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:
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!
Anna-Marie says
I have been reading your post with interest. When we first married our bedroom was all me, my husband had to sleep in a maple pencil post bed with silk flowers wrapped around the posts and a tapestry type bed cover, very girly:) Now after 11 years we have sort of merge our tastes. We have a new bedroom set of slightly darker wood (his choice) and a bed spread with no flowers on it. I still make the final choice of colors but he doesn’t mind that so long as it isn’t pink;)! Our bedroom is much more about the 2 of us and our family. Both of us often say it is our little haven away from the the world.
Not sure I would ever have dead animal heads in my bedroom!!!! You are a much nicer wife than I am:)
Amy says
We, too, recently moved and I took this move as an opportunity to make a bedroom that we would love to be in! We were blessed to get the bedding set we REALLY wanted for just $1.50 (yes, $1.50… clearance price, less coupon, less gift card – WOOHOO! That was my deal of the century!)!! Then we painted a nice warm, rich brown to accent the bedding and added deep chocolate brown curtains on the wall and a pretty plant in the corner. We still need some prints/art on the walls, but even as it is now my hubby will tell you that he feels like he is sleeping in a hotel!! I am so glad that we could create such a nice space to relax in at the end of a day!! Thanks for the encouragement and great ideas!!
JDaniel4's Mom says
I like the idea of hanging pictures of places we have been together.
Tammy says
well after reading this post I guess I know whats next on my To Do list…folding that mountain of laundry sitting on the bedroom floor!
Miriam says
Hi! I’ve stumbled across your blog before but recently came across this Spring Cleaning series and have been intrigued enough to dig a little deeper to see what all you have here 🙂 My husband and I only have our daughter so far (who just turned 1), but we both desire to have a large family. How large, we’re not sure, but probably “large” by today’s standards at least 🙂 I’m looking forward to reading and learning more!
Debbie says
I have so enjoyed your insight in this series. When we first married my husband specifically said green and burgandy and no flowers for our baedroom. We pretty much moved in the furniture, got green and burgandy bedding, and hung stuff on the existing nails on the neutral walls that we had received as wedding gifts. It looks OK if kept clean. But with the exception of green and burgandy there was really nothing intentional. And we really hadn’t made it ours.
I never really made plans to spruce it up because it seemed like such a major undertaking. But you inspired me to come up w/ some simple ideas that I could do for basically free. I am so excited to link up. Probably nobody would want to duplicate just what I did, but that is why it is so great because it is just for us.
Thank you!
Jami @ An Oregon Cottage says
I had to smile at your first admonition to make the bed. 🙂 I remember as a teen just thinking making the bed was stupid- I would chant to my mom, “but why- you just get in it again a few hours later!” (and yes, I got a daughter just like me…)
But once I cared about what the room looked like, I now can’t stand having the bed unmade- I almost do it right when I get up (which I used to think was crazier than crazy!). Ah, the perspective of age…
corine says
Beautiful! 😀 Thanks for the inspiration!
Renee says
It is so amazing what simply making the bed will do. In our home we do not make the bed like you do, although it is beautiful. We fold our blankets/comforters and lay them at the foot of our bed. We then place jammies, blankies, stuffed animals and anything else that is needed on the pile. We do this so that our oldest(4 year old boy) can help make the beds. Him and his younger(18mths) brother have bunkbeds and we have found it near impossible for them and me to make the bed. So we switched to this method. Any advice on making up bunkbeds? Thanks for the reminder to keep our bedrooms as our haven.
God bless
Amy says
Our bunks only have a the fitted sheet and a blanket…no top sheet. It makes it much easier to do up.
Renee says
We dont use top sheets on any of our beds not even our own. We are a very hot natured family so they just serve to keep us awake. Our problem with the comforter and the bunks is that they are up against a wall its hard for me(4 mths preggo) and our 4 yr old to reach the other side.
Amy says
I’m not real picky about how neat it looks because bunks are hard to make. My 10 year old does a pretty good job, but the others I’m just happy if they get the spread pulled up and the pillow somewhere near the top of the bed! As for putting the bottom sheet on when I’m pg…I wimp out and have my husband do it.
Claire says
Thanks for your post! Did I see a crib in your bedroom and does your youngest sleep in your room with you until they are old enough to move out? The reason I am asking is because we only have a 2 bedroom house, and are expecting our 2nd daughter in a few months. As of now we are planning to have her sleep in our bedroom as opposed to sleeping with her 16 month old sister. I know it will be more difficult to make our bedroom a haven if we have a baby in our room, although I know alot of families do this. What are your thoughts on this matter and how it relates to making your bedroom a haven? Thanks!
Amy says
Yes, baby is in my room. We recently moved and so I’m not completely finished decorating in the master bedroom, but what my plans are is to get a nice photo of him sleeping (or another post if I can’t manage that one), blow it up (Walgreens does free 8×10 every now and then) and then get a nice frame to match the ones above our bed and hang it over the crib. I keep his blankets and things in the walk in closet, but if I didn’t have that, they would be in baskets under his crib. That keeps the clutter away. I also try to use the sheets that match our bedroom.
When it is time to move him out, the changing table will move into our room. Both the changing table and the crib are a wood, so that helps them to “blend in” as well.
Having him in the room does sometimes create “logistical” obstacles (if you catch my drift), but it hasn’t been too much of an issue. 😉
Mary @ Giving Up on Perfect says
Hi, Amy! I love these practical tips. I work hard to keep our bedroom clear of clutter. Of course, there are times (like, um, earlier this week!) when I resort to dumping a couple loads of clean laundry in there for a few days. But for the most part, I keep it pretty picked up. That’s NOT the case for the rest of my house. But it’s soooo nice to have one room that is (mostly) a haven!
Twisted Cinderella says
These are great tips that I am going to keep in mind for after our move!
stephanie says
D I have made my bed since i walked in a friends room and i said your bedroom is so clean she said no it’s not. I just made the bed and the bed is the first thing you see one when you walk in. I began to look around. It really was a sty. I’ve been a firm believer ever since