designBoard: Our Bedroom

When we bought this house, I had the opportunity to start fresh with our master bedroom. What used to be our bedroom furniture and bedding we decided to use in one of the guest rooms. So I had a blank slate...

I didn't start from total scratch. Carter and I have a set of bedroom furniture from our dear Mama Jo, Carter's grandmother. We wanted to use the chest of drawers and the vanity in our bedroom, although the bed (a beautiful four poster) is a double, so we have that tucked away for future use.

With those pieces as a starting point, I began brainstorming what I envisioned for our room. Here comes one of my design mantras...

Start small. Think Big.

Approaching a room can be extremely overwhelming if you think of it as a whole. I look for one or two small pieces of inspiration and use those to guide me in developing the rest of the design. Sometimes that inspiration is a fabric, or a color, or a picture, or an accessory...some little tidbit from which a bigger picture can evolve. That makes the task of designing much more manageable.

This time, my kernel came in the form of fabric. I was poking around on eBay and found a stunning Schumacher print for a steal. The yardage was enough for a large decorative pillow for the bed with some left over to cover a chair seat. From there, my task was to find things to complement it...

My designBoard:

I decided to go with a tailored brown stripe for our curtains and our bed "skirt" (it will be more like a boxspring cover, as it won't go to the floor). I thought the stripes would keep our bedroom from feeling too traditional...and stripes make me very happy. I use them throughout our house. I also think Carter is relieved that our room will revolve around brown and not, say, pink.

I chose a light camel for the paint color. The main level of our house is very bright and cheery - so I wanted to do something a bit more neutral for our room...something relaxing!

I had seen the bed in the Ballard Designs catalog - it features a beautiful cane-back headboard. Add caned furniture to my list of loves...you know, the list with wallpaper, chairs, china...

...and let's add white linens too. They always look so crisp and inviting. I found a fluffy, tufted white comforter at Target. I also found a very handsome khaki blanket to contrast with it.

While we're at it, let's put sunburst mirrors on the list. I would be happy to have one in each room of my house. I plan to have two in the bedroom flanking either side of the main window that will be dressed with the striped fabric.

And finally on my board is the beautiful celadon lamp. One of my favorite colors in my inspiration fabric is the greeny-blue on the ducks - the lamps will help accent it. Mama Jo's vanity doubles as my nightstand, and Carter has a small round table on his side, so we'll put a pair of lamps like this one on either side of the bed.

So that's the roundup of the AO master bedroom. We're working hard on the main level of the house, so I have yet to put my plan into action. I have all the pieces...I just need to assemble them. And I am very much looking forward to it.

Next time you're struggling with a little design dilemma, start small. Look for something you love...anything...and grow your idea from there.