The Bedroom and other goodies

Well, hey there everyone. Sorry for, once again, a long pause in my entries. I took an amazing Ireland vacation in May so my focus was solely on preparing for my trip. It was a spectacular holiday and I highly recommend that anyone take a trip to Ireland. Just gorgeous.

But, it’s back to reality.

And the reality is my place still needs a TON of work. I did do some work before my holiday but as the weeks counted down I threw paint brush aside and vowed to pick it up once I got back. Well, I’ve been back for a month now and in the past week or so I have finally picked up the paint brush again and I am glad to say that I have accomplished something! Yay for me…lol.

I’ve been continuing to make the local retail stores happy as I continue to pick up this and that trying to capture that “feeling”. What is that feeling? Home. I want to feel “Home” when I walk in my door – but I’m not there yet. Too much “ I want to change that”, “I want to paint this”. I don’t think you can truly feel “Home” until you are content with your surroundings.

So paint, I shall!

The bedroom

Since the living/dining room was such a big project, I took a break – even though I still have the focus wall to deal with – and moved on to the most important room – the bedroom. You should be able to walk into your bedroom and immediately feel a sense of calm and relaxation. If your bedroom does not give you that feeling, then you need to change it!

Now, my bedroom is not your typical bedroom in that it’s small – really, really small. Approximately 10' x 8'. Yep, you read right. Surprisingly, though, it still contains a double, sliding door closet, 2 big windows, and a linen closet. The bigger surprise is that my bedroom furniture fits perfectly. I managed to fit 2 side tables, my queen size bed and a dresser in there. I know! Like, how is that possible, right? Mmmmagic!

No, not really. I think its math and just dumb luck that my furniture turned out to be the right size.

So – the colours. I have to say diving into the experience of using grey as a bedroom colour made me really like grey. So, grey was the choice again for my bedroom. I still had some of the Granite Grey paint (CIL) from my last project so it was easy to get started

as always, Layla provided her supervisory skills

When painting a small room you need to be very careful of not using too much variety in colour. But, heck, don’t be dull. Just because it is a small room, and just because it is a bedroom doesn’t mean that you can’t dial it up a notch. Pops of colour are ok – in fact, I think it’s essential. Bring a little passion into your bedroom…and if you can’t do that, at least paint the walls…hahaha J.

To give my bedroom that “punch” it needed I decided on a focus wall. I think a focus wall in a small room is a great way to give some depth to an otherwise small space. But what colour?...

Purple! Victory is the name of the colour (CIL). 

If any colour is going to give my room some pop, I figured purple would be that colour. And the thought of how it would bring out my large flower picture…that sealed the deal.

I also felt that the place needed a little more decor. But at the same time, I didn't want to go oevrboard. Small bedrooms can be tricky. Too much decor and it feels crowded...too little and it feels stale. 

I definitely wanted some kind of mirror. So in my last post I mentioned about picking up an oval mirror at a great price of only $10 from Home Depot. It only had a couple of dings on the frame, so I did some minor repair, a little repaint with some metallic silver paint, and voila!...

I put a little black paint on the inside rim of the mirror for a little emphasis. I was worried that with it being so close to grey that it would disappear. I have found that it actually changes in colour over the course of the day. During the day the sunlight shines into the room and the mirror glows, then during the night it blends in more with the wall. Not bad for $10 and a little painting time, eh?

The second dilemma was what to put between the  two bedroom windows - if anything. I first bought some wall decals...but then didn't like the idea. I wanted some kind of art, but I didn't know what. Then I walked into Home Sense and saw this:

I liked it. Didn't know why. It was a little "kitchy" in my opinion, so I actually didn't buy it at that point. I went to several other stores and looked at several other ideas. But my mind kept going back to how much I like what it said, and that it would be a positive thought to wake up to everyday. So I decided to give it a whirl. I find the best art is art that speaks to you. Something that brings out an emotion. A passion. 

The bedroom, to paint, took a lot longer than I thought it would. It wasn't just the painted of the walls, it was the painting of the window ledges. I wanted to use some Tremclad to paint this particular area because I do have a bit of a humidity problem in the winter. There was definitely evidence of the problem when I moved in. I had to do some extensive spackling of the window area to get it looking normal.

There was also some rust formed on the window frame that made it look awful.

So, Tremclad to the rescue!

Nice and pretty white now. 

So…here’s the bedroom.

Before

After

Not bad, eh? Very cocoon like. I still have a few touch ups to do and I have to put the white sheers back up, but it's mainly done. But I still feels it needs something…just not sure what that is yet.

Now there was some behind-the-scenes work going on that you can’t immediately see – namely what to do about my jewellery. Yes, there was a problem…a problem that came crashing down one day, actually.

I had one of those over-the-door jewellery hangers

It's a great way of displaying your jewellery...if you don't have the collection of jewellery that I have. I'm a bit of a cosmetic jewellery junky. I can't resist picking up a new pair of earrings or a new necklace. This little habit has resulted in quite the extensive collection. Apparently such an extensive collection that it can cause metal to snap in half - as it it did with the metal hook that once held up my jewellery hanger. 

So I had to come up with something different. I didn't want the usual jewellery box. With all the earrings and bracellets and necklaces and rings that I have, it would just turn into one giant mess if I put them in a traditional box. So, time to think outside the box.

Ta-da!

It's amazing what you can get at the dollarstore. I found some great bamboo stick-up hooks and some simple plastic hooks. I was going to go with those 3M easy-to-take-down hooks, but then I thought, wait a sec...this is MY home. If I want to put up a mess of organizational hooks, I'm gonna put up some hooks. 

Then I cleared out a drawer...

Staples is a great place for organizational tools. I got the clear trays for $6 each (in organizational stores they wanted $10 for a tray just like this!). They are meant for organization of office supplies. But - who cares? If it works for your purpose, USE IT!

Ah yes, the dresser. Now I mentioned that I picked up some wall decals. I found them at IKEA and I liked the colour and the flower pattern. But when I got them home, I wasn't convinced that it was the right thing for in between my windows. I had planned on changing out the drawer pulls on my dresser, but I discovered that, probably because it is quite an old dresser, that the standard distance between the two holes for the pulls is very different from back then.

This is a pic of my Dad from 1962...

he'll be here all night taking your requests...lol 

you'll notice the dresser in the background...same dresser. So yes, over 50 years old. I've thought about replacing it, but you just can't find that kind of quality anymore. Well, you can, but you'll pay a pretty penny for it.

I really wasn't looking to fuss with the dresser, But I wanted to revamp it a bit. Then it came to me...decals.

The result?

Pretty cool, eh?

Easy as pie, too. Just apply the decal, use a very sharp box cutter to separate the decal so you can open the drawers. Then trim it again to be sure that you won't catch any edges opening and closing the drawers. You may also want to apply a top coat to the dresser if you are using it in a child's room, but I've left that step out for the moment. I'll see if it becomes necessary. The great thing about this project is that decals are available everywhere and I did this in about 20 min. It's totally what it needed.

****

So there - bedroom is basically done. My next project will be to complete the livingroom. I still have my focus wall to contend with. I've been bouncing around a million ideas but I think I finally have it. I have also bought some new art and new pillows for my couch. But I will share those little finds at a later time. 

Stay tuned.

overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in Ireland!

Love, laugh, and make it gorgeous!