Cozy Bedroom Updates

The same week I updated my living room and fabricked the walls , I also made small updates to my bedroom. I hung room darkening curtains and finally made a bed skirt for the bed frame. The bed skirt is made with the same fabric as on the walls in my living room which was half intentional. I’ve owned this frame for eight years and for seven and 3/4 years it has bothered me that the bottom was gaping open. It rises 18” above the floor and I use the underneath for extra storage. My bed never felt finished even though I make it every day. Now it, and the rest of the room, are coming together beautifully.

I’ve been steadily making my bedroom my place of solitude. Last year I bought the half globe cantilever lamps by Ting Shen off eBay and the mirrors and side dressers from IKEA. In the summer I bought the headboard off Craigslist (brand unknown) added two duvets (used as one) and a new duvet cover with matching pillows.

Bedside Surfaces Left and Right

I have plans to make some aesthetic changes to the mirrors and side dressers, but for now I’m shifting my attention to the color scheme and a chest of drawers that has been waiting patiently for me to finish the refurbishing I started on it six or seven years ago. Do you see a pattern? I’m making good on a lot of projects that I didn’t have time, energy, or money before (The Fabric Stash Challenge is one of them)

I’ve wanted a jade/eau de nil/teal bedroom ever since I saw the palace of the Jin Clan of Lan Ling, a fictional place from the tv series The Untamed, done in all cool blue green. I thought I would hate it but I adored it. I can’t paint and I don’t want to fabric all the walls so I chose to find the color in the curtains. I’ve also been heavily influenced by this room style done by Wendy Morrison Design. I want this with touches of whimsy, French Provencal, and the natural world. If life could be a fairy tale, I want my bedroom to feel like an enchanted sleeping chamber. Though I’ve enjoyed the green and pink — there’s nothing I don’t like about my current color scheme — I’m ready for a change. I’m leaning toward more blues and golds, but I haven’t settled on anything just yet. For now, I’m perusing duvet sets and quilts looking for inspiration. I’d like to design my own, but I don’t have the attention to give to that project at the moment.

As much of a fantasy place I want my bed room to be, it still has to have utility and to add that I’d like to reupholster my sitting chair that was once pristine but three cats, two of which were kittens, later it has seen better days. I’d also like a full length mirror that is at eye level so I can see my entire height. The mirrors framing the bed are there to add light and depth to the room. Lastly, I’d like to refurbish the chest of drawers into a secretary’s desk which I will use as a vanity station for manicures, general primping, and to serve as storage for all my wigs and hair accessories.

A small change I’ve made so far is to swap the foot locker and treasure chest at the foot of my bed for a long coffee table that was living in my storage unit. I’d like to use this space for some lightweight keeping of something, but I’m not sure what yet.

Over the next two months I plan to make bring about these changes and possibly more. I feel grateful I have a place that I can rest my head at night and feel comfortable and safe. A place that is fitting to my taste and filled with things that delight me. The whole world should have that. Everyone.

Truly,
Claire

Resources
Side Dressers and Mirrors, Malm 3 Drawer Chest and Nissedal in White
Brass Lamps, vintage Ting Chen
Duvet Cover and Pillow Shams, Madison Park “Gisele” 3 Piece Floral Cotton