You know the old saying, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. Well this master bedroom is a perfect example of that. This bedroom retreat worked very well for the couple that lived here. They had a comfortable bed, good reading lights, night tables that held what they needed and a fan to move around the air.
All in all, it worked and they were happy.
But one day the lady of the house decided that she wanted to freshen things up. Her husband is a prince of a man and agreed to let her do her thing.
He follows the ‘happy wife – happy life’ philosophy, which I think is so smart.
We were called in to keep all the functioning bits, improve some areas and make it pretty.
First and foremost we tackled function . The before pics don’t really show, but there were too many dressers and chests in the room causing it to feel overpowered by oak.
We decided to do a custom built in dresser. The fun part about custom is that it’s made for you…to hold your things where you want them and how.
We came up with a plan that would have storage for long dresses and coats (which the walk-in closet couldn’t accommodate), a place for the tv, drawers for t-shirts and underwear and a hidden full length mirror (mounted inside the door).
Because of the window that extends wall to wall, we placed the tall store cabinet 27 inches away from the window. This allowed us to tuck another cabinet in this space to accommodate clothes/keepsakes that aren’t used everyday.
We choose a sleek design done in a beautiful walnut with simple antique brass hardware. Sitting in front of the built-ins under the window are his and her chairs. We made sure there was enough room to open the doors and drawers.
Now it was time to address some of the other issues in the room, including making it more current. We worked with the homeowners to make sure it was a fresh look but still in their comfort zone.
As you can see, we choose a subtle wallpaper that adds some interest behind the headboard. The wallpaper blends nicely with the new wall colour, Benjamin Moore Pale Oak OC-20.
The headboard was custom made in a durable fabric with antique brass nailhead detailing.
The bedding is a mixture of custom and store-bought. To offset the more masculine headboard, we added some lovely feminine textiles.
She wanted a new night table, but he was very happy and comfortable with his existing oak night table. Since night tables don’t have to match, she received a new one and he kept his old one.
Yes a new one would have looked better, but he was more at ease with his existing table and we felt in this instance, comfort trumped looks. (Yes, once in a while this happens!)
We wanted a bit of symmetry in the room and since we didn’t get it from the night tables, we chose wall mounted swing arm lights to bring it all together.
When considering an update for the bedroom, she thought we would suggest putting away her needlework because it’s not in style any longer.
We LOVE handcrafted items and all it took was a more modern way to hang her handiwork. As you can see, for the colour scheme of the room we picked up some of the colours in her pictures.
The bench under the needlework was custom made out of a beautiful textured leather. It adds a bit of masculine flair to this corner of the room. It’s a lovely place to sit and put on shoes and it holds the bedspread in the evenings.
Because we’re always trying to be practical, we had it made dining height so when they host big family dinners this bench can be brought down to the dining room for added seating.
Our aim was to update the room, provide solution to their storage needs AND have it all within their comfort level.
I’m happy to say that the homeowners were delighted with their new space and we were pleased to give them a beautiful look that they could embrace.
Finding the right look for each client is what we do. We create environments that are personalized and can be enjoyed for years to come. We call it ‘designing for real life’.
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