My bedroom isn’t perfect.  There is still a lot to do since the move.  And I’m not sure I would have chosen that deep burnt umber color for the walls if it were my own home, but I still want to give you some ideas on how you can take your bedroom, no matter how “difficult” of a space it is, and create a haven away from the rest of the world.

So, this post is where you take all that brainstorming we did and translate it into your real world.  I’m going to offer you some very simple, “real world” tips because I’m guessing funds and time are not unlimited and if you truly are going to create a haven, you have to be able to do it right away before you either forget about it or life crams back into your space.

Here is my #1 rule to creating a haven…

MAKE YOUR BED!

Yikes!  Did I just sound like your mother???  Yes, I did!  If you do nothing else EVER to your bedroom, do the bedroom a favor and make the bed.  Take a look at what that one thing can do for a room:

BEFORE

AFTER

Everything in the room was out of order.  Kids had hauled blankets in during the early morning hours.  I hadn’t tidied up a thing.  But, the bed is the focal point of the room.  That is where your eyes go to.  Simply making that one place neat and tidy, you change the entire feel of the room.

Now, that brings me to the point of bedding.  Coming from someone who knows what it is like to have a hodge-podge of mismatched bedding versus a well-outfitted matching bedding set, I can honestly say there is a huge difference.  Having a set that matches makes you WANT to make your bed. But bedding can get expensive.  The new set in our bedroom was a birthday present from my mom.  A birthday present I asked for.  Remember, I’m practical when it comes to gifts.

So, don’t be afraid to ask for something like that as a gift.  Or scour thrift stores for things that match.  It might take a while, but it is well worth it.  And even just make it known throughout your network of friends that you are looking for a matching bedding set for whatever size your bed is.  You might be surprised how many people have extra bedding just lying about their home taking up space.

Another great thing to have in your bedroom is some sort of soft lighting.  There is something very beautiful and inviting about having soft light on in the evening hours as you retire to your bedroom.  It blurs the ugly and warms up the less-than-perfect.  You can do this with a simple lamp and a soft light bulb or use Christmas lights or rope lights in certain areas of the room.

Now, back to our brainstorming session…

Who are you?

Who is your husband?

Who are you together?

In our bedroom are mementos of our wedding day.  Our wedding invitation, framed with dried flowers and ribbon, our wedding picture, my bouquet.  All treasures and celebrations of our marriage.  These sorts of things make good decorations about the marriage bed.

Now take into account how you can use the things that make you smile in your space. I really like baskets, so we have baskets that hold everything from loose change to phone chargers.

Perhaps your husband is a sports fan.  That doesn’t mean you have to have NFL themed bedding and sports team pennants all over the walls.  You’ve probably noticed how popular the Fleur de lis has gotten in decorating.  Obviously, if he is a Saints fan, you can easily find a classy way to translate this to your bedroom space.  Hobby Lobby sells a lot of fleur de lis decor or you can create your own knock off…

This decoration from Overstock.com retails for $65.  However, you can do something similar with tiles from the hardware store or ceramic trivets salvaged from the junk shop.  Spray paint the background and freehand the shapes on in white paint.

Now, the Saints is an easy one to figure out, but what about oh say, the Green Bay Packers.  Pretty sure no one here wants huge pieces of Styrofoam cheese in their bedroom!  In this case, use his favorite sports team’s colors as accents.

Think outside the box on this one.  I imagine your husband will be touched by any gesture on your part to include his passions in the room.  For years I had dead animals hanging over my head.  You get used to it.

Maybe there are things you both enjoy. Perhaps you and your husband are coffee lovers.  Think coffee shop when you decorate.  Warm colors, scrap metal spray painted black and hung in funky arrangements, candle holders made from coffee beans and clear glasses like these.  Mugs painted to match and hung on the wall with teacup hooks and used to hold jewelry, loose change, and odds and ends.

Ty and I both enjoy traveling and especially our annual vacation to the mountains.  The photos above our bed are from our vacations.

They remind us of places that are very dear to us and also very relaxing as well.

But, what if it seems like the things you enjoy are polar opposites?  Tie them together with color or materials. Perhaps he loves old cars and you love music.  Take his love of cars and hit the salvage yard looking for pieces you can mount on your walls as decorations or hooks or shelves.  Make “chrome” an accent color or add splashes of color here and there to “warm up” the chrome.  Then take your love of music and tear your favorite hymn from a hymnal, brush on tea to age the page, add hints of silver with ribbon or a matte or the frame itself to tie it in with the chrome.  Use an old instrument case as a jewelry box.  Or better yet, take some trim pieces you found at the salvage yard and create a staff by screwing those pieces to the wall and then find a way to shape belts into musical notes and key signatures.

OK, I’m getting carried away now!  But you get the idea…think outside the box.  WAY outside the box!

If you have curtains, but they aren’t the right color, consider dying them.  We have carted dozens of different curtains along with us on our moves simply because curtains are an easy thing to repurpose and reuse, even if it requires a bit of tweaking or hemming.  If you sew at all, curtains are an easy project from sheets or clearance fabric.

The possibilities are endless!  Really, all you need is a fresh perspective and a creative eye.  If you don’t feel like you have these things, call a friend over to evaluate or brainstorm with you.  Hey, maybe she’ll even let you dig around in her junk piles (those are the best kind of friends, aren’t they?!)

I could literally go on and on and on and I am by no means a decorator-type person, but I do enjoy creative thinking and I am passionate about having a beautiful place in your home that makes you smile and soothes the frazzled nerves of the day.

Ultimately, your bedroom is a place of REST.  It should be RESTFUL.  What is one thing you can do today to accomplish that? Let me know of any ideas you have or other thoughts on the matter!

And don’t forget TOMORROW is the day for the link up! The link up will appear on ALL the blogs below:

Sprucing Up the Laundry Room | Mama’s Laundry Talk
Sprucing Up the School Room | Homegrown Mom
Sprucing Up the Craft Room | Many Little Blessings
Sprucing Up the Bathroom | Feels Like Home
Sprucing Up the Playroom | …Life’s About a Dream
Sprucing Up the Garage/Storage Space | A Slob Comes Clean
Sprucing Up the Master Bedroom | Raising Arrows (that’s me!)
Sprucing Up Your Homeschool | Jimmie’s Collage
Sprucing Up the Kitchen | So Happy Together
Sprucing Up the Garden | An Oregon Cottage
Sprucing Up the Backyard | Successful Homeschooling

That way everyone gets to share in what we are doing to spruce up our spaces!  I can’t wait to visit all of you and see what you are up!