Our Bedroom Reveal

Updating our bedroom may have been a a goal of mine for 2019, but here we are in 2020 and it’s finally finished enough for me to share. I could never have done this without my close friend and decorator extraordinaire, Kristi Nevin, who broke down this project into manageable tasks that we could get done. She held my hand, and my shopping list, all of the way!

We started our project with the headboard for our bed. If you remember, we had a very 1990s iron one that had been kind of trendy when we got married, but now just felt dated. We replaced it with this super neutral upholstered one and I couldn’t be happier. We chose to purchase this affordable one that’s maybe not the “highest craftsmanship,” but it’s nice knowing if I change my mind about this furniture in a few years, I won’t feel guilty about it.

I’ve really moved towards a pretty clean look throughout our house, so choosing white bedding from Pottery Barn just made sense. Again, it’s perfectly neutral and allows us to accessorize it any way we want and change it up when the time feels right. Kristi is a master at layering pieces and taught me how to choose my pillows carefully. I’m in love with this blue animal bolster pillow (the fabric came from Calico Corners)–an item I didn’t even know I needed until it was on our bed.

Another detail I love is my husband and my shared monogram on the European pillow shams. These shams are also from Pottery Barn and I had them monogrammed at the The Initial Choice. I couldn’t be happier with how these turned out. (It’s hard to tell, but we went with a dark navy for the monogram.)

One of the things that makes our bedroom updates so much fun is that we were able to repurpose and reuse so much of what we had. This wing chair was the first chair my husband and I bought when we were married. Over the years, it had become a dingy white. But now it’s been completely brought back to life having been recovered in this navy velvet and piped with a cream-colored velvet. We treated an ottoman with the same fabrics, one that I’d been given for free at a summer garage sale. Our windows still have the faux wood blinds they had when we bought our house, but we’ve tamed them a bit with these white sheers from Target.

Kristi often tells me not be afraid of mixing different textures and metals. We found this amazing faux fur pillow at Share in Wilmette, and the side table, straw basket, and ceramic bedside lamps at Homegoods (my happy place!). The apothecary lamp came from Target, and the mirrored end tables from Ballard.

My husband and I aren’t much for collecting things, but we do always try to pick up some local art when we travel. The three prints you see framed here were from our trip to Lisbon last spring. We had them framed at Lake Forest Frame & Design Studio and now they truly are works of art.

Probably one of my favorite upgrades to our bedroom are these prints of our kids. It is the only collection of portraits we have of our children (how terrible is that?). We had these taken right after one of my younger sisters was married and we had a full set of white outfits. Four of the five kiddos were photographed then and we resurrected the little white suit for our youngest when he was old enough to fit into it. These photos were originally in color and we switched them to black and white with the help of Postnet (they did an amazing job!). I also changed out the frames to something a little more modern. I found these at Homegoods, too, for less than $10 each.

Kristi also helped us repurpose the dresser I bought before I was married with these fresh accessories from Share. The impact of a white tray is everything and the new mirrors above it from Anna’s Mostly Mahogony finish off this little part of the room.

But truth be told, my absolute favorite part of our whole bedroom transformation is the addition of my office. I haven’t had my own desk at home since I lived with my parents, so to not only have my own desk–but an actual office–is awesome!

Isn’t this space so pretty? My white acrylic desk is from Wisteria and the chair is from Ballard. You can see we added a pillow in the same fabric used on our bed, as well as a number of little accents (including the lamp) from Homegoods and Pasquesi‘s. And this rug is strategically covering a stubborn coffee stain but I found it online at TJ Maxx for under $100.

The wall shelves have made my little office space a room all its own. I bought them at Target and they provide just enough space to make this office very feminine and pretty.

Finally, the real showstopper in this room is this trunk that is now storage in my office. The first Christmas after my husband and I got engaged, he bought me this Lane Hope Chest. It was very 1993, with a light wood finish and coordinating fabric. Channeling my inner-millennial, I asked my dear friend if she could fix this piece for me. She completely transformed it by painting it the prettiest shade of blue and recovering it with this same animal print I’m crazy about. To say I love this piece of furniture is an understatement! It’s a great reminder that old things can be new again.

Before I forget, painting our entire bedroom a fresh new color completely gave this room new life. It’s hard to tell from these pictures (and even from the sample below), but the color is Benjamin Moore’s Constellation. It’s the softest, happiest color of blue. We actually have it in three rooms of our house!

So what do you think? I hope this little recap is helpful. Our room, just like the rest of our house, is always a work in progress. If you have questions, please fire away.

Happy updating!

xo,