Master Makeover – ORC Week 3

In the ” worse before it gets better” trajectory of a renovation, we have so far been stuck in the “worse” phase of our master bedroom. If you missed weeks one and two, you can see the project introduction and before pictures here and the first week progress and mood board here. To briefly recap, we are doing a floor-to-ceiling reno of our master bedroom that has so far included scraping the ceilings, tearing out the carpet, and laying and patching some of the original flooring (more on that in a bit). Justin has said to me a few times  that “this is as bad as it will get,” and he may finally be right. After discovering plywood in both closets and several sunken or split boards in the floor, the patching is done, and the makeshift carpenter’s shop that popped up will soon exit the bedroom. We plan to sand and refinish the floors this weekend, and after that, things should start to get cleaner and more orderly. Fast! That’s the hope anyway.

Here are a couple of mess/progress shots from this week.

Very glamorous over here this week, you guys.

I also promised to breakdown the mood board for you in this post–which I will–but it took only since last week for the plan to change, or at least for a few question marks to crop up.

Here’s what I started out with:

1. Pattern People for Hygge & West Forest Floor wallpaper – Early in the project I was really committed to putting wallpaper on the wall behind the bed, basically to emphasize the focal point and give some added visual interest since we aren’t using curtains. As the room is getting painted, though, I’m less and less sure about the wallpaper. I still absolutely love the design, but the plain wall looks so serene (remember it from last week?). My taste usually tends to land on the side of MORE but I’m wondering if that’s the right call here. It’s a dense pattern with lots of movement and really packs a punch, but I’m not sure whether I want this room to punch in that particular way. I figure I can always order it later if the room starts to feel lacking, but I know Justin would politely but firmly pretend to not hear me if I ask to take it down in 6 months. What’s your feeling? Wallpaper or no?
2. Photograph of Positano – Lots of wall space for art in this room, and photos of the Italian coast have really been speaking to me as a (half) Italian girl. We also thrifted a large vintage poster over the weekend, so if I can sneak “build custom frame” onto Justin’s to-do list, it could also be an option.
3. Glass lamp with cork shade – We’ve had these lamps and shades from Target (the smaller version of the ones linked) for a few years, and the cork works well with the “natural elements” aspect of my design plan.
4. Broyhill Brasilia nightstands – These are our existing nightstands, and they’re so fabulous I would never really think of replacing them. We also have a mid-century dresser set that will be going in the room (you can see it in our old bedroom here).
5. CB2 Alchemy Bed – Pulling a little bait-and-switch on you with this one. This gorgeous bed is actually not the one we’re using. Instead, we got the trusty Ikea Tarva bed, which I’ll be painting black (matte or gloss TBD, but opinions welcome). BUT, I needed a black bed for the mood board. The Tarva’s original natural wood just did not give the right effect, while this lovely bed is truly the stuff of dreams.
6. Red Afghan Rug – My lovely red “accident” rug (see week one for more details) has grown on me a lot since it first arrived, and I can’t wait to see how it looks in the room. I bought it on eBay from this seller–just beware the coloring in the photos.
7. H&M Cotton Pillow – I love these H&M pillow covers. They’re REALLY reasonably priced and nice, too! Ikea sells 20×20 pillow forms for like $6, so I’m going to grab a couple of those and call it a day for only about $30 for both.
8. H&M Velvet Pillow
9. CB2 Mint Lumbar Pillow – I’m not at all pleased to tell you that after 10 days of waiting impatiently for this pillow to arrive, I noticed in my order that it is backordered, and CB2 reports it will not be in stock by the end of the ORC. So, I’m going to buy only the pillow form and make the cover myself.

Wallpaper thoughts, PLEASE! I feel you need to be really, really, really sold on wallpapering before you hang anything, so maybe the fact that I’m second guessing it is my answer right there.

Also don’t forget to check out the rest of the linking participants over at Calling it Home!