The Master Diaries: Chapter 4

See Chapter 1, Chapter 2 & Chapter 3.

This chapter we're talking about pillows. Since I work two days a week at an interior design shop I didn't have to go far for pillows.

This Kevin O'Brien pillow sat upstairs in the design loft since I started working there last May. I knew it'd be PERFECT for my master bedroom:



It will sit on the settee at the end of our bed (especially since it's a REALLY nice pillow. I love Charlotte, but I don't trust her shedding fur and sharp nails near it).

I knew I wanted to throw another color into the mix, and that inspiration came from this Ann Gish pillow:



I love the color, but the pillow was a bit too formal (silky) for our space.

I took this ruffle teal pillow home on approval, and it was perfect. LOVE!

[ omg I'm so embarassed at our wrinkly pillows. please ignore ]

Yesterday I told you I was going to paint this dresser:



Well, when I brought home the teal ruffle pillow a light bulb went off and I decided to paint the dresser to match!!

I don't have the exact color yet (I'll probably color match it straight to the pillow), but it will be somewhat similar to this:



Still left to complete:

- get dresser painted
- settee upholstered
- art
- mirror above dresser
- accessories

The Master Diaries: Chapter 3

This chapter is called Paint & Skirted Tables.

My husband and I painted our master bedroom on Saturday and I have to say - it was so much easier than I expected! I was dreading it, but it took us just a couple hours. Usually it's just me painting but Matt helped me this time - I think he spoiled me.. it was so easy.

The "during" shots of my husband taking down the previous window hardware.





Looking at these pictures, I really cannot believe we waited this long to paint (well I can - it took me forever to come up with a plan). During the holidays, my husband and I would joke that we had "faux snow" along our ceilings - how festive. (if you're wondering what all that stuff is, it's dust from popcorn ceiling removal and sprayed paint from when they painted the ceilings).

Do you see Charlotte? She supervised napped while we worked.

After the room was painted, I was so inspired that I immediately went to my sewing machine and started to crank out our skirted tables. I was able to finish both this weekend after working long and hard at the machine and ironing board.

And here is the current state of the bedroom:





I LOVE the paint! What a difference it makes to have the room painted. It's hard to capture the true color, but it's more like the first picture. Gray with navy undertones. The paint color is "Gunmetal" by Benjamin Moore but if I could name it I would call it "Night Sky" because it reminds me so much of the color you see when you look up into the night sky. Perfect for a restful bedroom.

If you remember in Chapter 2, I shared with you the new color scheme:



I brought the spa green in with the skirted nightstand fabric. It's Thom Filicia for Kravet. It's to the trade, but Calico Corners also sells it.



It was really hard to finally decide on a fabric! I looked at a lot of options, but decided on this one because the colors were calming but the pattern was graphic and fun. I love that it's an animal print but subtle enough that it doesn't make our bedroom look like a cathouse.

I'm going to dedicate another post on how I made the skirted tables. It was tedious but easy (and yes I sewed them, no fabric glue involved!)

The paint and skirted tables are a big step in the right direction, but the room is far from finished. Here is what's to come:



I've named our bed "Big Red" and I wish we could replace it. I do like sleigh beds, I just wish our stain wasn't so red. Sometimes in design there are some pieces you have to work around, and this is one of them. However, once the upholstered settee is in place, it "hides" the bed really well and Big Red won't be so jarring in the room.

The lamps I purchased at Home Goods and the shape is a dead ringer for this pricey lamp from Circa. I originally purchased them for this room, but I now have something else in mind so I'll be painting them and moving them to the guest room (which is currently lamp-less).

The Master Diaries: Chapter 2

If you missed Chapter 1, it's here.

Speaking of, do you like the name of the series? I totally ripped it off from Erika and her Nursery Diaries. I really enjoyed reading about her nursery unfold chapter by chapter. Lord knows our master bedroom will be a chapter by chapter project so I thought it was fitting. And "The Master Diaries" sounds way more important than it really is. Janell also did a step by step master bedroom re-design!

In Chapter 1, I showed you my preliminary plan for the Master:



Needless to say, it's changed. As many designers/decorators have said before me, it's very hard to design our own spaces. I think it's because we have access to soo many fabrics and things that we are always afraid something bigger and better will come along. At least that's part of my problem.

But yesterday I did it - I finalized a plan. Here are the main colors that will be in the room:



I sort of stumbled upon this color scheme and I really like it - it's unexpected. The walls will be gunmetal gray and there will be spa green as the secondary color (in fabric).

After months of thinking about what to do with our master bedroom before I fell asleep, little did I know the solution was right above my head:



Too funny, huh?

Next up - the painful task of painting the room.

The Master Diaries: Chapter 1

The other morning, I woke up in our master bedroom and thought to myself - I can't wake up in this room anymore. I must do something about this.

This is what our master looked like the week we moved in and 7 months later it still looks like this:



Actually imagine the image above but with around 15 paint samples on the wall.

I can't believe we have lived with this room for that long. So I told both sets of parents instead of gifts this year, we'd really like a donation to the "master bedroom fund" to finally fix this situation.

At first I thought I wanted a light, bright room with creamy walls. After putting up all the samples I knew that wasn't us. I've had dark walls in my bedroom for the past 6 years and I really think it helps me sleep.

And here are the lovely paint swatches we've been sleeping next to for months:





I've decided on "Gunmetal" by Benjamin Moore (the swatch on the left in the above photo). Romantic name, huh? ;)

Although the plan could change (especially when I pick the fabrics), here is the color/texture palette I'm starting with:




I can't wait to get started!