Hello, dark and lovely 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.

The Edison Chandelier is amazing.

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.

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.

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 overflow of books has been contained by the new bookshelf.

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.

Soporific.

© 2010, published by Making it Lovely as This is What Our Bedroom Looks Like | 191 comments

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.

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.

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.

Done!

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.

© 2010, published by Making it Lovely as Inexpensive Custom Sized Roller Shades | 38 comments

FYI, the Edison is HUGE. Especially the bulbs.

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.

© 2010, published by Making it Lovely as The Edison Chandelier is Here | 37 comments

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.

© 2010, published by Making it Lovely as Martha Stewart Paint Review | 73 comments

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.

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).

© 2010, published by Making it Lovely as The Bedroom is Coming Together Nicely | 1688 comments

The books in our bedroom doth overflow. We filled our library bookshelves long ago, and now the books are starting to amass into random piles throughout our home. We are planning to donate some of our books to the library, but we could still use more storage for the volumes we intend to keep.

Our bedroom is somewhat small (12′x12′) and with a queen size bed, two nightstands, and my freestanding wardrobe, there isn’t a lot of room left for other furniture. There is a small space between the door and the closet though, and I found a bookshelf console table that fits perfectly. I’ve already redeemed some of this week’s points and I can’t wait to get the bookshelf in the room so I can put our books away.

I was considering placing a mirror over the bookshelf, but I’m going to use a metal wall sculpture instead. Also, Brandon and I have decided that we are going to go ahead and paint the room in Martha Stewart’s ‘Zinc’. So we’ll have art with an antiqued zinc piece on a wall painted in ‘zinc’; I don’t know why I like that so much, but I find it charming.

© 2010, published by Making it Lovely as Book Storage in the Bedroom | 38 comments

All right. I’m going to go for it and order the Edison Chandelier.

I may be setting myself up for a repeat of the Maskros pendant scale mismatch, but I have to at least try the Edison. There is potential for much excellence. I’m also going to pick up some paint samples this weekend, so we’ll see how that goes.

You already know that I picked up the striped sheets that I had wanted with this week’s points, but I still had some leftover. Brandon and I decided to use this opportunity to get something that we wouldn’t normally splurge on for the bedroom: a new comforter and pillows.

Our bed feels niiiiice now.

© 2010, published by Making it Lovely as Bedroom Status Report | 34 comments

As I mentioned last week, I haven’t decided if I’m going to paint the bedroom or not. I could redeem some of my points for a Home Depot gift card, so I’m considering a few colors from Martha Stewart’s new line of paint.

Brandon and I are both partial to ‘Zinc’, but I also like ‘Gray Squirrel’, ‘Brook Trout’, and ‘Seal’.

p.s. I got the striped sheets. I had them shipped to me from a west elm in Florida, and they are awesome.

© 2010, published by Making it Lovely as Possible Paint Colors for the Bedroom | 54 comments

Remember when our roof was leaking last month? Well the water killed our light fixture in the bedroom, so now I’m looking for something new. I’ve been thinking about the Edison Chandelier but as I tweeted about a month ago, “I can’t decide if I think this is industrial cool, or if it just looks like a giant spider on the ceiling.”

All of the images show it in a dining room, so maybe it would just be weird in a bedroom? Here are the other options I’m considering:

I already own a pair of Adjustable Arc Sconces (A), so whatever I choose for the ceiling fixture will have to work with those. The Eclipse Pendant Lamp (B) doesn’t look like anything special in the product photo, but in person it’s really pretty (and a little shimmery). I’m also thinking about getting a Jonathan Adler ceiling light (C) because I love the one that’s in my studio. I feel like the bedroom is an opportunity to do something a little different though.

Now, before you look at the photo below, let me preface it by saying that I think the Hailey Antique Flower Chandelier would look awesome if painted.

Glossy green, maybe? Mustard yellow? Could be good, right?

I’d like to choose something by the end of the week because I’m eager to redeem my American Express Membership Points and finally get a new fixture in the bedroom. I’m really having a hard time deciding though – I’ve been thinking about lights for weeks! Which one would you choose? Or have you seen something else that you think would look even better?

© 2010, published by Making it Lovely as Choosing New Lighting for the Bedroom | 104 comments

I always start with the bedding when I want a new look in the bedroom. The only thing that has a bigger impact than new bedding for less money is paint, but then you actually have to paint. And I like painting (I really do), but I also like the wall color we already have.

Well OK, I may still paint… I’m not sure yet. But anyway, bedding! I liked each of these:

1. Organic Summer Leaf
2. Links
3. Marimekko Madison Yellow
4. Double Dot

They were all good options, but none of them were perfect. Then I found the Abigail Paisley set.

I bought a paisley sheet set nearly a decade ago and I’ve loved it for years, but it has become completely threadbare and faded. I’m so happy to have found a replacement! I redeemed my Membership Rewards points for two $250 gift certificates to Crate & Barrel and ordered the duvet cover with two pillow shams. I also ordered a green quilt and shams at the risk of being too matchy-matchy, but I think it will look good. I already have a set of white sheets, so I’m set in that department. Wouldn’t a set of striped sheets be cute though? Maybe I’ll try to track them down next week (the website says they’re on back order).

What do you think? Will the gray sheets look funny with my brown bed?

p.s. Isn’t this looking a lot like the Striking Stripes and Polka Dots edition of MiY I did not long ago? I loved that one; I’m pretty jazzed about doing something similar!

© 2010, published by Making it Lovely as Choosing New Bedding | 82 comments