Why is it that the master bedroom the last to be finished? Experts always say that you should create a bedroom space that is comfortable and private to honor your marriage. But oftentimes the master bedroom consists of a hodge-podge of furniture, a dumping zone for laundry and a very undesirable place to relax.
Here is what our room looked like two years ago:
It wasn’t horrible, but never came together as I had hoped. The walls looked too fleshy, I stole the gray curtains to use in Audrey’s room and furniture was moved in and out until we just had a random assortment of things that didn’t work.
When Holly came to visit in February, I took full advantage of her decorating brain and she helped us design our new master bedroom.
We don’t spend much awake time in our room, but still really wanted a space that felt peaceful, sophisticated and a little bit sexy where we could, you know, sleep. So here is what we now have:
I am not typically an accent wall kind of girl, but I loved the idea of adding in a deep blue/gray/green {Marine Magic by Behr} to set the tone for the room . The other three walls are painted Bedford Gray {Martha Stewart}. I’d love to add crown molding to the ceiling and we definitely need a new light fixture : still thinking on that one.
All of the bedding is from Target. The sheets are Thomas O’Brien Fretwork – online it says they are khaki, but they are brown. The duvet, shams & euro shams are Fieldcrest.
Our nightstands are from Target too. And so are those lamps. And the curtain rods. So pretty much all of the room is Target. But when you find a good deal, you just have to go with it! I added a white grosgrain ribbon to the linen shade – an easy way to customize a plain lampshade.
Above the bed is the woven pin board with mementos special to just me & Ryan.
And just to be honest, here is the wall opposite the bed.
Clearly, we still have some finishing touches to do. Holly suggested a gallery wall of art – love the idea and those frames to the right of the dresser have been collected to use on it.
We rarely watch tv in our room, but on the occasion when the kids crawl in bed too early for me, it is nice to click on pbskids for them. Not sure if the dresser will stay or go, but we needed a spot for it and so it ended up in our room.
I hate to leave you with that ugly image, so I’ll finish with one more from the pretty side instead.
{Do you see me in the reflection?}
SOURCES
paint: Marine Magic {behr} & Bedford Gray {martha stewart}
bed: Restoration Hardware
nightstands, lamps, bedding: Target
curtains: IKEA
damask pillow: walmart a few years ago
I’ll keep you posted when we *finish* the room
Hi! Love the look of your bedroom. Was wondering where you purchased the blue euro shams? Been looking everywhere for them. Thanks!
Hi, Emily! I love your bedroom – it’s the perfect blend of sophistication, simple, and sexy. Also… your blog is a complete time suck. I saw an image on Pintrist around 9:00 this morning that brought me here, and I have literally not moved from the couch one time since. Thank goodness for days off and long iPad charger cords!
Anyway, I’m wondering if you have a tutorial for the little heart that’s hanging on the handle of your dresser? I’ve seen something similar in a few of your other pictures, and I absolutely love it. Either a tutorial or link? Maybe I’m just being hopeful :)
That was a gift from miss Holly Mathis. I’m guessing you could just decoupage some book pages onto a cardboard heart from the craft store and hot glue a string to hang. I’ll see what I can do about a good tutorial …
I absolutely love your blog…very inspiring:) I was just wondering, is the accent color on your duvet and shams aqua or gray?
Thank you for being so real! I honestly found your website thru Ann Voskamps “A Holy Experience” and am enjoying every moment of reading your blog. I also have a house full of boys and share so many of the same interest as you, it is so fun to see all of your beautiful creations and photos, thank you for sharing!
It looks great! I love the outside the lens photo at the end. It makes me remember that you are a real girl like the rest of us and there are still things that are a work in progress.
I LOVE that wall color and have been dreaming of painting my room the same color. I love it!
we have been wanting to decorate our bedroom, but i just couldn’t put my finger on what it was i wanted in there. your bedroom is gorgeous and gave me lots of ideas. i’m really new to your site (was introduced by a friend). i looked through your house pictures—GORGEOUS!!! i didn’t see any bathrooms though. that’s something else we’re trying to work on. will you be posting some pictures of your bathrooms? i’m super interested in any inspiration for bathrooms! :)
Such a bold color choice for the wall! You have made it work beautifully. It really makes the bed “pop”. I had to scroll back up to see if it was the same bed. What a lovely transformation!
I love your room. So calm and crisp looking. I have been so inspired by your linen board of special things, I am working on my own version of it! I love that you have flowers in your room. Little things like that make such a difference.
Wow, that accent wall just made the whole room pop! Awesome. I finally got my bedroom the way I like it. And I am so glad. I can sit in my bed at night and just relax. …for the five seconds before my eyes close. haha.
Oh, I need to see a close up of that sette. I have one almost identical that I need to reupholster. Also, I have that same wal-mart pillow in red. Still in love with it.
Looks beautiful….and can definitely seeca little Holly magic in there!
It’s a beautiful bedroom, Emily. I love the combination of marine and grey. Stunning. And yes, why is it the master bedroom is the last place on the remodel list? Probably because it’s the least viewed place by guests. At least that’s our story. Maybe this summer I can sneak a budget makeover in. ;)
Have a wonderful week.
I am painting my bedroom bedford grey this week and I think you might have convinced me to do a dark marine accent wall! looks great!!!!
I hate to say that Im not inspired one bit. Not because it is not so gorgeous but because I lack any kind of creativeness. I suck at it. I thought that by following your blog I would get something but I really really am not good at all. My house is full of brown, white and black. Even my baby’s room is not done because I just can’t come around to knowing what else to do. Just do want to say that the rooms in your house that you have posted are amazing..
I’m going to be painting my room 2 colors this month, my main color is going to be a gray and the accent wall is going to be a light sunshine yellow. And I was wondering how gray is the gray that you got?? I don’t want a gray that is too dark, because I want something more like a mousy gray. I hope you respond! :)
I love this room! I stumbled across your blog a few weeks ago and absolutely love it. Short story: My husband will be gone for 3 weeks to study chair making at Penland School of Crafts (check out his stuff at the website I listed!) and I told him “I’m gonna buy plain headbands to make cute headbands with flowers on them just like Emily’s Design Company” ..him: “who’s Emily?”… me: “oh I mean Jones Design Company- her name is Emily. I mean, I get emails from her nearly every day so yeah I know her name.” … he gave me such a hard time for acting like we were real live friends! haha.
Wow! What a peaceful room! Thank you so much for sharing this with your readers and for providing the sources for the pieces in your room. It looks great, can’t wait to see the final product:)
Looks great! Do you know the name of the bed from RH? I saw bed in a RH baby catalog a few months ago that I loved (looked very similar to yours)! When I did some more research I found that it was actually a convertable crib that had been converted to a full size bed in the picture I saw. They didn’t carry it in Queen or King. I searched on RH’s regular website too, but never came across anything that looked like the one from the baby catalog. Maybe I missed it or maybe they don’t carry the one you have anymore, but I was just curious! Thanks!
I have been dying to see your finished room after you posted about the piece above your bed… and you certainly delievered!!! I love how you’re able to combine a glamorous and livable style so perfectly! Can’t wait to see the gallery wall… it will be a stunner no doubt :D
Lovely! It exudes peacefulness. And I love the colors and how they play together. Maybe you could consider painting your dresser black….or if you don’t want matchy furniture…the color of your focal wall…with an “Altar’d” look :-)
Wishing you many peaceful zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz’s
love it, just as i love all the rooms you share with us! i saw those lamps on clearance at target and i wanted them – so i’m a little bit jealous! they look great and i love the way you personalized them. of course i would never have thought of it! are the frames on your nightstands ikea?
when, when, when are you giving us the tutorial on the linen pinboard? :-)
That is beautiful, Emily! Such a brave color and it is brilliant-very sexy indeed :) I love how your rooms look so real. Magazine worthy but I could see your family actually living in them. Very well done!
what did you do with the couch in front of the window? I really liked it! Hope you didn’t get rid of it! :)
The antique settee is back at my m-i-l’s house. It was her mom’s and needs to be reupholstered, but is a beautiful piece.
Gorgeous room! That accent wall color is incredible. Thanks for inspiring us all! =]
I agree with many others…I would keep the dresser and paint is a soft gray or even go bold and paint it that marine blue to match the wall and pillows. check out our custom hardware to really make it special!
Another beautiful room! How long ago did you buy the bed? I’m looking for a metal bed and I adore this bed frame!
we bought the bed at the Restoration Hardware Outlet about 5 years ago. It was quite the find! I think Potterybarn sells a similar one …
I am LOVING the marine color! … and I love the dresser. awesome potential! I can see it now… cool knobs from anthropology… a new paint job :)) don’t get me going!
i too was logging on to see if i was lucky enough to win! enjoying your font and posts as usual in the meantime :) you are so inspiring!
Love all of the personal details that truly make it a room for you and your hubby. The bedding is just beautiful!
I love it! I had pinned that board above your bed to pinterest a while back, I think it is the greatest thing I have ever seen over a bed, it has meaning and no doubt is a constant reminder of the love you and your husband share… very romantic if you ask me.
pretty! I love how it came together. I need to do our bedroom. It is really pathetic looking. Ha!
Okay….love your blog and all your posts….but this post makes me chuckle. Maybe the joke is on me…but ‘enorme’? Doesn’t that translate into ‘enormous’? So what are you trying to do? ….make us all jealous, uh, while you….sleep?
love the room. peaceful and inspiring! Not to sound too ridiculous but I was so excited today when I logged on your site because I was so looking forward to seeing who won the art assortment from the weekend’s contest. You see, in early may my husband secretly tried to buy a couple of your art assortments for me for mothers day but had trouble with paypal (i don’t know if you remember him but he emailed you and asked if he could order them over the phone or some other way-buk2thbil149@yahoo.com is his silly and semi-memorable email address). Because he wasn’t successful he never mentioned it to me but i found out b/c he left the email open on the computer. which the fact that he even attempted made me smile :)anyhow i was just praying that maybe just maybe i won the art assortment and that was why it randomly didn’t work the first time b/c i was meant to win it today. Sounds crazy when i type it out- i know. but if you get a chance and can post who the winner was that would be wonderful- love the emily font by the way= when i choose the scripture for my girls rooms i am going to use it on a canvas painting i have in mind!
Love, love, love the blue! I am finding myself being drawn to that color a lot lately. I used it in my boys room and I love the way it looks/feels. I’m also bringing it into my family room through curtains and accessories. Next up the guest bathroom. I just can’t get enough!
I love it when you share rooms in your home!!! I’m excited to have our master bedroom be all that we want it to be too, maybe this will help inspire me to work on it. Thanks for posting!!
Emily! you room looks great! I love the idea of the photo gallery wall! I have a suggestion, you could hang the flatscreen TV on the wall and put an empty picture frame around it, then when you do the photo gallery wall it will be as if the TV were part of the artwork, instead of just blocking it. Just a though! love the room :)
I love it! :D
Katie
http://www.katiescreative.blogspot.com
I completely relate. Why must the laundry always end up in there?? If I could just keep the room clean that would be a huge improvement. It just needs more attention – thank you for reminding me.
What a beautiful, peaceful room! And thank you for keeping it real and showing us the “other wall”! :)
We have those same nightstands, the use to be in our bedroom in our past 2 houses but at this one they didn’t fit, so instead are with the boys in their room. We also changed out the hardware on them. Love the color on your wall also! great job!
Meg
I love it! Our master is huge and since our house has no family room, just a living room, we’ve turned half of it into a family room like area for the kids. Needless to say, it’s not terribly sexy. In a few years we are planning on an addition and then our master will get the make over it needs!
i LOVE your accent wall. such a great color and makes such a difference in the whole feel of your room.
i love the color of the walls in our room, but that is pretty much it. unfortunately, it is the catch all at this point with everything from the baby’s cradle to the computer desk in it. someday!
my recent post: you do not have to get divorced
it is so fun to see all the different looks you can give a room! is your bedroom on the main floor, or upstairs?
Our bedroom is on the main floor. I think we like it. It is far from the kiddos, but sometimes that is a good thing.
its just beautiful Emily! I can so totally relate to this. Our master was the last on the list to get finished. Why do we do that?!! the one place that we spend most of our time! and I must admit ours is still not “there” – tweaking, tweaking, tweaking-thats all i do is tweak! LOL
I like your “unfinished” room. Very pretty.
Also, I never thought I would read the word “sexy” at jonesdesgincompany. Woo-woo.
I know … a whole new side of Emily just came out in that statement :)
Those are the colors in our master! So, obviously, I love it!
Emily…I wish you and Ryan peaceful moments wrapped in Marine Blue & Bedford Gray!
~Lynne
[w/l]
the wall color is so pretty..so you…i love the bedding and the shams you added to the back! good job mama!
It really looks great! I have put our room as a priority…and I got the bedding and two lanters to hang up at the head of the bed. But….it still needs something. Not sure what.
Good morning Emily! Great job! I did a gallery wall in our bedroom and love it! There hangs our wedding invite, my wedding flowers (that were freeze dried and framed), of course our initial, and some sayings & a bible verse on a framed chalkboard! I decided to paint a piece of furniture with the Bedford gray! How would you describe the color? Thanks for sharing!
Bedford Gray is a good neutral gray. At first I thought it was too ‘cool’ – especially for all of our gray days in the Pacific NW, but now that I’m living with it, it really isn’t too cool at all. It looks great with white trim. And it is not dark.
I know what you mean, after a weekend the PNW (Pacific NorthWest) had, I expected more sunny days but it rained today!
Gorgeous! I love the accent wall. I’ve been looking for a white dresser. Where did you get yours?
I’ve had my eye on those lamps at Target for my living room. What would we do without that place? :) Love your room!
Beautiful! Great transformation. I am especially loving the contrast of the lamps with the deep color of the wall. Now I need to go work on my bedroom….