Last fall I started working with a wonderful new client. She has a beautiful home and a traditional style. I love working with many different styles (not just my own!) to make each client’s home reflect what THEY really love, and the traditional style is so lovely to work with. Earlier in the year we finished her powder bathroom, and we also did some Room Redesigns in her living room and family room. The first time we met we went through her entire home. When we got to the principal bedroom these were her words to describe it: “It just feels blah.” So, I made a redesign plan for this bedroom with the goal of creating a beautiful, inviting, cozy space that didn’t feel blah at all.
We kept the main pieces of furniture, reworked the curtains, repurposed the old lamps and art in a different part of the room, and added pillows and accessories scavenged from other parts of the house. We bought a new rug, the lamps pictured here, the bench, and roman blinds. And of course, we changed the paint colour!
I love how simply moving the curtains frames this whole wall. The curtains positioned this way let in so much light, and make this area feel more spacious. In fact, I would go so far as to call this one of my free tips for interior styling: Let in as much light as you possibly can into every room in your home. By placing the curtains on one side of the window as we did here instead of having the window framed on either side by curtains, we achieved the appearance of more space and bigger windows. Besides these aesthetic purposes, it is always a good idea to let more light into every room because it’s just plain good for us! It is good for our physical health, our mental wellbeing, even our energy bills! I encourage you to try this little trick in your own space.
My client used to have two dressers in the room, but really didn’t need them both. The weight of the dresser made that side of the room feel heavy. Taking it away and adding in a very large mirror and plants helped balance the room, and bounces the natural light back into the space. I was also very excited to recommend a family-owned Alberta based company to make the mirror and bench. Primrose is amazing to work with. They are extremely professional, and their pieces are beautiful. They custom made the mirror for us. To give you a sense of scale, the mirror is 86 inches tall, and 48 inches wide (just over 7’ tall and 4’ wide). It is so stunning. They delivered it, carried it up the stairs, and placed it exactly where we wanted it. I highly recommend them.
We repurposed the old bedside lamps by painting the shades navy. Then, in the living room redesign, we used the sofa, standing lamp, and rug that was in the bedroom before. The side table and little lamp used to be in the living room and fit perfectly here now.
Okay, so who wants to sit here and read a book and drink tea? I certainly do. I love the way the chaise connects this corner of the room to the rest of the space. This corner is actually a really good example of how you can mix high and low pieces. The chaise is from Signature Lane, which is a high quality furniture store. It will last a very long time, and is truly gorgeous. We complemented it with free picture frames painted white, some other items my client already owned, and a sheepskin rug from Costco.
I just love the way this cozy bedroom redesign turned out. Do you have a favourite part? I’m torn between the mirror area and the new reading nook. I also love the big difference made by our simple changes to the bed area too! Tell me below, what room in your house could we turn from blah to beautiful?
