A Modern Eclectic Master Bedroom: New Year New Room Refresh Challenge

Happppppy New Year!!

It’s hard to believe 2017 came to a close and all the doctors out there will still date their narcotic prescriptions xx/xx/17 instead of xx/xx/18.  #pharmacistproblems

I’ll (hopefully) be writing a 2017 reflection post later this week and share the top 5 posts from last year.  There’s one project that is just wildly popular (more than I would have ever predicted) AND I exceeded 1 million pageviews over the course of the year.  Craziness.  Thank you for following along 🙂

I am truly a procrastinator in nearly everything I do.  I wait until the last minute to do everythingggg.  Like, I’m writing this post Tuesday morning when I’ve known for 2 months that this challenge started today.  I waited until the day of Liam’s Christmas concert to run around and look for nice clothes for him.  I waited until 12/20 to order any Christmas presents at all.

But, the thing about all that waiting and procrastinating is that once I do have a deadline, what “it” is gets done.  I’m not missing a deadline.

And this, my friends, is why I’m jumping into this challenge called The New Year New Room Refresh Challenge.  I just like the word “challenge” in general.  It gets me all excited to compete and have a deadline and get something, ANYTHING done in this house.  We are so, so, so close to finally having the life we have wanted to have the past 6 years.  To not having to choose between renovating and finishing our house over spending time together as a family.  That’s the biggest thing for me.  This family.  So, I know the next couple months are going to be awful, horrible, lots of tears, lots of stress.  But, there’s a deadline and it’s going to get done.  We *need* this.

For the challenge, I chose the room in our house that is the least finished.  Aside from the kitchen (which will hopefully be finished soon!) and master bathroom (which will probably never get done and brings a whole different level of stress that I’m trying to block out right now).  And that’s our MASTER BEDROOM!

This room has been a holding area for everything we don’t have room for.  And you guys, I didn’t clean it at all before I took these “before” photos.  I made sure there was no underwear lying around but that’s it.  This room is a hot mess.  I also didn’t edit them at all or trade out the yellow lights for something nicer.  So, this is truly the hottest of hot messes.

We’re on the 3rd floor so we walk up these stairs to our room.  And down them in the middle of the night 100 times for Evie.

Once upstairs, you’re greeted with this beautiful sight.

Door on the left is to the “bathroom” and door on the right is to my husband’s closet.

The room is actually bigger than it looks in the pictures.  The oversized furniture really makes it feel so much smaller.  The entire area shown in the picture below needs to be reworked.  Getting rid of one dresser and moving the desk perhaps where the tall dresser is or maybe under the sloped ceiling will free up some much needed space.

We have a queen sized bed and don’t plan on getting a new mattress right now (though, we really will need one soon).  But, that bed needs to go.  As do the end tables. Something smaller, more cozy, comfortable, casual.  I can’t wait to get new bedding (ours is so gross) and throw some pretty pillows on top.

I couldn’t decide if I should leave the cedar planked wall the way it was.  It’s always bothered me because the plain boards were installed incorrectly so they just don’t fit.  I could have just painted those 2 boards and gone with it.  That would just be too easy 😉

The last space is currently where we pile clothes.  Well, one of the spaces we pile clothes.  I can’t quite decide what I want to do here.  I wish it was just a bit bigger so I could make a small seating area but I think that would just make the room feel smaller.

We actually just had my sister’s boyfriend paint the room Simply White by Benjamin Moore.  I LOOOOOVVVEEE it.  Of course, anything is better than what it was before…which I don’t actually have a picture of.  Just think of the brightest most obnoxious blue you’ve ever seen.  That’s about it.

Now, I could just finish off the baseboards, trim around the feature wall, paint the doors, and do the rest of the odds and ends in there.  That would just be too easy.

This room has so much potential but it’s just overshadowed by lack of functionality and giant, oversized furniture.  It needs to be organized, simplified, and pretty-fied.  Yes, I’m making up words.  I’m in my happy place when I can design and redo a space and yeah, I need that right now.  It took a bit of convincing to get TJ on board.  I’m actually not 100% sure that he is, in fact, on board or if he’s just imagining shooting lasers out of his eyes at me while I chat incessantly about plans for the space.

I haven’t quite solidified the design plan just yet.  I’m imagining a modern, clean space with some boho/eclectic decor mixed in.  The main theme is “simplified”.

Here are things need to be done (that are boring):

1. Paint the feature wall
2. Trim the feature wall
3. Finish baseboards
4. Install floor bullnose pieces then burn every other piece of that crappy floor we own
5. Install little wood piece things around posts for railing
6. Figure out the door situation and paint and install doors
7. Clean and declutter
8. List bed/end tables/dresser on Craigslist

Here are thing that need to be done (that are fun!):

1. Pick out a new bed
2. DIY or find new end tables
3. Switch out sconces
4. DIY a light going up the stairs (my personal favorite DIY for the space)
5. Add oversized frames going up the stairs
6. Make a gallery wall for behind the bed
7. Pick out some rugs (yes, multiple)
8. Organize the desk area, make that functional
9. Switch out the hardware on the dresser we’re keeping
10. Find a fun, modern way to display my husband’s Star Wars legos or throw them out the window when he’s not looking
11. DECORATE (YESSSSSSS)

The best part about this challenge is that I can do most of this stuff myself.  I don’t like asking for help so I’m excited to challenge myself and my design “skills” to get most of the space. Heck, you may even see me carrying a dresser down the stairs and outside.  You never know.  I get to do something I love and not take much time or energy away from the stuff that still needs done around our house.  I’ll still need TJ for the boring checklist items above and to keep me sane.

You may think we’re crazy to take on a renovation right now.  And maybe we are.  Probably.  I just love the idea behind the challenge. It’s stated best on her website:

Every New Year’s eve, I tell myself that I will definitely makeover that one space that has been a little neglected or ignored the previous year.  For years I kept putting it off hoping that I’d have the time to do it later.  Well, I’ve learned that the space or room will NEVER be done unless I give myself a deadline!  So, the New Year New Room Refresh Challenge began as a way to make sure that I accomplished at least one of those room refreshes.  It felt wonderful to finally check off one of my to-do things and even better to begin the New Year with a beautiful, refreshed space.

LOVE that.  And it’s so true.  If there’s no deadline, it’s not getting done in a reasonable amount of time.  Plus, I need something to focus on something that isn’t the endless list of to-do’s that is this house.  When it’s really bad, I wish we had never bought this house.  I so envy people that can intentionally choose family time without having the guilt and to-do list looming over their head.  I’m not talking like doing the dishes and laundry.  We still have that stuff.  It’s the entire bathroom RENOVATION, the patch of drywall that needs finished IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HALLWAY NEXT TO THE KIDS’ ROOMS, the seams in the beadboard in our main bathroom that make my skin crawl, the pieces of baseboard that fall off the wall whenever I walk, the giant hole in our basement floor, etc, etc, etc, etc.

The light at the end of the tunnel is there.  However distant and faint it may be.  We are so close to a Saturday morning of sitting around drinking coffee snuggled on the couch watching TV, without the home renovation list sitting like a weight on top.  So close.

I’ve been scouring Pinterest for modern + eclectic bedroom inspiration (you can see what I’m pinning here) and this is {in general} the look I’m going for.

I love how cozy this bedroom from Chris Loves Julia is.  The bed is neutral and fluffy with simple art and a modern feel.  Definitely drawing from this room for inspiration!

House of Jade Interiors knocked it out of the park with this room! The beige bed has my heart, along with the fun, colorful pillows!

Don’t have room for a bed of that size but a big YES to everything else! The fringy rug and neutral color palette is perfect.

Can’t get enough of this gallery wall in Chris Loves Julia’s master bedroom! Hoping to do something similar in ours. I love their dark wall, too but going for a lighter, brighter style in ours (since we lack for natural light)

I’m really planning on challenging myself with DETAILS for the bedroom. Getting all the tiny stuff right, getting it to match with “matching”, and having everything flow together perfectly. That’s what I want. Aren’t the details in this picture amazing?

Next week, I’ll share my design plan that will be solidified by then.  Hopefully.  Maybe.

Wishing you a joyful day!