My master bedroom has been a work in progress. Here’s what the room looked like when we bought the house:
When we looked at the house, I fell in love with the high tray ceiling, hardwood floors, crown molding and big window that overlooks our backyard. Then, when we moved in, I rushed into a lot of decisions–I struggled with the paint color, where to put furniture and how to dress the windows so I kind of made some rash decisions and then just settled and focused on other areas of the house…and unfortunately I settled for a couple of years…I know many of you can relate.
Here’s what my master bedroom looked like for two years:
Ugh, a little sad for someone who loves design so much, I know (at least my dog enjoyed napping in here.) Certain things I really love in the room–the John Robshaw bedding (by way of a clearance sale at HSN–score!), the West Elm shag rug, the wing back chair that used to be in my husband’s house growing up and I had recovered in a cream linen. But, no matter how many throw pillows I added, the room was just missing something. Then one day, it just clicked–the room wasn’t cozy, it had no focus and I was hiding all those great features I’d fallen in love with when we looked at the house.
So, I thought about how I could bring the focus back on those features and came across a few pictures that reminded me of what built-in bookcases can do for a room.
Don’t those windows just pop? So, I decided on a set of built-in bookshelves connected with window bench. The idea was to make the window the focus of the room and create balance to the other side of the room with the headboard and two side tables (that’s for another post when I’ve wrapped up that side of the room!)
Here’s what the room looks like with the new bookshelves! Love how they’ve opened up the room. (BTW, ignore the styling of the shelves–post coming in the next couple of weeks about styling bookshelves and we’re going to conquer mine!)
A reminder of what it looked like just a couple of weeks ago:
The heavy grommet drapery covered up the window and crown molding so by taking that down and replacing it with grasscloth roman shades, I still have texture and color, but it feels much lighter and you notice the room’s architecture. I also changed the paint color to a deep grey that’s much more grown up and because it’s darker, the built-ins and molding really pop.
Three decisions were important to make prior to starting the project: 1) We decided to keep all the shelves open rather than doing closed cupboards to make the units feel more airy–since we have a walk-in closet, we really didn’t need additional storage for clothing. 2) We did not do any lighting because we wanted to save a little money and didn’t feel like it was necessary. 3) We carried the shelves almost all the wall up to the ceiling to emphasize the height of the room, but left the crown molding as it–I felt like it would have looked strange with the tray ceiling to move the crown molding.
My husband’s only request was that he wanted a TV in the room. So, I made one of the shelves much larger to accommodate 40″ TV (I was sure to choose the TV BEFORE finalizing the height of the shelf to make sure it would fit. I also had the carpenter move all the cable and electrical outlets to that shelf and had him create a higher shelf on the other side as well with the idea of fitting a large lamp that would balance the TV and create some light on that side of the bedroom.
The bench is a perfect place to sit and read and it opens up to provide extra storage for blankets or off-season clothing. My next to do is pick fabric for a cushion.
I LOVE how it turned out. Every night when I crawl into bed, I stare at the new bookshelves and smile (ok, maybe it’s crazy, but it’s true–love it when a project turns out how you envisioned it!) And, if you have a similar design dilemma but built-ins aren’t in your budget, I could have used simple bookcases on either side of my window with a freestanding bench. Because this is a house we will be in for a long time I decided to make the investment in built-ins, but if you’re not sure, go with the freestanding ones for more flexibility.
I’ll keep you posted on fabric for the bench and styling of the shelves!
Looks incredible! I just showed this post to Tim and he agrees that we should do the same in our room. Such a great use of space and a beautiful outcome.
Looks fabulous!! Great windows that were being totally overlooked……..and now a wonderful focus point.
Amazing.
wow, what a transformation! love everything. and can’t wait to read the post about styling shelves (as you know!).
Tessa and Amy, love these posts. They are great. We are in the process of a total overhaul of our first floor- kitchen, family room and dining room– love your built ins and also love the paint color of the bedroom wall — can you share what color this is….I’m thinking it may be great in my kitchen…
Thanks! Peggy
Hi Peggy–the color is Benjamin Moore Gunmetal. It’s actually much darker than the picture indicates, but if you like it the way it’s showing in the pic, you could get it at 50%. There’s also a lighter grey on the same strip that I’ve used in my bathroom that you should try.
Awesome– thank you! 🙂
Looks great!! You guys are puttin’ out some great reads!! Keep it comin!!
I adore this! It really IS inspirational! I love your blog! I need to style my own bookshelves, so I’m staying tuned to you. Plus which – we need to make a date soon!
Great to see the before, later, and now. Interesting comments on the process you went through to achieve the end result. Although you actually added something significant to the room, the space looks lighter! Thanks for the inspiration!