My master bedroom is a gorgeous space with a huge bay window, but I close the door whenever we have company over. Why? Perhaps it’s the bare box springs with no bedskirt on the bed. Or the curtains that no longer hang right because the dog has basically pulled them down (he likes to sleep behind them). Maybe it’s the mismatched furniture or just the lack of decorating all together.
At any rate, it’s time to be a big girl and quit hiding my bedroom in shame. This spring, my husband and I are working into finally turning “our” space, the only space without plastic toys and Lightening McQueen DVDs, into a space that we love. We have a series of projects to complete, and they run the gambit from painting, to restoring, to construction. I plan to detail them all here, step-by-step, so that you can follow along – unless they totally fail, and then I’ll just pretend they didn’t happen.
At the beginning of any major room redesign, you have to start with your inspiration. My inspiration began with a pattern.
Perhaps chevrons are passe and completely overdone in design magazines and on blogs. You know what? Who cares. I don’t live in a magazine and my bedroom is completely unlikely to ever grace the pages of one. We may end up opting for another bold pattern instead of a chevron, but this sort of geometry plays heavily into my plans. And because my husband is an engineering nerd with a penchant for over thinking everything, it’s likely going to be heavy on time, too.
Then, there’s this pot holder. Have you ever been inspired by something so odd?
I spotted it at Anthropologie (of course, I did), and fell in love with the colors. I was searching for a bold color that looked great with dark gray and white. Yellow was the first thing that popped into mind, but I thought maybe another color would look better. Still I was drawn to the yellow. Then, Rhoda convinced me that it was a color combo that’s been en vogue for many years and not to worry about it – again, who cares what’s too trendy and overdone? Thanks, Rhoda!
I brought the potholder home and worked on my color palate for the room. This is what I came up with:
And so it begins. It’s definitely not my usual color choices – no brown, no blue. I’m ready for a change, though, and I’m very excited to get started! Of course, this change may well embolden me to redecorate the whole house, but that sounds like a fun challenge!
What about you? Are you looking for a bold change or do you like subtle changes in your home? Do you find inspiration in really odd things, like pot holders?
I just recently posted about this same exact thing! Re-doing our room when we move in gray and yellow. Except, I was inspired by a ruffled camera strap I saw on Etsy! 🙂
Love the colors! My sister is actually decorating her room with those same colors and I’m thinking about doing something similar except using a dull soft yellow instead of bright for our guest room. Good Luck! Can’t wait to see how it all turns out! 🙂
I LOVE that color combo and I cannot WAIT for the pics as you progress…..I have been working on my living room….any help you could pass along would be MUCH appreciated!!!
http://alamodemaven.blogspot.com/2011/03/living-room-evolution-work-in-progress.html
PS- I like chevron too and I DO NOT CARE that it is overdone on blogs and in mags. It is NOT in a lot of everyday REAL homes…..I did a chair and a settee in chevron.
chair-
http://alamodemaven.blogspot.com/2011/03/living-room-evolution-work-in-progress.html
settee-
http://alamodemaven.blogspot.com/2011/02/i-love-banquette.html
Hope you are doing well!! xoxo Shelli
I am so loving yellows and grey’s right now! I totally think you can find inspiration everywhere!!! If you love it, go for it!
I LOVE yellow and if it becomes the next big thing my house will be totally in style. Makes me smile whether it’s cool or not though 🙂
I love that potholder fabric and the choices you’ve come up with. Does this mean a new upholstered headboard and everything?
Can’t wait to see what you do. I know it will be fab.
xo
I must have had chevrons on the brain since you tweeted about it because now I think I need chevron curtains in my family room! I always like grey & yellow color combos. Can’t wait to see how it turns out.
Sarah
I’m so excited to see the finished space…it’s going to be awesome! So glad you are venturing away from blue. Know what rooms I close the door to? My bedroom AND office. You’d die. But then again, I’m pretty sure you’ve seen the horror of my office.
yellow and gray is one of my favorite color combos right now! and i love finding inspiration in unlikely places. i can’t wait to see how this goes… our bedroom is need of updating, too.
I love the colors! I have been thinking about doing our bedroom in the same combo, but with a paler yellow. Every other room in our house is blue as well! I say go for it! I can’t wait to see the inspiration when you are done!!!
I can’t wait to see all of your project. And the dresser of course. I’m doing totally overdone colors turquoise/red/black/white but meh…I don’t care!!
I am in love with your color choices… can’t wait to see it!
love all your choices!! Who cares if it’s been done {perhaps overly} as long as YOU love it, that’s all that matters 🙂 Can’t wait to see the finished product!!
I’m so keeping my eye on your posts about this makeover – I am doing the exact same thing. Master bedroom. Yellow. White. Grey. with a touch of chevron – two great minds think alike!
I’m not doing any re-painting and all the changes are a surprise for hubby who will go to work one day in a few weeks (once all the goodies I have ordered arrive) and then come home to a whole, new “Our Space” – YAY!
Wondering if the color combo would work with chocolate brown? Ready to switch out the warm neutrals from winter w/o changing the chocolate brown wall color and cream sectional =D
Oooh, I think it would be gorgeous with brown! Good call!
Were you able to find bedding, if so where? Apparently I’m all about this color combo in our master AND living room now.
We did our master bedroom last fall–new ceiling fan, wallpaper, FINALLY refinished the auction furniture that had been sitting in the garage for so long it would be too embarassing, to post here, sewed new drapes, bedding we love., even sprung for a new mattress and box spring–all because of a vacation hubby couldn’t go on at the last minute so I had a week at home and spent the vacation money on our bedroom..it was SO worth it! I can’t wait for you to walk into your room each night and say “I just LOVE this! Why did we wait so long to do it?” We are still saying that six months later–no answer as to why we waited so long–I guess you feel that the public rooms of the house should be done first, but I can see an argument for giving yourself a lovely space for rest and romance.
I just re-did our bathroom in gray and yellow! I love it! I can’t wait to see what you do 🙂
I am so glad I read this….Just the inspiration I need to get moving on mine and my husband’s bedroom. I have focused so much on the rest of the house which is paying off, but I, too shut the bedroom door when company arrives. I have the most gorgeous old wood floors we refinished, white walls and plenty of natural light. Perfect starting point.
The only things I have invested in are white bedding from West Elm and amber lamps from Crate & Barrel. I have now been inspired to get the move on! 🙂
I’m excited to see this…our bedroom is the bare basics, with no headboard and hand me down, light wood furniture. I just don’t know where to start, or what colors I want. This will be my motivation!
I stumbled across your blog. Love it.
Love your color idea for the bedroom. We are similar in taste I belive, so I understand about being hesitant with the yellow. I’m glad your going for it! It’s gonna look great. Can’t wait to see. (and p.s – my husband is also an engineer. no project is ever straight-forward. ugh. but the end result is always good)
Excellent color choices, you can certainly do a lot with them. And the pot holder is perfect inspiration, it’s unique!
My office inspiration is around a vase we found in our house when we moved it. It’s an emerald green and I’m still looking for things that match it.
Look forward to seeing your progress 🙂
So glad to see other people using grey and yellow! I have a grey and yellow bathroom as well. My craft room and exercise room are setup with jack-and-jill bath. My craft room is bright yellow and my exercise room is a soft grey. (I know, not very energetic but there are some bright accents.) Now I just have to find some curtains for the bathroom and I’m all set.
The chevrons are so classic! You’re sure to enjoy them in your bedroom. Your color palette is lovely too. Your boldness to try new things inspires me. I can’t even get the courage to find a paint color for my bedroom that’s not white!
Lindsay, our bedroom is more than ready for a re do..mostly paint..I went out of my ‘comfort zone’ when we moved in here almot 2 years ago with the comforter set..its aqua with some green and orange..very plush and now the room is screamng for paint!
Good luck with your project, and looking forward to seeing pictures!
Barb
oOo, I love the yellow and grey. Dwell Studios for Target has some nice bedding in those colors: http://bit.ly/gbCkRD, http://bit.ly/eic0QP, http://bit.ly/hJeAXm. Can’t wait to see what you do! I’m working on my master bedroom as well =)
Love that color combo! Gorgeous!
I LOVE this color combo – this is exactly what I am going for in my living room. With the chevron and everything. 🙂