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This is What Our Bedroom Looks Like

I’ve been working with American Express to redo my bedroom. They provided me with a total of 300,000 Membership Rewards points.

Hello, dark and lovely bedroom.

Our Bedroom

Our Bedroom

Everything came together just as I hoped it would. The colors and patterns of the new bedding look great together, and our bed feels so soft with its new pillows and comforter.

Bedding

The Edison Chandelier is amazing.

Our Bedroom

We do have our fears about Eleanor jumping on the bed or swinging a pillow and breaking the bulbs. We may need to revisit our lighting options in a few years, but right now we are absolutely loving the chandellier.

Our Bedroom

I like the little pop of red from our phone, and the yellow of the lacquered tray holding magazines by my side of the bed.

My Nightstand

My Nightstand

I really love the play between light and dark in the room. Sheer white shades, white curtains, and painted white trim all provide a nice balance to the zinc walls, gray rug, dark furniture, and the Jacobean bamboo flooring.

Our Bedroom

Our overflow of books has been contained by the new bookshelf.

Books in Our Bedroom

The bedroom is somewhat small and there is already a lot going on visually, so we wanted the new art to be subtle. I love the antiqued zinc finish against our ‘zinc’ wall color.

Wall Art

Our Bedroom

Soporific.

Our Bedroom

Inexpensive Custom Sized Roller Shades

I had been planning to put up sheer roller shades for a long time, even before I began redoing my bedroom (photos next week). We used to like our room darkening Roman blinds because they let us sleep in deliciously late. We haven’t been able to sleep in since we had our little alarm clock though, and the room began to feel oppressively dark in the wee morning hours.

I knew I had twittered about picking up the shades (ENJE), so I looked for the tweet to see how long ago that was. February 16. Oof.

The shades didn’t come in the exact size that I needed, but Anna reassured me that they are easy to work with. So over the weekend I set about trimming off 2.5″ and installing them, and it was easy.

Trimming ENJE Roller Shades

All you have to do is measure the amount to be trimmed, mark it and then cut. Using good, sharp scissors will help (you do reserve a pair of scissors just for fabric, right?). The metal top and bottom can be cut with a hacksaw or jigsaw with a metal blade, but the fabric needs to be cut away first or it will become ragged. I used an x-acto knife for that part.

Trimming ENJE Roller Shades

After you’ve cut everything down to the proper size, you just pop the ends back on and hang the shade according to the simple directions.

ENJE Roller Shades

Done!

ENJE Roller Shades

Benita of Chez Larsson just took on the same project recently, and here Anna of Door Sixteen gives her take on the ENJE shades. I’m so pleased with the way they look, and they were so inexpensive… especially compared to custom roller shades.

The Edison Chandelier is Here

And it’s up, but I still have to play around with the strings and attach them to the ceiling.

Edison Chandelier

FYI, the Edison is HUGE. Especially the bulbs.

Edison Chandelier

I wanted to take a picture of Eleanor having a bright idea, but she has not been in a particularly cooperative mood today. You can use your imagination though. It would have been cute.

This light was purchased with Membership Rewards points courtesy of American Express. I am working with them to redo my bedroom.

Martha Stewart Paint Review

I used Martha Stewart’s new line of paint for The Home Depot this weekend to paint the bedroom. Since I shared a preview of the colors with you a while back, I thought I should now share my experience with the paint. I used flat/matte interior paint in ‘Zinc’. And before you start your next painting project, take a look at the guide I wrote recently: DIY Painting Tips, Tricks, and a Step-By-Step Guide.

Martha Stewart 'Zinc' Paint

Martha Stewart’s paint is Low VOC. I actually like the smell of paint (I know it’s bad for you), but this had hardly any odor. I did notice a slight (not unpleasant) scent when I first opened the paint can, but that was it. What I did notice right away though is that the paint is very thin. Behr is the thickest I’ve used, and I still prefer Benjamin Moore, but the Martha Stewart paint was by far the thinnest. I was a bit concerned but apart from being messy to pour, it wasn’t a problem.

The first coat of paint gave me beautiful coverage and I adore the color. I’m a perfectionist and I always put a second coat on, but I think many people would have been happy with just the first. I painted the ceiling as well as the walls, and I experienced absolutely no splattering (which is often a problem when painting celings). Maybe it’s because of the thin consistency? The only problems I had while painting were the occasional drips from loading too much paint on my brush or roller. I just had to adjust my technique and wipe off more paint before applying to the wall. One gallon was enough to paint my 12′x12′ room.

At first I thought that the paint was fine and that I would use it again without hesitation, but now here’s where the hesitation comes in. We leaned our mattress against the wall while we were bringing furniture back into the room, and when we grabbed the mattress to put it in the bed frame, it slid against the wall a bit. The paint was fully dry, having been finished 36 hours earlier, but the mattress left a few scuff marks. They’re only visible if the light hits the wall in just the right way (I didn’t even notice them until the next morning), but they are there.

I should also note that I have received very mixed reviews from readers. A few people have mentioned using Martha Stewart’s new line of paint and loving it, but a few have absolutely hated it. My final thoughts? There are some beautiful colors to choose from, and I liked the paint a lot, but I didn’t completely love it. Honestly? I would consider using it again, but I’d be just as likely to have it color-matched.

The Bedroom is Coming Together Nicely

I am working with American Express to redo my bedroom. Last week they provided me with 150,000 Membership Rewards points.

The last few days have gone a little something like this…

  • Saturday: Clear the bedroom (thereby making the library a disaster), go to my uncle’s house to celebrate his birthday, come home and go to bed (mattress on the floor).
  • Sunday: One coat of paint on the walls and ceiling, go to my dad’s house for a barbecue, come home and go to bed (mattress on the floor).
  • Monday: Second coat of paint on the walls and ceiling, go to my sister-in-law’s house for a barbecue, come home and go to bed (mattress still on the floor).
  • Tuesday night: Swap out the rug, put the mattress back in the bed frame (YAY!), bring in the nightstands, and start setting up the room again… all in an hour while my mother-in-law watched Eleanor.

The bedroom looks really good so far though! It’s coming together just as I hoped it would, which is such a relief. I picked up some cute accessories and a new rug with the remainder of my points from last week. I was a little nervous about the rug… I brought my paint chips with me to the store, but sometimes when you see an expanse of wall color with the rug it can look a little off. Thankfully it all worked out. Really well in fact.

For the Bedroom

I’ll be ready to share photos next week! But now, something fun for you…

One lucky person will win a Crate & Barrel gift card worth $100 (courtesy of the American Express Membership Rewards program). Simply leave a comment on this post to enter, and I’ll select a winner at random on Monday, June 7. The giveaway is open to all. Good luck!

Edit, June 7: We have a winner!
Congratulations to traci in virginia, who was commenter number 1342 (chosen via random.org).

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