The Bedroom: Before & After

It's finished!! It only took about 4 months (or a year if you count it from the first moment I had the itch to renovate) to pull together, but it's done! Here's what the room looked like about a year ago:

The Before: 

click to enlarge images

1) I should have known from the beginning that the wall color would only last so long; as much as purple is my favorite color, I tend to stick with the deep, rich hues - never the pastels. Sure enough, the color went from calming to depressing - a metaphorical rain cloud. And the picture of the Eiffel Tower that I thought would look so perfect above the bed just never worked for me; maybe it was the gray tones that added to the dismal feel of the room. It now hangs nicely over the book shelf in the office.

2) I could never find bedding that really complimented the wall color - hence the drab white duvet cover, which now lays in a pile in our closet.

3) The $40 Etsy wall decal that seemed like a good idea at the time (there's a white accent, it's just hard to see). It was a pain to apply and even harder to remove - I had to use a credit card to scrape it off which also took chunks out of the wall :(

4) The best part of the room by far was this $15 dresser craigslist find (amazing!)

The After:

The wall color is now a seafoamy green and I couldn't be happier. I also love my little collection of pictures (photo credit Madeline Bea) above the dresser (the frames only cost me $3.99 each at Target!)

I don't have a before of this little section of the room, but I love what it is now.

1) I've wanted this poster (used in Britain during World War II) for a long time, but never wanted to spend the money on it (the color I liked only came with a price tag of $25!) This one cost me $0 (the frame was only $6!) since I made it myself in Pages (using Al Bayan bold font and a crown graphic I copied from a digital image of the original poster). Anyways, I love the motto - I think its one to live by, especially with kids.

2) My wedding bouquet which sits on a little table I love that belonged to my Nanny (grandmother). It has a little cupboard and everything!

3) My favorite ultrasound picture of Jack 

I saved the best for last! 

1) The dot painting. It took me about 8 hours to complete over the past three days and I'm super happy with how it turned out. It was one of those projects that's pretty hard to mess up, but is still a lot of work to recreate. The most tedious part was spacing and drawing the circles (using a ruler and a compass) and the most challenging was matching the colors - I followed this color pattern for the most part. However, it was such a rewarding project to take on especially considering it only cost me $30 for the canvas (buying a painting like this at a store would definitely run into the $100s considering the size).

2) Yes, I finally found the elusive duvet cover I've been hunting for! A bargain at Target and it compliments the room nicely. So for now, I consider my work complete!