The Master Bedroom Redo Is Complete! Time for the Reveal!

At last!  It is time to reveal our Master Bedroom 'afters'!  Are you ready?!? 

Of course you are!  Here we go...

Well, what do you think? It has been a long road getting this finished up, so let's do a quick review of the DIY's that got us here.

We kicked off this project back in January when we finally chose a paint color and painted the room.  It felt so great to get rid of that green!

 I sewed up our own  window treatments (which I've added a lining to)...

We "un-Ikea-fied" our dresser and nightstand with antique hardware

Then updated a few thing we already owned with some spray paint to get that antique look...

Added in some artwork that captured our imagination (Georges Melies anyone?)...

And sewed up a few decorative accents with my thrift store fabric finds.

But the biggest to-do by far for our bedroom was Alex's DIY door turned headboard...

Man, oh man, I still can't get over how great that turned out!!!

We also changed out the feet on our Ektorp chair and ottoman in order to class it up a bit or again "un-Ikea-fy" it (we haven't shared that tutorial yet, but will later this week).

PS- that's the Magic Carpet I mentioned in my Friday post!

Phew, it has been a long road but I am so happy we now have a space that feels like ours and reflects our style as a couple (that part wasn't easy!).  

Now, I am pooped.... time for bed!!! 

Hmmm, that grown-up looking bedroom feels sooooo good!

What do you think of our Master Bedroom Redo?
Are you digging it?
Is it what you thought it might be?  Or totally different?

A Semi-Exciting Purchase for the Master Bedroom

As you might know from the last post about the Master Bedroom, I have been sort of driving myself nuts over finishing up the decor, but good news!  Thanks to fate Ikea's crappy return policy we have new bedding for our Master bedroom!  Drumroll please....



 Linblomma Duvet Cover and Shams- $79.99

There it is!  LOL, that was anti-climactic right?  

Yep, a new set of white bedding which is pretty much what I planned on.  I purchased this duvet cover on a random trip to Ikea because I liked the fun little knots on the closure, just a neat little detail I hadn't seen before and it adds some interest to a plain white duvet cover.

I figured I could take it home, make sure I like it, make sure Alex likes it, and if it didn't work out I would return it.....  Well, after much debate I got a little nervous about the fabric (linen isn't known for being very easy care) and thought it might be smarter to pick something else out.  Sadly, the big blue home furnishing giant refused to take it back... which sort of made me annoyed with their return logo thingy, I feel like it should say this instead so everyone reads the fine print on their return policy....

After seeing that you'd read the fine print right?!?!  Anyway, yes my bad, should have read the policy and I get that it would be gross for people to return used bedding... really gross.  But knowing I opened the package only to see how the white sham looked with the color of white we painted our headboard, I thought returning it was harmless.  Ugh, oh well.

In the end, I am just looking at it as maybe a blessing since I have been stressing about the finishing touches (aka decorative textiles & accents) for our bedroom.  So, thank you Ikea for locking me into that selection... and really, the whites are close enough :)  I just hope that 100% linen duvet cover + shams don't become a wrinkled up, creased mess when I take it out of the dryer... then I might really fight for a return- who the hell has time to iron all of their bedding?  Or who wants to?

Wish me luck on these last few to-do's for our Master Bedroom Redo:

Throw Blanket

Bedside Lighting

Two Decorative Pillows

Three Frames Above the Headboard

Accent Rug

Sounds so easy right?  I guess not for me and my craziness-ness :)

Our Salvaged Door Turned DIY Headboard

At last.... It has been built! Our Master Bedroom Redo continues on!

Yes, after letting the salvaged door I picked up sit around for a total of two months we can finally say that it is no longer a door- It's a headboard baby, yea!!!

You saw that coming right?  Sorry I couldn't help myself :)

We decided that the 5-panel door needed some style added to it before we mounted it as a headboard.  After an hour long (no joke, an HOUR long) debate in Home Depot over the type of trim to add, we came to a final decision! Here's how we spruced up our headboard creation using 3 pieces of decorative trim along with the framing....

Alex started by framing in the top (when door is rotated for the headboard), then the left and right sides using cut 2x3's.  Then he countersunk and pre-drilled pilot holes in order to use wood screws to attach the framing to the door. 

Next, he cut a piece of crown moulding to attach along the top of the door (headboard) and added decorative endcaps at end side. 

The last step was adding a 1x6 piece of select pine across the top.  The pine, crown moulding, and endcaps were attached using Loctite powergrab and finishing nails.

This is how the door headboard should look once you are done building.  After that it's ready for the final refinishing steps.

We did some sanding, added wood filler where needed, and added a fresh coat of paint. 

We anxiously waited for it to dry and when it finally did, we happily attached it to our bed frame!   A lot of oooh-ing and awww-ing followed :) 

I'm loving how the headboard is shaping up.  I think it now has a similar look to Pottery Barn's Addison Headboard which retails for $499.00-$599.00.

 Our creation has cost us about $100 total including the door, framing wood, and decorative trims!  So much better than spending "1 billion, gagillion, fafillion, shabolubalu million illion yillion dollars at Pottery Barn... right Mr. Bigglesworth Pigglesworth?"

Hmmm, too far?  Rocco (aka Piggy) would be offended I am sure :)

What do you think of our headboard creation so far?

See you tomorrow for a very happy edition of Head Over Heels Friday!

PS- I have no idea why I had Austin Powers stuck in my head today.  It's as strange to me as you probably think it is! Ha!

*UPDATE* Click here if you'd like to skip ahead and see the 'after' photos from our Master Bedroom redo project!

Master Bedroom Update: Headboard & Layout Changes

Our Master Bedroom redo has been on hold since I left for my overseas trip, so it has been more than a month since we have done anything with the space... sad.  Alex and I really need a kick in the a$# to get this whole sha-bang done. But we're working on it!

The next thing to tackle was turning that salvaged door into a headboard for our bed.  Thankfully the door was in pretty good shape...

But of course it still required a little bit of sanding to smooth out the surface...

... and a nice fresh coat of paint!

After the paint dried, Alex and I wanted to get an idea of how the door would look once added in as a headboard.  Not too bad right?  Really looks like it is just a headboard for the most part.  Alex also wanted to determine how high it should sit behind our mattress before he started to build the actual frame for it.

The other big change in the room is how the furniture is going to be set up. 

Our bed has always been where it sits in this "before" picture.  Even the previous home owner had their bed there, so we thought it wouldn't fit anywhere else in the room since the space is so long and narrow.  But...

Turns out that it fits just fine elsewhere in the room, and that little change make the whole room look and feel different!!!  Here is a little sneak peek :) 

I am still figuring out the little pieces of decor for the room so I can't give away the final look yet!
Plus Mr. Hammers and High Heels still needs to make that headboard frame for me us. 
 
For now I can't lie to you, my parents are coming to Minnesota for an Easter weekend visit with us so we won't be tackling anything with our bedroom.  So, we'll be dragging this project out a little longer.... Boo-hoo, I know, but we're excited to have family here for a visit!  Shout out to my stepdad John- this will be his second visit in the 5 years I lived in Minnesota, haha!  Maybe that will make him visit more now?!?!
 
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I am sure we will have some fun Easter weekend stories to share- we're supposed to go to the gun range on Saturday.  Yep, the gun range.  Not sure if I'm excited about that, but I am trying to tap into my inner Angel- which means a cute outfit and feathered hair for the occasion :)  Hmmm, anyway it should be a real hoot!

Image via Charlie's Angels IMDB page
 
See ya tomorrow for Head Over Heels time!

The Young Swedes Get an Old American Makeover

Just in case you're confused, we're talking about our Ikea Dresser & Nightstand getting a new look :) Little by little, we are getting through all those little to-do's for our Master Bedroom.  Each small touch will help pull the room's look together and this simple update certainly helped!

Remember those antique cabinet knobs I picked up at Guilded Salvage? Well they certainly did the trick to sort of "un-Ikea-fy" our Ikea Hemnes Nightstand and Dresser.  We wanted them to both look a bit more ornate/ glamorous, sort of this kind of feel versus standard Ikea...

 Here is a look before changing out the hardware on the nightstand.

And here is how it is looking now...

A touch more glamorous right?  That photo makes me really want to ditch those nightstand lamps though, totally not working with the new hardware.  Here is a closer detailed shot of the knob, just has a little circle pattern to it.

Now to the dresser.  Again the 'before'...

And now, just feels a bit more special.

As I mentioned in that last post, I had to dig through a bin of random antique knobs in hopes of finding 14 that were the exact same.  Sadly, the most I could get was 12, but that worked for the dresser.  So that is why the nightstand had different knobs (but still the same finish).  Here is a closer detailed look at the knobs I put on the dresser.  They have just a touch of distressing on the metal surface, just the perfect bit of patina to make it special!

Additionally since we are talking gold finishes & accents for our room, I am thinking of adding in that oval antique framed mirror I picked up at a thrift store for $7.00.  It would be perfect right?

I also picked up some dark camel/ gold and navy velvet pillow covers!  They are looking good with our curtain fabric!

It's coming together! 

We still have a lot to do, but so far everything is working out according to our Master plan....

So, I know that was just a little step but are you liking the old world touch on the 'Young Swedes'?

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See you later this week!

"G"...What a Lovely (and Mysterious) Vintage Trunk

As promised, here are some photos of the trunk we picked up at Hunt and Gather during our Valentine's Day adventure.

Everything about it was perfect for the color scheme we are going with for our Master Bedroom redo.  I loved every little detail including...

... the brown canvas (perfect with Behr's Bitter Chocolate), the gold dowels & lock, black metal edge clamps, and hardwood slats. 

 An extra little fun detail was this monogrammed "G." on each side of the trunk.  Too bad it wasn't a "Z." but the random letter is still pretty fun, makes me wonder what story this old trunk has.

Here is a look inside, it has some kind of garment holder/ organizer.  Not sure if it originally came with the trunk?

 If it did, my only clue as to where the trunk came from is this label on the garment holder that says "Thiss Luggage, Leather Goods, Minneapolis"

I tried searching the name and nothing came up. I also looked through old photos in the Hennepin Country Library's Online Special Collections Database and again, no luck.

So, the trunk's history is a mystery, but I am excited that we have a unique decor addition for our Master Bedroom redo! 

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend.  We are having a very warm February day here in Minneapolis, so Alex and I are going to grab a coffee, walk along St. Anthony Main, and enjoy the sunshine!  I'll be posting some more Master Bedroom updates soon!