Master Bedroom Makeover - Part 1

My master bedroom is almost complete and I am now head over heels in love with this room. I've always liked the size and layout of the room, but definitely not the paint colour or drapery panels from the previous owners.  And definitely not the fancy brass ceiling fan!

Move in day! A blank(ish) slate

We lived with the room as it was for over a year before doing anything.  I set-up our bed, hung a few photos and bought Ikea's Hemnes nightstands and dresser.  Having furniture was a major step up from the boxes & laundry baskets we'd been using as a dresser until then!

A mish-mash of everything, including a Snuggie at the foot of the bed.

Before Benson graduated to his own bed, he slept in a box beside our bed.

I knew was I wanted to use several different graphic fabrics in the room in and that was it. With no design or colour scheme in mind I couldn't decide between pale celery green or dark grey for the walls. In the end I decided I like a cozy bedroom so I went with the grey. Painting made a huge difference and instantly made the room feel much more "us".

Starting to look a little less dorm room

I was quite content once the room was painted. It wasn't fancy, but I was (and still am!) in *love* with the colour. And so our room sat for months (and months) before I did anything else. Until I found a fabric that I love as much (or more) than the paint colour...

Dining Room Makeover On A Budget

During our house search one of the (many) items on my wish list was a formal dining room. Ok, not really a “formal” dining room so much as a separate room for dining. And once we moved in the dining room was one of the few rooms I furnished right away. I’m not sure why since in a year and a half we’ve only eaten in it twice. Maybe it was because it’s the first room you see when you walk into our house? Or maybe I just couldn’t live with the light fixture!?

Before

I found the perfect dining chairs at Home Outfitters. In addition to looking nice, they were cheap (or should I say “inexpensive”, “budget conscious” or “affordable” as I say to my clients). And so I bought them. I hadn’t found the perfect table yet (well I had, but it took a while for me to order it), so the new chairs sat without a table for months.

During

I really wanted this wallpaper for the dining room but it's just too pricey. Instead I decided to see what I could do with paint. I had 3 Ikea frames I planned to hang on the walls so I decided to colour block around them. This is what I came up with, which I entered in a contest with Style at Home magazine and won.

After

Next up?  Storage, an area rug and possibly drapery panels. However I'm now trying to focus my time and money on rooms we actually use so that might not happen for a while.