Mary's Colorful Bedroom Shuffle: Before and After

You may remember Mary from her fantastic, handmade roman shades. Well, turns out those lovely windows used to be Mary's bedroom windows when she shared the space with a roommate. Like many city dwellers making do in a small space, Mary's old bedroom (pictured above) had many functions including living room, office and storage space. After her roommate moved out, Mary decided her bedroom needed a makeover and she began by moving it out of the living room...

Mary says, "The biggest change was really space — less stuff and allowing the room to be just a bedroom instead of bedroom, television room, office, and storage, all in one. More wall space let me edit what to hang on the walls and more closet space let me get rid of the super clutter."

A fresh coat of color on the walls (Benjamin Moore "At Sea"), new bedding (Target), and two new IKEA side tables completed the makeover for about $200. We think the transformation is wonderful — bright, colorful and very personal. Great job, Mary!

Do you have a Before & After to share? Bedroom, bathroom, living room, kitchen, lamp, chairs — we'd love to see whatever you've been up to in your own space! Send us an email at boston(at)apartmenttherapy(dot)com and you could see your hard work and creativity here on AT!

Comments (35)

Lovely! Just enough in a small space.

posted by kaylia on January 7th 2009 at 3:27pm
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Very nice.

I especially want the kittehs.

posted by Aldyth on January 7th 2009 at 3:47pm
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Very nice - pretty and serene. I love that you have the bookcase in the bedroom - I thought I was the only one to do that.

posted by oceandreamer56 on January 7th 2009 at 3:54pm
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I want to live there! The colors are just perfect.

posted by Craftypants on January 7th 2009 at 3:59pm
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one question -- do the CATS like the makeover?

posted by Kat1 on January 7th 2009 at 4:00pm
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really nice

posted by mariegael on January 7th 2009 at 4:12pm
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What an improvement!

posted by bepsf on January 7th 2009 at 4:17pm
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The room is gorgeous and serene! And I want to nom nom the orange tabbies.

posted by tam-tbag on January 7th 2009 at 4:20pm
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is IKEA still selling those night stands because I can't find them on the site

posted by LaDonnaNichole on January 7th 2009 at 4:31pm
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I wish we could click on image and it would get bigger!
(hint, hint)
Such gorgeous detail to be seen...

posted by liveinpeace on January 7th 2009 at 4:48pm
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i have the same bedding! wish i had the same wall color too... (renting-cant paint).

it looks great!

posted by eribear12 on January 7th 2009 at 4:55pm
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Gorgeous! Love the wall color and the bedding! Target eh? May have to check that out! Thanks for the inspiraton! My orange tabby Sam would love this!

posted by suzy8track on January 7th 2009 at 5:16pm
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I love the wall color & how well it goes with the bedding!

posted by unseeneclipse on January 7th 2009 at 5:26pm
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Pretty!

posted by martigny on January 7th 2009 at 5:41pm
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beeeee-yute-E-ful!!!! really serene and lovely.

posted by littlebunnyfoofoo on January 7th 2009 at 5:52pm
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Yet another reason why I wish we had Target in Canada. I love that bedding!

posted by emmabemma on January 7th 2009 at 6:36pm
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I didn't even notice the room. Those fat lumps on your bed are wonderful.

posted by oakland on January 7th 2009 at 9:15pm
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Gorgeous. I'm gonna copy your wall color. Please don't be mad :)

posted by medusa12120 on January 7th 2009 at 10:26pm
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I've always loved the combination of a teal/seafoam blue with red. The white keeps it bright and fresh. Adorable.

posted by 2lastnames on January 8th 2009 at 8:52am
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The paint is beautiful. Might be nice to see the bookshelf painted the same color, simply to help it blend in a little bit and open up the space even more. It's a big dark spot in the room.

Emily

posted by Emily Sneds on January 8th 2009 at 8:54am
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The colors are beautiful - a huge round of applause for Mary. I love this room. Only things I would change is a little less stuff hung on the wall - it looks a little cluttered. The bookshelf would fit in even better if painted white - though the dark does keep a decent contrast.

posted by ChrisGal on January 8th 2009 at 10:03am
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What happened to the chicken photos in the before shot?

They looked really cool...

Nice makeover BTW! Great job!!

www.thebitterfoodie.blogspot.com

posted by thebitterfoodie on January 8th 2009 at 10:32am
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So pretty, where did you get the patterned lampshade?

posted by EastVillageAmy on January 8th 2009 at 3:51pm
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CATS!? Those are cats!? And here, I was wondering how you got the ponies into the apartment. No wonder the room looked small...the kitties took up 350 sq. ft. (teasing...love the cats).

Great clean look btw - the blue really makes the bedding pop.

Cheers~
Sheri @ http://www.everlastingdesigns.net

posted by playadelcarmen2002 on January 9th 2009 at 3:12pm
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The shears give the room such an ethereal feel... so serene. Thanks for that idea and the paint color, too.

P.S. Those cats are ridiculously cute.

(East Village Amy - the lamp and shade are from Ikea!)

posted by sunan on January 9th 2009 at 8:51pm
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oooohhhhh.....
pretty room! love everything!!

posted by formosagirl on January 9th 2009 at 9:23pm
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Great color combo! Like how you have different lamps.

I would lower the pictures above the lamps, so they were very closer to the lamps. They seem too disconnected. Otherwise, love the room.

posted by Expat Decorator on January 10th 2009 at 2:55am
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I, too, need info on those bedside tables! I've checked and rechecked Ikea's site with no luck.

Anyone? Please?

posted by Cheryl on January 10th 2009 at 9:08pm
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I, too, have that bedding and wish I could paint my walls!! Looks just lovely.

posted by chelleann on January 10th 2009 at 9:39pm
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I'm pretty sure that those are the Hemnes side tables in white:

http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/90121234

Apologies if I'm incorrect.

posted by prairie girl on January 11th 2009 at 12:35pm
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it's a great redo and done on a real budget. always like how people can redo a room and make a big impact all on a small budget.

posted by nirvanadude22 on January 12th 2009 at 12:42am
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prairie girl, thanks and I wish! But it's not the same table. This one is narrow and deep (crucial for me!) whereas the Hemnes is wider than it is deep. This one has two shelves and a deep drawer; the linked Hemnes has one shelf and a shallow drawer.

posted by Cheryl on January 12th 2009 at 10:45pm
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Great makeover!

posted by martigny on January 19th 2009 at 1:14pm
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Cute Cute Cute!!

posted by LoriSF on January 19th 2009 at 1:53pm
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I especially love that these little side lamps don't match, yet are the same height and proportion. It's the little things that make it all work.

posted by medusa12120 on January 19th 2009 at 7:07pm
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