Small Master Bedroom Makeover

I am so, so, so excited to share the “reveal” of our small master bedroom makeover. It’s the first officially completed room and now one of my favorite places to be! Despite the minimal square footage, this was also the biggest “blank slate” I tackled because we had our old furniture put in the guest room. We actually slept there for the first few months because we didn’t have a bed or even a mattress for the master.

The In-Between

Since the last time I shared the bedroom, we made some major changes. I liked what was going on (interior designers are incredible!)… but realized I didn’t love it. That set me off on a borderline obsessive path to get that room in tip-top shape. I tried so many different things to make the space feel 100% “me” and spent an embarrassing amount of time looking things up online, measuring, remeasuring. Buying three options, returning what didn’t work. I’m glad I documented that first iteration because I feel like most of the “design” blogs I follow only show the final result. Maybe these people are really geniuses and get it right on the first try, but it certainly was not the case for me!!

This small master bedroom design was a labor of love. And, I’m not going to lie here friends, I am legitimately proud of how it turned out. Even with the small footprint, it’s a relaxing space that’s perfect for our everyday life.

The Process

We live in an old house, so our room is on the cozier side… though it’s definitely better than my NYC bedroom, ha. Who remembers that?! (Honestly though, is there ever enough space?) Carter took these with a wide-angle lens to capture more of the small space at once. We opted to fit a queen bed comfortably instead of squeezing in a king bed (we would have technically had enough room, but barely). It definitely makes the room feel bigger and we’re used to having a queen bed so it doesn’t bother us at all.

Translating the vision in my head into reality took trial and error, but as soon as I started to piece things together, I could feel the room coming to life and reflecting my personal style. I really wanted to capture a gender-neutral, light and bright, cozy atmosphere but not stuffy hotel-y vibe. A space for quiet time and restful sleep with an elevated look. Bright colors are tough for me, so instead of doing an accent color or following any bedroom color trends, I really wanted to focus on a neutral color palette and maybe some metallic accents.

The hardest part for me was figuring out what artwork to hang above the bed. I could NOT find anything that matched what I had in my head. Guess what though? I ended up printing out a couple of floral photos from my iPhone!!! I converted them to B&W and sent them to the pharmacy to be printed. I bought these gold bamboo frames to hang them in. (I love these frames but I had to “configure” them to hang on the wall because they come with a very bulky back and didn’t lay flat on their own. Just something to keep in mind if you want to hang them versus standing them on a table.) Maybe one day I’ll fill them with family photos… who knows!!

The closets in our primary bedroom are pretty small (here’s how I organized mine) so I like having larger nightstands on either side of the bed too– especially with a basket for even more “out of sight” organization. It’s not really enough storage… but it’s better!

After struggling with throw pillows (both color and size), I ended up finding this Etsy shop that has beautiful fabric selections and even more beautiful construction. She’s super responsive and sent fabric samples to me and everything before I confirmed my order. Highly recommend. (Also, I underestimated just how much visual interest decorative pillows would add to a compact room! They kind of create a focal point.)

Oh man. I originally ordered some from Pottery Barn that… still haven’t arrived. I got so fed up with that and started to research other options. I had gotten a handful of ads for a custom curtain website and was ~influenced~. 10/10 recommend Barn & Willow. They are a great way to get custom sized shades that are relatively affordable (especially for small rooms!) and they were delivered in LESS THAN TWO WEEKS. That felt unheard of. They fit perfectly and weren’t too hard to install at all. (Just needed to use my own screws because the ones they came with were too wide for the opening.)

BED (Queen)

SCALLOPED DUVET

SCALLOPED SHAMS

RUFFLED PRINTED SHAMS (Ruffled 20″x20″)

GINGHAM LUMBAR PILLOW (Oblong 16″x12″)

QUILT

SCALLOPED SHEETS

SMALL SIDE TABLES

BASKETS w/ LIDS (Medium)

TABLE LAMP BASE

LAMPSHADES (18″)

ROMAN SHADES (Belgian Flax Linen, Optic White, Black Out)

BAMBOO FRAMES (8″x8″)

NAKED LADIES WALL ART

GOLD MIRROR (Small)

RUG (8’x10′)

FLUSHMOUNT

TRUNK

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