The Evolution of My Bedroom (so far)
I’ve lived in my house for 3.5 years now, and my bedroom has changed a decent amount in that time.
It started out bright white and full of windows, and has slowly evolved into a dark green color-drenched cave with fewer windows. And somehow, through all of that, I have never written a blog post about it. Which is probably because I work almost entirely based on what is exciting me at the moment, and my bedroom has never excited me enough to not lose momentum before posting about it. Until now.
Why now? Because I got sconces. Yes, sconces. And now my brain is fully dancing with bedroom-beautifying and bedroom FINISHING possibilities.
So first, I will tell you the story of the sconces, we’ll fill it in with photos from all its past stages, where it’s at now, and where it’s headed.
Let’s Talk About Sconces (aka the catalyst)
Right now, I have cheap Amazon sconces on either side of the bed. I’ve had them for years. I do not love them. Mostly because they shine directly into your eyeballs when you’re lying in bed. Nobody wants that.
A few months ago, my husband and I were sitting in bed chatting, sconce light burning our eyes. Me more than him, because I’m short and he’s not. It’s like when we’re riding in the car in the morning or evening, sun blaring in, and flipping down the visor takes care of the sun problem for him, but it doesn’t do a dang thing for me. Some of y’all know exactly what I’m talking about, and the rest of ya’ll need to understand that this is a real problem for short people.
I told him I wanted to get different lights, and pulled up a picture of the dream sconces…
If you know design (or even if you don’t), you may recognize the Nelson Bubble lamp line, designed by George Nelson and manufactured by Herman Miller.
Iconic mid-century lighting. I showed my husband the sconces and told him they’re what I would love to put on either side of the bed. Simple. Beautiful. Modern. Diffused light. All the things.
I also told him that I obviously wasn’t going to get them because they cost approximately one billion dollars. Instead, I did what I always do. I started shopping for dupes or something… else. Something with a price I can justify. Then I got distracted and forgot about it. As I do.
And then my birthday rolled around.
And guess what my husband got me?
Those damn sconces.
And suddenly, the unstoppable decorating urge hit. Because I absolutely cannot put beautiful, expensive, statement lighting into my messy, catch-all, unfinished bedroom. They deserve better. (Also, I have plenty of time to plan, because they take six weeks to get here.)
Where the Room Started
Here is my bedroom the week I moved in. Bright. Lots of windows. Random mishmash of furniture.
The walls were the same color as the rest of the house, Wickham Gray. A very light teal-ish gray that reads pretty dang white in a bright room. When I designed the room I imagined the bed on the right wall, under the tall windows. Something interesting behind the bed. Big dresser between the two big windows. Lots of room for activities.
I ended up not loving it there, so I moved the bed to the back wall instead.
Then I bought a rug (which I still have) and curtains (pulled the pink from the rug) and… that’s pretty much how it stayed for a while.
Was it great? No. But it felt pretty great at the time. My own room, in my own house. Thats a win.
The Dark Green Era
Then I decided to paint it dark green. I can’t remember why I decided this, but I did.
I ordered a few samples from Samplize and landed on Essex Green by Benjamin Moore, because it most closely matched the green tile in my bathroom.
It’s DARK. Like, almost black. Here’s the whole palette –
And heres the room –
My initial reaction is that I LOVED it. I never didn’t love it. But looking back on these photos now that I’ve also painted the ceiling and trim dark green, and added wood flooring… it’s better now. It’s all part of the process. Rooms don’t come together overnight, and there’s nothing wrong with slow baby steps.
It stayed like that until I married my husband, and he and his four kids moved in with me and my four kids. We ended up doing a big addition/remodel. Most of the work was on the other side of the house (added four bedrooms and a bathroom), but we made some changes in the primary bedroom as well.
We added a closet on the side because the existing closet (in the bathroom) is pretty small. That became his closet, and we added a separate one for me. Which meant cutting a giant hole in the house and removing two narrow windows.
We also removed a window near the bedroom door (because it looked straight into the living room and kitchen. Nobody wants that), and adjusted the windows on either side of the bed, raising them so we could fit big nightstands. Like dressers. Because the room is weirdly wide and small nightstands just looked… wrong.
Going All In On Color
During the remodel, it became very clear that the white trim and ceiling were breaking up the room too much. After color-drenching one of the boys’ bedrooms in a dark color, I knew I needed to do the same thing in here.
It was absolutely the right move.
Now the walls are a bold but quiet backdrop to everything else. And yes, it’s a cave. It’s dark. It’s the opposite of every bedroom I’ve ever had. And I kinda love it. Like, a lot. (Although bedroom 2 was also awesome, in a totally different way.)
Where It’s At Right Now
Here’s what the bedroom looks like right now, at the exact moment of the sconce buying.
It has a lot of good things going for it. I love the color. We’ve already talked about that. I love the bed. The bedding needs a little refining to look better, but it’s functionally just right. The nightstands are vintage pieces we picked up along the way, and they’re perfection.
I clearly remember the day I found my nightstand on Facebook Marketplace. We were in the middle of the addition/remodel, my husband was slammed with work, and I sent the listing to him in a very casual “look how pretty” way.
He replied: “Let’s go get it.”
I was like… it’s $600, an hour and a half away, it’s the middle of a Wednesday, the kids will be home in a few hours, and our house is brimming with construction workers.
And he was like, “Yeah. You’re right. We’ll have to get lunch on the way.”
Four hours later, we were back with the most perfect vintage nightstand, just in time to pick up the kids from school. (It’s a Conant Ball “Norsemates” credenza designed by Leslie Diamond circa 1958.)
My husband found his nightstand a few weeks later, and I gotta tell you…mismatched vintage dresser nightstands are the way to go. (His is a Merton Gershun from the early 1960’s)
The rest of the room is pretty minimal right now. There’s a TV on the wall and a desk that’s technically supposed to be my office area, but I cannot for the life of me stop piling crap on it.
I never actually sit there, mostly because it’s dark and the space just doesn’t feel work-y (also, the piles of stuff…). I usually just park myself and my laptop at the dining room table instead.
The desk isn’t vintage (it’s from Wayfair), and I’m still deciding whether it stays at all. The room doesn’t need more furniture and decor, it needs the right furniture and decor. And this just…it’s not right.
And that’s kind of the theme here.
I originally planned to include the full plan and a mood board in this post, but it’s already getting long, so I’ll make that a second post. This isn’t going to be a full makeover or a dramatic before-and-after. The whole point is that a few thoughtful changes can make a big difference without starting from scratch.
The plan is simple:
- new sconces (obviously)
- different curtains (no more pink)
- a change above the bed
- possibly a new rug
- and a few finishing pieces to balance out the empty walls
Nothing major. No demo. Just refining what already works, and giving the sconces the bedroom they deserve.
I adore your posts. They bring inspiration and a smile. You think like I do, and that’s the very best part. Can’t wait to see the finished room.
☺️
And just think how much better these little changes make you feel!
Seriously. I already changed out the thing above the bed for some vintage prints from my grandparents’ house, and it’s so much better already.
It sounds like you got yourself a nice husband. The room looks better color drenched, good call.
He’s the best. Color drenching is the second best.
I love seeing how the room has morphed. It’s funny how something like sconces can ignite the desire to get a room in shape. I only wish you posted more often 😊!
I know, right?! It took me a whole six minutes after he told me about the sconces to finally buy the curtains I have been looking at at Anthropologie for like a year 😝