Decorating the Master Bedroom
For the past four years, sleeping in our bedroom has been a bit like camping out in the dusty storage room of a department store. Or maybe living in an episode of Hoarders. I’ve covered the walls with clothing racks and shelves, because our closet situation has been always less than ideal. I’ve enjoyed reminiscing about the last time we’d had a decorated bedroom to speak of (when we live with my brother— see pics of our bedroom here), but finally the time has come that I’ve thrown up my arms and cried ENOUGH! I’ve got to figure this out.
Part of the issue is that I have way too much clothes. I’d thought about selling some online because I know some gals who probably would’ve loved to have some, but just the thought of photographing, packaging, shipping, etc, really stressed me out. So I packaged up most of my clothes and sent them off to the thrift stores. I think I’m in for some good thrifty karma, though the goal is not to keep perpetuating the problem of too much stuff. It felt good to finally let go and simplify my wardrobe.
But still, our bedroom is disjointed, cluttered, and feels like a junky space. Certainly not a place to go to escape stress. But now that I’ve begun to declutter my possessions and let go of things that were only causing stress in my life, I’m ready to get ahold of the situation. My parents have given us their old bed (finally— a headboard!), and I have plans to build out a couple of wardrobes on one wall, or at least to buy something from Ikea, so my clothing storage can finally be behind doors.
I also want to repaint (we never did after buying our house) and finally put up curtains. I ordered these teal curtains but I’m stuck on a paint color. Should I go with something that contrasts the teal curtains— something more green than blue? Or do I pick something with more of a blue tone to coordinate nicely with the curtains. I can’t decide! Should we get sample cans and try them all out on the wall? I have no idea how expensive something like that even is to do.
So, I thought I’d ask you all what you thought! That’s what blogs are for, right? And since I’ve been trying to keep things more personal and true-to-life around these parts, I thought I’d let you in on my decision making process. I’m leaning towards the top color pictured above: Old Money. What do you think?
I’d consider a grey for the paint color. You can still keep it light and neutral.
Well, I have white and gray everywhere else in the house, so I’d like to have something with color in it, and also something a bit darker than what I have throughout the rest of the house.
I totally felt the same about mine and my husband’s room! I painted it an avocado green four years ago and hated it everyday. This past summer I painted it Montpelier Madison White (Valspar), and it feels so much better. Depending on the light, sometimes it’s a pale green, a muddy gray or even a cool tone.
Not sure how matchy you want to get, but I’m digging the fourth color down. The one you like best is my second favorite.
Isn’t the bedroom always the last room to be done. I made a point in our new house of doing it first as I knew we’d be going through a renovation and I wanted to have one room that wasn’t caught up in the chaos. I’m immediately drawn to the blue colour- I think it says Iced Julep-because it reads as calming to me but still fun.
I love the contrast of the light blue (4th from the top) with the other colors and patterns. It all coordinates without trying to be matchy. It could be a great ‘neutral’ while still feeling like you have a color on the walls to battle white/grey syndrome.
I’m really jealous you get to choose, we’re still in a rental and have to live with the beige chosen by our landlord. Totally looking forward to the day I get to pick my own palette!
Old money is the most MCM of the color choices in my opinion. It reminds me of my grandmother’so bedroom, which she’s never changed. It has my vote! (Finally, an EASY voting decision on Election Day! LOL)
Ha! I didn’t even think about the humor of posting this on election day!
what about one wall with a bright/dark color and the rest a super light one? i know it’s a popular trend, but it’s fun when you have a focus wall like that
I am drawn to the ice julep. I think it’s nice and soothing for a bedroom and will play well with other colors. This is totally based on the screen, though, it could look totally different in person
Definitely get some sample cans! Colors always look totally different on the wall than they do on the chip (at least in my experience). Most places will sell you a mini-size can that you can use to test out the colors. Slap up some large patches in different corners of the room and see how they look at different times of day.
Good luck! I can’t wait to see how the new space looks. You have such a great eye — I love your living room! Don’t forget to take some “before” shots to show how much better it looks ;)
ohh love the color palate, that will be so calming and perfect in the bedroom! is that triangle fabric in the corner vintage? it’s lovely.
i vote jade :)
i like the 4th one down too! (i think it says iced julep?)
I like the 4th down or even a taupe.
I love the old money swatch. I think going more green will make the room much calmer and more serene, especially since it has some warmer tones. It’s a pretty classic neutral green that can be dressed up perfectly by your curtains and other patterns/mixes you throw in. mostly i think i like the contrast of the ‘cool’ you get from the blues in the curtains against the ‘warm’ you get from the top swatch. i would get a mini can of the top 3 colors just to be sure. I think theyre like $11 a quart, so not too terribly bad (louisiana lowe’s).
Cant wait to see how it comes along.
I want to swim around in blankets while surrounded by those colors! So lovely!
Charity
I love those teal curtains. Great find! I lived with green walls for a year. You grow to hate them… ha! I suggest something contrasting.
I like the 4th one down personally. Definitely get the sample jars available at the hardware store(abou 3.00 each) so you can try it before you buy it! Also, did you know that lots of places that mix paint can also change the saturation level of a color? I found the PERFECT color for my basement bedroom but it was still a bit dark. After playing with the saturation levels I ended up going with just 50% saturation and have loved it ever since.
There is something really nice and subtle in contrast to the teal curtains with the first paint chip and the last paint chip. Either of those are my picks! They are different but the colors are calm. Just what you want for a bedroom!
I’m loving the top one the best too. I think it is subtle but looks good with the curtains.
I love the green-blue swatch closest to the Old Money swatch. It’s so dreamy! I think Old Money looks a little too yellow. I recently had Lowe’s match their Valspar samples to a few Ben Moore colors—they’re around $4 each, which is about half the price of buying the actual Ben Moore sample size. You know you can also register on the Benjamin Moore website and order color sheets, right? They’re free if you choose standard shipping. It takes a few days to receive them, but it’s well worth it. I do that for my design projects all the time!
If you’re after something light and green, I just painted my office Mint White by Sherwin Williams. It was a bit of an accident, because I was definitely expecting something more white, but it’s a lovely light mint color.
I’d choose the 4th one down! I SO want to paint my next bedroom a color like that… so pretty!
Old Money looks not too warm and not too cold I vote for Old Money. The one on the bottom is very similar I think it will work too!
This tv show I watch had a great tip, get a big sheet of paper/wallpaper and use the whole tub of tester paint on it, then you can pin it up around the room and see what it looks like in different spots and lights without painting tiny squares all over your room :-)
That’s an amazing piece of advice! Thank you!
I like Ice Julep, looks very serene…I can’t wait to see pics!
Iced Julep, for the win.
As a graphic designer, of course I have to put my two cents in…I like the Shade Green, as it has a warmer tone to it. It seems to pick up the earthier hues in the geometric fabric and would ground all those cool blue/green colors.
I like either the old money or the shade green. Nice contrast without being too much.
My first inclination was Old Money and then I saw the name of the paint. When I read to the end and saw that was what you were leaning towards, I felt obligated to give my opinion. Old Money!
the Shade Green you posted would give a soft color yet off from the teal enough so that it wasn’t over done with teal shades Have fun!!
I vote for the light blue. Coordinates but is not too matchy matchy. My second choice is the bottom one. I don’t really like the third one down – too contrasting I think. Have fun with this!
I love the teal curtains! We have very similar ones in our sitting room, see them here- http://sarahmkeller.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-sitting-room.html. Our walls are a creamy tan. I’d love to do a greige for this room but we’re moving soon (Army family) so it’s probably not worth it this time around. Maybe at the next place! Anyway, can’t wait to see the end product of your bedroom!
I like the mint or iced julep best but I am not a “neutral” girl so to me old money is more neutral. I like the touch of pop but in a soft way.
Generally I like warm colors for furniture and wall. For the bedroom I never would choose blue or other colder colors. But that’s my taste.
The greens look so refreshing!
Any progress on the bedroom yet?? Would love to hear/see more! Hope you’re doing well :-)
Sarah | http://www.sarahkeller.com