Timing is everything, and that’s also true in design. A little over a year ago, in April, to be exact, I revealed my first Makeover Takeover–my bedroom. I had moved into my place a few months prior and was so excited to have the opportunity to design my room from the ground up, so soon after moving in. It felt like perfect timing. I was (and still am) absolutely in love with how the space turned out. I scored some incredible furniture pieces from Article (a sick storage bed, the coolest floating headboard, and the dresser of my dreams), plus enough fabric to completely cover my walls and then some. It was awesome! But a year and two months of living in a space, even in a room you LOVE, can tend to reveal some things. Namely, how wrong I was in making the smaller room my bedroom, with the stubbed toes to prove it. I consider myself lucky to reside in a two-bedroom apartment, where both rooms are mine to do with as I please. When I moved from my last spot, “more livable space” was high on my wishlist. I’d had a garage previously, which was AWESOME but very dangerous. Not in the sense that anything could harm me (except maybe the rats, damp/crumbling walls, and broken/exposed pipes…okay maybe it was a little dangerous). But when you have a ton of extra space, especially the kind disconnected from daily life (a garage), it is alarmingly easy to fill it with extra stuff. And for me, that is very dangerous. (Later this week, Em will dive into an assessment of her own stuff, which is initially what inspired me to take a closer look at mine, so definitely check that out when it’s live!) When I had the garage, I was working a variety of freelance creative jobs and was heavily into flipping furniture and selling vintage decor on Facebook Marketplace. Having a workshop space was ideal and necessary for how I made a living. But soon enough, I started working for Em, and that garage space just wasn’t needed anymore. And yet somehow I convinced myself that most of what lived inside still was. A handful of unfinished projects, paint cans with some life left (debatable), a huge collection of vintage wares (and soooo much more) came with me to the new spot. When it was time to choose which room would serve as my bedroom and the other as my “studio”, it made more sense to me at the time to pile my mountains of crap into the larger space, thinking I would eventually turn it into a state-of-the-art creative zone and office, with plenty of room to spread out and work. Fast forward a bit, and I can barely walk inside. The in-home studio I envisioned earned its new name, The Doom Room, in record time. A place where all of my extra things went to die, disappearing out of sight and out of mind as soon as I shut the door. No systems, all chaos. And when chaos lives next door, even the dreamiest of bedrooms will begin to suffocate you. After a year in my beautiful room, I began to feel the walls closing in, and not because of the wallpaper, no complaints there–but the lack of wiggle room, in both spaces. My storage bed is so functional, but not if the drawers will only open when all of the dresser drawers across it are closed. Then there’s my clothes closet–the true catalyst for the switch up. If hang up one more romper, and I promise you that wooden rod will SNAP. I literally have to fist fight my t-shirts daily to get them back behind closed doors. And I’m sick of it!! Sick of traversing the narrow walkways of my tiny room, carved out by my big, beautiful bed. Sick of the piles of stuff ignored next door, filling the room with more and more doom every second. Sick of the overall lack of breathing room, accidental injuries, and impenetrable wall of garments. Caitlin’s closet confidential had awoken something in me. Em’s recent prop/carriage house assessment inspired me. Tripping one too many times in both of my rooms drove me insane enough to need a change. Sometimes you really just have to empty everything out, take stock, trim alllll the fat and put back only what’s really important to you, with care (and a bit of a cut-throat mentality) while trying your darnedest not to add more stuff to the stuff. Then step-and-repeating every few years because consumerism has us in a chokehold, and this is a lesson I never seem to be done learning. So that’s my plan! This is the official kick-off of my MOTO: Take 2. A reassessment. And my first step is to purge. My neighborhood is having a garage sale this weekend, and it’s the perfect opportunity (hell yes, deadline) to decide what really deserves to take up space in my life and home. Then it’s another small room challenge–this time a guest room/office that is actually useable and inspired. I want to live in a livable space! My biggest priority is having a bedroom I can actually walk around in, and plenty of room to sit back and admire the pieces I love so much, with the ability to use the drawers (all of them, at the same time) without stubbing my damn toe! I don’t have a solid design plan for either space. Concepts of a plan, sure. What I know for a fact is that all of the major elements of my first MOTO design will live on. I will not be parting ways with my bedroom furniture, only migrating it. I am not exaggerating when I say: these are some of the best pieces I’ve ever owned and still look as good as the day I got them. The headboard, storage bed, and dresser–they’ll live on in the bigger room for a chance to really shine! I will also NOT be touching the wall fabric in the smaller room. This hasn’t budged since the day I installed it (a year ago! With just liquid starch, a bucket, and a paint roller!), and I don’t intend to remove it anytime soon. But it’s totally renter-friendly, and when I am ready to take it down, I can re-use the fabric elsewhere (shameless DIY post plug)! I actually can’t fathom designing a space without adding a little DIY mojo to the mix. The wall fabric is the foundation of the smaller room, so it should be a fun challenge for me to pick pieces that work well with the existing vibe. But the DIY element in my new bedroom is yet to be determined. One big idea on the brain is: stencils. I’ve been vision boarding a lot lately and find myself continuously drawn to the vintage magazine images of stenciled, folky flowers on the walls (or the ceiling, perhaps?). It’s not necessarily renter-friendly, but I’m a friendly renter and could always paint over it when I leave. But also, I’ve been dying to play with the color stain trend I’ve been seeing everywhere lately and might need to test it out on an older piece of mine that could use a refresh (my garage workshop mentality will never die). It’s a beautiful etagere I’ve been using (and not really loving) in my bathroom, which I think would serve me better in my new big bedroom. Better yet, if the wood was stained…burgundy? Or maybe a denim-y blue? I don’t know! But I want to try. So look out for that DIY sometime down the line. That’s it for now. The grunt work comes first, hopefully followed by clarity and tons of radical vision. I’ll keep you posted as I move the needle. All in due time. Until then… Sincerely, Gretch
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Nine years ago, we designed this bed for our then-primary bedroom, and I have a lot of unresolved feelings about it. So Bold! So Fun! So Big! So Expensive! The reason we are talking about it now is that you may or may not know the custom bed that is in our current bedroom was actually designed for our guest room, not our bedroom, but the bed we had ordered for our bedroom was having some shipping delays so with the photo shoot looming (2 years ago) we put that bed in our room where it hasn’t moved and cancelled the one that was on its way. That’s all to say that I’m just now getting around to figuring out what is the perfect bed for our bedroom (I don’t love the design of the room as a whole) and I’m toying with the idea of doing something custom, which reminded me of this big bold lady that we had made almost 10 years ago. But as I was picking out fabrics, I remembered that I had some regrets/learnings with this one, so it deserved more of a deep dive, with the help of some hindsight. Before The Custom Bed… Prior to designing the new bed, I had recovered this vintage tufted headboard with a navy blue fabric. It was fun, but I suppose I wanted something even more fun, LOL. BOY DID I GET IT. The Inspiration Of The Shape I loved the idea of a modern wingback design, but fully upholstered – it felt cozy and simple. At the time, one of my design assistants, Remi, pulled the dimensions from a lot of these above to work off of. I went through a huge Rebecca Atwood phase (still love her so much) and my love of blue was perhaps at its peak (never gone away, TBH), and I LOVED this marble-y pattern so much. I don’t think I really debated it too much (I was a lot braver then, not sure why!) and make the final decision pretty quickly. The Drawings To Get A Quote Remi drew it all out for the guys to get a quote. This view was specifically important to see how the corners joined within the design that we wanted. The frame was solidly built and helped us visualize it more. I remember us debating how to orient the fabric, but not for long – it was pretty clear that the marble should run horizontally on the bed like water. Something to definitely think of for anyone customizing with patterned fabric. Installed, But Not Styled Here is what she looked like before we finished the room – it’s a lot of bed. I loved it, but I had some momentary fears of it being “too much”. AD It turned out beautifully and exactly how we had asked for it, but it wasn’t a quiet bed. She was LOUD. The details were really rad though… we did a good job designing it and our furniture guy executed it perfectly. The Styled Out Room When I revealed it on the blog, I think it was close to unanimous that it was awesome. Once styled out with everything more balanced it it still had a huge presence but worked a lot better. AD I can’t tell if this room is dated or not. I still love it! Sure, there is that still bright/airy midcentury vibe that was so big in the late 2010s but there is nothing in here I wouldn’t own again (and I still have those lamps, that painting, that bench, and that rug). So Why Did I Sell The Bed Only 1 Year Later/My Learnings? The easy reason is that we moved into our house in Los Feliz, where our room was much, much smaller, and the bed had to be in front of a low window. This was a high headboard, so even if we could get the bed into the room, it would look EXTRA MASSIVE. The way we designed the side rails and the “wings” added another 12″ overall to the bed, so I don’t think that would have fit with nightstands. But secretly, I was having a lot of internal doubt about my love of color and pattern, and felt insecure that what I liked was silly. This was 2016, the beginning of Amber Interiors, Studio McGee, and of course, the Modern Farmhouse vibe Joanna Gaines popularized. I think I felt like bold choices like this would look too amateur, young, and silly — not sophisticated, refined, or neutral enough like what was about to happen. Of course, that “warm, neutral California casual” vibe would reign supreme until 2021, where everything has certainly flipped (color and pattern are certainly back). I sold this bed for $1,500 – INSANELY LOW PRICE for what I paid and how new it was. And I’m not saying it is the exact bed that I would want right now, but I do love the boldness and the no apologies that it had. It made a statement with a big side of bravery. I think it’s pretty typical to let the outside trends of the world affect the opinion of your home, while I wish we didn’t. I’m obviously not placing blame on anything or anyone, the zeitgeist is just so strong and at times outside of our control (especially when we are young). I LOVE this bed now, it represents a time when I took chances in a really bold way. Of course, spending $3k on something that you might not love for 20 years is actually the biggest risk of all, and I tend to be a lot more cautious now (taking more risks in smaller pieces or art, rather than large custom patterned furniture).
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Iwouldn’t exactly say Ken asked for a pink and dare I say purple guest bedroom but here we are (and we all really love it). But the thing is, bedrooms are my favorite, and guest rooms (and kids’ rooms) are my most favorites – you can lean into an idea, a theme, or a style without as many functional constraints (like living rooms or even “storage” stuff with everyday used grownup bedrooms). It’s a luxury for sure, and one that we had so much fun designing – AND IT WAS SO EASY!! We pitched this to AllModern, and almost everything in the room is from them. They hand-vet their designs for quality and pretty much everything was delivered fast + free. See? Easy. So let’s take a tour :) We started by choosing the perfect bed – we needed a bed that would be low, i.e. a platform that didn’t have a high headboard blocking the window. I loved that the Liza Upholstered Bed from AllModern not only checked that box, but the shape of the headboard complements the more rigid squared-off window and is a softer transition in front of that big square. The fabric is a really warm light caramel that works as a neutral (that I think could go with so many color palettes). It also comes in a few neutral boucle fabrics as well. And BTW the bed was super easy to put together, FYI – just clips into place. The rest of the room came together in textures and tones with a few bolder patterns. The blackout curtains are so excellent – They are 100″ wide and 108″ long which fit this room almost perfectly (there is a bit of a puddle behind the bed) and the width of them made it so easy to cover the huge window. Shout out to our Rowena rug, which we chose because it gave a nice graphic, but simple pattern and a bit of lightness and balance to the room. The nightstands are simple, but we chose them for the mixed material (marble and walnut) and we liked the depth of the wood tone (versus just choosing white oak). I felt that this room could handle deeper, warmer tones since it got the least amount of natural light and was tucked away in the house. The nightstands are super heavy and solid, FYI – if you are into high-quality furniture (and need two people to move them) just know we are so impressed with these. The lamps are also really heavy (cement) and brought a pretty texture to the room, as well as a graphic shape of the lamp. It’s likely time to talk about the paint color which I didn’t realize I’ve used before!! It’s called Cocoa Berry by Sherwin-Williams and I just LOVE it because I randomly chose it twice (our powder bath too). It’s a really warm dark mauve that can definitely lean towards “purple”, although we try not to use that word because people have FEELINGS about purple, but this color is just gorgeous. The incredible painting is by MaryAnn Puls – they bought it from the OG Portland project years ago. It works so well in the family room downstairs, but once we brought it up here I knew we had to hang it. All the bedding and pillows are from AllModern (I also love that brown-toned pillow from the Chris Loves Julia collection on Wayfair). The room really came together so quickly – we chose the paint color last, which is not how everyone’s process works, but in my mind it’s the easiest way to do it. Choose the furniture or conversation pieces first (like the bed, rug, and art) because there are more color limitations on those things, and then make the paint color work with those (not the other way around). The architect, Anne Usher, designed all of the bedrooms to have bench niches in them so we added this beautiful Pollack fabric for the bench cushion – the deep blue felt like a really pretty complement to all the warmer pinks (and we used the green colorway in the dining room so its a call back to that). I truly LOVE how this bedroom turned out so much – the colors, tones, textures and the overall vibe really hit a 10/10 of cozy. And yet it’s so livable, comfortable, and inviting. It’s an absolute retreat of a room, and perhaps we’ll be crashing here after many a summer BBQ gone rogue :) A huge thanks to AllModern for partnering on this room and making it all so easy with excellent modern furniture and decor that mixes so well together. AllModern keeps things simple with hand-vetted modern collections. Their designs are made for real life (which I can attest to!) and are made to stand the test of time.
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Purchasing a mattress is a big deal. We spend so much time sleeping (or laying) in our beds that making the not-ideal decision for our wants and needs would be SUCH a bummer. Not to mention so cumbersome because it’s not a small little thing either. We’re here today to help you make an educated decision on the mattress that’s best for you! Over the years, we’ve tried a handful of really popular mattress brands and wanted to give our real-life, tried and true opinions. Five brands, lots of thoughts. Let’s go! Tuft & Needle From Julie: “Five years later and I’m still as in love with this mattress as day one. You know that feeling of getting cozy in a great hotel bed? That’s how it feels every night and it has great support while also being cushy. You will love a hurkle-durkle morning with this mattress.” From Emily: “This is a ‘100% satisfactory mattress’ as in it’s a solid choice. There are a few inches of softness but still pretty firm. I also love that it doesn’t feel like it’s going to lose its shape fast because of the firmness. I just feel that it’s a great middle-of-the-road softness that can please most people and guests.” From Jess: “Suprise! I have this mattress too and I really like it. While I love the feeling of a cloud-like mattress, my back has a different opinion. So like Em, I agree that it’s a medium softness which is ideal for me! I got to go to the Tuft & Needle store to try them all out so I was super confident about my decision. My only VERY silly and not important “complaint” is that the fabric cover does sometimes leave indents when I sleep on my side but clearly they go away fairly quickly. And actually this mattress is made for side sleepers like me:)” Leesa From Gretchen: “I was in dire need of a new mattress when it came time to makeover my bedroom and thankfully I scored with this Original Mattress from Leesa. While I can sleep comfortably on virtually any surface, I will say I truly LOVE this bed. It’s on the firmer side, but because it’s made of foam, it hugs your body just right. I sink in just enough to feel like I’m being cradled without being sucked in. I’ve had it for just about a year and it’s held up incredibly well – it still looks and feels brand new!” From Emily: “Honestly, I’m super jealous of this mattress. It is insanely soft and plush and is like sleeping on a cloud. The quilted topper lets you really sink in but it’s still very supportive. If I were to buy a new mattress for me and Brian now I would buy this one. A true surprise hit! So if you’re into sleeping on a cloud, this is your mattress. We have the “chill” version but haven’t noticed the cooling aspect but love it regardless.” From Ken (Emily’s Brother): “My wife and I generally prefer a firm mattress because of our back problems and this one is perfect. So ya, it’s firm but does have a little spring. Since sleeping on this mattress, both backs feel so much better! And I know this is kinda random but the fitted sheet stays on so nice. Our last mattress was a super expensive memory foam and every night the sheet would pop off. It drove me nuts. Sleeping on this mattress is a night and day compared to that one. We are so happy with this new one.” Avocado From Arlyn: “I’ve had my Avocado mattress for three years and I still feel good about it specifically because it’s organic and doesn’t have so much yuck that traditional mattresses do have like fiberglass and fire retardants. In terms of comfort, it’s a pretty firm mattress and hasn’t gotten much softer over the years. That’s actually what I was looking for, but do sometimes miss the cushiness of my old memory foam mattress. It has helped my back greatly, but am considering swapping the firm mattress topper I got from them to a softer one eventually.” Casper From Mal: “I’ve had my Casper Dream Max for about a year and I LOVE it. When I laid on it in the store it was the cushiest, comfiest mattress I tried out by far – the lady at Casper told me it’s great for side sleepers (I sleep on my side, back, and front honestly but have noticed it’s much comfier to sleep on my side than other mattresses). It doesn’t have a ton of spring to it so if that’s your thing maybe skip Casper as a brand since their mattresses are more thick, cloudlike and sinkable (while still being supportive) but it does have the technology where if you’re sleeping with a partner you can’t feel their movement in the mattress as much if they get up or shift around in the night which is awesome. I really love this mattress overall and I think it’s so so comfy while still feeling very supportive. Plus, it comes in a box to your door so it’s nice not having to deal with the hassle. BTW if you’re looking between the Dream Max and the Snow Max – I personally felt the Dream Max was way softer/comfier even though they say they’re both Medium Soft (maybe it’s because the Snow Max has 2 extra layers?). Thought I would throw that out here because I genuinely love cooling elements as a hot sleeper so I thought I would like it more but turns out I’m team Dream Max!” That’s how we all feel:) Do you all like these kinds of reviews? Let us know!! Love you, mean it.
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Idon’t know you guys – it just feels like the all-white hotel-style bed is not really doing it for me, but perhaps it hasn’t for a while and I’m just now ready to announce it. Is it the fault of my year-round spray tan that leaves a body-shaped orange glow on just my side of the bed when I use white sheets? Well, yes. But even despite that, I have been drawn to slightly patterned (but not textured) sheets for a while because they tend to be more forgiving and therefore last longer. TBH I don’t understand splurging on white sheets or white towels for everyday use because they never stay bright white. But even beyond the practicality it just seems like we are moving towards a pattern-on-pattern aesthetic that is making me want floral duvets, striped sheets, plaid anything…little prints, mixed with ruffles, with quilts layered at the end. I actually pitched this post last October and recently we had a bedding refresh partnership with Anthropologie (who does the non-white bedding so well) so we snapped some photos of this extremely fun and soft floral set. It confirmed what I wanted because it just added so much life, and such an immediate impact. So today we figured we’d round up other patterns we love (and yes, you can absolutely mix a big floral with a small stripe like I did). Big Floral Patterns + Smaller Prints The large-scale floral with the tiny-scale stripe is really working for me (I know that the stripe will work on Elliot’s bed and our bed – and yes, I put king bedding on queen beds all the time and have stopped buying queen so that we can easily interchange them all). All these prints are giving “grannycore” or “cottagecore” or whatever trendy core means old world and more decorative – and I love it. It’s just so sweet. I think one of the reasons our bedding got boring was because we wanted the ease of everything matching (true story) and having bespoke bedding for each room might be too labor-intensive for you to keep track of (also true story). But again it’s just so sweet and maybe you could come up with a capsule collection of different prints that work for all the beds to mix and match? Here are some more warm-toned and equally cute/happy options! Stripes It’s no secret that I’m a fan of stripes. Simple and can go with anything and any style. So yes, I LOVE how this looks and even though it’s light the stripe adds so much and is forgiving to dingyness. It was from a bedroom we designed for one of my best friends who wanted a modern organic look…but not a boring one. I think we nailed it. Stripes also work so well with florals. Since both of these rooms have floral wallpaper and we didn’t want only solid-colored sheets, stripes were the perfect contrasting accent! Here are a few shoppable options on the market: I tend to mix stripes with solids or stripes with florals, but if you love a stripes on stripes look it can absolutely look awesome. I would probably stick with warm tones with warm stripes and cool with cool for sheet and duvet combos. Solid For those of you who love linen sheets, there are so many pretty moody colors out there – Garnet Hill, Brooklinen, Anthropologie, and Parachute all have great options. Brian and I are not into linen sheets ourselves because we love a percale, but we do love this linen bedspread (as seen below) that we put on when we have parties and people want a tour of the house. Also, I made my brother buy bone instead of bright white percale from Parachute which is a great alternative if you still want a light neutral base but don’t want white bright… Underneath those linen spreads are likely the rose or blue brushed cotton from Parachute which is my current favorite for softness and their color palette works so well in our room. Here are some awesome cool toned colorful bedding options that I really like! If you go on Bed Threads site they have a bunch of really great preset color combos if you have a hard time deciding what colors you might want in your room. Also, velvet bedding accents are definitely having a moment and Quince has some great affordable quilts. So this is your CTA to rethink the expensive white sheets and opt for a tone, a color, a print, or a pattern. Especially for a more basic room (like our pink guest room that doesn’t have its headboard yet) this bedding really livened it up and just looks so happy now.
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My brother (and SIL’s closet) technically isn’t my design but once I saw it all done by the incredible team at California Closets I was so excited to style and shoot it with my team. I’ve been so happy with our closet (also by CC) and while it’s certainly a luxury full-service situation, you get exactly what you want at the end with the final design solution being so functional and customizable. Have a lot of gowns and jewelry? They know how to maximize that. Do you have mostly utilitarian boots, jeans, and fleeces? They got you. It’s such a fun exercise to go through – to really list what you have and even more importantly what you wear frequently. Ken and Katie worked with Amy Bodi of California Closets – I was sooo happy with Amy’s design of my closet so I knew they were in good hands with California Closets’ Oregon team. One of the first steps Amy does is talk through their lifestyle, AKA – what their real needs are for clothes storage. Ken and Katie (like most PNW folks) are very casual, and neither of them have typical office jobs that require multiple wardrobes. Of course, you want to design it for universal functionality in case someone does have a lot of gowns, they will be able to store them. But for the most part, Amy took the information and designed the closet to meet their needs. She sent through all the drawings where you can see clearly where the jeans could be folded and stacked, where the blouses could be hung, or where the full-length dresses would live. She might have even done the same exercise with them where I counted out roughly how many sneakers vs. boots vs. tall boots vs. heels and designed the shoe racks to make sure that there weren’t any major holes (I even have a place for my tall boots but this lady – and her husband – love some thigh highs, LOL). The customization and thought-through custom design approach is what you are paying for (well, that along with the incredible installation service – this closet took under 2 days!). Here are some shots of it without clothes in it so you can see the general layout, materials, and how they match up with the design plans. Ken and Katie chose black stained wood, with white faux leather handles, and brushed brass accents. They added a few bells and whistles you’ll see below and decided against adding extra cabinet fronts for easy access (the closet has pocket doors on both sides and can be shut off easily. They opted for a lot of drawers and shelves for jeans, and the hanging space is pretty flexible for hers or his (and some but not too many spots for long dresses or suits). We couldn’t believe that this went from blank to totally done in 2 days. Their crew are absolute pros. This is because they have their own designers and installers instead of using subcontractors, meaning they know this product. That ensures the quality is always extremely high. Before we get into the beautiful photos, here’s a little video walkthrough! (just wait for the ad to play:)) The finished product, as you can see turned out so easy to manage and keep organized, met all of their needs (and more) and I actually had to bring in a bunch of my clothes to help fill it, LOL. While Ken and Katie aren’t huge fashion folk they know that a house of this size and budget needs a really thoughtfully designed closet for future owners, so they still went for it. As you can see it’s a pass-through closet between the hallway and their bathroom (I love a closet very close to a bathroom if you can lay it out that way). Amy and the California Closet team designed it so that the drawers and shelves are on one side, all the hanging on the opposite, and miscellaneous or seasonal shelving with bins up top. The opposite view shows their Maddox wall organizer which is great for setting out clothes, or more realistically, steaming them or hanging belts and robes. The finishes are all very high quality and coordinated. It’s a nice detail that puts the simple hook to shame. California Closets did such a great job of allocating each shelf for different things (and please note the mirror that is tucked away by the dresses – you’ll see it down below. The closet rods are wrapped in faux leather which is such a nice high-end detail (and makes it so easy to slide hangers). Ken and Katie went with only one full-length hanging rod, the rest for blouses, jackets, or pants. Above, we bought bins for seasonal items (or things like Spanx, slips, and specialty clothes). Secret Accessories FTW Two things that Katie and Ken went with are the pull-out hamper and again, a mirror that slides out and pivots – GENIUS. You could obviously use the hamper for laundry of course (it slips out easily), but they use it for dry cleaning. I think one of the biggest benefits of California Closets is the drawer customization (which is harder to get off the shelf, obviously – ha, pun intended). It precludes the need for a dresser in your bedroom – underwear, bras, socks all the annoying little stuff can have designated areas as well as T-shirts, athleisure, etc. For Katie, we styled sweaters, sweatshirts, and shoes on the shelves, but could easily have put jeans if you didn’t want to hang them up. When it comes to shoes, California Closets has a lot of different suggestions (for instance, Brian and I aren’t big shoe people so we did some pull-out drawer shelves and taller cabinets for my tall boots). For Katie and Ken, they wanted flexibility with the shelves so they selected shoe shelves on top (for heels or more occasional shoes) and we styled the rest of the shelves with everyday shoes, but those could easily be for stacks of anything, or baskets full of scarves, etc. The leather and brass detail make it look so high-end and luxe. There are a lot of different options (or you can use your own like we did for our closet). Quite possibly the best perk of this are these jewelry pullouts (that are lit with special lights). Listen, in case you are a robber you should know that these are all either my jewelry or props we bought for the shoot, but if you have fine jewelry this is such a lovely way to keep them organized, not to mention visually pleasing. A huge thanks to California Closets for designing and partnering on my brother’s closet. It’s a total luxury because you get it all totally customized for your needs and installed by professionals. If it’s in your budget for even a simple design solution it’s pretty darn incredible. Thanks, Amy Bodi for helping my brother and SIL – they are extremely happy:)
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OK, I learned a LOT from doing Elliot’s bedroom which really informed the way I designed her best friend’s (and cousin’s bedroom) that you are going to see today. What I didn’t realize (first-time pre-tween mom here) is how much their likes and dislikes will change, like monthly. So with K’s room, I, of course, asked her her current likes and dislikes, colors, etc. but I intentionally left it so that if and when her styles or color preferences change, it wouldn’t be a big expense. And yet this room is actually full of a lot of color and so many high-quality pieces which are all from AllModern. I feel so grateful we got to give her these really special pieces that she will easily grow with. I can’t wait to show you. The Room Before The room has a great foundation – pretty white oak (Stuga, Shell) flooring and wood ceiling (Stuga, Drift). There are two large windows, so a ton of natural light, and two big blank walls for the bed and dresser. Opposite the bed is a daybed with storage and a reach-in closet (that we already wallpapered and revealed for a partnership, HERE). So when AllModern reached out for a series of makeovers this year and my brother expressed that they had NOTHING for K’s room when they moved in, I knew that stylistically it would be perfect (and yes, this 10-year-old is getting really high-quality furniture that she can keep forever). Without further ado, the reveal! We’ve also made a video tour of the space, which you can view while perusing the rest of the photos. (The player will shrink down into the corner, or, if you’re on your phone, it’ll play above the text!) A High-Quality Base Layer – I.E. Good, Simple Furniture Now there are a million ways to build a room, of course. For this house and this room, I wanted it to have the same warm minimal vibe as the house -streamlined and organic, but with enough color to make it feel youthful and fun. Here were the functional needs that K requested: Green and Purple – Ok, but we’d do a non-obnoxious, more timeless version of it and not, like a LOT of it. Queen Bed – Great for sleepovers, snuggling with parents, and can double as an extra guest room. A Desk – If they could go back in time they would have turned the nook into a desk (although I hear that teens love the idea of a desk more than they actually use it), but I also got a lot of advice from you that having it double as a vanity would be really functional for them. A Dresser – While they have a reach-in closet, it doesn’t have drawers, and kids aren’t the best at hanging up clothes or stacking their folded clothes. Because of these needs, the layout of the room and the furniture choices were greatly informed. We’d flank a powerful queen bed with a desk and a small stool (allowing space for the dresser without being too crowded) and achieve a sense of balance with the sconce on the right. So as you can see, while we dismissed symmetry (which I typically love in a bedroom) having it be asymmetrical not only gave them the function that they needed but also made it more playful (less serious). We wanted to get her furniture that she could easily grow with which meant high-quality and timeless — exactly what you’d expect from AllModern. But to make it feel perfect for a 10-year-old we shook up the layout and added a ton of color really which brought in that fun, youthful energy. AllModern’s pieces bring together everything I love about modern design—clean lines, unique details, and amazing quality. That desk, mirror, and sconce are perfect examples: sleek, functional, and anything but boring. The bed is another standout with its soft green boucle upholstery, fully upholstered frame, and solid build. We knew that bedding was a place we could really add some color, so we took this awesome throw with cool very Gen Z colors on it (wait, is she Gen Alpha???) and accessorized with it. The green pillow is from AllModern and the purple and gold stripe behind it we had made (it works with the custom bench pad we made – keep scrolling). We didn’t want any white bedding (y’all, I think the decades of white bedding might be done!) and mixed this darker rose, light mauve, and powder blue. I love the mix so much. You might be wondering what the art, butterfly, and ivy situation above it is, and I get that. We went BACK AND FORTH asking ourselves “Is this cool or try hard?” and every time we decided that we loved it! The art is a print that they already owned, and I really like it (we actually bought it for the original Portland project), but the white of the print with the white frame just wasn’t enough to “hold the wall”. So by adding faux greenery and whimsical butterflies (so affordable). It draws your eye there, definitely adds some youth, and it was cheap and will be very easy to remove. On the opposite side of the room is this round side table which I think is the perfect complement to the desk and works so well with the adjacent dresser (a proper nightstand would have been too clunky next to this). This is definitely a case of the “matching set but make it cool” because yes, all the furniture is white oak, but it’s not boring and clearly feels purposefully designed, not just put in a room. On the other side of the room, we have this awesome dresser, also made out of white oak with push-open drawers (so no hardware needed). It’s gorgeous and so well made. Above it, you have another one of our bulletin board DIYS (this is our third now). We are doing a full post about how we did this one but it’s so huge, fun, and so affordable. It gives 90s “Nickelodeon,” right??? Step by step coming soon :) All the colors play off each other so nicely and the zig-zag just gives it so much playfulness and a sense of “now”. For the window treatments, they hired Decorview for the big windows, mostly because they wanted the top-down, bottom-up function (to block the view from the street that could see into her bedroom. You can’t buy them online, it’s a full-service situation and not terribly budget-friendly but certainly high quality and they do allll the hard work. They didn’t want blackout because they wanted to let light in should they want them closed during the day (plus K is one of those unicorns that sleeps til 10 on the weekends, 11 in the summer – TRULY WILD). So we added some additional curtains to frame the windows, but they stay mostly open. I’m absolutely obsessed with this shot – it’s just so pretty!!! The arch of the mirror is gorgeous (and you can see it walking down the hallway – so impactful). And I love how I designed the bench cushion – green velvet on top but that same purple and gold stripe on the front. Thanks to Ivan at Alexander Matthews for executing it so perfectly. Such a dreamy little nook. We had the bolsters made as well. The drum table was in her brother’s room and we just brought it in for the shots to have something in the foreground, but looks pretty cute. The sconces and ceiling lights are Rejuvenation. I LOVE them – they are graphic and modern, high quality and timeless. And I love the chandelier in here. We needed multiple bulbs since there are no recessed lights, so this adds a lot of light in a really beautiful way. I’m so proud of this room and K LOVES IT. They were out of town while we shot and listen, their kids didn’t ask to be on my social anyway, so no she isn’t here. And if you are wondering where all the “Purple” is, the answer is that our new Mallory rug (which is one of my favorites) got lost by FedEx coming from our shoot at the mountain house. And then we couldn’t get it in time for the shoot, but it’s the most gorgeous color of purple, IMHO, and I’m even considering it for my living room. I think we actually called it “Dark Brown” via Rugs USA, but if you know anyone who wants a very sophisticated purple it’s for you. We are going to reshoot this room with it in the new year (and add some posters for K, which she wants). But The Elliot in Rust is also one of my favorite rugs – just much mauvier and lighter. But still so soft and pretty. A huge thanks to AllModern for having an excellent selection of furniture, curated for those into more modern design for sure, with pieces that will last forever (think heirloom modern pieces). Sure, there are some more trend-forward pieces (like that bench) that can shake it up and help make a room not feel so safe, but as a whole, I think the room turned out so curated, fun, and easy for her to grow, change, add to and swap out the colors and accessories. Oh, and I was so happy with how fast everything arrived. Fast and free shipping means a lot these days:) Blank To Beautiful :)
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Hi! Happy Tuesday. I thought it’d be nice to kick off this new week with a bright, happy, inspiring makeover from our dear friend, Hilton Carter. Shall we step inside? (Take your coat off. We’ll catch up.) Now, you might know Hilton from his series of hit books, his incredible Plant Rants, or from his fabulous Target collection…but today, we’re hanging out inside his newly-renovated attic. It’s the hit of positive energy and cheery light that we could all use on these dark fall nights – you’re going to love it. Let me catch you up to speed: with a second daughter on the way, Hilton needed to carve out space for a usable guest room. “Before this, the third floor was mainly used for storage and my Peloton,” he says. “It wasn’t insulated and of course was the hottest room in the house. Great for working out, but not for having guests stay over. Two of the dormers were used for storage and the other for HVAC.” Hilton needed to make it guest-ready as quickly as possible – “mainly [for] in-laws visiting to help with the kids at the moment,” he says” – and undertook a few key transformations. He replaced the falling plaster with new drywall; he removed the carpeting and had the floor insulated; he updated the HVAC; he chose to open the ceiling to give the room more height (such a wise call!); he removed a dormer; and he carved out space for two new skylights. “I can’t exist in space without plants, so in order to make sure any plants brought into this room could live their best life, I needed to add more daylight. So we added two skylights and let the skies in!” AD “For me, it was exciting seeing the roof getting cut open and seeing the light fall into the room. And then: design inspiration. “The carpet covering the floor had to go and just as you would expect, there was nice wood flooring underneath,” Hilton says. “But it would have taken a lot to restore them to look as nice as the floors and the rest of the house.” He turned to a trusted friend, Leanne Ford, who “convinced me to paint them white…like, Leanne Ford white…like, WHITE WHITE,” Hilton says. “And as she does it, ALL WHITE EVERYTHING.” He complemented the monotone look by transforming his newly-revealed beams into a design element. “I knew there would be beams there, but it was unclear if they would be right to keep exposed,” Hilton says. “I’m very happy we did – it really helps the look and feel of the room.” “The goal was to make the guest room bright and welcoming,” Hilton continues. “It felt like such a dark space and the addition of skylight filled the room with natural light. Now that they’re in, the room is just full of joy.” We’re also no stranger to skylights here – we’re Velux loyalists, having installed them in more projects than I can count! – so I was happy to see that Hilton opted for the same high-quality product that we love. (PS. ICYMI, I’d urge you to enter the Autumn Glow giveaway! You can win two solar-powered Fresh Air skylights – that’s the kind you’ve seen in our projects over the past few years – plus shades and installation. Someone has to win and I’d be so excited if it was you!) Once the room had been painted, Hilton added a bit of charm and architectural detail back to the space. “I decided on the shiplap because with making the decision to paint the entire room white, I thought having two walls with shiplap would create a nice accent but also mimic the lines of the wood flooring,” he says. “And no, it wasn’t DIY. They were purchased.” (Great news for those of us who lack the tooling and/or focus to cut our own planks for our walls!) “As someone that can stare at a blemish on a white wall until it drives them absolutely nuts, painting my floors white seemed like punishment,” Hilton says. “But after thinking about how I wanted the room to feel bright and vibrant, having the entire room white could create that instantly, especially when reflecting light from the skylights…with so much white, it’s time to add color!” And on that note…are you ready to see how he styled his space? HOW CUTE IS THIS? Do you not just want to cuddle up here, grab a book from the shelving unit, and watch the clouds pass overhead? There are so many smart, thoughtful details – let’s dive in, starting with those graphic layered rugs, which served as the jumping-off point for the color palette. “With them covering so much of the room, I knew that I could fill the room with bright vibrant colors,” Hilton says. I love how the flat weave and the plush woven rug work together here – they’re a big statement on their own, but they’re balanced here by the quiet white backdrop. Certain hues of yellow can come off as loud or overpowering, but this warm ochre base tone leaves Hilton’s room feeling luxe, cozy, and comfortable. (“I doubled up on the rugs because I love a good layered look and because I just couldn’t make up my mind,” Hilton says.”) Be sure to clock the outlets and switches that flank both sides of this king-sized bed, too – those are some of the smart, thoughtful details I mentioned! If you’re hosting guests regularly, rethinking the placement and positioning of your lighting and outlets will take your guest room experience to the next level. None of Hilton’s spaces would feel complete without a few well-chosen plants…so naturally, we had to get the lowdown on how he landed on the plants for this room. “My plant styling process always starts with the amount of light that is coming into the room,” he says. “With the addition of the skylights, I was able to place whatever plant I wanted up there because the room is full of light. With my options being endless, my next thoughts were what would fit under the vaulted ceilings perfectly.” He ended up sourcing a Schefflera, Snake Plant, Satin Pothos, Monstera Thai Constellation, Philodendron Florida Beauty, Philodendron Xanadu, and a Ficus Tineke for this room. (And I urge you to watch this clip for more plant styling tips. You can see how Hilton is training some of his vines to grow up the beams – it’s super neat, but also super helpful for those of us who struggle with trailing plants!) Guests are already returning with rave reviews. “The room has been enjoyed by my mother-in-law, brother-in-law, and a few friends. All have loved it and have overstayed their welcome,” Hilton kids. “I’m joking. We wanted to make a guest room that would make our family and friends feel at home. We’re lucky that they want to stay with us. Especially with a toddler and infant in the house.” Weary guests can open or close the skylights’ shades with the tap of a remote, so a good nap (or a restful night’s sleep) is never too far away. “Once it was completed my wife and I were very jealous that it wasn’t our bedroom. Good thing we made plans to make sure our bedroom was also going to be renovated and styled so that we wouldn’t feel too bad about it,” he jokes. (It turned out super cute, too – catch up on their primary suite here!) But wait, there’s more! “We decided to remove the wall and door into one of the dormers to open up, giving us a nice little nook,” Hilton says. You can take a peek at this secret area (and the adorable bistro set that Hilton sourced) by checking out this video tour. It looks great in the photos, but the warmth and care just shine through this clip. Thanks to our pal Hilton for the tour of his inspiring home, thanks to Velux for the tip-off on the giveaway (don’t forget – you have til 11/30 to apply!), and thanks to you for being here! I hope that this bright space can make your day a little brighter, too. Any thoughts?
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Y’all, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I love designing a bedroom. Unlike a family room that has to act as a playroom, seating area, TV room with storage, etc, this room needs a singular function – sleep – (ahem), welcomes symmetry (less decisions!), and by nature of the space you don’t have a ton of options. This room was always meant to be calm, simple, white, and wood with huge windows (per the rest of the main spaces in the house) which lends itself easy to be designed. But the easy pitfall with more neutral rooms is that they can look boring (especially on the internet these days). So I needed to still honor the original intent (warm minimalism, focus on the views) while exerting some style and punch (new by-line?). And I LOVE how it turned out. But before you see it all decked out, let’s talk through the bones: The Bones – Flooring, Ceiling, Paint, Windows And Lighting The house was designed and laid out by Anne Usher, their architect. I love how she played with volume, light, the views, and didn’t just create a box. The triangular jut outs from the window seat are such a pretty architectural feature that you see immediately when you walk in. The wood flooring is Shell by Stuga, and the ceiling is also from Stuga, called Drift. If you are nervous about putting wood flooring on your walls or ceiling stay tuned for a blog post soon – we think if you do it right it looks AWESOME. The walls are the most perfect warm, but not too yellow white called Alabaster by Sherwin-Williams. It’s my new go-to white. Boy am I jealous that I had to learn my hard “not every white is equal” lesson in our house, but glad I did so that we chose the most perfect white here. The windows are by Marvin – white oak on the inside, black aluminum clad on the outside. The spotlights are from Rejuvenation and are so much prettier than recessed lighting (but less light, FYI so make sure you have other light sources). We also put in this fan which we still need to add an extender on (which came this week lol), so they’ll have that light source as well. It was a really simple space, as they all are when they are empty, and it was ready for some punch and style. Step on in… The Bed Wall This room wasn’t as much of a challenge as other bedrooms I’ve done (layout wise), but the bed wall was more narrow and the room itself was more long, less square especially for a wider king bed. So when I started thinking about how to anchor this room, I wanted a bed/headboard that would be grounding enough to handle these high ceilings, to hold the wall with enough impact, add some color (but not in a super bold way), and frankly not look dinky and short but not be so big that you couldn’t fit proper nightstands. It was tight, TBH. So when I found this headboard from Article – wide, with channel tufting and the most beautiful green I designed the room around it. It could anchor the wall in a powerful way, and the right nightstands could tuck right inside. The headboard (and bed) from Article allowed us to casually float these rounded nightstands (which have storage – opens like a cabinet) and look good from all sides – which is important because if they are floating in front of the nightstand you’ll see the back as you walk in. This worked PERFECTLY and I love how the ribbing on the nightstands mimics the channel tufting on the bed (and the pleating on the lamps). We paired the headboard (that attaches to the wall with a big cleat) with the light oak platform bed from Article which is a move that I love to do – you don’t need a fully upholstered bed if the base contrasts enough and is pretty like this one. In fact, I’d argue that if you are on a budget get this headboard then use a basic base with a bed skirt – the headboard packs so much punch for the price. I love how the sconces flank the painting and take up more of the visual space above the bed, softening the shift between the horizontal headboard and vertical painting (plus they provide nice reading light). If you want a video tour the space HERE YA GO (just wait for the ad to play) The Most Beautiful Painting This painting by local Portland artist Charlie Salas Humera and is incredible. I was tipped off to his work last year (shout out to Purl!) and have been stalking him to see what I can buy for my house or convince my bro to buy. His use of color is incredible. When this came up on his stories I begged my brother and SIL to go see it in person – I knew I loved it, but it was an investment as good art should be and I needed them to love it, too. They did and bought it (support local good artist if you have the budget!) and my goodness does it make this room, color-wise, totally sing. The Lamps And Sconces I bought these vintage lamps when Charlie was a baby off Etsy, one of my first vintage splurges ever (I think they were $300 each). They are from Sweden and I’ve loved them for so long, and had no intention of using them here. We actually ordered these from West Elm that are so similar but they didn’t arrive in time, so I pulled these lamps from storage, ordered the pleated lampshades which did arrive in time. And while I wouldn’t put the two blues typically together, both colors are in the painting so collectively I think it looks really curated and intentional. The second I placed the lamps Gretchen, Emily M. and I all gasped. It took the room next level. And while I wouldn’t sell these lamps to just anybody (I have a strange sentimental attachment to them as I remember the exact time, place and mood I was in when I ordered them and it was a very, very special time in our lives) having them at my brother’s house felt emotionally doable for me, LOL. I can still visit them! Creepy! The Rug – The Remy Rug In Green The rug is our new Remy rug, in green from our new Rugs USA collection that just launched last week and we LOVE this rug. It’s so soft, has texture variation, and a really beautiful rich color that is really forgiving. It’s wool, durable, and the graphic staggered rectangles are totally transitional – they can live in both modern/contemporary houses like this but is so simple that it can easily be in a more traditional home as well. The View This room has the most incredible views of the river and trees (which is why Anne faced the bed that way). The huge wood windows anchor the opposite wall and create the focal point of the room. We hired Decorview for motorized shades (hard-wired, during the construction process) and we chose a color that integrated well with the wood and is just warm and soft. The shades are room darkening (“blackout” but there is always a tiny light leak in the center) and you can even do top down/bottom up, meaning if you want privacy up to your chest you can control them to go from the bottom up to any point, allowing light to come in from the top. The Window Seat There are a hilarious amount of window seats in this house, all full of storage and done in a rift-sawn white oak. This one, if head by the sconce has the most beautiful views of the river and is where my bro claims he will be napping. We made them deep enough (30″) to be ample for napping (and in the kids’ rooms they can have friends sleep on them for sleepovers). I found the most incredible fabric at our local upholsterer (shout out to Alexander Matthews in Tigard). The fabric is from Pollack and is called Boxing Day. I love how the pattern (that is a soft, textured cut velvet) integrates so easily with the wood and yet still adds some pattern and punch. We could have done a solid over here but with the solid rug and headboard I really wanted to bring in a pattern somewhere and this is perfect. Opposite the bed, we have the most cozy and big chair and ottoman, the Abisko from Article. This corner needed a big guy (and yes, we thought about putting it facing the view, but ultimately they wanted it to face the TV which worked better for me, too) and the scale of this chair and its low profile is perfect. It also comes in a few other awesome colors. The chair is firm and so comfortable (not a sinking-in chair, but very ergonomic and easy to snuggle in (with a child) with a really generous ottoman. The side table is so graphic and cool (and functional and heavy). The lamp has a great tripod base and mixed finishes – both wood, black, and of course a fabric shade. The painting I bought at Urbanite by an artist unknown (if you know let me know!). Vase and pillow from Anthropologie, marble dish from Target, and throw from Article. The bedding is a mix of a bunch of brands we shopped from. Upon my advisement, Katie bought the sheets/pillowcases and duvet in ‘bone’ from Parachute which is a really warm neutral (their heathered percale is so buttery and my current favorite). For styling, we added the Garnet Hill green linen duvet, a Parachute blue quilt, a linen throw from Garnet Hill, velvet pillows from West Elm, and custom bolsters (that were originally made for their daughter’s window seat but look sooo good here). The whole bed looked so layered and cozy (and while I wanted a bench at the end of the bed, walking around another piece of furniture to get to the bathroom made less sense. As you can see up there, the bathroom is on the left with a pocket door (it’s so pretty, I can’t WAIT to show you – hopefully soon). We installed a Frame TV on an arm so they can watch TV in bed (this was a whole thing but a pretty good solution). I want to now go back and shoot a reel coming out and showing how it works. They had to put a huge cavity in the wall to house the arm, FYI. The whole room turned out so bright and cohesive, but simple and warm. I love it so much. No unnecessary clutter or opportunity for clutter. They are lucky enough to have a walk-in closet (behind the headboard wall, coming soon) storage drawers in the bench, and an additional reach-in closet so this room didn’t need a dresser and hopefully won’t have a lot of clothes mess. It’s ready for a cozy Saturday morning and simple relaxation. A huge thanks to Article who has been a partner of mine for years because I love and trust their quality and design. If you know me IRL you’ll hear me recommend them to anyone who wants high quality, without spending a ton and most things can come within weeks. I have found all of their upholstered pieces to be very comfortable and they have even added a ton more fabrics to choose from should you want custom colors on their sofas and chairs. I really appreciate how they are doing things in a very simple and thoughtful way, expanding their lines slowly, making sure that everything meets their standards and their customer service is excellent.
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Hello!!! We promise we haven’t forgotten you or our bedrooms. But admittedly, Caitlin and I both know we haven’t been as on top of our bedroom progress as we had hoped. SO SORRY!! However, progress has been made (I actually have a very exciting announcement:))!! So today we wanted to give a little update on the progress and ask y’alls opinion about a couple of things we are a little stuck on. Design should always be collaborative! So we’ll spare you a long intro and just get right to it. Caitlin take it away… Caitlin Before we get into it – everyone, please wish Jess a happy birthday! I couldn’t ask for a better work wife, friend, confidant, or inspiration. I was nervous meeting Jess for the first time – I was intimidated by how cool she was! – and was pleasantly surprised to discover the kindest person I’ve ever known. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BUNGO! I know. I KNOW! I know what you’re thinking. “Caitlin, you’ve been working on this space for over a year. What’s the holdup?” It’s a fair ask, so I’d like to see your question and raise you an inquiry of my own: am I, uh, dumb? Because guys – I can’t figure out how to go faster. How are you managing your decorating budget with your more necessary expenditures? Am I totally missing something? (Seriously, I’m asking.) Maybe you can relate – it just feels like a struggle to prioritize my own home when there are birthday presents to buy, destination bachelorette parties and weddings to attend, cross-country moves to pay off, car payments, medical bill installments…it all adds up so fast! So time and time again, this (functional, livable, halfway-finished) space is pushed to the back burner. I’ve been struck by the curse of the “good enough for now” room – has anyone else been afflicted? PLEASE ADVISE. But it’s not all doom and gloom! Over the past few months, I was able to stash away a seemingly-paltry sum – just over $1,000 – which I spent on a few essential upgrades. My biggest splurge was on this vintage Danish teak and mahogany gentleman’s chest. It’s perfectly sized for the space (4′ wide and nearly 4′ tall!) with an ultra-functional combination of dressers and shelves. I paid $750 in total for this one – including delivery from the Palm Desert area, over two hours away! – so it wasn’t cheap, but it was well worth the wait. That’s a keep-forever piece of furniture, folks! I love the classic proportions, the warm-but-not-too orange wood finish, and the simple raised detail of the drawer pull. Let me sell you on the vision a bit: imagine framed art on the wall, a vintage statement lamp with a punchy shade, and a full-length mirror hung to the left side of the dresser. This $98 mirror is my current frontrunner, but I’m thinking about painting the frame in some way. Thoughts? Looking into the room, you may clock two new additions: plug-in Stilnovo-style sconces! The damage? $127.45 for the pair, and $84.73 for the TaskRabbit who mounted them to the plaster wall. The shipping took an eternity and we had to manually assemble each sconce, but I couldn’t be more pleased with the finished product. I still need to mask the cords a bit (using this tutorial from Sara, bless her), but I’m holding off until we land on a paint color. To that end: help! The cognac/cobalt/olive/gold color palette is MUCH more flexible than I’d anticipated – it looks good with every paint color I’ve thrown into my mockup! When all of your options are good options, how do you decide? (I’m open to suggestions. Begging for them, even!) It wouldn’t be an update post without an admission of regret: I don’t think I made the right nightstand call. I grabbed these Serena & Lily-style side tables at TJ Maxx, and they’re a perfect fit in so many ways…but now, after the addition of the wood dresser, they look a little out of place. Too coastal? Too glam? Too fussy? These nightstands do technically check all of my boxes – the right size, the right shape, the right functionality – but something is off. Am I overthinking, or do you agree? Man – the room gets more and more unhinged as we go! DON’T JUDGE ME, PLEASE. This is my dresser, stylishly adorned with the 12-year-old television from my first apartment in LA. I love having two TVs in the house – Dennis can play EAFC with his friends in the living room while I binge Investigation Discovery in the bedroom – but this placement is GARBAGE. Den’s view of the TV is often blocked; I’m essentially parallel with the screen, which is surprisingly not conducive to productive viewing; and, most importantly, I’m wasting SO MUCH GOOD STYLING SPACE. The flat surface that houses our monstrous black box will soon play host to 9 square feet of art, trinkets, and ephemera. Just you wait!!! Which brings us to our final wall: a big, blank, shoe-corralling YAWNFEST. I’m imagining a Frame TV hiding up here, mixed amongst some sort of gallery wall. (A TV we can both watch while laying in bed at night, no strange positioning required! Can you imagine?) Ideally, I’d like to move the shoe storage out of the bedroom entirely – we have a lot of hall space, and I think I could figure out a way to hide them with some sort of skirted table – but I am very open to suggestions. I know that this all doesn’t seem like much, but it’s felt like a lot of progress to me! I do still have a few large expenses looming: a good vintage light fixture (and an electrician to install it – our building still has the original wiring, and I know my skill level), the Frame TV, high-quality framing for a few precious art pieces, and maybe some swapped nightstands…but I can (truly) see the light at the end of the tunnel! I know I can DIY some window treatments; I know we can handle painting; I know that eventually, it’ll cool down enough to warrant making the bed with more than a sheet. It’s getting there! But man, I’ll take all the feedback I can get. What say you??? Jess Alright, first things first… I NO LONGER AM SLEEPING ON THE FLOOR!! Let me tell you that I. Feel. Different. More together. More distinguished. Maybe less embarrassed to have friends see my bedroom. It’s been amazing. The first night was wild. It was like I was sleeping on a tower overseeing all of my land. After that, I nearly set up an office in my bed but knew I’d have no chance of actual productivity. But man, between my new custom Buildlane bed (saying that is still a dream come true) and my Tuft & Needle mattress, you can’t tell me that when I’m in that room I’m not a full-blown freaking princess. Here is a sneak peek. AHHH!! BUT WAIT. Please please know that literally 95% of the bedding and the rug will change! Right now this room is a hundred shades of beige but NOT in a way I think is good and to me it just looks drab. So avert your eyes from those things and focus on that beautiful bed and incredible bench:) Can you stand it!? I have a bed and it’s one that I know I’ll love forever. I said it in my last post about the design process, but the goal was not only to design exactly what I wanted for this room but to also make sure this bed was versatile style-wise for the future. I chose fabrics and colors I’ve loved my whole life so regardless of what room and style I put with this bed, it will work. I will also steam it a little more before the shoot I promise. But I kinda love the lived-in look. This is a much better representation of what the colors look like in person. Warm but elevated (that’s at least what I’m telling myself the vibe is). As a reminder, I got these incredible fabrics from Kravet. The velvet is Clarke & Clarke in “Honey” and the linen is Kravet Basics x Thom Filicia in Sweeting – Ivory. I also couldn’t be happier with Buildlane’s construction! It’s exactly what I envisioned. If you are a designer that needs custom furniture I can’t recommend either of these companies more. Oh, and that little wall sticker in the first bedroom photo is the paint color I’ve chosen! White Flour by Sherwin-Williams. If you can believe it allllll of these sticker samples are white. Like white, white! But as you can see, in my room some go blue, purple, and even yellow. Wild, right?? I even ordered the one that Sara used in her living and dining room and it’s the top middle one. It’s so blue in my room but perfect and happy in hers. Before I ordered the samples I was sure that was going to be the one before I put it up on my wall. That’s why testing is sooooo important in the space you are painting. Recs are great but it’s impossible to make a final call without getting a swatch in the actual room. DON’T DO IT, K?? I know that painting it a different white seems a little nuts to some but that’s exactly what I did in my last apartment and it made all the difference. It felt brand new in the best way so I am pumped to get this color up on these walls! Plus, since I’ve lived there for almost 4 years my wonderful landlord is paying for the painter. Thank the lord since I legit have 11 doors in my bedroom (french doors and screens to the balcony) as well as all that trim. So could I do it myself?? Technically yes but it’s a no for me dawg. Now, let’s hear it for the bench! I am still pinching myself that I, Jessica A. Bunge, have a Katy Skelton piece in my home. Due to some back-ordering issues for the original Kelly Wearster patterned fabric that I had picked out, I decided to go solid with the main bench fabric. I matched the color to the off-white in the Gaston Y Daniela green check fabric which turned out to be this Kravet Basics. It’s actually so so perfect and gives me a lot more room to play with pattern on the bedding. Plus if I’m totally honest, I was getting a little “square happy” and very grateful to have been pushed to pull back a little:) Look, your girl loves a square shape and sometimes I need to be saved from myself! So again, PLEASE ignore the bedding and rug you see. It’s NOT how it will look when it’s done. Can you tell I’m extremely nervous people will think that I think this looks good?? It just doesn’t do the bed or bench any justice! Now, I have two questions on a different topic. I’m not sold on what I should do for my curtains. Question #1: I love the lightness of my simple linen IKEA panels but have dreams of them being a soft warm taupe. Should I get new ones or try to stain them with maybe tea?? My only concern is that I do really like them as-is and could save them for the future. The I could just get new panels in the color I want. Oh, and here’s yet another ask to please pardon the mess that was my bedroom last year! This was the only decent picture I had to show the curtains. I also realized I’m going to have to get them hemmed if I don’t raise the rod which is annoying but not the end of the world. See next question… Question #2: I’m undecided about where I would hang my curtain rod. As you can see it’s currently it’s on the window moulding. I’ve always intended to raise it above to give the room more height. But since this is a 110-year-old building maybe that’s not the move? But I’m also planning on doing a tile border under the crown moulding so covering the majority of that side might look strange? Thoughts?? Now, I typed this question and then I made these graphics and I’m more torn. I way prefer the rod above the moulding (I realized I did in my living room lol) but picturing the tile and having them under the rod does seem odd. I just don’t know. I guess I’ll tile first and then decide?? Again, thoughts? Ok, that’s where we’re at and again, we promise we are moving as fast as we can! Any thoughts on our questions would greatly be appreciated:) BYEEEE
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