My son's bedroom revealed!

Thanks for your wonderful comments on my son's bedroom last week! Some of you have asked me if my son loves his bedroom, the answer is yes. The proof? My son, Isaac kept saying he loved his "beautiful bedroom" for a few days in a row after the room was finished and that makes mommy really happy!



Before we go into the details, I would like to say a big thank you to Linda from Calling It Home, the creator of The Room One Challenge (ORC) for inviting me to participate in this challenge. Without this challenge, the bedroom will never be completed, knowing full well the ultimate procrastinator that I was. If you are new to my blog and unsure of what the One Room Challenge is all about, you might want to check out the details here. 



As promised, I will discuss my thought process behind the design of this room and share the resources at the end of this post. 



Before the transformation, I had a general idea of what I wanted for the room. My goal is to turn the room from claustrophobic to bright and airy. This room started out as a bright lime green box with white mini blind and Pergo laminate wood floors. I knew the wall color and mini blind had to go!



I decided to have the room primed and painted in white with a focal wall. My initial idea is to have horizontal wood planks  as the focal wall (we even saved the wood planks from the deck removal) but my husband rejected the idea in the end. He was concerned that the wood planks might contain harmful chemicals so I went with Plan B and painted the focal wall with stripes instead.



My goal is to create a fresh, fun and functional bedroom for Isaac on a tiny budget. This small bedroom has to multitask as a place for him to work, play and sleep so it needed a desk, a play area, a storage for toys and a bed. I had to admit, it was definitely a design and budget challenge but I love a good challenge so there was a lot of measuring and online product sourcing during the initial stage! :)



Like all rooms in our home, we decorate on a small budget so I always purchase inexpensive items that will give me the most bang for my buck. The design for the whole room started with the wall decal that I found at Meijer a few years ago. The wall decal were colorful and playful and most importantly, it was on clearance. It only costed me $12.99. 



I knew I wanted the wall decal to make a design statement so instead of adhering them to the wall like they were intended originally, I put my wall decals on large canvases so they look like a series of artwork. 



Remember the problems I had with the peeling decals? I used super glue for a quick fix (okay, not so quick fix). I was being careful not to get any of the super glue on my fingers but alas, I worked for almost an hour (pressing and lifting the decals) so I still ended up with some of the glue on my fingers. I cleaned with vinegar and nail polish remover for the next half an hour. Note to self: Always remember to wear a disposable glove when I am working with super glue! 







Anyway, I stumbled upon a striped rug on clearance with a similar color scheme like the wall decal the following year. To be honest, I got the rug because it was a steal and I love the colors and size for my son's bedroom, not realizing that it had all the colors found on the wall decal! When I got home, I put the rug and wall decal side-by-side and realized they were a perfect match! I was ready to make them work even if the colors don't go together so I scored on that one!

Before I started this project, I thought about getting a navy blue or olive green velvet headboard (preferably with nailheads) for the bed. However, knowing that we planned for a second child in the future, this bedroom will be shared. And that means we will need two identical velvet headboards.  Two velvet headboards are definitely out of our budget, plus, with two beds inside this small room, my son will not have an area to play at all. 



Since getting two beds are out of the question, another option is to get a bunk bed. After a lot of thinking, I realized that a bunk bed might overwhelmed the small room. In the end, we got a white trundle bed because it was the perfect solution for a small (shared) bedroom and for our budget.

For the window treatment, getting a roman shade with a blue trim would be ideal but it will threw our budget off so we got these beautiful striped curtains on clearance instead. 

Since we already have the striped wall (thick stripes), colorful striped rug (colorful stripes) and striped curtains (thin stripes) in the room, I decided to introduce a similar yet different pattern for the quilt or comforter. While stripes is my all-time favorite pattern, adding another striped item to the room will be too matchy-matchy and over the top. So, chevron it is for the bedding!

The cardboard moose head was not part of the design plan earlier but I decided to incorporate it when I had a chance to do a review. I thought the moose head added a bit of quirkiness and an unexpected element in the bedroom.

The desk lamp I received from Rejuvenation was a great addition to this room. It is perfect for balancing the light from the green teardrop table lamp I had earlier. The desk lamp was even more stunning in person and felt very solid. Did I mention it came with a wonderful CFL light bulb, too? I had been going back and forth about getting one in aged brass but I knew the polished nickel would be a better choice for this room. 

I have changed the shade for the green teardrop lamp because the original lamp had a yellowish shade that I didn't like. I think the bright white shade looked better for the clean, crisp look I was going for in this bedroom.

I actually bought the 'Now Panic And Freak Out' pillow for my living room (I bought the same pillows in 3 colors- red, green and black so I could switch them every now and then) but decided the red one would look best in my son's bedroom so the pillow is officially his now.

Because the room is so small and Isaac had a ton of toys, we got him two vertical storage systems to fit all (most of) his toys. I didn't plan for a laundry hamper in the room at first but I thought the nook was perfect for it. Now my son knows where to put this dirty clothes and pants.

I got 'The Country Gentleman' canvas art not knowing where to put it earlier but I guess it worked for this bedroom.

I had to remove the clock's battery before taking pictures so the "moving eyes" wouldn't turn out blurry.

This clock was actually the first thing I bought for Isaac's bedroom when I visited a gift shop about 6 years ago. I was drawn to the whimsical element of it. If you have noticed, the clock had the same colors as the puppy hooks so they worked well together, again happy accident! 

When the clock was hung, Isaac was extremely excited! In his own words, he really "likes his beautiful clock".

The puppy hooks make me smile every time I look at it. I just love how adorable they are!

Isaac's very own mini art gallery. 

I had plans to incorporate more artwork next to each side of the curtains but decided against it because I was afraid that the room might look too busy. By leaving the walls blank, I thought it gave the room the breathing space it needed.

The floating branch was actually a DIY project that I had been procrastinating for over a year. I have always like the DIY yarn wrapped branch idea I frequently stumbled upon on Pinterest. I decided to make a similar one for my son's bedroom when one of the branches from our Birch tree broke one day. What can I say? The project was meant to be!

The initial idea was to make a branch mobile by hanging a few paper airplanes from the branch. However, I didn't like how the airplanes turned out so I just hang the branch instead. I also felt the paper airplanes might compete/ clash with the rest of the colorful accessories I was planning to add later. So, floating branch art installation it is!

I hope you enjoy reading about what goes behind my crazy design brain in this long-winded post. Now, let's get to the best part, the resources!

The resources:

Wall paint: Decorator White from Behr

Wall paint (stripes): 780E- 3 Sterling from Behr

Wall decal: $12.99, on clearance from Meijer

Blank canvases: $7-$8 each (using 40% off coupons) from Michaels

Green teardrop table lamp: $18, on clearance from HomeGoods

Polished nickel desk lamp: Free (sponsored) from Rejuvenation

Cardboard moose head: Free (in exchange for a review) from  Uncommon Goods

Leather rhino: $5-$6, on clearance and I used my credit from Pottery Barn

Small trains: $2 from neighborhood yard sale

Alarm clock: $12.99? from Target

Pencil cup: Free (in exchange for a review) from See Jane Work

Pencils: $3-5 from Meijer

Branch: Free

Yarn: $9-$10 (all 3 colors) from Michaels

Striped curtains: $35 each (discontinued), on clearance from PB Teen

Curtain rod: Free, inherited from our previous master bedroom (discontinued) from Z Gallerie

Trundle bed: $350-$400 (discontinued) from Daz Furniture

Rug: $29.99 (discontinued) from Crate & Barrel

Chevron quilt and sham: $130-$140 on clearance (discontinued) from PB Teen

White sheet set and pillow case: $120 (out of stock) from PB Teen

Now Panic And Freak Out Pillow: $17.99 from HomeGoods

Desk: $69-$79 (out of stock/ discontinued?) from Ikea

Chair: $79 from Ikea

Trash can: $5 from Bed, Bath and Beyond

Laundry hamper: $7.99 from Ikea

Hooks: $2.99 each from Ikea

Wall clock (Karlsson): $35 from a gift shop

Toy storage system: $39.99 (each) from Ikea

Blue storage box: $5 (each) from Ikea

Red storage box: $4 (each) from Ikea

Green storage box (each ) from Ikea

Frames: $3.74 each (on clearance) from Target

Sphere: Free (I used my design dollars), (discontinued) on clearance from West Elm

Apple: $5-$6 from HomeGoods

Artwork: $29.90 from HomeGoods

Curtain wire: $12.99 from Ikea

Curtain hook with clips: $2.99 from Ikea

Art frame: $9.99 from Ikea

Printable art: Free design (giveaway win) from Plum Street Prints (printed on glossy paper at Target for $2.89)

Bean bag: $17.50 on clearance (discontinued) from Target

I hope you enjoy checking out my son's bedroom. Thanks again for all your lovely comments last Wednesday! I really appreciate it.

If you need help decorating your home, please click here for further information regarding my design services.

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AN Challenge, My Son's Bedroom, One Room Challenge, Our Home, Reveal

My master bedroom revealed!

If you have been following my blog, you know that I recently participated in The One Room Challenge, organized by Linda from My Crafty Home Life. If you are new to my blog and is wondering what The One Room Challenge is all about, you may check out all my previous posts here.

As promised, I will be sharing details, behind-the-scenes and resources of my master bedroom makeover. After moving to Illinois from North Carolina more than two years ago, I had a chance to redesign our master bedroom recently. It all started with this inexpensive pillow from Target.

With a design blog with literally thousands of gorgeous room inspirations, you would think I designed my master bedroom around an inspirational picture or two from my blog. Surprisingly, I drew inspiration from the above simple navy striped pillow instead.

For me, blue hasn't been my favorite color but when I saw this navy pillow, it was love at first sight. I thought the color looked very fresh and has a relaxed quality about it. I knew I wanted my bedroom to feel the same way. 

Then, I started to look for bedding. I have had the same striped beige bedding for 7 years and it's time for a change. I have always wanted to have a crisp, white hotel style bedding with gray stripes stitching. Fortunately, I found them at Target at a fraction of the price (compared to over $200 at other big box stores) after spending a few hours looking online. The wall color in my master bedroom was inspired by those gray stripes. I decided to go with a very light gray so the bedroom wouldn't look so cave-like considering that I will be keeping all my dark furniture.



In keeping with our small budget, we kept most of our bedroom furniture. To freshen them up, I have added bright and modern accessories to update the look. I wanted our master bedroom to feel relaxing but still look fresh, chic and visually interesting, thus the eclectic touches.



Let's revisit some of my master bedroom pictures that I shared previously.



Evening shots of my bedroom:

I bought these chairs seven years ago for my living room. The color is not ideal for this room and has a lot of visible water stains. I am planning to get them reupholstered in a white fabric or perhaps get two new ones. It will depends on what I will be finding along the way.

If you have been a long time reader of this blog, you might remember the same chair and acrylic coffee table that I used in my living room. I am planning to get a new coffee table for my living room soon. Now, I just need to find something I like that is also within my budget.

I actually had bright pink peonies or bluish purple hydrangeas on my mind for this installation but unfortunately, my local Whole Food (that's known for pretty fresh flowers) did not have any gorgeous flowers that day. After checking out a few other stores for fresh flowers, I found these pretty flowers at Jewel Osco. These flowers were not sold in a bouquet but rather in individual packages. I picked these four and thought the colors would looked beautiful together.

Did you notice the ceiling beam? This used to be one room but one of the previous owners enlarged the room and added an attached bathroom, making it a spacious master bedroom suite.

A close-up of the hardwood floor installation that hubby had been working so hard in the past few months. You may read more about the hardwood floor drama here.  

You might remember our wedding canvas from here. I thought the area above our nightstand was a little bare so I added a small vase and some green foliage that I picked from our yard.  

I bought this bedroom set 7 years ago because I really wanted to have a canopy bed. The color is not ideal but for the price, it was well worth it.

I intended to put two king sized pillow shams behind my standard pillows but they were missing during our move. The bed would definitely looked better with those shams, in my opinion.

Since all the furniture in my bedroom is so dark and heavy, I wanted to lighten the space up by using mirrors and glass table lamps.

I do not want my bedroom to look too serious so I added a whale pillow for a little bit of fun and whimsy. I have wanted to get the pillow for a while but I decided to wait for a sale before I made the plunge. 

I bought this clock when I was in NC. It used to live in my living room. I thought it would look wonderful against the light gray wall in my bedroom. Those table lamps were bought during a silent charity auction (that benefits the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society) during one of our regular Parade of Homes tour.

This miniature hutch was a gift from hubby for my birthday. I saw this during one of our window shopping trip and hinted that it be would be a lovely birthday gift. So, my hubby bought it on the spot for me. :) I really like that all the doors and drawers can be opened. I think this adorable mini hutch would be perfect to display little trinkets in the future.

Morning shots of my bedroom:

As you can see, my bedroom doesn't receive a lot of natural lighting during the day although there are four windows in the room.

I  wanted to show you my cowhide rug because I really love it. I have been wanting one for years but can't find one below $350 until I stumbled upon this one at Ikea. I was so thrilled with this purchase because first of all, Ikea's cowhide rug is the least expensive compared to what's on the market. Secondly, on top of that, it was on sale. And thirdly, it looked gorgeous! I took my time and sorted all the cowhide rugs while I was at the store but none looked as beautiful as this one. The best way to shop for cowhide rugs, in my opinion is to check them out in person before buying because the patterns on every cowhide rugs can be so random and different.

I bought those green geometric pillows earlier this year. A few months later, I stumbled upon the table lamp and bought it as well. At first, I didn't realize they were so eerily similar in terms of color and pattern (I put all my purchases in my closet and never took them out) until installation day. I was running out of time for the reveal on Wednesday so there is no way I could replace the pillows or the table lamp. It's quite insane if you think about it but I guess we are all attracted to the same thing again and again, don't we? I am planning to change out the pillows or the table lamp in the future to avoid the matchy-matchy look. 

I love my canopy curtains. I like that they were crisp white and very well-made but I would prefer if they were a little longer. What do you think? Do you think the length is right?

I forgot to turn on the table lamp on the left but I think this is a nice picture overall. The lighting and colors represented the room well.

The door on the far right leads to the attached master bathroom. It's a tiny bathroom but it works for us.



There are a few things you didn't know about this bedroom. I thought it would be fun to share with you some of those things!



Behind-the-scenes secrets:



1. I haven't show you one wall in our master bedroom and that's the closet wall. It's not pretty because it's a wall of mirrors. I am planning to use either screens, curtains or Overlays to hide them some day.



2. Trying to spend as little as I can, I didn't get a duvet insert. I figured I could just put my old comforter inside my duvet cover and guess what, it worked!



3. My husband already hung double curtain rods in our bedroom because I was planning to get some sheers for the windows. We haven't had a chance to get the sheers so I took the rods (for the sheers) down.



4. Many of the picture frames were empty. We didn't have a chance to select pictures and have them developed. I am planning to do that soon.



5. Hubby unknowingly missed a row of wood floor installation near the closet area. I don't blame him, it wasn't obvious. He will get that done when he gets a chance.



6. I changed the lamp shade of my mint green table lamp (the one from the sitting area) from a darker linen shade to a white shade (from another table lamp).



7. I bought 2 packs of faux lemons to accessorize the area above my dresser. Unfortunately, the fruit bowl is too deep and I didn't have enough lemons. I didn't have the time to run to the store again to get more so I stuffed some bubble wrap at the bottom of the bowl so the faux lemons are still visible from afar. Necessity is definitely the mother of invention! :)



This room is not completed yet but I am "done" for now. New pieces will be added and old pieces will be replaced in the future for sure. As with all rooms in my home, our bedroom will continue to evolve according to my taste and budget. 

The resources:

Wall paint: 780E- 3 Sterling from Behr

Curtains: $19.99 each, on sale from PB Teen

Acrylic coffee table: $249 from CB2

Nesting tables: $199, (discontinued) from West Elm

Chair: $350 each, from Bombay Company (now closed)

Mint green table lamp: $20, on clearance from HomeGoods

Green geometric pillows: $20 each, on sale from CB2

Cowhide rug: $200, on sale from Ikea

White vase: $9.99 from Ikea

Fresh flowers: $4.99 each bundle from Jewel-Osco

Picture frame: $3.25, on clearance (discontinued) from Target

Faux coral: $16.99 from Homegoods

Small yellow lacquer box: $8.99 from The Container Store

Medium yellow lacquer box: $12.99 from The Container Store

Tray: Free (I used my design dollars) from West Elm

Sphere: Free (I used my design dollars), (discontinued) on clearance from West Elm 

Gold ashtray: Gifted (giveaway win), (discontinued) from H & M Home

House tealight holder: $2.39, on clearance from Meijer

Round mirrors: $29.90 each, on sale (discontinued) from Crate & Barrel

Chevron rug (8' x 10'): almost $500, on sale from West Elm

Square mirrors: $39.90 each from HomeGoods

Table glass lamps: $59.90 each, from HomeGoods

Alarm clock: (I used my design dollars), (discontinued) from West Elm

Small cream vase: $3.99 from Michael's

Canvas: Free (In exchange for a review) from Reflections On Canvas

Bedroom furniture set (King size four poster bed, dresser, mirror (not used in this room), a pair of nightstands): $2,000, (discontinued) from Rooms To Go

King size sheet set: $49.99, (discontinued) from Target

King size duvet set: $89.99, (discontinued) from Target

Blue navy pillows: $19.90 each, got another one on clearance for $5 (discontinued) from Target

Whale pillow: $22/ $24 (discontinued) from West Elm

Canopy curtains: $29.90 each from Amazon

Ikat picture frame: $3.25, on clearance from Target

Silver picture frame: Free (I used my TJX rewards) from Marshalls

Small bowl: Free (I used my design dollars), (discontinued) from West Elm

Clock: $199, from Bombay Company (now closed)

Rectangular glass table lamps: $80/ $90 each, from a silent charity auction during one of the Parade of Homes in North Carolina

Miniature hutch: Free (birthday present from hubby), from George Lowell

Medium white picture frame: $4.99, from Ikea

Large white picture frame: $6.99 each, from Ikea



Fruit bowl: Free (I used my TJX rewards), from Marshalls

Faux lemons: $12.99 each pack, from Michael's

Gold tone apple and pear set: $9, from Home Accents

I hope you enjoy my master bedroom tour. Thanks for all your wonderful comments last Wednesday! I really appreciate it.

If you need help decorating your home, please click here for further information regarding my design services. 

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AN My Master Bedroom, Reveal