Master Bedroom Inspiration

If you were to ask my immediate family about my desire to decorate, they would tell you that I should take a moment to breathe and just live in our house as it is. I, however, believe in turning your house into a home. It may not happen over night, but you shouldn’t have to settle for the space (or at the very least, the builder-grade paint choices).

Looking back, we definitely settled for our master bedroom in our townhouse. It was a very large room that we painted right when we moved in, and that was it. I never hung anything up on the walls, never truly made it a place of refuge. You spend so much time in your bedroom that you should want to make it a place that you can truly check out of the world around you. Whether you are into a romantic vibe, bohemian feel, or even Mid-Century inspired, take the time to make it a space you love instead of just a place you crash every time after a long day of work.

The Before:

The current state of our master bedroom could closely resemble any ‘ol room. You are greeted with a furniture bedroom set we got when I bought my first place many years ago. Just out of frame, there are piles of clothes (both clean & dirty), a few dirty dishes, dog toys, and shoes.

The Updates:

Over the past few months I’ve had increasing back problems that I’ve attributed partly to the position I sleep in matched with a softer mattress. I have found myself sleeping in my guest bedroom from time to time because the Tuft & Needle mattress we use in that space is more firm than our current mattress.

So the first update on our list was a new mattress, and if we were going to get a new mattress, we wanted to upgrade from a queen to a king. With a new size mattress, that means we also need to pick out or DIY a new headboard.

The second update on the list addresses our need for new nightstands. Lola, who seems to be the culprit of a lot of ‘things we need to fix’ in our bedroom, used to knock over glasses of water off our nightstands. I’d try to mop up the excess when I noticed it, but over time, it’s warped the top of one. It’s time we upgrade to something more “waterproof.” We’ve also tried our hardest to only bring glasses/cups up that have lids to prevent any further spillage.

The third update, which will set the tone of the room, is paint. Once again, I will be painting over the lovely Tavern Taupe walls. As much as the trim and door color bothers me on the first floor, I’m much more flexible with it in the bedroom because with larger scale pieces it’s easier to mask. One wall holds two of the three doors in the space (bathroom and closet), and I’m just going to try own that vanilla cream paint color.

The fourth update will be the accessories. I’m envisioning white linens, new lamps, and adding curtains to the space. We are keeping our existing dressers that came with the set which are an ebony stain.

The Inspiration:

I was initially leaning towards more of a warm white shade (something along the lines of Eider White) to make dark upholstered headboard really stand out; however, I was scrolling through Laurel and Wolf’s blog and found this post about decorating with black accents. I was immediately drawn to the bold color, which was completely different then my initial vision I had drawn up in my head.

My husband was into it. I’ve mentioned previously, he is color blind so dark colors stick out to him more than any shade of white or light gray. If he had it his way, the entire house would be Hale Navy, not just our half bath. The color I’m leaning towards is Urbane Bronze by Sherwin Williams, the color on the left is Martha Stewart’s Zinc.

I was perusing the Laurel and Wolf Pinterest boards and came across a few images that had my design brain reeling. Chriselle Lim’s glamorous and modern living room encapsulates many elements I want to bring into our space: tufted upholstery, faux fur, mirrored accents. While the vibrant painting brings color to the space, I like the idea of keeping our bedroom cozy with minimal pops of color. I’m all about texture and love the idea of a a DIY faux fur accent, whether it be with a small reading chair or a bench.

The overall vibe will be dark, moody, and romantic. White linens, texture, and simple accessories to style the room. I gathered more inspiration here: tufted headboards, nightstands, and dark painted walls.

The Concept:

When trying to determine the theme or ‘feel’ of our master bedroom, I keep thinking back to the guest bedroom makeover I did. I gravitate to that space because of the bold wall color, bright white linens, and the statement DIY headboard. I could spend all day in that room. Instead of trying to force a bedroom refresh that simply wasn’t our style, and as much as I love the mid-century/rustic/industrial vibe for our first floor, it just isn’t our style for the bedroom space, and that’s okay. I’m keeping our bedroom refresh in-line with what makes my heart flutter, cozy white linens, a bold wall color, and a dramatic headboard.

If you have a hard time coming up with inspiration or need a designer’s help creating a concept board for a room in your home, make sure to check out Laurel & Wolf, an online interior design company!

Image Sources (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)