Castle Consultation: Lauren's Master Bedroom

After seeing Trisha's room makeover, Lauren sent me pictures of her master bedroom and asked for help with art and accessories. She said:

Hi Jenny,

I wanted to send you a few pictures of our master bedroom. We have done some decorating but now we are sort of stuck. I love our furniture and paint color choices.. plus we don't have it in our budget for all new bedroom furniture but we could definitely buy some art and accessories.

I would appreciate any input you have!

Thanks, Lauren

Lauren's room is already off to a great start. I love the bedroom furniture that they have, and the two blue shades on the wall are so soothing.







And here is the idea board I created for Lauren.



As I mentioned, Lauren's room already has all the building blocks for a great room: great furniture, paint color, lamps and curtains. So my suggestions are for the finishing details that will really make this room a knockout.

First  up, let's talk about our color palette. The darker blue (Behr's Eminence) and light blue (Behr's Breaker) are the paint colors in the room, with the darker behind the bed.  The silver tone in the middle represents the hardware, lamp bases, and accessories in the room. The sandy tan color is found in the curtains, and we'll be bringing in art and pillows to tie this color into the rest of the room. The caramel color will be in the art, and the accent pillow to bridge the gap between the cool blues and silvers and the dark wood.  The dark brown represents the wood furniture, and the color is repeated in the art.

The trick to making dark furniture work with light colors is to find a way to pull just a li bit of that color out of the furniture and sprinkle it around the room in little accents. This helps the whole room to feel cohesive and tones down the stark contrast between light and dark.

This wall art from BBB is perfect for this room. It brings all of our colors together, and the ethereal print works perfectly with the calming mood that already exists in here. Remember to use a 20% off coupon to save a little more moolah! Lauren should hang this on the wall across from the window, replacing the flower pictures that are there right now.

Next we're going to address the lamps that Lauren recently purchased. The bases are great, and I love how they relate to the hardware on the furniture. I'm going to suggest a shade like these Pottery Barn Lampshades to replace the current shades. The shades are bright white, so they'll be crisp and fresh, and they have subtle detailing that really makes them pop.

To further dress up this area, we're going to bring in these round mirrors (from Target!) and hang them just above and to the side of the lampshades. (Closer to the walls)

Below them, on the nightstands themselves, I'm going to suggest bringing the frames from the dresser over to add some personality and sparkle, as well as that pretty white flower tealight holder. I love the little glass shelf on each of the tables, and I think that a few long and skinny hardcover books (in tans and light blue) should reside below the glass on one side, and a slim and sleek box (maybe for jewelry) on the other. Check Home Goods, Target or Walmart for one that's ready to go, or make your own by covering the right size box with fabric or paper. Silver or white will really pop, and a light tan would also work.

Now let's dress up that bed a little. I love the clean lined bedding and the colors are so soothing. We just need to add a little interest. Two of these euro shams (in sandy beige) from Walmart placed behind the blue pillows will add a little contrast and texture with their subtle tone on tone stripes. Then, in front of the blue pillows, this beautiful creation from etsy seller TheHomeCentric will add tons of glam factor. The sparkly metallic details bring in more of that warm caramel color and the metal rings relate to the hardware on the furniture and the mirrors on the walls.

Lastly, let's talk about the wall with the large dresser and curtains. I love the unfussy lines of the curtains, but they need a little pizazz. Adding a deep brown trim to the edges will spice them up in a heartbeat. I love how much texture grosgrain ribbon has, and Lauren can simply iron it onto the edges of each panel (a few inches away from the vertical hems )  with bonding tape. Her local JoAnn's or Michaels should have everything she needs.

Then, because we moved the frames and the votive holder to the nightstands, we'll bring in this silver beauty from West Elm to add a little sparkle to the top of the dresser. If Lauren wants something plainer, this one will work too.

So that's it! A simple idea board to make this room go from great to stellar, without breaking the bank. What do you think? Do you like my suggestions or do you have a better idea? I'd love to hear it! Oh, and be sure to check out Lauren's blog LifeUncluttered. It's so fun!