I moved into my house about 8 years ago. I decorated the master bedroom with what I had at that time and that is how it has set all these years. I’ve redecorated every other room at least twice but the master has set untouched. Until now. (I’m trying to build anticipation and suspense here, folks!) I made one big, bold choice when I initially decorated this room. I painted the walls a dark red. It was my favorite color and it was the first time that I got to paint the walls what I wanted. Don’t get me wrong, I still love the color but, it’s time for an upgrade. Here’s what we’re working with.
Don’t mind that retro TV in there. It still works just fine which makes it hard for me to justify getting rid of it no matter how ugly it is. There are some decorating elements of this room that I like and there are obviously others that were just thrown in to fill a space. And this room is dark! It looks like I took these pictures at night but the room looked like this at any time of day. If you’re a day sleeper, it was a wonderful, dark cave. (A couple years ago I went through the whole house and painted all of the trim white as well as replaced all of the doors and painted those white too. The doors and trim were builder basic golden oak colored and I hate that color! I also got rid of all of the shiny brass hardware.)
I have three main goals with this room. The first goal is to lighten up the room. The second is to have a feature wall of sorts that will make a big impact. The third goal is to bring in a rustic industrial decorating style. Think lots of metal and wood.
I knew I wanted to paint the walls a much lighter color. It was an easy choice as I went with a color I bought when I first moved into the house. Over time, I have painted several other rooms with the same color so I have a more neutral, cohesive palette and changing décor is much easier. It’s called Balsam Beige and I bought it at Walmart because that’s where I first bought it and I knew they could mix the color again without costing me an arm and a leg.
When it came to my feature wall, I was searching for an idea for a long time. I just couldn’t find anything that called my name. I’ve been a long-time reader of Thrifty Décor Chick and remembered that she had done a wood panel wall in her basement and I loved it. I pulled up her post for another look at it. I decided then and there that there would be a wood wall in my bedroom!
I now have two design goals checked off of my list! Time to work on what is generally the hardest part for me…deciding on all of the filler décor. I can sit in this stage of the design process forever, it seems, until I find just the right pieces.
I figured I needed to install some shelves in the corner over my chair. There is currently a set of very short and narrow shelves in that area. I picked them up at Target years ago and was never really quite pleased with how they looked in the room. I also hung them a bit too high but never worked up the desire to change them.
What is needed in that area is something big and chunky! Something like these floating shelves from Shanty 2 Chic is what I have in mind.
I really like floating shelves because they accomplish the chunky look but to get my industrial flair, I need some metal. In comes some iron brackets! I looked through several types, sizes, and prices on Etsy. I have finally settled on two and it’s becoming a very tough choice between them. The first set is from Tired Trucker Designs. They have a simple design but bring in that look I’m wanting. They also won’t interfere with any decorations I have on my shelves. I have these holding up a shelf in my laundry room and absolutely love them. They are a little cheaper than option number two and look like they are easier to install.
The second set of brackets is from Base Metal Design. It was love at first sight with these brackets! I love how chunky they are! And I actually like that they wrap the shelf even though it could interfere with decorations on top. Another reason I like these is because they would help pull attention from the wood panel wall and not make the room seem like it’s covered in so much wood.
I did a poll on my Instagram account. An overwhelming majority chose one bracket over the other. Even with all of that input, I still can’t decide!!
On the wall over my dresser, I’ve only had a small wall hanging forever. There needs to be something bigger there but it has been a hard area to figure out for the new design plan. I’m not really into paintings and I didn’t want to do anything with a lot of color because I want to keep the room neutral. There is also a lot of wood already planned to go into the room and I don’t want to overdo it. I’ve been looking for a place to add an antiqued world map in my home and this just might be it. I turned to Etsy to look for an idea and found this gorgeous wood carved map from Howdy Owl. I know I said no more wood but this just might make me reconsider! They also have a ton of other maps that are just as beautiful. Whatever medium I decide to use for that space, I’m fairly certain it will involve a world map.
This room has one feature that I have been scratching my head at from the first moment I stepped in this room and it’s a rather annoying feature at that.
Why on earth would they put the breaker box on a wall that is so visible?? Especially when the other side of that wall is the master closet and there is NOTHING on that wall! I’m contemplating if it would be more trouble than it’s worth to have it moved. Likely so. I guess that means I need to continue using an alternative way to conceal it. There has been a large mirror covering it since I moved in but I’m growing tired of that mirror.
The search is on to find something large enough to cover it while still hanging centered on the wall and fitting my style…
I have picked up a few trinkets here and there as possible pieces for my shelves once they’re built and installed. I stopped at Gordman’s the other day (let’s have a moment of silence for them since they are closing) to capitalize on their liquidation sale. I scored quite a few things that would work great in here!
This light fixture from World Market popped up one day while I was perusing Facebook and I instantly knew I had to have it!
Other than fitting perfectly with my style (provided I find a spot), this thing gets even better because it isn’t hard wired! I just plug it into an outlet which means no running wires anywhere. Other than switching out fixtures, I don’t mess with electricity.
I still have quite a bit to consider for my décor path in this room but I’ve made good progress on my plan of action and can see the light at the end. Do you have a shelf bracket preference? Any decorating suggestions for the space? Let me hear it!
