Bedroom Moodboard & Plans

Now that we’ve established the overall scheme and specific needs for my bedroom space, let’s get down to the nitty gritty of what exactly I plan to replace and add to our bedroom.

While I will be keeping our vintage white and brass iron bed frame (for those of you interested here is a very similar option since I get asked all the time where our bed is from), essentially everything else minus a couple minor accessories will be getting swapped out…so big changes are coming!

One benefit of living in a smaller space is needing less furniture and decor overall to complete your home. The challenge, however, is making sure every choice is optimizing the space to your needs.

While a space like our living room or kitchen allows us a little more flexibility to upgrade things in stages, our bedroom is such a crucial room — its where we rest, unwind, and get ready every day — and one where we lack the most function currently. So suffice it to say, I am ready to finish out this one corner of our home for us to fully enjoy!

 


How small is our bedroom?

Here’s a to-scale floor plan, featuring the layout with my new selections

 

Our bedroom is only roughly 11′ x 11′ and nearly the entire wall to the left is occupied with sliding doors to our closet which eliminate the option of floating any furniture in front of it. Another challenge is our radiator directly under the window opposite of the door, which can’t be entirely blocked. All that said, building off our current layout makes the most sense to me, and I like that we get a lot of sunlight flooding in on the bed when we wake up in the mornings: it definitely makes starting the day easier and more pleasant!

Flanking the bed, I’m going with two larger and matching white nightstands with a generous drawer and open storage, which will fill out that back wall way better than the under-scale, mismatched ones we currently are making do with. I’ll also be swapping out our current lamps for these smaller alabaster stone ones. I’m a big fan of reading in bed, and Will has a difficult schedule being in medicine where he has really crazy hours, so getting petite bedside lights that cast a soft ambient glow instead of too blinding of light was a must.

Spoiler: the nightstands are still being made-to-order, but the lamps have already arrived and they are GORGEOUS. Every one of them is unique because they are real alabaster, so one of ours has a slight blush undertone and the other has some unique gray veining and I LOVE that every one of them celebrates little differences because of their natural characteristics. Those are the things that add character, and that character is what I usually love about vintage and antique items, so I especially love when they are celebrated by modern makers and brands too.

Another big swap out will be the rug. I currently have this 5 x 8 Moroccan shag rug which I do really like and would recommend, but isn’t quite my personal style. It also wasn’t the right size; living with it for a while convinced me that we really needed to go with a square rug. So, I ordered both of the ones above (both of which are an AMAZING DEAL) holding my breath that they may not look all that great in person because of their super low price-tag…they just came in and frankly I love them both. Either will work, I almost wish I could keep both. (Seriously guys, both are under $150 each, which is insane). Here is rug option 1 and here is rug option 2.

Ultimately I’m leaning towards the second choice, since the first is a little too similar to one I have in another room.

 

(image via @woodlucker)

Another major swap out will be replacing our old painted antique dresser we found on the side of the road six years ago. It has served us well, but with very little storage in our small home, not only did it feel too dinky in the room, it also didn’t provide enough practical storage for us. I’ve had my eye on the Berkeley series of dressers from Room & Board for a while (look at that amazing grain) and decided to splurge. I love how sustainably-focused their company is (much of their offerings are bench-made on the East Coast), and this 55″ width one is not only the perfect size but I loved the interesting orientation of all the drawers.

The final major change will be to all the bedding…which has now arrived and I have in my hands! The colors and textures are delicious and dreamy, so I’ll share more soon over on Instagram and IG stories. Stay tuned and make sure you are following along over there too!

I hope you guys are enjoying this detailed journey of my design process for our bedroom! Definitely reach out with any comments or questions below 🙂


moodboard source list, clockwise from left to right:

curtain | print | paint color | lamps | mirror | dresser | bedding | nightstand | framed art | rug | fair trade baskets | metal bed frame | blanket | silk throw pillows | leather morrocan pouf | brass boxes


 

A note about this post: this bedroom makeover is in partnership with Garnet Hill, a brand I have known, used, and loved for years. This partnership means I have and will receive a number of gifted items I have personally selected for my bedroom space. Partnerships like these allow me the time and resources to share my design process with you and to share items I genuinely enjoy, hand-pick, and can speak to the performance of. I have supported Garnet Hill for years with bedding and bath items out of my own pocket, and love their focus on sustainable, quality-made goods. I only partner with brands I sincerely support; all opinions shared are entirely my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Millay Studio!

Join the conversation and share your thoughts!