When decorating, have you ever had one of those, "Why didn't I try this years ago" moments? I had one of these moments this week while making my bedroom more happily habitable. With a few minor tweaks, I found myself with a whole new way of looking at my bedroom. See how the dust settled and the paint dried after the jump!
The bedroom has always been a chore for me. It was always a workout to change the sheets and make the bed, since one side of the bed was against a wall. I had little hope for a nightstand since we had only 10" from the side of the bed to the closet door opening. With a set of French doors, a closet door, a bathroom door, and a large corner cabinet, I was positive there was no other option for the bed. Needless to say, I have been hesitant to make any changes.
This week, I was motivated to give the walls a fresh coat of paint. I wanted it to remain creamy, but a little less yellow, a little more white. I chose Mascarpone by Benjamin Moore. As that was drying, I decided to keep up the momentum and paint my bed. Before you cringe, the bed had been previously painted a black and green faux marble, which had worn off on different areas of the posts and needed some TLC.
I knew I wanted a tropical glossy look and after a quick jaunt to the hardware store, I came back with Poolside Blue by Benjamin Moore. A few hours later, I stared at my creamy clean walls and turquoise bed floating in the center of the room. Staring at it from a new angle, I realized that I might have just enough clearance from the French doors and closet doors to position the bed in the center of the room. With a quick spin of the bed, I had a whole new bedroom arrangement. I was even able to fit two nightstands!
Luckily, I found a perfect pair of vintage nightstands and quickly painted them Mascarpone to match the walls. With a few happy accessories, including our giant A & G letters used on the day of our wedding, I was left feeling like I had a whole new bedroom.
What I did learn? Never say never when it comes to decorating, when you get stumped, try shifting things around even if you're "positive" it won't work!
Images: Alisha Peterson-Irwin






Shaw's Original Fir...
This is really pretty! Feels like spring! The creamy color may be exactly what I want for our kitchen, very nice! (There was a sale on exclamation points today so I thought I'd use them freely in this comment!)
Nice job. Love the blue bed and the textiles.
Very pretty:-)
Very cute, love the pillows and bedding but I'm guessing they don't read in bed, with no bedside lamps.
I have been looking for a bed frame EXACTLY like this!! Where did you find that guy before you painted it?
So cute! Very Anthropologie-esque. The painted bed frame makes all the difference!
WOW! This really shows the owner's personality and playfulness. I'm pleased to see that the entire room was decorated for under $100, too! It's inspiring.
Oops, just realized this wasn't the bedroom redone for $70. Scratch that!
i love the letters. Can you please tell me where you got them?
Very cute! I love the blue bed and the trim on the curtains. I have a very similar look in my bedroom (black metal antique-looking bed, colorful quilt) but my walls are a vivid blue (Benjamin Moore's Blue Marguerite). So this is definitely right up my alley!
LOL at the "black and green faux marble." Were they trying to trick us into thinking the bed frame might be made of marble?
Love what you've done, and double love the bedding.
Painting the bed was a great move. I hadnt even noticed it in the before. GOOD JOB!
Wow that is super cute!
What a happy room! Nice job!
REALLY cute!! Absolutely love the bedding and night stands.
Very nice! Love the way you used color in this happy room.
Painting that bed blue was probably the greatest thing ever!
Thanks for the nice feedback! The giant letters were purchased at Anthropologie a few years ago, but I think they still stock them. I found the nightstands at a local thrift shop and the bedding is a mixture of vintage finds and Anthro. My window covering is a bed skirt I found on sale at Anthro, that I still need to line and sew into curtains. For the most part I reused what I had, the paint cost around $40 and the nightstands $40 for the pair...under $100 for my new bedroom!
Love it! I was in need of some bedroom inspiration! Thanks!
Where did you get the free bird prints (if that's what they are)?
I love the makeover, but hate the giant letters -- they're too big and overwhelming for the space and they have a cold industrial feel.
i cant even get over how much i love this. i have a brass headboard ive been thinking about painting white.....
@kaitylady I have no idea where the owner of the bed got hers, but Ikea has a very similar one here: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S89849971
I love mine. And, funny enough, I'd painted mine aqua-blue last fall!
I had the same situation....for years I resisted placing my bed any other way and didn't want the posts on my 4-poster visible in the window. One day I tried and it was like amazing the difference it made and the posts fell such that they aren't noticeable at all from outside....can't believe I waited so long to try it.
*cries at the painted blue bed* It was so much nicer before.
@kaitylady I see on on craiglist now and then, but the one I have like it I inherited. For those of you crying at the blue paint- its not like these weren't mass produced in their time. Also, you can always take it to an auto painting place and have it repainted.
I think the redo of the whole room is fabulous, and I love the bed in both blue and black! Sometimes you have to nix an otherwise good look in lieu of a better one for YOUR purposes. Good move.
I liked the original pillow covers. Love the painted bed.
Super cute!
How did you prep the metal for paint? Did you use a primer? I'd love to do this to my bed.
Love the blue bed!
My only complaint is that you blocked the window! That's more of a personal preference though :)
Great job.
I absolute LOVE what you did! I've always wanted a bed like yours but never thought of doing one in that color. It's gorgeous! Definitely going to file that away for the future. Great work!
Lovely!
no no no. I don't like it when the bed takes up the whole space.
Overall it's cute though
I painted our iron headboard red, love it. Have used the old double for a queen bed for years, now that we want to move to a king, will have to let it go, sigh.
I love the red and white comforter. Where did you get it? thanks ps, love the aqua color too