Master makeover

We've been in the house for almost four years now and I feel it's a good time for some change. I satisfied this urge in the living room last year by re-covering my pillows and ottoman.The kitchen received a refresher when we installed our honeycomb back splash a few months back. And the dining room recently saw an update when we added our new, beautiful pedestal table.... And now... I'm focused on the master bedroom, in a major way.

Here's a couple before shots:

I've never hated this space, but I've also never felt like it was put together the way I wanted. The room itself has tall, tray ceilings, a huge double window, and is a great size. Basically, it's shell is perfect. The rest just needs a bit of love. My general concept is fresh, calming, and romantic... after all, it is a master bedroom.

What's staying: 

We currently have a Queen bed but want to upgrade to a king when the timing is right (financially). For now, I'll make due with my current mattress.

I love my white textured duvet and matching king shams. Those will stay.

The white dresser has been with me since I was two and isn't leaving now. Eventually the girls will inherit it, but that won't be for a couple more years. 

Our nightstands are different but related and match the dresser well, so they'll also stay.

What's going:

The dark dresser pictured is going, going, gone. It was a great bargain several years ago from Pier One, but is too dark and too small. I've already moved it to the loft to act as our filing cabinet. It actually looks quite nice up there. The IL's gave us their old dresser to replace this one. It was a much better scale for the room, but was also dark, so it was a good temporary replacement until I found a new-to-me second-hand dresser to replace it (more on that later).

Not pictured is our Queen headboard/rails. It's the same color as the dresser and -again- way too dark for the room.

The curtains were great but over time I grew to hate them. They're way darker and heavier in appearance than I want and sort of sucked the energy out of the room. Same with the standard shams. I imagine something a little lighter and brighter on the bed. 

The current artwork and most other nick nacks will also find a new home.

The plan:

I have my sights set on stencils. I really love the idea of a metallic or shiny stencil on the bed wall of the room, mimicking wallpaper. My original plan was for a California white or off-white. Then the stencil will be either a glossy version of the wall, or a metallic paint (still deciding).

Ideally I'll incorporate watery blues and greens and other metallic tones. My inspiration piece is a beautiful pillow I snagged from West Elm. The background of the pillow is my ideal wall color goal and it includes a blue/green pattern which ideally will appear again on the dresser and my side lamps. Speaking of... I like the shape/pattern of my current lamps, but need to update the color. I plan to spray the base and finial of the lamp in a hammered metallic finish. The remainder of the lamp will get a coat of glossy blue/green.

I love collage walls right now and want to incorporate one above the bed.

The progress: 

So, Sherwin Williams can thank this room for keeping them in business because, I've had major issues deciding on a color. Per my original plan, I wanted California white with metallic wall accents.... We tried, we didn't like, we tried again. The walls are now a few shades lighter than the original wall color- a soft blue/grey hue called Olympus White. I really love it. It's soft and relaxing- just what the room needed.

We've also since completed the stencil wall and I love, love, love it. Chris selected the pattern which is sort of a trellis pattern (I typically do not dig), but it isn't harsh, so it works. The process was tedious and painful, but the outcome is super cool:

1. First you paint the background color- cream in our case. It seems completely.... backwards, but that's the way.
2. Next you find dead center of the wall and work from there- don't start at one end or another bc your pattern won't end evenly.
3. Find some adjustable adhesive spray. I found some by 3M at Home Depot. It isn't labeled as adjustable but the instructions tell you how to make it so.
4. Spray a light coat of adhesive onto the stencil and let dry for about a minute, then place the stencil on the wall making sure to smooth it out completely.
5. Paint on the top coat using a small, foam roller.
6. Before you peel off the stencil, take a look for markings on the stencil and make sure to pencil these in. This is to keep your pattern going. So basically, you line up the markings each time you move the stencil.
7. Lather, rinse, repeat. I'll warn you- it's a LONG process. It took us two days between 9:00 pm- 12:00 am, but the result is pretty nifty and it's certainly a feeling of accomplishment!  

The pictures aren't great, but it really does look good in person. Also, ignore the awkward space between the picture frames and the headboard in these pics. We have plans to upholster a headboard complete with nail head trim, like this one, which will be a bit taller.

I've also replaced the hardware on my dresser and our nightstands and love it! The nightstand hardware is from Anthro and my dresser is straight from HD. Finally, I added a three-frame collage above my dresser in the same champagne metallic tone as the pics above, and added some mercury glass accessories. I'll call that area complete.

Next steps:

I'm tirelessly looking for a nice club chair with nail-head trim, like this one, to add to the room. But I can't afford.... anything really. So, I'll keep stalking Joss & Main and Overstock and Home Goods and Wayfair until I find something dirt cheap.

Also, as previously mentioned, we're planning on building a headboard. I have the fabric (a tanish/greyish linenish material) that I got for $15 at Joann's- score! So now I just need to order the nails and then we can get to work.

I'm also coveting these ottomans from Target. I'd like to buy two and put them at the end of the bed; however: 1.) The legs aren't the right color and 2.) The number after the dollar sign isn't low enough. So, I suppose I'll just keep an eye out for something similar.

Finally, I need to decide what I'm going to do with our new dresser- paint or leave as is. Right now it's a light maple but not too orangey and is in excellent condition. It makes me sad to think about painting over perfectly beautiful wood; however, I really love this look and think it might help tie this dresser to the other one and to the nightstands.

I suppose that's enough for now. I'll update later with pictures once I un-bury the room from the chaos that is life right now.