What I did over my Spring Break
Remember these stupid essays you had to write whenever you returned to school from a vacation? I hope Vika and Eamon aren't given this assignment, because their essays would be very boring reading. Poor kids. They were cooped up inside practically all week while Jeff and I worked on redecorating our bedroom (a project that was supposed to take one day, two tops, but wound up stretching through the entire week and beyond. It's still not done).
It all started with our old duvet cover and shams. Jeff is one of those people who, when he buys something, he really wants to get the most out of it. Which is why he still drives a 1991 Honda Civic. But I digress.... He bought this duvet cover the year before we started dating, making it 15 years old. It was kind of this funky, Middle Eastern style of print, and I always liked it. But the thing was OLD. The shams started tearing about a year ago, to the point where I could not sew them back together. Finally, I convinced Jeff that it was time to buy a new duvet and sham set. We found a great one on Amazon, and with our Amazon Prime shipping (thanks mom!) we got it in two days. Love that.
However, the duvet did not match anything in our room. Nothing really matched in our room. It was a mish-mosh of things we'd each had since before we knew each other, and random art work that followed no particular theme whatsoever. In fact, the room was a bit anxiety-provoking, and whenever company was over, we would close the door so no one would see the mess of a hovel in which we slept.
Well, that was all about to change. We painted the walls a nice, neutral khaki color that went well with our new duvet. Then we repainted the bed (it is a bed we inherited, which we actually love, but had been painted when we got it, so now must be either repainted to match the room or completely stripped down to the wood - a project much more daunting than either of us wanted to tackle at this time). Since we didn't have the funding to buy all new bedroom furniture, we decided to tie our existing furniture in to the new decor with accent pieces that pulled out the color in the furniture and the darker brown on the room fixtures and duvet. The duvet is kind of a tropical print in dark brown and sea-blue that reminds me of this travel show I saw on Bali. So, we decided to decorate the room with pieces from Indonesia and South East Asia. It was a great excuse to shop at Cost Plus and Pier One! I also found some images of Bali and Thailand and printed them out in black and white to hang on the walls in black frames with white mats. The room is coming together pretty nicely, if I do say so myself.
Now, we just need to finish the closet doors (they are original from when our house was built in the 70's and are much in need of updating). We're recovering the off-white contact paper that covered the doors with a grass-mat pattern which ties in nicely to the room.
Unfortunately, we did not take any before pictures of the room to show you a comparison of how it has changed. The room was just too awful before, I couldn't bring myself to document it. Here are a few "after" pictures I shot, even though we're not done redecorating.
Here's the new bedspread and the wall hanging we bought. not sure what to put on either side of it yet, but hopefully we'll find something.
The new wall above my bookcases. My favorite thing is the elephant teapot, which probably shouldn't be in a bedroom, but I love it! Also, notice the picture of the Buddha face up above? I took that on the Jungle Cruise at Disneyworld. :)
Despite being cooped up in the house all week, the kids did surprisingly well. There were a few rough patches, to be sure. But for the most part, it was smooth sailing. They hung out in our room with us, Vika reading and Eamon tinkering (with legos, transformers, Hotweels, etc.), and in the evening we watched movies to unwind. It was kind of like a week-long "time-in" for them, and may have been just what we all needed. Hopefully now that Spring Break is over and we have to get back to our regular school day routine, things won't start getting crazy again. And hopefully we'll get this dang room done before Summer Vacation!
It all started with our old duvet cover and shams. Jeff is one of those people who, when he buys something, he really wants to get the most out of it. Which is why he still drives a 1991 Honda Civic. But I digress.... He bought this duvet cover the year before we started dating, making it 15 years old. It was kind of this funky, Middle Eastern style of print, and I always liked it. But the thing was OLD. The shams started tearing about a year ago, to the point where I could not sew them back together. Finally, I convinced Jeff that it was time to buy a new duvet and sham set. We found a great one on Amazon, and with our Amazon Prime shipping (thanks mom!) we got it in two days. Love that.
However, the duvet did not match anything in our room. Nothing really matched in our room. It was a mish-mosh of things we'd each had since before we knew each other, and random art work that followed no particular theme whatsoever. In fact, the room was a bit anxiety-provoking, and whenever company was over, we would close the door so no one would see the mess of a hovel in which we slept.
Well, that was all about to change. We painted the walls a nice, neutral khaki color that went well with our new duvet. Then we repainted the bed (it is a bed we inherited, which we actually love, but had been painted when we got it, so now must be either repainted to match the room or completely stripped down to the wood - a project much more daunting than either of us wanted to tackle at this time). Since we didn't have the funding to buy all new bedroom furniture, we decided to tie our existing furniture in to the new decor with accent pieces that pulled out the color in the furniture and the darker brown on the room fixtures and duvet. The duvet is kind of a tropical print in dark brown and sea-blue that reminds me of this travel show I saw on Bali. So, we decided to decorate the room with pieces from Indonesia and South East Asia. It was a great excuse to shop at Cost Plus and Pier One! I also found some images of Bali and Thailand and printed them out in black and white to hang on the walls in black frames with white mats. The room is coming together pretty nicely, if I do say so myself.
Now, we just need to finish the closet doors (they are original from when our house was built in the 70's and are much in need of updating). We're recovering the off-white contact paper that covered the doors with a grass-mat pattern which ties in nicely to the room.
Unfortunately, we did not take any before pictures of the room to show you a comparison of how it has changed. The room was just too awful before, I couldn't bring myself to document it. Here are a few "after" pictures I shot, even though we're not done redecorating.
Despite being cooped up in the house all week, the kids did surprisingly well. There were a few rough patches, to be sure. But for the most part, it was smooth sailing. They hung out in our room with us, Vika reading and Eamon tinkering (with legos, transformers, Hotweels, etc.), and in the evening we watched movies to unwind. It was kind of like a week-long "time-in" for them, and may have been just what we all needed. Hopefully now that Spring Break is over and we have to get back to our regular school day routine, things won't start getting crazy again. And hopefully we'll get this dang room done before Summer Vacation!
The "after" pictures are great! I still think some nice wall lamps above the bed would be good. Give you more real estate on your bedside tables and fill in the wall a bit. Plus, they would match! Good job!
And you're welcome for Prime.
Would it make you feel better if I say that it has taken me last summer to just to do my room? I am still not done. Your room looks good though. By the way did you ever get that propeller thing you were looking for to out in the living room? I remember you mentioning something last I visited. Years ago by the way. Yikes!
It looks beautiful! Great job with the photos and color coordination.
Its beautiful! Love the color combos! I need to redo my bedroom so bad - are you for hire? :)