I know I've been incredibly quiet lately. You might think I've dropped off the face of the planet. (Well, I have a little bit really, but that's an entry for another day.) Truth is, we've been busy just trying to get at least one room in our house done. For the most part, we've succeeded.
Our upstairs bedrooms are basically just a modified attic. The ceilings in these old homes are low and slanted to begin with, not to mention the fact that Monkey Family lowered them even more in order to add recessed lighting. To be honest, I would have rather had the extra head room, but recessed lighting is nice too, so we'll take it.
The problem with low slanted ceilings is the fact that it can also feel quite claustrophobic if you're not careful. (Oh, and when all the walls are nauseating School Bus Yellow, it can feel very claustrophobic. Ahem. But I digress...) In order to counteract this problem, I decided we would go with light colors in order to make the rooms feel large, bright and fresh. Then we would lower the bed and all the other furniture in order to make the ceilings appear higher.
We painted the walls and ceiling nearly a year ago and I've thoroughly enjoyed the new fresh color scheme. When we moved the office upstairs, we decided to just go ahead and finish out the bedroom as well. Our bedroom doesn't have a door yet, so it was important that it feel like a private haven up here and not just a loft in the meantime. Enter IKEA. We finally got our own beautiful, blessed, blissful IKEA last week and I've been there twice already. (Hell, at this rate, I might as well apply for IKEA citizenship.) With one last trip yesterday to get some finishing touches, I can say that our bedroom is now mostly done. It is the first and only room in our entire house that is truly finished.
To say that I'm happy with it would be an understatement. Wanna see? Sure!
Ta-da! All done. I think Gypsy loves it more than we do.
It's truly amazing how much taller our bedroom feels now that we're only sleeping about 24 inches off the floor. You'd never know that was a king-sized bed.
New king-sized bed, new Malm bed frame from IKEA, new nightstands, new lamps. Rock on.
Even though I love the comforter, I had ordered it before I fell in love with this fabric at IKEA. I decided to make the curtains with it and now I'm all torn because I think it clashes with the comforter. I'm still deciding and I may just make something different for the bed later on when the weather gets warmer.
You can see why we decided to put the bed against a different wall. With no door, it was just too weird to be thrown out in the middle of the room - and very hard to sleep that way, too. There might also be interesting art going up on that ceiling slant, too. Waiting on it to arrive.
Our new tiny TV (remember, we're downsizing in order to make the house feel bigger) along with all the other electronics. That vase was our sweetheart table centerpiece at our wedding reception. Only then it was filled with my bridal bouquet. Now, I'm trying to figure out a way to make it into a lamp.
New IKEA Malm dresser to match the king-sized Malm bed frame (in black-brown.)
The Januari lamps and white Skimra lamp shades from IKEA. The nightstands were bought online from Target. I love, love, love, loooove having my own little lamp to read by at night. Plus, it adds a little bit of a height with a nice minimalist look. J. says it looks like a swanky hotel up here now. Hee hee.
Finally, what would our bedroom be without cats? Pink kitty is a piggy bank from World Market. Dreadlock kitty was a gift from an old friend eons ago. Silver kitty holds our wedding rings at night and that beautiful hand-carved chocolate box holds Guinness' ashes. (I know some of you may think that weird, but some of our fondest memories are of her hanging with us in the bedroom so we thought it only appropriate she should be there with us still.)
So there you have it. Our new bedroom. Speak up, let me know what you think!
Comments (3)
I LOVE it. Love, love, love it. The colors are gorgeous together. We're getting the Malm set too when our tax relief checks get here. I love how the brown/black looks with your blue walls. Excellent job, it looks like you had someone from HGTV come and do your room!
Posted by Michelle | March 19, 2008 11:28 PM
Posted on March 19, 2008 23:28
I LOVE it! I especially love the comforter.
Posted by donna | March 19, 2008 11:58 PM
Posted on March 19, 2008 23:58
I love it. I love the comforter--it's simple and dramatic and a little vintage, and it's just all very pretty. It really does look like a hotel room. Yay for turning the house into a home for your lovely family. Can't wait to visit. (Again.)
Posted by Rasee | March 20, 2008 5:55 AM
Posted on March 20, 2008 05:55