Master Bedroom Redesign

When we are caught up in lengthy interior design projects, we love to get the immediate gratification of a redesign or staging job. With interior design, we wait months, sometimes years, to see the final outcome of our efforts, but a redesign or staging can take just days to see the light. Here's a redesign project we just finished. Our client asked that it be a surprise for her husband's birthday and after several months of planning, we installed everything in the last 2 days while they were out of town.

The room has wonderful south/western exposure. It's a large room with all day light, a feature the client wanted to maintain through soft, light-filtering window treatments.

Two of the client's requests were that a writing desk be included in the new layout and that the balloon roman shade over the window-seat be replaced with something less formal.

Working with the mint green of the walls and the camel color of the window-seat cushion proved more difficult than I expected. Neither color is well-represented in most home decor stores at the moment. Aqua is everywhere. Mint, not so much. So, we looked for complimentary colors. I came across the bedspread first. It became our inspiration for the space. It combined mints, camels, celadon green and a purple silver. I leaned heavily on those colors for accent items: pillows, desk lamp, dresser decor.

Finding a King headboard in stock or getting one made and delivered within a few week turnaround was another challenge.

 Here is the desk we found for her at an auction. It's Italian made and amazingly fit in our budget. I love using antiques when I can. They add an air of formality and history to a room.

   

The dresser and side table have been with our client since college. Since they had cedar-box drawers and could eliminate buying costly new pieces, I decided to explore their growth potential with paint and an updated look.

 

Before

After

The side tables got 4" furniture feet to give them some elegance. They got painted silver with purple undertones to coordinate with the bedspread and I changed out the hardware on all 3 pieces from the wood knobs to antique bronze pull rings that coordinate with the drapery hardware. 

When we talked about drapery options, keeping the windows light and airy was of top priority. I suggested a sheer drape which would be whimsical and light, but with a natural fiber roman shade to give the smaller sized windows weight and the illusion of greater width.

 

Before

 

After

The chest the client had at the foot of the bed is beautifully made. It has bird's eye maple panels and is cedar lined. I could not, in good conscience, have painted it and since I also felt it was disproportionately sized for a king bed, we changed it out for an open-legged bench.

For an unexpected pop of color against the mint walls and the blue/green of the headboard, I put celadon sheets on the bed and added a grouping of 3 green glass vases to the dresser.

Inspiration

When we found out that we would be designing a room at the Showcase House, we dove in headfirst. The Showcase committee gives all the designers a broad series of color palettes from which we can choose. Initially, we tended towards browns with pops of orange and cinnamon. And then, after a trip to the Design Center, we mixed things up and did a 180. 

This beautiful ikat fabric turned our heads immediately.  It changed our color palette and the whole direction for the room.

As you can see, browns went the way of silver.  We love the rich plums and the golden citron color.  The silver tones create a cool and calming contrast to the more lively plum and yellow-green.

The fabric became our jumping off point.  A Queen size, fabric bed will be covered in it.  Bold, we know.  But right away we knew we were heading somewhere exciting.  If we’d had any doubts about this more vivid color scheme, they soon dispersed.  The next day we found this beauty…

The chaise is a 1920's art deco piece covered in plum velvet. It became our other major inspiration in the room.  Its color helped direct the space and its purpose as a "place to lounge" encouraged our reading room theme.  We are having the legs of the piece re-stained to blend into the newly re-finished dark wood floors.  We love that the piece has that vintage, retro, glamorous feel while its color gives it a modern pop.

The combination of classic and modern is an aesthetic we really love at Strong Studio Designs.  This ikat fabric is a current, formal take on its ethnic origins while the chaise is a nod to a time gone by.  We definitely wanted to incorporate more art deco elements in the room.  Remember this little nook? 

In between the bathroom and the closet in a small hallway, it could easily be wasted space.  But you know we like to use every nook and cranny we can.   We found this gorgeous table, which was so meant to be.  It fits perfectly!

The tortoise shell vanity table is also art deco.  It is French art deco and will anchor the dressing hall space.  It features a glass top, turned legs and tortoise shell facing.  We are currently on the hunt for the perfect vanity table chair to offset the tortoise shell table veneer.

We have so many incredible elements in the room.  We can’t wait to show you more!