Bedroom Plans: Serenity Now

We’ve now been in our new home about a month. All the boxes are unpacked and our objects have been assigned their respective places, but there’s also a lot of sparseness around here (which I far prefer to clutter, so I’m not complaining). I sold most of our furniture and major accents before moving, and  the only two furniture pieces we really brought with us were an antique bed that I found on Craigslist (for $100!) many years ago, and an old vintage dresser I found on the side of the road last time we lived in Boston and then painted white. (I actually also kept our mismatched vintage nightstands but plan to replace those once budget allows.) So furniture-wise, we are starting over.

And because we are not millionaires, investing in major furniture pieces and light fixtures and rugs isn’t going to happen overnight—that ish is expensive!  Nor would I really want to in all honestly, because I’d probably get stuck with too many pieces from not enough places and build rooms that feel like a page from a CB2 catalog rather than a reflection of the much more nuanced “us.”

As I mentioned in my last post, I lived across the street from my shop in Philadelphia, and for a number of reasons, I never felt renewed, refreshed, or relaxed in my own home. So my number one priority for this space is to make it an oasis – an escape from being “on,” an indulgence in comfort and serenity and calmness. And that is all starting with the bedroom for me.

I struggle so much with being able to sleep through the night: I toss and turn and generally wake up between 1 am to 4 or 5 am, not able to sleep or turn my mind off. So, number one, we invested in a new mattress from Casper – and that was a game changer. Then I painted the walls a soothing, semi-dark (for me at least) gray, and upgraded our bedding to breathable linen rather than cotton or fabric hybrids. And no phones on our nightstands. Those are charged out of reach from where we lay our heads. And guess what? I’m sleeping much, much better.

So overall here’s my plan moving forward with the bedroom space:

  • Paint walls warm mid-tone gray
  • Ground the space with a soft wool, light hued modern rug
  • Hang simple window hardware with light sheer curtain panels
  • Replace bedding with linen duvet cover and sheets (I chose this mid-toned gray from Restoration Hardware since it was a nice neutral color but paired it with the lighter and slightly more feminine light blue gray sheets from Parachute and the two play off each other so well!)
  • Add feminine solid hued throw pillows in blush and Burgundy to accent the gray and keep the room from going too masculine
  • Replace our old beat up leather pouf with a new one (I keep this at the side of our bed to act as a “stair” for our pup General Gazpacho to easily get up and down from our bed)
  • Use large minimal woven basket as a laundry basket
  • Get large-scale simple brass-framed mirror for above antique dresser to balance “old and new”
  • Flank large mirror with hardwired wall sconces for soft lighting
  • Add cascading plant life to purify air and add in a nice organic element
  • Pair of matching nightstands (LOVING these from Hedgehouse Furniture, but I’m afraid they’re too wide for our space)
  • Invest in this pretty essential oil diffuser

 

from top left: duvet cover, sheets, paint color, nightstand, blush pillow, burgundy pillow, rug, mirror, light fixture, basket, pouf, curtain

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