Switching Out Bedroom Rugs & Accessories: a house log

We did a little more bedroom noodling. Noodling, not canoodling. *Blush* Anyway, we last left off after moving our Alaskan prints together over the bed and surprising ourselves by getting a new rug:

And there were a few commonly asked bedroom questions in the 800+ comments on Monday’s post, which were:

• have you considered getting larger bedside tables?
• can the bed go on another wall?
• will you repaint? perhaps in a darker color?
• what are your plans for the nook to the left of the bed?
• what about changing out the pillows/painting the bed & tables/getting a longer bench/switching the lamps, etc?

The short answers to those are: yes but it is complicated, no, we are open to it down the road, adding an armoire or a built-in, oh yeah all that stuff is still on the agenda we simply have not gotten to everything yet.

To elaborate, we have certainly considered larger side tables, but the door would swing into anything larger than what we already have on that side, as you can from this old door-open pic (we did a secret book project to the front of this door, so we cannot snap an updated shot).

We do not want to move the bed to the left since the chandelier would not be centered above it anymore (we could do a larger table on the left, but we have plans for an armoire or large built-in for the nook to the left of the bed and do not want to crowd that). We could reverse the door to make it swing into the hall instead of the room, but it might jam up the hall to have a door out there. We could not do a pocket door (we have duct work/electrical in that wall) but have thought about a barn door on a track (which could rest where the leaning mirror lives in the picture above this one), but we have considered using that in a spot nearby (more details when we decide if we will in fact go for it!) so we do not want that to be too repetitive. We will keep you posted no matter what we decide though!

As for if the bed can move, the floor plan of this room is a definite challenge thanks to “things” on each wall (two quite off-centered windows, a nook across from the door, and a nook with the sink tucked into it on another wall, and a chandelier in the exact center that looks off if the bed is not in the right place). The chandy even lines up with the mirror above the sink, so we do not want to swag it or move it since aligning things like the bed, the chandy, and the mirror make the room feel balanced/less wonky. So we have tried the bed in a bunch of spots, but the place that works best for us is where it lives now (it is the only long flat wall in our whole room).

It simply does not look centered on the chandelier or the windows in any other spots, and we in fact like the placement a lot in person since we wake up to the chandelier being perfectly reflected in the mirror above the sink (it is so hard to capture in 2-D but it is the thing everyone falls in love with in person). As for repainting the walls, especially in a darker color, we are certainly open to it but we will be refinishing the floors in a dark mocha color someday and the rug is fairly dark (and the room does not get a ton of light) so we will think long and hard before we do anything rash. We are simply getting began, so everything is fair game for tweaks (painting furniture, switching out accessories, etc). Many things like those lamps and the bench are simply leftovers from our first house that got plopped down “simply-for-now” (Burger uses that bench to get into bed, so it is our version of Doggie Steps until we get something better – haha).

So now that we have hopefully answered those common questions, let us get to the lively part. Noodling. The first thing we played around with were the pillows and a few other small accessories. The pillows in fact inspired a little art switch (since the floral shams were a little busy with the old botanicals that were hanging there).

From up close, this mix was lively (the shams are from Pottery Barn two years back, the blue bolster is from Marshall’s, and the front accent pillow is from HomeGoods a few months back). But from far away, the new art was way too small for our tastes. Oops.

We want the whole room to feel balanced, so with quite tall vertical items on all of the other walls like the door to the bedroom, the windows with ceiling-height curtains (which will be switched out, hopefully soon), and the sink nook with a mirror over it…

… this art was simply too squat and did not feel as balanced as the larger Alaskan prints had. But we did like the general concept of adding distinct colors with pillows – simply to break up all the blue on blue action.

We are so glad we banged in three compact nails to give that art a go, even if we did not like it once we got ‘er done. It is all about trial and error (and spackle!) at our house. Haha.

Oh and the prints are from Ikea! We found them for $2.99 for all three (in a clearance bin) and know we will eventually find the right spot for them. We already had the frames (also from Ikea, but they hung in our first house), so it was simply a $2.99 failed experiment. Haha, so not too bad.

Oh and we also picked up some new lamps! They are artichoke-ish, which is a totally new shape for us when it comes to lamps (we have like ten gourd lamps, so we were psyched to play around with a new silhouette). They were from HomeGoods ($49 a pop, including the extra large shades).

The original lamps that we had on either side of the bed used to live in our first house’s living room and were over five years old, so we figure we will either find another spot in the house for them (we have fully untouched rooms like the playroom and the sunroom to tackle) or yard sale/craigslist ’em if we cannot.

See how much more balanced and substantial the new ones look (with their larger, wider shades and darker bases) in comparison to the old ones above?

They even seem to make the side tables feel wider, which is pleasant for balance. And the rounder more textured shape of the new lamps also ties into the chandelier, which is a total glad accident (we certainly did not think about that when we fell for them in the store, haha). Oh and ignore the distinct pillows on the bed in the pic above. We will get there in a minute.

It is pleasant that the putty color of the lamps is not too crazy to compete with the pillows or the rug, but the shape is full of interest and dimension.

Oh and see that book on my side table called One Word A Day? John and Clara got it for me for Mother’s Day along with a fairly pink tulip bouquet and some vases. It is a one-word journal that John thought I could use to record one hilarious Clara-sentence per day instead of simply one word to describe my day (which is how it is meant to be used). Now we will not forget the time I said “we might have to rearrange your room again” and she said “Yes! Put some ice cream on it!”

But back to the bedroom. Since the smaller art did not work, it was back to our Alaskan botanicals with some distinct pillows. We landed on this pop of yellow with the teal bolster to tie things into the rug and the deeper navy and white pillow in the front to ground it all. For anyone wondering, those two yellow ginko leaf shams are from a small shop in Northern VA (do not know the name, but it was in Old Town, Alexandria), but they are made by Dermond Peterson if that helps.

But you know me, pillows are nomadic in our house, so they might be fully distinct the next time we share bedroom pics. Yes, pillow swapping is right up there with watching Parks & Rec while eating Oreos around here.

Sure, we still have some major furnishings missing, but it is lively to see some glad new pillows (with a few warm yellow pops to balance all the blues). And the dark tones in the smallest accent pillow, the botanical frames, and the lamp base relate nicely to the slate/navy tones in the rug without being too matchy.

The lamps simply might be our go-to little change (go-to big change = the rug of course).

So that is where we are. We do not play poker or bet on horses, so I guess trial and error decorating is how we get our kicks. Haha. Oh yes, we are daredevils.

We are still entertaining a ton of possibilities, like:

• switching out the old curtains (for sure!)
• possibly painting the bed in a deep charcoal color
• finding/making a longer bench for the end of the bed
• possibly painting or refinishing the cherry-colored side tables & dresser (on the other side of the room)
• adding an armoire or built-in to that nook next to the bed
• possibly repainting the walls down the road
• painting the ceiling
• possibly removing the posts from the bed (although we like them in the photoshopped renderings below, so perhaps not)
• switching out the pillows/bedding as we go
• bringing in a lot more art/furniture in general so it is not so empty
• staining the beat up & yellowed floor a rich mocha color
• possibly adding a barn door which would allow for larger side tables
• plenty of things I am likely forgetting – haha, but check out this post and this post for mentions of other potential plans

Some might be things we tackle this month while others might not get done for years (like refinishing those floors). But simply look how much of a difference that one change can make. Mmm, dark wood floors (thanks Photoshop!) = our glad place.

And after a bunch of other tweaks, we will simply have to see where we end up! Perhaps here?

Or here?

Or here?

Do not mind the bad Photoshop. I guess that is part of the lively, huh? In the meantime, have you ever hung something new only to learn that you enjoyed the first choice better? Have you made any straightforward lamp or pillow switcheroos in your house lately?