Although we repainted most of Allison’s interior, we chose NOT to paint her bedroom. Why? Because we were on a tight budget, and the bedroom wall color was NOT the problem.
bedroom before
There were three things that needed updating in her master bedroom:
1) bedding
2) lamps
3) artwork
The rest of the furniture and the wall color were just fine. In fact, the new gray-blue in the main part of the house transitions very nicely with this green color on the walls of the bedroom. Here’s the updated after:
after
I’m going to break down this simple makeover for you. We bought the patterned coverlet and shams at Home Goods – the coverlet is reversible, with coordinating patterns on either side. We folded the coverlet across 2/3 of the bed exposing one pattern, while the shams show the other.
after
Then we found this fabulous pair of lamps at Marshalls. If you want to update a room, buy some bigger lamps that make a statement! The base of these are a few shades darker than the wall color, so they help create a soothing monochromatic look. The lamps came with white shades, so we needed to be sure and repeat some white in the space, as there is no white in the patterned bedding we bought first.
after
So, we looked specifically for a second solid white coverlet or matelasse. We found a lovely one at Marshalls, as well as a pair of solid lumbar pillows that were almost the same color as the walls and a large, solid white accent pillow.
after
Finally, I found this pair of butterfly art at a local barn sale that I thought might work for Allison’s house somewhere. I really wasn’t sure, but they work pretty perfectly in her bedroom! The mats read butter yellow against the white bedding and bring out the creamy yellow in the shams. You don’t have to use only white-white or only creams in a space, but you have to understand how to repeat them to where they look purposeful (and not like a mistake).
Here’s a cost round-up for the bedroom (some amounts may be approximate): white coverlet – $50, patterned coverlet – $60, shams (2) $15 each, lumbar pillows (2) $17 each, white accent pillow – $20, lamps (2) – $60 each, art (2) $35 each. Grand total: $384 before tax.
hall bathroom before
As a bonus, here’s a before and after of the dark brown hall bathroom (not the master bath) in Allison’s house. The before photo is above. We pulled the darker blue from the entry ceiling I posted about here, and painted the hall bathroom walls in that color. Then we found this shower curtain, art, and towels at HomeGoods in one visit.
hall bathroom after
The glass had broken in the art, so we found this piece in HomeGoods clearance aisle for $22. What a steal! Allison may have a piece of glass cut to protect it from steamy showers, but she probably wouldn’t need to if we had hung it elsewhere in her home.
bargain art
Alrighty, that’s all for today. But Friday is the living room/kitchen reveal, and it’s a doozy! Don’t forget to check back in to see what else we did.
If you haven’t gotten the mothers in your life a gift yet for Mother’s Day this Sunday, you might consider one of my video classes on choosing paint color and arranging furniture. There’s even a special gift card you can print out! You may even want to drop a hint if YOU are the mom . . .
All I can say is “WOW”. You gotta love Home Goods & Marshall’s. Your work is amazing! Are you sure you aren’t coming to St. Louis in the near future?
I love the lamps, which set off the whole look with the bedding. Beautiful.
I’m loving that bathroom as well. I’ve been considering a color like that for my bathroom, but trying to decide if I want to do that in a rental house. I think you just convinced me! I’d love to wake up to that color every morning.
Beth,
I really think that bathrooms without natural light are the perfect place for darker paint colors. Light colors are just washed out by the artificial lighting. I’d love to see what you do in your bathroom!
A transformation using so few new pieces. The lamps really make the bedroom!! Bravo!
xoxo
Karena
The Arts by Karena
How do you justify almost $400 (!!!) when you first say you are on a tight budget?? That must be some budget!
Johnna,
I didn’t include the $$ amounts when I first wrote this post up. However, I feel like sometimes people think you can transform a room for $50 because of all the misleading HGTV shows that make you think you can. I wanted to show how much it costs to do what we did in this bedroom, realistically. $50 for a new king-size coverlet is a huge bargain, but things do add up. Thank you for sharing your feelings on this – Allison hasn’t had much new in her house in a decade, so I think it was worth the splurge.
I think $400 for a complete bedroom makeover is pretty good! It’s still a lot of money, but when you consider the cost of each item you really have achieved a very high end and classic/current look with only a few key elements for relatively little cash. Well done!
I once read a book on interior design that said you need a touch of black or near-black in every room. I think the black picture frames over the bed make a big difference; it also provides some good contrast with the off-white mats.
This is great. I have a cream matelasse, which is a great staple. I need to look into bigger lamps and adding some color to my bed.
Chelle,
Great, look for a coverlet or duvet that can be folded at the end of the bed to add some interest to the matelasse. You could do a textured color and repeat that in shams or an accent pillow, or you could do a pattern with cream in the background to relate to your matelasse.
Would you please share the brand and color of the paint used in the bathroom? Thanks!!
Hi Vivienne,
Please contact allison@thedecorologist if you are interested in finding out more about any of the paint color palettes on my blog – thanks!
I love the way you showed that bedrooms can be updated without an upholstered headboard which seems to be the standard these days in makeovers. Such a serene look. Very Nice Job!
It looks so good!! Love it and so excited to see the rest!
I am an architect and am now offering interior decorating services in Pittsburgh, PA. I was talking with a woman today who told me that she just hired someone to help her with her home decorating. I asked her how much she was charging for her work, she told me that the designer asked for $50.00 per hour but she negotiated for $35. The designer did a floor plan , sourced some furniture and finishes and provided a cost breakdown.
I was a bit shocked by the designer’s price, but she is getting a lot of work. She is working on homes that are mid priced, not high end. I was just wondering what your thoughts are on the hourly rate.
I think that it’s shockingly low, frankly. Most designers and decorators in my area (which I’d expect to be less than in Pittsburgh), charge $75 to $150 per hour. Maybe it’s someone new without a lot of experience or training? If she is good, I’d expect her rates to start going up soon!
I love it! I always tell people the same thing, If you want to redo your room–Makeover the bed and get some big lamps!! Just staged a master bedroom yesterday!
My clients that are designers here in SLC, UT charge $50-$100/ hr for their time.
This design is steller! You most certainly know how to keep
a reader amused. Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start
my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Great job.
I really enjoyed what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it.
Too cool!