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Vision for the Master Bedroom {My New House!}

by | Nov 20, 2015 | Decorating Inspiration, My Master Bedroom, My Seattle House

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Vision for the Master Bedroom {My New House!}

This little room here is our master bedroom! I think this room being so small and not being directly connected to the bathroom was one of this house’s initial limitations. Many people prefer a master suite and this house not only didn’t have one but it wasn’t all that easy to imagine how to create one.

Vision for the Master Bedroom {My New House!}

The master is right next to a bathroom, though, through a small hall that leads to the master from the entry. We’ve considered connecting this room to the bathroom by changing the placement of the bedroom door to the end of the hall where the entry is.

Vision for the Master Bedroom {My New House!}Atlanta Homes

Down the road if we add a new door to the master from the hall, it might even be something like the sliding barn door, above, (as long as it is nice and pretty flush with the wall so it doesn’t take up too much room). You can see where the current bedroom hallway starts with the opening on the left side of the hall photo, below. To the right goes to the other bedroom and office and straight ahead is the dining room and living room.

Vision for the Master Bedroom {My New House!}

See the swine paint in the hall? :)

While it would still be a small master bedroom and bathroom if we put the doorway at the end of hall, it would definitely make the room feel more like a master suite. The downside with that plan is that it effectively removes public access to the only bathroom on the main floor. With the new master door on the other side of the hall, guests wanting to use the restroom would have to enter the master bedroom, but at least the bathroom would be the first door in the hallway so you wouldn’t actually have to go through a bedroom to get to it.

Vision for the Master Bedroom {My New House!}

I did a post a few months ago about remodeling a bathroom to have two entrances to create a bit of a guest entrance if you only have one bathroom on a floor, but I’m not sure there’s enough room here to do that. We could perhaps add a powder room where the current office is, but for now that is not on our radar. We have a second bathroom downstairs so we’re fine with that!

Vision for the Master Bedroom {My New House!}

Right now, reconfiguring the room and bathroom isn’t a top priority so I’ll circle back to these ideas later. Right now, we’re just wanting to make this bedroom feel more like us in easy ways :). So often for people the master bedroom is the last on the list to improve, but we’ve decided that to really feel at home here we want to improve this space now and not wait for the ideal. Plus since so many of our other projects will require a bigger budget, a room that can be transformed just with paint seems like a great project to start on! I’ve already selected the color and have the paint so I’m ready to go!

As you can see, the room is currently yellow, or what I lovingly call a “lemon chiffon” color. Along with the “swine/hog” paint colors elsewhere in some areas of the house, it just won’t quite feel right to me until we get the walls painted!

Since our master is a fairly small room (at least compared to the big master suites often found in homes!), I’m thinking to play up the cozy factor. So instead of trying to make it seem bigger, I’m going to make it a cozy nest with dark walls!

Sometimes that’s the best plan for a small bedroom, just embrace it and make it cozy.

You can see some photos of dark walled rooms below, not necessarily the styles or colors we are thinking (and we aren’t doing black walls…or navy!) but it’s fun to gather some dark room inspiration!

Vision for the Master Bedroom {My New House!}Lonny

Vision for the Master Bedroom {My New House!}
Lonny

Vision for the Master Bedroom {My New House!}
original source unknown, anyone know it?

Vision for the Master Bedroom {My New House!}
Our Fifth House

Vision for the Master Bedroom {My New House!}
House and Leisure

Vision for the Master Bedroom {My New House!}
House Beautiful

To contrast with the dark walls, I’ll keep the white trim and likely have some white bedding or other elements to keep the room from feeling too overly dark. Fortunately the room gets a lot of morning sun through the windows so it’s a great room to be dark as it will still feel bright in the morning and definitely dark and romantic at night.

Vision for the Master Bedroom {My New House!}
Elle Decor

Vision for the Master Bedroom {My New House!}
Rue Mag

Vision for the Master Bedroom {My New House!}
Design Sponge

We are keeping our current bed (my mom’s wood sleigh bed that we had in our old house) at least for the time being, so I think the dark walls will make the bed look rich and very cozy. The bed fits perfectly under the windows so it will look great with curtains on either side to nestle it in. The far wall opposite the windows will have a dresser and a TV. Even though we don’t watch a lot of TV in our room, when we do want to curl up on a winter’s night and watch something it’s nice to have it there. For family shows we have a TV downstairs, but no TV in our living room or anywhere else on the main floor (I like peace and quiet in the house so having the TV downstairs keeps the loud shows away from my quiet zone, ha).

I will need new nightstands because this room is not as wide as our old room and my previous dresser/nightstands won’t fit (but I will use them in other rooms). The closet doors are currently mirrored which is nice as far as checking out your outfit and reflecting light, but stylewise, I’m thinking down the road to replace them with something else undetermined.

My first goal with this room is to paint, and then we will start rearranging and moving furniture into place and trying to get it finished up with new curtains (still undecided on what those will be) and other details. I also have a new semi-flush mount light fixture I want to install in the room that I think will add a bit of sparkle and romance! I’m really excited to see how this room will come together, it will be quite a different vibe than our old bedroom but since I don’t have each element planned out it already will be a surprise even to me how it comes together. :) Aren’t those surprise rooms fun?

So, that’s what we are working on right now! We are just about ready to start painting! I’ll share the progress on it of course, as well as catch you up and explain what other projects have been going on or not going on here, as the case might be :). I know you’ve been wondering so I’ll have some answers soon.

Be watching for updates on this room and the reveal of the new paint color!

In case you are wondering, I haven’t started Christmas decorating yet (some years I’ve started earlier just for fun, but this year I have had my hands full just getting settled here and with work projects so I don’t feel as prepared as I normally would be). While my home is still in its “before” state, I do plan to still put up my usual two trees and decorate the house. I’m definitely not waiting for a perfect house to enjoy the season! :) I’ll be sure to share anything I do in the upcoming weeks!

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23 Comments

  1. Susan Lamb

    Hi,
    I agree with your idea of small and cozy instead of trying to make it look big….which is probably not possible. Try some paint by british company Farrow & Ball. Only 132 colours, but many deep saturated ones like Hague Blue or Mahogany or Down Pipe. You could use the estate emulsion which is 2% sheen and consider a feature wall by using the same colour in an eggshell finish (20% sheen) or full gloss (95%)..all water based, 30% more pigment and low to zero VOC. So beautiful. I can’t live without it. Seriously. I hope you are having a happy transition into your new home. I am very excited to see wht you decide to do. I have a similar project starting next July so I am staying tuned! I continue to learn so much from you. A big thanks!
    Best,
    a Devoted Fan

    Reply
  2. Christie

    I can’t wait to see the new paint!

    Reply
  3. Mary Nell

    I LOVE a dark bedroom…. that’s where you go to sleep, relax, feel calm…. I don’t want a bright bedroom, so I love this dark one!

    Reply
  4. susan maclean

    Don’t dismiss the dark blue! We have just had our living room painted dark blue (the floors are blonde oak). The paintwork is my “through the house” colour of pale cream which goes with everything, hence doing all the doors, skirting boards etc the same colour. Just laid the new rug down which is turquoise with dots of red and white here and there, and truly, I love it! We have two windows, facing east and west, so plenty of light in the daytime, and at night the blue makes it sooooo cosy! Maybe blue is not your colour, but as I can see you have looked at many dark colours and I am sure you will find one which suits you. Enjoy doing it, and can’t wait to see the pics!

    Reply
    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      I love navy! My old office was navy and I loved it! I just happened to pick a different color to try for my bedroom :). Your room sounds gorgeous!

      Reply
  5. Janet

    Following up on your comment about the master being the last one to be decorated, this has happened in our house, too. We moved into our new house 4 years ago and my husband left all the decorating decisions to me – great, right? Until I got to the master bedroom and then all of a sudden he had LOTS of opinions he refused to compromise. And so the room continues with all the hand-me-down furniture and a ratty old white blanket on the bed. My theory is that when it comes to where we sleep, it’s a different category – almost like it’s not a part of the house to be “decorated”. I’m glad you’re going to get this done first. Wish I had while the Hubby was distracted with all the details of moving in. I’d be happy to decorate it however he wants but by now he’s very comfy. Oh well!

    Reply
  6. Cindi

    Hi,
    I’m new to your log and enjoying it. Just wanted to mention that every barn door I’ve seen lets too much sound in for a master. Watch out for that!

    Reply
  7. sandyc

    I think it’s great that you’re doing the bedroom first. After all, it’s not only the place you retreat to at the end of the day and sleep well during the night but it’s during that good sleep that your creativity is unleashed and what fun it can have in any of those settings above and the one you’re creating. Eager to see your AFTER.

    Reply
  8. Erin

    Our daughters’ bedrooms have mirrors closet doors and my first thought was to replace them. However, they have very small rooms so the mirrors bounce the light from the window making the rooms brighter and they make the room feel bigger.

    Reply
  9. Lori

    We painted our master a dark gray on 4 walls and charcoal on the fourth. After several years, we still love it!

    Side note: I’m now scouring Google for something like that fur comforter in one of the pictures you included in your post. That is a MUST HAVE.

    Reply
  10. Barbara (WA)

    Oh NO, more swine paint!! Thank you for not beginning the Christmas posts, heh. I am trying to savor Autumn. I am intrigued with your master bedroom ideas – I’ll be watching the progress!

    Reply
  11. Rebecca Turner

    I’m sure it will be great, whatever you do, and I can’t wait to see the paint color! (But if it were me, I would be strategizing to keep company out of my bathroom.) If you take down the mirrored doors, you may need a large wall mirror elsewhere to bounce the light around, especially with a dark color on the walls. What about a design with nailhead trim on the (new) closet doors?

    Reply
  12. kimBinAK

    Lovely photos and great ideas, Melissa :) Though my favorite colors are blues/teals, if I were to do a “dark” bedroom I’d go with a deep plum and add aqua, cream and gray accents… Looking forward to seeing your master bedroom evolve over time :) Thanksgiving Blessings to you and your family!

    Reply
  13. Kay

    HA! @ “swine/hog” — I just shared this funny name with G.O. this a.m. He grew up on a farm + agreed that some pigs are pink + that they even get sunburned! Who knew? They also love having their backs scratched, much like a dog. And that ends the porky portion of this comment! We just moved, too, + for some reason, this has made me yearn to decorate MORE! Have fun!

    Reply
  14. Sandy

    I think the darker color and white trim will be lovely in there, especially since you get sunlight in the day. Gray or navy sounds great. I can’t wait to see what you do, as I know it will be lovely. Those mirrors just might grow on you. I have them in my house, and they grew on me. With the dark walls, it might just make the room larger. Sometimes you just don’t know until you get there. Decorating a space is definitely a process.

    Reply
  15. Pamela

    I liked the bedrooms designs especially the third and fifth. Excellent for our new house.

    Reply
  16. Linda Grubbs

    Looking forward to seeing what you do!

    Reply
  17. Ms. Maggie

    Cozy but elegant it the way to go so everyone knows it is not a zone for anyone but the king and queen~~~

    Reply
  18. Deanna

    I think it is the right way to go, to play up the cozy and romantic factor of the room!

    Can’t wait to see what color you’ve decided on!

    Reply
  19. Pam delgadillo

    Thanks Melissa for taking us all along on your journey, it is fun to watch the process! We have been in our “new home” for about 8 months so making it our home has been exciting, exhausting, and challenging! We have those mirrored closet doors in our small master bedroom and they do help the room feel bigger so I want to keep them but I have seen them trimmed out with wood strips to look like French doors! This is what we plan to do! Thanks again, you inspire me! Pam

    Reply
  20. Linda P

    Thanks to my husband’s good eye my little kitchen remodel turned out better than I imagined it. I am so eager to see what Your room will turn out to be. Your “surprise” will be TRULY beautiful and will solve all your architectural dilemmas, and will support your life goals. Thank you so much for sharing them; it has changed the way I look at our home. You are amazing.

    Reply
  21. Maria M.

    I am excited to see this room come together. :-) You are an expert at making a house a home, Melissa — you will have it just the way you want it all in good time!

    Reply

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