Dear Annie, I know, I know. The baby isn’t even here yet. Why am I so stressed out?
My master bedroom. I do not even know where to begin…I currently hate everything about it. The light is not good, which accents the awful chocolate milk color it is currently painted.
The furniture is from our old condo, which was a modern loft style and very masculine (my husbands’ bachelor pad dream). It also takes up every inch of available space in this tiny room! Unfortunately my husband is slightly attached, so it will all be staying.
Upon the birth of our first child, this little alcove area will become a dressing room with a couple clothing racks to accommodate my husband’s clothing.
I would like to separate this area with some sort of curtain, which I’m afraid will block one of the two windows. I considered wallpaper for this area to spice it up, but don’t even know where to start.
I want a room that is more feminine and eclectic, and most importantly not boring. I love the idea of mixing old things with new things and LOVE my new Goodwill lamps, which HAVE to stay.
What do I do?I really want to have this together before the baby is born and this conundrum is really contributing to my pregnancy induced heartburn. PLEASE help! – Nicole
Dearest Nicole,
You’re stressed out because you have no control over what’s going on with your ever-expanding body, and you have to exert control over something.
So that answers THAT :)
When I was pregnant, I was so bloated that my legs looked like tree trunks. My knees were nowhere to be found. The only shoes that I could wear were these sad little patent-leather Dr. Scholl’s, because they were adjustable. (To this day, I can’t LOOK at a pair of those.)
But I digress.
You mention the room isn’t big, and the gargantuan furniture stays. So let’s lighten up the walls, keep the rug and bedding neutral, and add punch through an eclectic arrangement of pictures.
1. First, move the big pear. I happen to love it, but it’s too big for this room, and it violates the “no fruit art in the bedroom” rule. Would it fit in the nursery?
2: Choose a color concept. Not the actual color, which we all know comes near the end, but the direction, the palette. Light, airy, feminine, pretty with dark brown furniture…lavender or light blue.
3: Neutral rug. Since the bed likely covers most of the floor space, let’s go with something warm and simple, like sisal. These are from The Company Store.
4. Congratulate yourself on those excellent Goodwill lamps. And then spring for new, round nightstands. (Think of all the money you just saved on the rug!) The round shape will soften all those hard right angles in the room. I like these from Wisteria.
If they’re too small – I don’t know the diameter of your lamps – consider some round mirrored nightstands I saw on Ebay but can’t upload the picture here. (When the lamps match, the nightstands don’t need to, but they should be the same height.)
5. Bedding with soft colors and a subtle pattern, like stripes. Please discard your brown and blue shams and stripey pillow; they’re all too formal. Area bedding would be great for you (this is their India bedding).
6. Light blue walls. Let’s cut to the chase on the wall color: your husband will never go for lavender, right? So look at very light robin’s egg blues or grey-blues. Two blues that have worked for me are Benjamin Moore’s 2052-70 Ice Blue and 2136-70 Whispering Spring.
Paint the new dressing area/alcove the same color. You don’t want to call attention to that tiny space by doing anything different in there – no wallpaper, no curtain, no nothing.
7. Put several framed prints over the bed. Anything goes, sister: this is where you cut loose.
- Do a series of botanicals if that’s your thing, or
- Go through Etsy and see if anything strikes your fancy – you can kill hours that way if you’re on bedrest – and frame them in Ikea frames, or
- That old standby: framed pieces of wallpaper, fancy paper from an art supply store, or even wrapping paper. These pictures are from Gait Interiors’ blog.
8. Finally, throw a few accent pillows on the bed. Bring in some bright colors – red, orange, emerald green, whatever you like. Register for some for your baby shower and hope nobody notices. Believe me, the baby will be getting plenty of attention; you need something fun for YOU.
Good luck, Nicole, with your bedroom and with the new kiddo! Keep us posted.