Show Us Your Life - Master Bedroom

Kelly's Korner hosts a weekly Show Us Your Life series and this week's topic is Master Bedrooms.
We decided to get a king size bed and move into our guest room earlier this year.  Both rooms are about the same size.  We switched rooms because the guest room has two windows and our former master bedroom had one.  This old house doesn't have a master bathroom so that wasn't a consideration.

September 2010

Now let's step back and see where we started...

Master Bedroom in 2007 (Guest Room at the time). 
Sorry about these crappy cell phone photos that were taken at night. 

Master Bedroom in 2009 (Guest Room at the time)

Our New Master Bedroom in January 2010

Back to NOW! Master Bedroom in September 2010

Why do sunny rooms look dark on camera?  Any who, we painstakingly removed some pastel 80s wallpaper from this room and painted it Brown Sugar by Kilz in 2006.  I can't find any of those before photos.  The room appears smaller with this furniture layout and bigger bed but I like it.  Before we purchased the new bed, we did our due diligence.  We took measurements of the new bed, removed all the existing furniture from the room, and used painters tape to outline the new room layout on the floor.  Then, we walked around the taped areas and made sure it didn't feel cramped.

I'm still using the walk-in closet in the other room and Jake uses this closet.  

The simple off-white curtains used to be in the Living Room and were retired here.

 This was Jacob's wooden dresser from childhood turned TV console.  We sanded it down some and put a coat or two of white paint on it when we lived in our tiny apartment downtown eight years ago.  I was going to repaint it when we moved it in here but for now I like that it's a bit dirty and beat up.  This is the original hardware and I intend to switch it out but I haven't found the right hardware yet. 

The clever repurpose from dresser to tv console was simple.  Jake removed the top drawer and stowed it away in the basement.  Then, he used a hole saw bit to drill a hole through the back wall of the dresser to feed through the DVR and DVD player cords.  I'm planning to paint the inside of this cubby.

I haven't decided what to do with the empty corner on the other side of the window.

We bought these night tables for our original master bedroom because we wanted something a bit slimmer and taller.  They were being sold as bathroom storage on clearance at walmart.  I liked the beadboard detail on the sides and we thought they'd work.  We were right because they've held up well for five years.

Mine - I've got the alarm clock and a reading lamp.

 Jake's - He has the remotes.

Oh how I love our king size bed.  The sleigh bed is the Louis from Bob's.  We bought it with Bob's Black Label pillowtop mattress and a split foundation in January.   We got it all for under $1,000 because we purchased from their scratch and dents section and rented a truck to take it home.  The sleigh bed simply needed to be cleaned and had a small scratch (full price $499, our price $250).  The mattress had a tiny tear in the gauze-like fabric on the underside (full price $1,099; our price $550).  The Love Story low profile split foundation was discounted because they don't offer split version that matches our mattress  (full price $258, our price $100).  The split foundation was a must because we have a turn in our staircase.  We just barely squeezed the mattress upstairs and Jake was trapped underneath the beast and pressed against the stairs for a bit.  Of course, I was at the top of the stairs and our cell phones were downstairs.  There's a window over the stairs that our neighbors look in from their deck sometimes and I'm sure they were laughing their buns off at us.  Any way, it is a dream to sleep on, we got it all for $950 off the discount furniture store's prices, and it is one of our best purchases ever!  :)

The bedding is a mix from different stores.  The brown quilted coverlet was a $20 clearance find at Kohls.  The patterned duvet set was $50 at Ikea.  The euro shams, decorative pillows, and dust ruffle are from Target.

We found the sheets on clearance at Target in January; an ivory 400 thread count king size sheet set with four pillowcases for $10.  We couldn't believe they rang in at that price.  We went back and got them in chocolate brown too.  Sometimes it's hard to find a decent king size pillowcase for ten bucks.  What a steal! 

This is the Alvine LJUV duvet set from Ikea.  Inside is a black and white Martha Stewart comforter but this duvet provides good coverage.  Here's a closeup of the pattern.  The vines are dark brown rather than green.

We have six Kusiner underbed storage boxes($7.99 each) from Ikea under the bed.  You can find them in the children's section.  We like that they're completely collapsible and that you can get into one without pulling it completely out.  We've only had them for a couple weeks but soon they'll probably be filled with spare bedding, off season clothing, and extra pillows.

We made the wall art above the bed and have another post planned to share the details. UPDATE: you can find my wall art tutorial here.

I like to watch tv and read in here while Jake watches sports in the living room.  Of course, the pups like to hang out in here too.

You can check out our living room here.  Next week's topic is Dining Rooms so I'll be linking up.  Thanks for stopping by and come again soon!  :)

Tuesday

Hi!

Jake and I are finally back to blogging.  I thought it'd be fun to jump into a party today and meet some new people.  All comments and followers are welcome and we'll do all follow backs by Sunday.  We're interested in all sorts of things so please don't be shy.  Leave us a comment so we know you were here!  :)

You can see a tour of our living room here.  I'm having fun exploring living rooms from all over the country at Kelly's Korner here.  This Friday will be master bedrooms.  Come join in the fun!



Thanks for stopping by!  :)

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Show Us Your Life - Living Rooms

UPDATE 09/29/2010:  If you're visiting from the Hooked on Houses Fall Open House party or the Nester's Fall Mantel party, you are warmly welcomed to Welcome Sunshine Home!  I shared a tour of our living room last week that includes our fall decor and details of our fall mantel.  If you aren't visiting from those parties, go check them out and have fun! :)
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Kelly's Korner hosts a weekly Show Us Your Life series and this week's topic is Living Rooms.  I love seeing how regular people live and finding ideas to make daily life a bit easier.  We've been having some internet connectivity issues all weekend so I'm joining the party late.  Better late than never, right?  Now there are over 200 hundred living rooms linked up and ready for me to explore!  After I write about our own living room and share lots of photos...

Here's a peek at what it looks like right now!

If you've read our blog before, you may know that our house was built in 1892.  We don't have a formal living room and family room like so many Americans do today.  Our living room isn't a show piece and is really a room we use daily.  When we moved in five years ago the living room was one of the first rooms we updated.  I don't have any before photos from 2005.  Sorry!  We removed the previous owner's disgusting blue carpet that had suffered ten years of abuse from chain smoking renters (we met them when we toured our diamond in the rough) and an absentee landlord.  Apparently, they never vacuumed or had given up years before because Jake and my father in law, Pete, found a quarter inch of dirt accumulated under the carpet padding.  Yuck!  After all the nasty carpet was removed, we speed painted the walls and had new berber carpet installed.

Our living room in 2008

It was looking pretty boring in 2008, huh?  Last summer Jake and I removed all the berber carpet on our first floor and installed a quality laminate flooring ourselves.  It's held up wonderfully to the pups.  I'd recommend it for any one with dogs because it still looks brand new one year later.  The Shark steam mop works wonders too.  We have 'real' hardwood floors on the second floor and wide pumpkin pine floors on our third floor.  Of course, we'd never remove the real hardwood flooring that is in great shape but I love that I don't have to worry about any scratches or damage downstairs.

Our living room this week!

It's a little more lively now!  Kelly's house tour party starting with living rooms is well timed for me because I had just given our living room a very thorough cleaning before we left for our Cape Cod vacation last week.  We're lucky that many original features like the molding are still here.  We've had this couch since 2003 and it's still in pretty good shape.  Each end has a recliner so this beast is heavy.  It was a housewarming gift for our previous house...Thank you, Dad!  :)  We picked the chaise up from Bob's (discount furniture store) for $100 a few years ago.  The coffee table is on wheels so it's easy to slide around the corner into the foyer for some puppy play time.  The big table top is perfect for crafting in front of the tv.

FYI, for anyone that is paint color obsessed like me, this is Georgian Green from Benjamin Moore's Historic Color collection.  Our dining room is the same color and it has been surprisingly versatile.  We didn't need to repaint when we changed the flooring.  Yay!

We got the coffee table and two end tables as a closeout deal from Bob's for $100 in January.  The top of the coffee table lifts up and has tons of storage available.  It's completely empty right now though.  We keep an apple basket of dog toys under the end table.  Here's what's in the end table's little drawer: remotes, mini flashlight, pens, my favorite lip balm (Burt's Bees), and the 2010 MLB schedule.  The flashlight is a must have item for searching out all dog toys that they manage to wedge under the couch, chaise, and coffee table.  Here's a close up of the end table that provides a better look at the floor.  What do you think of our flooring choice?

The rocking chair is a new addition from Ikea.  Jake and I went there for the first time last week and this was his big ticket pick ($150).  You'll see some of my Ikea picks in next week's tour.  I covered the red Ikea cushion with a $3 throw blanket (Big Lot's last year) to help keep Bru's slobber off it.  Each window has a set of simple crushed voile sheers ($10 pair) and casual white cotton ($20 pair) from Target.

The pressed tin ceilings downstairs are one of my favorite things in this old house.

I love the fireplace and mantle.  I decided to go with mantle decor that is light and airy for fall.  This is a working wood burning fireplace but Jake and I have never used it.  I love all the carvings but the grooves and details are tricky to keep clean.  Do you have any tips?   

The flowers on the mantle are all from one $3.99 Whole Foods bouquet.  I like to keep some Smiling Hill Farm milk bottles to use as vases instead of returning them for the $1 deposit.  The single daisy is in a vintage shot glass.  We got a bunch of glassware when Jake's grandma relocated to SC a few years ago.  Since we have no alcohol in our house except some cheap wine bought three years ago for our island's wine rack, flowers are the best use I've found for them.  :)

The bottle of sand and shell are from a Jordan family trip to the Outer Banks, NC in 2003.  The green vase was a couple bucks at Ikea and the white frame was from TJ Maxx years ago.  

I really like the chandeliers that came with this house too.  Didn't Jake do a nice job taking this photo?  I like that they add a little sparkle but aren't over the top.  They were covered in smokers grime when we bought the house but I cleaned them up with Simple Green.  Once a year I take all the crystals off and clean them with Simple Green again.  I took the photo hanging over the mantle at Pine Point Beach in March.  

The pups love to hang out in the living room.  Brewster the Super Drooler is getting pretty small, eh?

Speaking of the pups hanging out in the living room, the throw pillows have removable covers that we picked up on clearance at Target for $3 each.  We have four more exactly like these ones that are turquoise and green instead red and orange.  I can make pillow covers but I can't make durable zippered covers for $3 each.  These certainly aren't 'designer' but being able to remove them and toss them in the wash frequently makes them priceless to me.  :)  We also have a rotation of six queen sized fleece blankets (2 khaki, 2 dark brown, 1 orange, 1 lime) that serve as couch and chaise covers year round.  They were all discounted or clearance finds at Walmart/Target, are durable, and stay in place well.  It's super easy to quickly switch from pops of color to neutrals or mix and match.

Yes, we allow them on the furniture.  :) 

Stay tuned next week's topic is Master Bedrooms!