A few of you have asked to see the full reveal of how our master/primary bedroom makeover turned out, so I am sharing all of the details in today’s post.  Since we’ve been living with this finished bedroom since the summer of 2020, I don’t really think about sharing it, but I’ve only shown little peeks and previews of the room and not the completed space.  I wanted to save that for my book, Feels Like Home.  There are tons of tips about decorating a bedroom as well as different photos of the room in the book, but I wanted to show some before & after pictures as well as resources & links to tutorials together all in one place.

So, here is the final result of the bedroom makeover!  Well, for now.  You know how room makeovers go.  They are done until they are ready to be redone or tweaked or fluffed, or overhauled!  This room feels very finished, though…timeless, inviting, soothing.

 bed crown hardware

Here is how this room looked shortly after we moved in.  We replaced the ceiling fan with a chandelier and moved the furniture in from our last bedroom.  This room was enormous compared to our room in our PA house, so the scale of our furniture wasn’t really working.  This room was clearly designed for a king-sized bed so our pieces looked small and weren’t filling the space.  I was used to decorating cozy and snug rooms, so this was very new and I struggled with it for a while.

The first big change we made was to upsize to a king bed and paint the walls in Stonington Gray, which was the start of my affection for that color.

Sadly, the bed frame is no longer available.  I bought it on final clearance at Arhaus, which meant I got a fantastic deal, but it sold out quickly and is no longer available.  Because of the high footboard, the bed is a little hard to photograph, but it feels just right for the size and shape of the room.  For practical reasons, I love having a substantial footboard because it prevents covers from sliding off the end.

I sold the washstand that was an ideal size to use as a side table in our last bedroom and purchased and painted a consignment store dresser for Jeff to use as a new side table.  The scale was much better for the room, and it provided a little more storage.  You can read about that dresser makeover HERE.

painted dresser tutorial | mirror

The fabric bed crown above the bed fills up the space between the tall headboard and the ceiling.  That was a tricky part of this master bedroom makeover.  The space above the bed is a long, narrow space, and nothing I tried above the headboard seemed to work.  Rectangle items seemed to fight with the curve of the headboard, and a collection of smaller items seemed off in relation to the visual weight of the bed.  The fabric bed crown gives a European look that I just love and fills that odd space nicely. The blue check keeps it from looking overly frilly.

The mirrors and chunky oversized lamps fill the visual space on either side of the bed.  Our lights are on remotes, so we don’t have to have them right next to the bed to be able to turn them on and off.

The wall opposite the bed has stayed mostly the same since we moved in.  I made a linen slipcover for the chaise and added an antique side table and lamp to make this corner an inviting area to sit and read.  We also installed picture frame molding to add some architectural detail to the walls, which helped this room look less like a large box.

linen slipcover tutorial | picture frame molding tutorial | craigslist French wardrobe

I hunted for just the right piece to put under the window, and I honestly wasn’t really sure what that would be.  I imagined it might be a bench, settee, or daybed, but I knew I would know it when I spotted it.  I was browsing on Facebook Marketplace one day and saw an antique Jenny Lind day bed, and that was it.  I knew it was the right piece and, best of all, it was only $100.

Facebook Marketplace find antique Jenny Lind daybed | custom daybed cushion | curtain tutorial

It fills out the window area perfectly, and it’s a great place to put pillows from the bed, folded clothes, laundry baskets, etc.  Of course, it’s a nice sunny spot for the kitties to nap, too.  And, as a bonus, I picked up the daybed from a beautiful local home that I ended up photographing for Feels Like Home.

On the awkward wall between the closet and bathroom, I hung a pair of antique shutters and placed a Melodeon case that was a $40 yard sale find.  I needed a piece that wouldn’t cover the air vent, so this unique find was a good fit.

painted rocking horse | ottoman slipcover tutorial

Our master bedroom makeover was a meandering process.  There were times when I was certain of a direction and other times when I felt a little lost.  I have learned over the years that when I am floundering, I can just wait.  As long as we have a comfortable place to sleep and a place to store our stuff, it’ll be just fine.  All of the pretty stuff can come when it comes.

As far as the details of the room, I made and customized a lot of things as I normally do.  I made almost all of the pillow shams, the curtains, the bed crown, and the slipcovers. I painted, fixed, and/or refinished most of the furnishings.  Making custom pieces is the best way I can get the look I envision while staying within a set budget.  While sometimes I dislike sewing and grow impatient with things that are undone, I mostly enjoy the process.  I find it fulfilling to see a room come together piece by piece.  A thousand little decisions accumulate to become a room that is specifically ours.

framed baby dress tutorial

If you’re working on a bedroom makeover, I hope you find some nuggets of inspiration you can use in your own home.  If you’d like more ideas, instruction, inspiration, and encouragement for customizing all of the rooms in your house, you’d enjoy my book Feels Like Home.