7 Unfortunate Remodeling Mistakes & a New Master Bedroom Makeover
See how our dark and heavy master bedroom got a bright, fresh makeover on a budget, turning it into our peaceful retreat!
Shortly after my husband and I purchased our house we gave the master bedroom a makeover. It was the very first room we did. Yes, you read that right – the before photos in this post were our first master bedroom makeover.
You see, we were both completely new at this home owning and renovating thing and had no clue what we were doing.
We were going to be married in 3 months, we were both working full time, and we were still in wedding planning mode. My husband had already moved in and I would move in after our wedding. We wanted to have the master bedroom finished before the wedding, so we rushed the project and settled on a lot of things we shouldn’t have.
We brought whatever furniture we already had into the marriage, including my large dark cherry dresser with a trifold mirror. I got that dresser from my parents for Christmas when I was 12 and always loved it, but it just didn’t work in this space as it was.
I know people’s taste in decor changes over time, but I’m really not sure what I was thinking with the curtains. Hmm.
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Here are 7 mistakes we made in our first master bedroom makeover 7 years ago:
1. We didn’t correct the paint color when it came out too dark.
We were in a hurry to “be done” so we decided to live with it. The next 6 years were spent saying how it was too dark. Ugh. Don’t settle – just repaint it until you’re happy.
2. We didn’t paint the ceiling.
It was still the dingy off-white it had been when we moved in and did not lend itself to a light and airy feel in the slightest. Always give the ceiling a fresh coat!
3. We didn’t replace any of the trim.
The old, short 1960s baseboards and door casings were still there – we just slapped some white paint on them and called it good to save time. The window didn’t have any trim and had short, ugly sills. It’s amazing the difference larger, fresh trim can make! If you have the time and resources, do it!
4. We didn’t change out the lighting or hardware.
The white ceiling fan worked okay, but upgrading to a nicer ceiling fan this time around made a huge difference! Even small touches like a new doorstop helped in making the space feel complete.
5. We chose the wrong curtains and hung them improperly.
They were too dark and heavy, the wrong color, and we hung them too low. This sucked up light and made the window and whole room feel smaller and darker.
6. We packed too much furniture into our room.
We have a moderately small bedroom yet we tried to fit in a queen size bed, 2 nightstands, a dresser, chest of drawers, small cabinet, and a large armchair. It was too cramped. Plus, my dresser was massive and dark.
7. We didn’t put a rug under the bed.
We incorrectly thought that adding a rug would make the room feel smaller, when in fact it helps to tie a room together!
That being said, why did we wait 7 years to redo this room?! Two reasons: Higher priority projects and children!
Once the bedroom was finished and we were married and settled in, there were SO many other projects that took priority – like our first, unexpected repair job! Next came our major kitchen renovation, bathroom renovation, countless other paint and trim work jobs, outdoor projects and landscaping…oh, and we had two babies exactly two years apart in there as well.
When I was pregnant with our third baby last summer we decided we needed to make this master bedroom makeover happen. Every other room in the house had been completed and we had now come full circle.
We needed our master bedroom to be a peaceful retreat in the midst of our busy life as parents.
This was also the perfect time to do it because we had just moved our two older kids into the same bedroom, so the nursery was now free to act as our temporary bedroom.
The first step in our makeover was to create a mood board.
What’s a mood board? It’s a page (physical or virtual) where you can collect all the inspiration for a room and see how things will work together before remodeling. I put this together on Canva.com. It’s free and a great resource. I do pay for the “Pro” version, so I’m able to easily remove image backgrounds (among other features). But you can still use the free program to create your own mood board!
How we transformed our master bedroom on a budget
Join me on a little tour of this master bedroom makeover!
The Master Bedroom Paint
We tried out many samples but finally settled on “Winds Breath” by Behr in an eggshell finish. We love it! I would describe it as a light gray that sometimes looks a little green. It’s very calming.
The ceiling is painted in pure white ceiling paint.
Some have asked why we choose to use Behr paint. Honestly, it’s just because it’s readily available and affordable at a nearby home improvement store. That’s it!
The Master Bedroom Trim
My husband replaced all the baseboards and door casings in the room and added trim around the two windows. Framing in the two windows as one large window made a huge difference! Anytime you can make something feel bigger about a room – like making two windows seem like one – do it!
We paint all our trim with semi-gloss ultra pure white.
If you’d like some specifics on how my husband framed the window, here is a sketch he drew up:
Curtains and Shades For Our Master Bedroom
The window treatments are probably one of my favorite parts of our master bedroom makeover! I found these lace-trimmed curtains on Amazon. They’re very affordable and I’ve been pleased with them! Just note that they will filter some light but not provide much privacy or act as a blackout shade. I hemmed them by flipping the top over and sewing straight across to form a new rod pocket. It was really simple and only took 15 minutes. That way the lace at the bottom remained untouched.
Remember to always hang your curtains higher than the top of your window. We aim for just a few inches down from the ceiling. Also try not to block your window with the curtains. Ideally hang them on the outside edges of the window. In this case we had to block a little of the window because of the odd positioning of the window on the wall. There are only about 4 inches between the right hand side of the window and the perpendicular wall. We didn’t want the rod to look totally lopsided, so we still centered the curtains which covered a little bit of the window.
We wanted cordless shades and ultimately decided on woven wood shades from blinds.com. These are the Bonair Flaxen Woven Wood Shades. We added the blackout liner for an additional fee. They’ve been great. They were easy to install and are exactly the look we wanted. The only downside is that they took forever to arrive (but then again most things do these days) , and the pricing on the website was a little sketch as it seemed to keep changing while we were ordering.
The Bedroom Furniture
We mostly used the furniture that we already had for this bedroom makeover. I did give my dark dresser a fresh start, which you can read about here!
I fell in love with that mirror from Homegoods the minute I saw it! I wish it was just a few inches larger, but I love it so much I am set on using it!
Our headboard was made by my Father-In-Law back when my husband and I were dating. He made it for my husband because he didn’t have a headboard at all. I knew things were getting more serious when my husband (then boyfriend) kept sketching the headboard out on paper and asking me what kind of features I liked and didn’t like. It’s like he was planning for it to someday be mine too.
We don’t have matching nightstands, but boy do they have character and history! My husband’s nightstand was made by his grandfather. It was used by my Father-In-Law when he was a little boy, then by my husband when he was little. We plan to eventually pass it down to our son and probably build or buy matching nightstands at that point.
My nightstand is a really old table that I found at a consignment shop back when I was in college. I found SO many things at that shop – boy do I miss it! Sadly they went out of business. This is one of those pieces I’d love to take to the Antiques Roadshow. I feel like it’s super old – like maybe early 1800s kind of old.
We previously had my vintage armchair crammed into our room, but it was really too big for the space. We moved it to the family room. I found this sweet little vintage chair at the thrift shop a few months ago. The tag indicated it had been sitting there a whole month with no takers, so I got them to lower the price to $20 and brought it home with me! It fits perfectly in this little corner of our bedroom.
My husband’s dresser was also made by his grandfather. That man was a very skilled craftsman!
Master Bedroom Bedding & Rug
This is probably a boring answer, but we’ve had the same blue and white checked quilt for several years. I think I got it at Homegoods. Once I find something I like I’m not keen to replace it just because. Here’s a similar one if you’re trying to achieve the look. Ours reverses to a stripe – the linked one does not.
Our dust ruffle is also from Amazon and is exactly what I hoped for! Be sure to measure your “drop” from your mattress to your floor before ordering as it comes in different sizes.
The lovely rug is the Murrindindi Area Rug by Boutique Rugs. I cut strips from this rug pad and placed it under the edges of our rug to provide grip and avoid accidents.
The bolster pillow was from Homegoods and the folded quilt at the foot of the bed we’ve had since we got married – also from Homegoods!
These are our white ruffled pillow cases. I wanted something simple, soft, and feminine paired with the simple more rustic wooden headboard. Just be aware that they are relatively thin, so if your pillow is patterned or has words on it, that will probably show through a bit.
Our sheets and pillow cases (back pillows) are by Hearth and Hand from Target. I like them a lot, but fair warning if you’re a hot sleeper they are pretty warm!
Art & Accents In Our Master Bedroom
Shopping your home before buying anything new is one of the best things you can do to save money! I stole this collection of baskets off the wall of our living room and hung them over our bed. They look so much better in here!
These baskets were miraculously all from one thrifting trip several years ago. The whole arrangement cost me maybe $5. They are hung with straight pins (sewing variety) that I hammered into the wall through the cracks of the baskets.
All of the wall decor hanging in our master bedroom was thrifted!
This little print was a love-at-first-sight thrifting find a few months back. I love the peaceful country scene. My husband prefers a more vibrant Fall themed print I found (also vintage), so we’re working to compromise on that decision. This one made the photo, though!
Our ceiling fan is by Hunter. We like this model so much we have it in 3 rooms!
The bedside lamps were from Homegoods.
The print to the left of our window is actually a framed tea towel or some other linen. I haven’t opened it up, but it seems to be a printed fabric under UV protective glass in a custom frame.
Upon doing a little research I learned it was mass produced in some fashion, but am still unsure of its origins or value. Unfortunately this one does have a water stain on the entire left side, but I don’t even mind! I just think it’s so neat!
This vintage oil painting was my most recent thrifting find. I think it was $16, which I didn’t think was bad for a painting of this size and the frame in such good condition. It’s certainly more “moody” if you will than the other art, but my husband and I have a thing for England and little villages, so I thought this was perfect. This resides above our corner chair.
Thank you so much for coming on this little tour of our master bedroom makeover with me!
We have been enjoying our fresh, peaceful retreat so much and I’ve been eager to share it with you!
If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below or message me on social media!
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Blessings,
Melissa
Everything is lovely and interesting and you have to feel so happy to walk in the room!
Thank you, Julie! We feel SO much better when we walk into this room now! 🙂
Just lovely! Perfectly placed decorative pieces, pretty fabrics and paint color! All make for a beautiful and soothing bedroom. 🙂
LOVE the baskets, too!
Aw thank you, Sarah! What a kind compliment! 🙂