The master bedroom was the first room we worked on when we moved into this house. Literally, on day one, mom and I were pulling off wallpaper. We were going to have hardwood floors installed, and I wanted to get the walls stripped and painted before that happened, so that we could have a clean slate. I didn’t want to look at to-dos while I was trying to get to sleep. We worked hard and got the wallpaper and glue removed in a couple of days, followed by primer and paint. I’ve done a few other things in this room since, like make curtains and paint the trim, but this room has never really been finished. It’s been done enough while I worked on other projects that felt like a higher priority. A clean slate can wait a while.
The benefit of waiting is that it gives me time to really get to know the room and make more deliberate decisions. I’ve waffled around between putting colors on the wall, slipcovering the head and foot boards, adding wainscoting, painting a tonal mural, and a few other ideas. Maybe one of these days I’ll settle on a decision and put it into action, but for now, I like to give this room little updates to keep it feeling fresh.
This past week, I hung some plates over the bed. I had an arrangement of antlers and plates, but I ended up taking them down because Esmé likes the climb on the headboard and bats at things hanging on the wall. The plates would fall behind the bed because it’s a few inches from the wall, but there was a possibility the antlers would bounce off the headboard and skewer me in my sleep. That is not how I want to leave this earth, so I removed the antlers, leaving bare nails on the wall for almost a year. It’s funny how particular I am about some things, yet I will leave bare nails over my headboard for that long!
A part of it is that this headboard is high, and it creates an oddly-shaped space to fill between the headboard and the ceiling. I was weighing some options, but I never settled on anything. Last week, I decided a small arrangement of plates was better than bare nails.
linen sheets | quilt | velvet lumbar pillow | wool-blend rug | block print throw quilt
I also added a colored quilt from Quince. For years, I have just used white and cream quilts, but I decided to add a muted green in the mix. I love how it adds just a little bit of visual warmth against the neutral headboard and white walls. THIS is the quilt I got in Willowleaf.
Even without bigger decisions being made, I need to finish a few things in this room, such as installing quarter round and painting the trim around the windows (it’s just primed), so I’ll put that on my fall/winter project list. And I’ll continue to ponder what changes I might want to make in this room. It took me a few years to get the master bedroom in our Minnesota house finished, so I’m about right on schedule!
Of course, I’m also enjoying limelight hydrangea season! I cut a couple of bouquets and didn’t even make a dent. I’m definitely going to pull the leaves off and dry some of them. You can find a blog post about drying hydrangeas HERE.
14 Responses
I moved into my current house just over two years ago, and I am still pondering decorating options with the main part of the house. All my energy went into working on the basement that we finished. I also have bare nails on the wall of my master bedroom, left by the previous owner!!
Yep, I’m right there with you. You can’t do it all and can only focus on so many projects at a time. The nails can wait for another day…
I hope these closeups-only and no wide views of the room mean what I think they mean! (A new book coming??)
A new book is coming, but it’s not on home decorating. 🙂 This room is a little skinny, so it’s hard to get wider shots like I was able to in our last house.
Your bedroom is beautiful just like the remainder of your home and always has been. I have been in my current home for over 2 years and have yet to hang a picture! I just have a phobia almost about putting holes in the walls. I know there are other things you can use, but I have not had great success with those either.
Goodness— my Fella gets positively apoplectic when I want to hang something! We’ve been in our house 6 yrs and I’m still staring at a blank wall across from the bed🤯
Cathy R that makes me feel so much better!! Thank you!
So funny! I can sometimes get paralyzed about hanging things on the wall and then, other days, I just go for it! There’s always spackle and touch-up paint.
And now I wish I had hung on
To my First Communion dress; it was really gray from being in a closet and I was afraid to wash it. I haven’t to a friend who was going to use kit in a display in a shop.
I haven’t regrets about how drastically I down sized parts of me when I moved
I love the color of your bed spread.
The room looks lovely.
That room is so pretty! I don’t usually decorate with green after getting burned out from all the hunter green I used in my house everywhere in the 90’s, but that sage green is beautiful. I might have to add some back in.
Thank you! And yes, I remember that hunter green. It was all the rage. It’s funny how certain colors can feel like a specific decade.
Being skewered in your sleep by falling antlers is never a good way to go. Love the touches you added to your room. It’s comfortable, warm, cozy and relaxing.
Yeah, that’s how I saw it. 😂