next morning that the walls were keeping me up, I could not keep it that way. So back into the middle of the room went the furniture, three coats of paint later and I love it and 10 years later I still love it.
Thank you so much for this post, Marian! I’ve been reading your blog for a while and am so drawn to your style. I’ve never really cared about decor until about a year ago, though, and the more I read your blog (and a few others) the more I realize my bedroom especially does not reflect who I am at all! But I’m a priest’s wife with six children so any progress I make will be very slow due to financial limitations and limits on the amount of time I can spend tweaking things. It helped so much to see your bedroom transition and know that I don’t have to gut the room and start over. I’ve seen the “before” shot but thought maybe that was the picture you had of the house when it was on the market and it was someone else’s furniture and style. 🙂
Finally, someone who admits things don’t always come about right the first time (second, third, or fourth!)…tell your husband he must pass his patience on to other men. I have been working on my dining room for over a year, now! How hard could that be? Well, to get it just the way I want it may take several more tries. Hope my hubby is up for it!
Your bedroom looks great! I’m pretty sure my Hubs would have lost his mind!
My bedroom has been going through a similar journey over the past 12 years. This is the year that I am going to get it right! Thanks for the encouragement! Life to the full, Melissa
Wow! Love the transformation. It inspires me to keep plugging away at getting my bedroom just the way I want it. 🙂
Fantastic post! I love seeing the transformation of your bedroom from when you first bought your home til now. I’m loving how this final makeover is coming out.
You just posted my life!!!! With everything in my house. Why is it that I have no problem decorating other people’s houses, but mine is nearly impossible. Not to mention that my house is so weird that I cannot move furniture. How frustrating is that!!!!
Love the vintage chenille, use it all summer long in my home. Thanks for being so honest, makes me feel more secure about the “process”. It is so intimidating to see the finished project and to know how many steps, false and otherwise, you took is so encouraging. Your room is lovely.
SERIOUSLY!!! I am now changing my bedroom paint colors because I HATE the pale mint green that looks more like baby nasty on the walls. UGH!!! I have a tendency to go with something because it’s cheap and I have no money and an out of work husband. I’ve decided I’m better off leaving things alone until I can literally save my pennies and find something I can’t live without. Even if that something is a goodwill item that needs paint.
Oh Marion, thank you so very much for showing us the transition of your room. I can honestly say that I LOVE what it is becoming. I have to admit our home is a work in progress right now. I know the direction I want to take (am taking) but it is all a matter of time and finances. So we are doing things slowly… and saving up. Do I like the area rug in the living room? Nope but it was a quick fix (new rug at goodwill…. seriously inexpensive… lasted 3 years so far…) for a problem area. Right now we are using paint… between the walls and the furniture, well it is coming along. Now to figure out how to reupholster a partially upholstered headboard. I LOVE the headboard but not the dark leather so much. It reminds me of yours…. 🙂
Once again thank you for sharing! Have a wonderful week! Happy Valentine’s Day!
What a comforting post!!!!! I’ve made so many decorating mistakes over the 27+ years we’ve been here. I’ll keep working at it.
I always love it when you take us down memory lane of where you started and where you are now! It is always so inspiring. I have made SOOOOO many mistakes and wrong turns in our almost 5 year decorating adventure!!
I still remember your mirrored side table project on your blog- whatever happened to those??
Thanks for sharing- it’s nice to know that you share the same dilemmas a lot of us do! 😉
Thanks so much for the post and for sharing how your bedroom evolve. I was just thinking I should repaint and then buy bedding. Now I know I should do the other way around. You save me future headache. Thanks!!!
I loved your blog post. It is so fun to see the progression, even if it did take years. That’s how real people do it. We try, try and try again until we finally get it right. Thanks for sharing!
I love this post!! It gives me the hope that I too will one day get my bedroom right!!
Marian, I too love this most. It reminded me of me! and made me laugh.
I must say wow that room has co e a long way! Love the ceiling and everything in there- only suggestion I’d say is add some Crown Molding and it’s set!
One of my favorite posts Marian!!!! You know I’ve looong admired your talents and home, but this behind the scenes expo lets me feel a bit better about my own struggles as well. Thank you for being so open and sharing all your skills and lessons learned. That is truly inspirational and makes me want to keep at my own bedroom and living room. If only my hubby was half as patient as yours! Still hoping you’ll squeeze out some time for a visit w/your family this spring (between all your tour dates). Congrats again on ALL you’ve created and prayers sent for safe travels!
xoxo
Leslie
This is the most amazing Bedroom. It is everything I like!!!
I love the lamps just the way they are…I agree with you that they don’t pop anymore against the blue print; however, you could put a mirror behind each of them and then they would pop & would give off a beautiful romantic glow.
I am constantly making mistakes…but I will get there someday. Thank you so much for sharing!