Operation Sultrify: Master Bedroom, Part 1

I've come to the realization that I will never be finished decorating our home. I think my husband probably figured this out years ago since he's had to live with the chaos of these changes many times over the years. Life isn't static and neither is our home. Since our home is a creative outlet for me, I'm probably always going to be doing something to it, whether its as small as adding a colorful new candle to a room or as big as tearing out walls, or just sprucing up a room that has pretty much been the same for the past 6 or so years, like our bedroom.

One of my goals for 2013 is to update our master bedroom. I sheepishly recall that this was one of my goals last year too. Here's what I wrote in last year's New Year post:

A couple things I really want to do this year is update our master bedroom. I had that as one of my goals for 2011 but it didn't happen. I think its because I'm fairly happy with it already that I haven't moved on it. It doesn't need a total revamp, just some tweaks, like a headboard, bench for the foot of the bed, and maybe a little more color...  

Ohh, that's right - not only did I have that as one of my goals for 2012, apparently it was a goal in 2011 too. I think it's about time I get to it, don't you?

I'm actually pretty happy with our bedroom as it is now. It was last updated in 2006 when we took it from dark and tropical to light and coastal with a new wall color (Ralph Lauren Polaris Gray) and new white molding and doors as well as updated furniture. The makeover was a surprise from my hubby that he did while I was away on a trip. I know, he's awesome, right? It was such a great thing to come home to! The colors and style are classic and I still really like it. Even though I love having color and warmth in our living area downstairs, for our upstairs I prefer the serenity of whites and grays. Our bedding is white, our towels are white, our curtains are white. It's clean and fresh, and believe it or not, it's pretty easy to keep clean since it's all washable. I still haven't bored of it {much} after over 6 years of having it that way. We've done a couple little things to our bedroom since then like get a new duvet cover for our comforter last year (we've had a down comforter for many years - I love that thing!), and the vanity table and large black and white picture above the bed was purchased a few years ago at Ikea, but for the most part the room has stayed the same.

So why do I want to change it if I like it? Well, I don't want to totally change it, just add to it. It's tranquil and calm and airy which is really nice and all, but I'd like to make it a little more dramatic and intimate and, dare I say ... sultryyy? Hence the mission, Operation Sultrify. I'm pretty sure I'm making up words again so here's some help if Webster ever wants to include it in the dictionary: /sult'-ri-fī/: to make sultryyy.

Here's What I'm Starting With:

This pic below is taken from the entry door to the bedroom. I probably should have left the bed unmade or thrown some dirt on the floor to to make it look worse since it IS supposed to be a before pic. I mentioned already that I really like our room for the most part just as it is now. It's not a huge room, but it's light and calm with a coastal vibe. We were going for a vacation feel like when you stay at a nice hotel at the ocean. To complete the vibe, I used to have a potted palm in that far corner next to the lamp there, but it just died a few weeks ago and I miss it! That greenery added a lot of life to the room, so just imagine a palm there because I plan on replacing it soon:

We love our king size bed! It's a Sleep Number bed that we got about 8 years ago and is still the most comfortable bed we've ever slept on. I used to have back pain and I don't anymore since we got this bed.

The large window below looks out to the trees in our backyard, and I really like the simple white curtains that frame it. They're light and flowy in the breeze. Notice the curtains "puddling" on the floor. That isn't really the look I was going for, but I never got around to hemming them so they stay that way. I plan on hemming those and adding a trim to give them more interest:

The two doors in the picture below lead to the master bath and the walk-in closet. The armoire houses a TV that we never use. I'd like to get rid of it for a smaller piece of furniture:

I like this Malm dressing table from Ikea because it has a huge drawer to hide all my makeup and hair accessories. I also like all the lighting in our room but something about having four lamps in such close proximity seems like too much. And why do you not see clock radios or phones in those pretty designed bedrooms in magazines? Doesn't everyone have an alarm clock and phone on their nightstand? They're not the prettiest things, but they're definitely necessary. Maybe other people know something I don't about hiding them or making them look better:

Okay, now that I have the pretty pictures out of the way, are you ready for some real life pictures? Ideally I like things kind of tidy but the reality is I get messy and I'm not going to pretend I don't. For instance, I love making up a bed and having it look all inviting at the end of the day {maybe that's the nurse in me}. In real life though, I don't make our bed every day. It's more like a 2-3 times a week, if that. That's really not going to change, but here are some of the "real life" issues I would like to change in this room:

You know the photo above of my neat looking vanity table? Well, right next to it sits this mess (see pic below). This old pine dresser used to be in our walk-in closet but we moved it out when I reorganized our closet over a year ago. We meant to take it downstairs to the garage but it only made it to the empty spot next to the bedroom door. It's become a catch-all for scarves, clothes, jewelry, a kleenex box, a champagne bucket (don't ask), and ... boat parts? Yeahh, this thing has got to go. And that thermostat on the wall? It's not hooked to anything, it's leftover from when we used to have wall heaters before we installed central heating in the house:

Do you notice a little descrepancy in the picture below? I don't consider mismatched door knobs much of a problem in the scheme of life, but it's time we change the last of the old knobs out in this house. We've replaced all the doors and knobs in the rest of the house with dark antique bronze handles over the last 4-5 years, but the bathroom and walk-in closet doors still have the old gold knobs since those were the first doors we replaced in the house and we hadn't decided on new handles yet so hubby had put the old ones back on. We have the new handles for them though, that counts for something, right?

The ceiling fan - Oyyy, the ceiling fan! My husband loves having a ceiling fan in the bedroom. Me? Not so much. I like the functionality of it on those warm nights, but I don't really like how this one looks in our room. It is ruining the fantasy bedroom that I have in my head! I think I finally have my husband convinced to trade it in for something prettier like a more modern chandelier. My husband will miss the fan though and I'm sure I will too when it gets warm so I'm going to have to mull this one over. If I take this thing down, I'm never going to be allowed to complain ever again about it being hot in the room so I've got to come up with a good plan before I move on this. Maybe paint it white to blend in? That still won't scream fantasy bedroom to me but maybe it will get me closer. Anyone have ideas or experience with this issue?

Here's another dilemma: We have a black lab. She's not the dilemma. She's a big dog, so she has a big dog bed and she has to sleep near my side of the bed. We're bonded like that. It's kind of an eyesore but I'm not willing to get rid of it either so therein lies my challenge. Does anyone have any suggestions for making this thing prettier? Maybe I'll make a cover for it that's not the same color as dirt. I don't know yet:

Since we're in this corner of the room, I'll show you another reason why the dog bed stays where it's at. It's hiding something:

In this corner where the bare plywood sits used to be a corner gas fireplace. It was there when we moved in. It worked but it was ugly and noisy and unfinished, plus it made for awkward furniture placement, so we took it out and it left us with this triangular unfinished area in the corner that I really don't know how to fix. Until we replace the carpet with something else, we're sort of stuck with a bandaid solution like a dog bed, a basket, and the former now-dead palm tree. 

Here's my strategy for making Operation Sultrify a successful mission:
I really like our room as it is now, but I'm aiming for more passion - for the room, not us! ;) - a little more drama, a little more color, and a little more sparkle. I still want it to have a somewhat coastal vibe though. Can I have both? I'm going to try! I've had a vision for awhile now about what I'd like to do in here and my goal is to finally get it done one task at a time. That vision includes adding a headboard, an ottoman/bench for the foot of the bed, updating those cheap mirrors above the nightstands, adding more pattern, and if there's room in the budget, updating a few other things in the room too. Paint will also be involved although I do plan on keeping the same wall color that's in there now for the most part. I'm going to try to approach this room with an actual plan rather than it "evolving" as it goes along like so many of the other things that I do. Ooh, this is going to be fun turning our bedroom into a boudoir!

The goal is to not spend more than $500 (which happens to be the same amount that I received as a Christmas gift card bonus!) so I've got several DIY projects planned to help keep the budget under control. I'll post from time to time as I'm making progress and I hope within a couple months that I'll be done and can show you the "After" reality of what I see in my head. I just hope it comes out like I see it in my head! That's the plan anyway.

If you have any ideas or suggestions about this room, I'd love to hear them so leave a comment. Any ideas at all - furniture placement, colors, scale, whatever - feel free to share. I'd sure appreciate it!

Follow me on Pinterest! C'mon, it'll be fun! :)

Check out our Completed Master Bedroom Makeover!