Feeling Blue

A year later and I haven't made any progress on liking the master bedroom. I used to be on a yellow and grey kick, but while I was working to finish the fireplace room and my DIY Pottery Barn knockoff mirror, I had a new revelation. Dark blue walls in the master bedroom.

I put together this inspiration board with the thought that the room should be both pretty and functional (i.e. sleep-inducing!). Blue walls in the bedroom = relaxing! I had to work around a few constraints for my board. Specifically, I might be vampire. When I sleep, it has to be d.a.r.k. dark. So, the walls needed to be some kind of dark light-absorbing color and the white Ikea curtains I lined with blackout material should remain. Also, I'm not changing out the carpet. It's the same beige carpet that graces our floors on the entire second floor of our house (all of the bedrooms). And last, we own a bunch of matchy-matchy dark wood pieces similar to the nightstand you see below, including headboard, pair of nightstands, dresser, and chest of drawers. For the sake of not spending an arm and a leg, those stay safe - for now! I have an idea to "slipcover" my headboard to change it up a bit.

For paint color, I'd choose something like Benjamin Moore Hale Navy, Vermont Slate, or Bella Blue.

All in all, I was going for a put-together, natural, and collected look. My favorite parts of this inspiration board are the swiss army blankets, bench (which I intend to DIY), and rope (incorporated through a lamp or some kind of accessory). It just gives me that warm and cozy feeling -- this is the type of bedroom I want to wake up in!

The Day I Learned to Photoshop

If you've been to MochiHome recently, then you recognized our room/bunny featured in this post by the amazing Carly. Have I mentioned she is a genius?

After admiring Carly's work, I decided to try Photoshopping for myself. (Stupid joke alert: It is a much less expensive alternative to just shopping)  But now, I know enough to be dangerous!! With much Googling, I gave our master bedroom a makeover. You know the one - the green one that I could never figure out.

Here are two options: a) paint required and b) no painting necessary. This little exercise was so much fun, albeit time-consuming! It definitely saved me money in the long run and saved time in buying/returning stuff... it also got me thinking about purchasing/incorporating items I'd never have considered before. You can't blame me, though - c'mon, I'm engineer. It's been a long time since my left brain got some exercise! 

But first, the current state:

And now.... #1, with source list:

Paint, Valspar Almost Charcoal - Lowe's, ~$75

Chandelier, Lowe's, $150

Ribba frames, Ikea, $15 each and $25

Alang table lamps, Ikea, $19 each

Curtain panels, Target, $29 each

Duvet (owned), Ikea, free

Yellow quartz pillow cover, West Elm, $19 on sale!

Tulip shams, West Elm, $24

8'x10' Zigzag rug, West Elm, $479 (5'x8' -- $249)

Cherry blossom bird pillow, Etsy, $28

Total for this room: $520 + $479 rug (which I consider optional) = $999

Here's #2, the no-paint option and source list:

Above: 

Cream faux leather accent chair, Target, $110 on sale!

Bull's eye silk pillow, West Elm, $34 

Alang table lamps, Ikea, $19 each

Ribba Frames, Ikea, $14.99 each

Custom Wall Decal, Amazon.com, ~$35 

Grey pom-pom pillow, West Elm, $19

Zebra pillow, West Elm, $39 

Round red ruffle pillow, Pier 1, $24

White bedding (owned), Ikea, free!

Chandelier, Overstock.com, $134

Curtain panels, Target, $29 each

Red lantern, Ikea, $4

Total for this room: $583

So what do you think? Am I good enough to be called an amateur with my computer skills?  :)

ps- Things are already a-changin' in the bedroom. More to come!

Drumroll please...

I'm really trying to avoid painting at all costs. I would rather run the painfully hilly IU Mini (Half) Marathon TWICE OVER before I paint my room. I think it's inevitable. I am getting to the point where I can't work around the green bedroom walls any longer. So what new color gets to grace our walls?  Drumroll please.....

It's grey! I'm thinking grey with a little yellow mixed in would be "us," and after spending some time at West Elm and Ikea this week (more on that later), I was inspired by my first West Elm store purchase, which currently resides in the black-walled master bath. You know I can't resist a good zig zag pattern. I bought the one on the left, which is a gold/yellow color. This photo does it no justice!

[Photo: West Elm]

Never, in a million years, did I expect to appreciate yellow. It's growing on me, and I can't fight it anymore...
And on a side note, grey is not just grey. Here's a screenshot from the Valspar website (gotta make sure to find the non-VOC paint):

Who knows the difference between "Quaking Bog" and "Steel"? Or "Garden Stone" and "Aspen Grey"?!?! Not this girl!! (Paint color selection might be hell on earth for the indecisive!) 

Here are a few inspiration photos to add to the scrapbook, which include grey, yellow, or both:

1. Not too overhwelming with yellows and greens. Like the use of white to keep things light.
This room also shows that a taupe/beige rug can work reasonably well with the grey without looking boring.
It doesn't look staged while looking complete and warm. Well done!

2. Possibly a little much on the neutral and whites, but a great chandelier.
This one's a little too hotel-esque and need more personality!

3. Living room. I'd go a little darker with the grey because the walls seem like a

 dirty white next to the yellow flower canvas. It just seems like there's something missing here...
I don't get that warm-fuzzy feeling!

4. Ikea. I loved this room before I even knew who designed it. (Is this even grey? Let's pretend it is.)
Picture ledges are an awesome idea, and the few darker pieces/frames with yellow
accent throw and rug seem just right. I'd have to do something about those curtains,
though... too bright! Get me some thermal curtains and we're good!

5. Kate Spade. A little eclectic, but clean. This shade of slate grey might be perfect!!
I also wish I could see more of the yellow  ottoman/bench at the foot of the bed-
I bet it's the perfect amount of preppy.

[photo: Kate Spade]

6. (Left) Grey entryway. I never thought I'd like the way the red and grey go together... and I would bet that the bench was DIY-ed! Beautiful shade of grey for this space.

6. (Right) I think I'm in love with the wall hanging above the bed. Plus, the geometric Greek key pattern had

me hooked at first sight. I'm not committed enough to buy chairs or lamps that are yellow yellow, but I like
where this designer's going. The mirrors behind the lamps are an interesting idea I'd like to try.

[Photo: Decor Pad]

 7. If there was a bathroom/bedroom I could live in, it'd be this one. That is one awesome chandelier in the bathroom! (never mind the barn door)
The barn door is also genius... I found myself referring to this photo for inspiration as I was trying to
put together the bedroom. I want that shade of grey! Heck, give me this whole room. 

[Photo: Decor Pad]

But wait-there's more! Have you seen my grey and yellow bedroom designed with Photoshop? See it here.

Dark Room

The other day Ben did some research and found that it's healthy to get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep each day. Anything more than that is supposedly a health risk (heart disease and whatnot... ask him, I didn't look it up!). Despite said warnings, that boy can sleep! He's practicing his skill as we speak.

I am definitely a light sleeper. I totally bugs me when there's light coming into the room, especially when 8am starts to hit. I think the dark green bedroom walls help, but there has to be a way to block the light from the windows better than the white wood blinds. Currently, we have green walls and red curtains up purely because the curtains are dark, so they absorb a lot of light. But hate me for not wanting a red-green Christmas bedroom year-round! I searched high and low for white thermal/blackout curtains, and they just do not exist! Recent discovery: blackout liners. Genius! That'll be step #1.

Step #2, figure out what else to do with the room. I'm thinking something like this (just imagine dark green walls... I looooove the rich brown wall color, but my hatred for painting outweighs that):

Photo: decorpad, HGTV

Another inspiration photo that could rock the green walls (Photos below - HGTV):

And I'm totally drooling over this room with its bright colors. I like the way the designer incorporated the pink flowers, it makes the room seem more cheery! Interesting that there is framed art placed behind the nightstand and lamps (which I also love).

Look closely - this is an old desk and a black mirror hung on the wall in front of it- how thrifty!