Before and After... still a work in progress!

Well look who's trying to figure out why everything looks so different!

Things are still being changed around on a daily basis. In this AFTER photo, the hamper is over by the window.

In this AFTER photo the new headboard has been attached to the bed and the mannequin is temporarily taking the place of the hamper until my office gets organized!

I really like this headboard. It has an old fashioned feel to it, just what I was looking for.

This is where the mannequin was before being moved over by the window. Hopefully before week's end it will be back in my studio office.

The boudoir chair is a great place to read.

There's light from the window... 

... and from the floor lamp that I moved in from the living room.

The white kitty from the living room also found his way down to the bedroom. And the same day I found this $4.00 hamper at Savers...

... I found these lace curtain panels for $4.99. They have a rose pattern that's very similar to the pattern in the boudoir chair.

Speaking of the boudoir chair...

.... it's become a favorite place for Baby to hang out...

... and entertain us with her antics.

While doing this post, I came across a post from 2008 (my first year of blogging). In that post I talked about this very chair and how anxious I was to give the bedroom a makeover! Well, SEVEN years after writing that we have finally gotten around to it! Here's a link to the BOUDOIR CHAIR post if you want to travel back to 2008!

So that's what's been done so far. I still have to paint the two small tables that we use as end tables. I also want to put a couple of bookcases beside the headboard and maybe even one on each of the side walls up toward the head of the bed. Once I have all the furniture in it's "forever" place, then I'll decide what to hang and where to hang it! I have several favorite pieces in mind, but I don't want to start banging a bunch of holes in the wall until I know for sure where I want to place things.

Oh, and I also want to replace the curtain (sheet) on the closet with mirrored closet doors (this photo is from before the makeover - old wall-to-wall carpeting, wallpaper border, and pencil post bed). Our bedroom has only one window facing east and I'd love to reflect more light coming in from the window as the sun moves during the course of  the day. But all in good time!

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Donna

Updating the old bedroom set...

Although we're completely revamping the bedroom, I couldn't bring myself to part with anything but the old king size pencil post bed.

I actually love all the pieces that went along with the bed, so we're keeping them. We purchased the entire set at an unfinished furniture store back in 1989 and then "we" (aka hubby) stained it dark brown (Jacobean Minwax). 

It has served us well over the years and the drawers are as strong and sturdy as they were when we first bought it.

Of course Baby had to check everything out before we started painting.

I got all of the pieces painted within 2 days because we had a tight deadline. The painting had to be done before the floor people arrived.

Mission accomplished! The floors went down and the newly painted furniture went back into the bedroom.

Painting everything white really gave the set a whole new look. By putting an applique above the mirror....

... and replacing the old wooden knobs with glass ones, the set took on more of a cottage/farmhouse look rather than the previous country/primitive look.

One thing that didn't change was the boudoir chair that I've had for close to ten years. I always said that when I eventually updated the bedroom, this chair would be the inspiration for my color scheme.

And is this not the cutest little vintage wicker hamper? $4 at Savers. I couldn't pass it by!

More of the bedroom to come. There's still a LOT to be done, but little by little!

Have a great week, everyone!

Donna

The bedroom is finally saying goodbye to the 80's...

It's been a long time coming, but we've finally started to update our poor neglected bedroom.

This was how it looked back in the 80's, about 26 years ago. A mauve wallpapered accent wall behind the bed, wallpaper border on the other three walls, and a quilt with matching pillows.

This was the extent of any 'updating' that was done over the years. A new comforter, shams, and pillow, some framed artwork, and a couple of small shelves on either side of the bed. The nightstands that came with the bedroom set were always at the foot of the bed because they wouldn't fit on either side of the bed.

When I say the bed was pretty much wall-to-wall, I am not kidding. For the past 26 years, due to the pencil post style, we have had to walk sideways like crabs along the side walls in order to climb into bed each night.

Not even a child's shoulders would fit through the narrow space between the posts and the walls.

So we decided it was high time for a make-over. The bed was disassembled...

... and the wallpaper was taken down.

How lucky were we that each wallpaper strip just pulled right off???

It wasn't quite so easy to remove the wallpaper border, but it's now history as well.

The bed was sold on Craigslist...

... and EVERYTHING else was moved out of the room so the old 34-year old wall-to-wall carpeting could be removed and hardwood floors put down. And the remaining pieces of bedroom furniture have now been painted a creamy white. More photos to come in my next post!

And just so I don't end this post with a DRAB photo, here's a picture from our overgrown weed garden (with a few flowers thrown in for good measure!)... I haven't been spending nearly enough time back here since we're doing so much inside the house. Hopefully I'll get out there soon!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

I'm joining Cindy at My Romantic Home this week for Show & Tell Friday.

Donna