Since we're focusing on cozying up in our bedrooms this month on Apartment Therapy, I thought it would be fitting to share the transition of my bedroom. This renovation, along with the rest of the house, began on August 7th, minutes after I closed on the house.

Once a living room, this bedroom hadn't been updated since the 70's. As most people who take on these projects, I thought the room had great potential — it's spacious, has great light, and all of the wainscoting and dentil molding was custom built by the grandfather of the previous owner.

For this post, I am only showing one side of the bedroom because the other side hasn't yet been decorated. My vision for this room is to make it feminine, calm, and luxurious. One of my biggest inspirations is Paris and when I wake up in the morning, I want to feel like I'm there.

But let's start from the beginning.

The foundation of this room includes new paint: Martha Stewart's French Ivory in semi-gloss for the trim, and Martha Stewart's Pressed Rose in eggshell for the walls. The woodwork took hours of sanding before and in between all three coats of paint. Ripping out the carpet took 20 minutes. It's removing the nailed-in carpet tacks along the perimeter that is more time consuming. A pry bar is your best friend for this.

I originally wanted pre-finished birch flooring but went with pre-finished natural white oak because it was less expensive and harder (so it is less prone to denting). (You can research the hardness of various wood species here.) I found this flooring at Uncle Hilde's Lumber Outlet for $2.95 a square foot. Oak doesn't get any less expensive and having it pre-finished is less mess in your home. The double hung window was also replaced with a triple pane argon gas vinyl window from Harvey Industries and is manufactured locally in Londonderry, New Hampshire.

The first thing I did when I moved in was sort through all of my stuff to find everything that had a Parisian feel. When you have to tackle an entire house, it's easiest to sort and group.

For now, I am using my old standby WILMA curtains covered by an antique table cloth to add depth. I bought inexpensive, white cotton linens from HomeGoods (even though I really want this, minus the monograms). Curtains, furniture, and more art are also on the list and in time I will get there!

Images: Tanya Lacourse

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