If you recall, we don’t have a headboard. At our old house, we painted one on the wall. Also, a little known fact, we were borrowing our bedroom furniture (night stands and dresser) from my seester. So when we moved into our new house, this was the extent of our bedroom. A bed. We borrowed the lamp from Evelyn’s old room, and I was using a barstool as a night stand. It was sterile. It was empty. It was a place to sleep. It was boring.
I don’t know if this is normal or not (please weigh in on if you are/ aren’t), but I am a bedroom person. I always have been. From the time I was little, I enjoyed spending time in my bedroom. I didn’t like playing or hanging out in the family room. I’ve always retreated to my room. Mom & Dad never had much luck punishing me by sending me to my room. I wanted to be there. And now, I spend a lot of time in my room. When Evelyn wakes up, we snuggle and play in our master bedroom for awhile. And after she goes to bed at night, I like to read, blog, catch up on real estate work, and watch TV in our room. I know there is an opinion that rooms should be just for sleeping, and DEFINITELY no TV allowed. But that’s not me. It’s my comfortable place. I love relaxing by sitting in my bed.
Now you know more about me (#themoreyouknow). And now you understand why the above pictured wasn’t jiving me with. If you follow me on Instagram, you already know this… As part of my Christmas present, Aaron gave me painting supplies and promised me the uninterrupted time I so desperately wanted to work on a project. And I chose our bedroom.
I found this headboard on the classifieds. Isn’t it funny how 5 years ago everyone found gold and brass things and painted them oil rubbed bronze, and now we find oil rubbed bronze things to paint gold?
Spray painting this was a process. First of all, we were in the single digits of temperatures. Do you know how long spray paint takes to dry when it is 9 degrees outside? Squints says it best, FORRRRREVVVVVERRRRR. And as you know, when spray painting, the most important thing is several light coats. So, this took 5 days. Yes. 5 days.
Prime. Gold. Lacquer. But I’m so glad I took my time. (Yes, I wore a mask. Yes, the area was well ventilated.) There were no drips, and the finish is stunning. It has a very professional factory finish because of the lacquer.
I wanted to paint the whole room Starless Night by Behr. But, I got nervous. Guys, it is a DARK color. And I was worried it would suffocate the light. Normally I don’t particularly care for just one solid color as an accent wall. I feel like an accent wall should make a real statement, not break up the flow of a room. But I wanted to test this color, and I figured the best way was on just one wall for now, and if we loved it, then go ahead and paint the rest of the room.
For months I have been looking on the classifieds for the right night stands to makeover. And there was just nothing. So I finally found these nightstands from Overstock.com. And this is what we ended up with, in just a few short days over Christmas break:
The bedding is the same we had from our last bedroom makeover (West Elm). I get a lot of questions about how the white duvet cover holds up. I bought it on black Friday 2 years ago, and it is still clean and bright. We have 2 dogs and a baby. That should tell you. I wash and bleach it about once a month, or as needed.
This room isn’t done. In fact, we are just getting started. I have some plans for improving the lamps. I have some art projects in mind to dress up the walls. But it feels good to have a start. It feels like “us.” It’s a place I want to be. (And yes, I’ve decided to go for it and finish painting the whole room Starless Night. I just need to get up the energy to do it. Growing a baby is hard…)