One of the most beautiful things about decorating for me is focusing on the joys of the season! Why should your homes stay the same when you can be inspired by a few simple changes? We’re not going on a summer vacation this summer, but the sun is shining here and we’re enjoying every moment of it. Last week I brought some fun items from Walmart Home for our sweet bedroom to make it feel like a tropical retreat!
The items I chose for our space from Walmart Home are so beautiful and so flexible that they work in other areas of the house and at other times of the year. It is really easy to change the whole feeling of a house by changing some accessories so that you do not have to spend a fortune.
I chose to work on my bedroom for the challenge
Our main budget and priority this year will go into the remodeling of the kitchen and the extension, which I will also report on the blog. But because the bedroom is my retreat in winter, I want to freshen it up a little so that it is as cozy and comfortable as possible.
We’ll be using the furniture we already have, which is our dresser, which is so versatile (over the years we’ve used it for clothes, put it in the living room, and put it in the guest room closet). We plan to have our bunk bed, the bookcase we painted in our old house, a couple of lamps, a mirror or two, and two bedside tables that came with the house and an IKEA chair that came with the house as well, to use! Perhaps over time, we will renew some of these pieces of furniture if we find something we like better or that suits the size and organization of the room, but for now, we are happy with what we bear.
what will we do for our refresh?
lighting
I want to take care of the lighting so that it is as cozy as possible here. We already have a new brass floor lamp (see above) that is perfect for reading in an armchair. We’ll probably keep the flower lamp on our dresser (see below), it’s so pretty! I would like to look for new ceiling light. This one isn’t bad so it’s not an emergency, but I love changing the lights in a new house to bring in more character and personality. I will also order wall lights for the bed so that we have more space on our bedside tables. To bring more soft light into the room, I’ll need an extra lamp or sconce, so I’ll be looking for something affordable.
Mirror
Hanging this mirror up was one of the jobs that we already completed! I love the way it reflects the view out the windows. In addition, mirrors make a room look bigger and bigger! We’ve had this mirror for years, but I’ve found two similar ones, in case you’re looking for something similar: here and here.
Bedding
While I still love some of the quilts I’ve bought in the past few years (like this blue and white one below), I feel inspired to change a few things about the bedding this winter. I don’t really have a “winter look” for this room so I think this is going to be fun. I love mixing and matching pillows, comforters, and quilts and even buying something new for the season. I don’t have any other rooms with beds right now, other than my rattan day bed in my new office, so this room will be the one I can work in any time of the year!
Color palette
We thought about repainting our room this month but decided against it. The color (Bunny Gray by Benjamin Moore) is really very pretty and goes well with the colors of the water and the sky outside, so it’s very calming in here. If we live with it for a while we can change the color if we want, but right now we can save our time and energy for other things. I’ll have a lot of fun with the bedding and mixing colors and patterns so I think the background works well for a variety of options!
New Slipcover
I’ve been thinking about moving another chair here, but that doesn’t seem necessary at the moment either. The chair that stands here is super comfy so I can recover it and keep it or at least enjoy it until I have a better idea!
New Bench
We need a stool for the end of our bed. So our dogs can get on or off safely (yes, we let the dogs get on the bed. Originally I didn’t want to allow that, but it happened and now that they are 8 and 10 years old, there is no turning back. At night they mostly sleep in their beds, but in the morning they like to cuddle with us, and during the day they take a nap here, which I think is comforting for them.
Art
I’m not sure yet what I want to do with art here. Right now we have a few things but nothing has to be permanent so I’ll keep my eyes open! Art can add style and color to a room, and it can also be swapped out depending on the season.
Window decorations
I wasn’t sure if I would put curtains here, but I think they are so cozy for a bedroom. At the moment, some windows have paper blinds and some have nothing. On the windows that have nothing in place yet, privacy screens are not a big problem, but it would be nice to darken the room more and make it softer. I’ll tell you about my ideas on how to put curtains and maybe even shutters to darken the lower half of the room.
Function
There is a lot of need for organization here and in our closet, so this winter I will also be collecting ideas and working on organization systems!
Flooring
My goal is to get a hardwood floor here and throughout the house. As we are remodeling the house, we may end up laying all of the floors at once. Or maybe I’ll just start with the upper floor. We will see. I’ll show you my inspirations when we go ahead! In the meantime, a rug or two next to the outside doors or chairs could add some color and pattern.
Dream list
I will be happy to work on this room for years to come! I would love to put up wallpaper or wooden walls, wooden ceilings, moldings, and a fireplace ….. The list of ideas I could come up with for this room is long!
I think this is a great list to check out this season! Making a big list doesn’t mean I’ll go through it all. I’m sure I’m in no hurry so there’s no pressure to do any of this. I will enjoy doing what inspires me and looking for things that I can do now, even if we decide to make other changes in the future. My goal for January is to end the month with new lighting and a cozy winter look for the bed.