Hey y’all! The good news is that I’m alive and not lost wandering aimlessly around some antique store. That was yesterday. The better news is that I finally (mostly) finished decorating our master bedroom and it now has the warm and soothing feel that I was going for.

So let’s cut to the chase and get straight to the before and after pics. That’s what we all really care about anyway, right?!! (I know I’m not the only one…)

Before: Original brick fireplace and sage green walls

After: Painted fireplace and green/blue walls.

For the curtains, I used one blackout panel per window… they are awesome to draw closed on a Saturday morning, or for an afternoon nap! This picture was taken at night so you don’t get the great natural light effect…. sadly.

I added shelves on either side of the fireplace to broaden that focal point. Target had cute ones… 2 for $24.

At first, I went opaque white on the fireplace and then was all… “OH NOOOOO… WHAT HAVE I DONE?” It. Looked. Terrible. Stark white. Loudly white. I proceeded to walk away from the job for approximately 3 months. (See how that sounds more calculated than “I panicked and ran the opposite direction”?) Then one day I woke up and realized I could faux paint some dimension back into the brick, which is exactly what I did. Here you can see the “mid-point” where I had just started adding the faux paint to the left side on top of the solid white.

Looks way better, right? The full after is below. The blossom painting was another Target find. You may or may not be able to tell, but the colors are identical to the paint colors in the room so it just subtly blends in, which is what I wanted. Eventually we’ll add a mantle, but for now this was a quick and inexpensive way to break up the solid wall of brick. The fireplace is gas but the plumbing was cut before we bought the house, so that will become decorative at some point in the near future. (Think candelabra instead of gas logs and screen.)

And here’s how I hid the ugly “command center” for our wireless router and cables:

I had to cut a 1×2″ hole in the bottom of my wicker chest to accommodate the cords, but I figure if I ever need to patch it the hole will be in a pretty inconspicuous location.

I planned out where I want the wall art over the TV… now just have to hang the actual pieces! It’s amazing how adding the elements above the TV draws your eye upward and makes the wall seem fuller.

This dresser was a $50 find at Goodwill, which I painted white and blinged out with a mosaic mirror feature on the doors. The before pic is amazing. No wonder my husband was horrified when I told him it was ours! (Also, it weighed about 500 lbs and had been kept in someone’s storage unit for years, so it was filthy.) Nonetheless, it was my very first furniture makeover adventure, after which I realized I was hooked for life. I just will never get over the difference that a couple coats of paint make.

So, back to the bedroom… check out the silver painted “stump lamp!” (The designer would probably be horrified at my utterly unsophisticated description!) It was a splurge at $50 from Homegoods.

The floral arrangement on the left is an awesome mix of hydrangeas and BARLEY, of all things! I just love its bright green and spikey texture… plus the element of surprise. Who ever sees barley outside of a light beer commercial, really? I love it much more as it’s used here. Have I mentioned how modest I am?

And one more pic of the bed wall, for good measure:

So that’s that! I love the new, soothing space and pulled it off for a fairly reasonable price. Details below.

• Dresser/TV stand – $50 plus $20 for refinishing supplies
• Mirror over bed  – $50 at local antique store, but originally from Beall’s outlet
• Bed frame – $400 at Sears online
• Night stands – Ikea Hemnes 2 for $100 on Craigslist but $70 each in store
• Bedside lamps – $12 each at Walmart
• Lamp – $50 at TJ Maxx Homegoods
• Green arm chair – $12 at Goodwill, like, 5+ years ago. (Thanks to my brilliant Aunt Laura who once told me to NEVER get rid of anything usable. My husband hated that chair in our old apartment, but in the new master, it just works!)
• Trellis rug – $120 at Target
• Shelves – $48 for 4 at Target
• Blossom art – $30 at Target
• Paint: Behr Watery
• Floral arrangement – 4 pieces for $20 at Michaels. That stuff is more expensive than you would think!
• Giant “jar” vase – $12 on clearance at TJ Maxx. What a steal!

Hope you’ve enjoyed… and I’m just happy to check one more box on the road to “decorated.”

UPDATE: I finally hung some frames and took down the templates!

Now I just need to add some pictures to the frames. (You may have noticed by now that I’m a big fan of baby steps.) 😀

One of my favorite parts is the gorgeous shadow box that my bestie Jess made me for our wedding. It’s just perfect there! And the white canvas was my gift to my husband on our second anniversary (cotton). It has the pencil-drawn lyrics from our first dance song: “You are the best thing that ever happened to me.” I think it belongs here. ❤

XOXO