Master Bedroom Remodel Progress

For those of you who have been following since the beginning, you know that our master bedroom was the room that absolutely sold us on the house.  Ok, I'm lying - it was pretty awful.  We endearingly gave it the name master cave since it was covered top to bottom in faux wood paneling and extremely small - the majority of the world would not call this bedroom a master of anything.  We have not been able to change the size of the room but we have however given this room a lot of upgrades to make the room feel larger and also feel comfortable and relaxing.  Today we are taking a little trip down memory lane and looking at the progress we have made on this room so far.

Master cave beginnings - 

First thing we did was paint the walls (or paneling) a soft gray and the trim white.  We used Olympic no VOC paint in Secret Passage for the walls and Olympic no VOC paint in just plain old off the shelf white for the trim - both in eggshell finish.  For detailed instructions on how we painted our paneling check here.  Right off the bat this was a huuuuuge improvement and we loved it.  Painting this room immediately brought in light, made the room feel larger and offered a calm and relaxing feeling.

We didn't like our doorway at all - call us claustrophobic; so we took off the door and created a new fabric doorway - you can see how we used a table cloth from Target to do that here.  We actually really love not having a door here that is always banging on the wall and other doors and love the added color and the bright pattern the curtain brought in.

Next we hung our dramatic curtains - high and wide.  Instant sophistication.  Hanging your curtains higher and wider than your small little window will help bring your eye up and create a larger looking space -  check it out here!  

We also have brought in a rug for a little texture and pattern action to help pull the whole dramatic curtain thing together.  Rug is from Ikea ($19.99!)

I think our most favorite update is the new chandelier light fixture, this is definitely our main focal piece in the room.  It's amazing what a new light will do to a space.  If you don't do anything else - update your lighting, it takes years off of your old house and it's really easy, see how we did it here.  We found this chandelier at Ikea as well for $39.99 - a steal for an awesome light.

Finally we grabbed these side table chests, painted them (here) and found cute lighting to put on top.  Both from Ikea - Ikea Rast Drawer Chest - $29.99 and Table Lamp $16.99!  We love the added storage, balance and function these chests provide.  

This part of the room really hasn't changed much.  Our space is really small so we don't want to add any furniture until we find something we love and that is appropriately scaled for this little space.

Just a few shots, I love the lighting, can you tell?

I'm really wanting to add some pretty pillows for some much needed style to this bed - It's a comin'.

And, the final before and after (so far) - for a dramatic effect.

Some things on our list to do - pillows, artwork, shelving and maybe even a sitting chair - if we can work a small one in.  We love our room now, it's relaxing, inviting and feels like a little retreat (a grown-up space since our house is now a giant playroom for King Silas).  Thanks for being a part of our journey so far!  

Glammin' it Up

So far, this has to be one of our most favorite things we have changed about this house yet.  Intrigued?  We think you might even be surprised.  One of our original house lights has bit the dust and has been replaced with a much bolder lighting choice.  That said light happens to be our master bedroom light.  So it's time for the step by step replay and new light reveal that we know all of you are anxious for.

Here's a quick before shot so you all can refresh your mind with our awesome original lighting:

First off, we went over to our non-labeled fuse box and played around with the fuses until we had the right one turned off.  Then, we discussed how we need to start labeling these things so we don't take fifteen minutes trying to figure it out each time.

Next, we simply removed the old light cover by screwing off the cap and exposing the actual light fixture and also a missed spot from a previous ceiling paint job (not done by us).  We have already found that we will have to eventually re-paint our ceilings one day - not something we are looking forward to.  In the meantime, we could use one of those ceiling medallions instead to cover this area but we haven't don that yet either.

After that we just unscrewed the fixture and disconnected all of the wiring.

Then we screwed in the new bracket that will hold the new light in place.

(New Bracket)

Next step was to start wiring the new light into place.  Just match the colors - white (neutral), black (hot wires) and green/copper (ground).  Then cap all of your wires to hold them in place.

Finally, we hooked our new light to the bracket and screwed in the base to finish.

Now came a confusing part for us, the light bulbs.  We purchased our light at Ikea and decided that we would just buy some bulbs once we got ready to install it.  Hmmm, didn't check to see what kind of bulbs, we just assumed and guess what happens when you do that, you guess right - we assumed wrong.  So, off to the store to buy the correct bulbs.  After we had the bulbs in and the fuse back on we were ready to gaze at our new light fixture...aren't you wondering what it looks like?

Ta da...It's a sparkly, pretty chandelier!  

Not kidding, we are absolutely loving this light and loving the feel it gives our new bedroom.  I had to kind of talk Justin into it, but once it was home and up he was loving it too.  I'm telling you, adding a new light fixture will do wonders for your room, it can absolutely change the entire style and feeling.  It's also fairly easy to replace lighting fixtures so don't be afraid of this kind of project.  If we can do it, you can to!  This room has gone from master cave to master glam.  I can't wait to show you what else is going on in there, it looks so totally different than when we first moved in. Until that day, I will leave you with some more shots of our new favorite thing.

Before

After