Over the years, my husband and I have moved countless times for work and have lived in more places than the average couple. It usually means we're habitually setting up house and redesigning our pieces to fit the new spaces. Though no matter where we live, it always seems the last room to come together — is the bedroom.
Now studies show we spend a ridiculous amount of time sleeping. In fact, it's almost half our life. Granted, not all of that takes place in the bedroom (hello couch surfing in college), but you get the idea... your bedroom should be at the top of the list when it comes to decor if we're talking about time spent in the room!
In our own home, we've always worked on improving the spaces where company comes to visit and spends time in first. Artwork is framed and matted, curtains are hung, rugs are scavenged, but the bedroom... eh it can wait.
This weekend all of that changed as we were out doing a little shopping around town and came across a steal of a deal on a duvet cover for our King bed. Usually not something that comes cheap, especially when you start looking at ones with great craftsmanship, color and design... but luck was with us.
Of all the things we've purchased for our many homes, apartments and lofts over the years, how come this one purchase, although less expensive than many items we've purchased for other rooms, felt so decadent? I kept thinking about all the other things I could be buying instead, like laundry soap for 6 months or a few space heaters for our cold winter floors. My husband swooped in with a booming, "We're getting it and that's the end of it!" He could see my inner thoughts and knew if he didn't act fast, that I would quickly "rationalize" a reason we didn't need one just yet.
The bed has been remade with it's new clothes and it has never looked so good. So good in fact, maybe I should sleep on the couch... just kidding. (pictures to come later)
Do you have a hard time spending money in the bedroom? Would you rather spend it in other parts of your home? We're willing to accept that we're the only odd ducks here, but we have a feeling, some of you might know exactly what we're talking about.
Share your thoughts in the comments below!
(Image: Flickr member Thien-Kim licensed for use by Creative Commons)
Using Luxury Rooms to Keep Teens Home
Juan's Garage Turned Modern Guest House
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Sheex Bedding
Yuck: A Fourth Grader Reveals What School Lunches Really Look Like
How to Make Fresh Pasta Dough in the Food Processor
My bedroom was actually the first room that felt "finished" for me, perhaps because I already had so much of the stuff I wanted to go in it before I moved. The living room is the last room to come together in my place because the living room purchases are the biggest investments - rugs, sofas, lamps, etc., so I've acquired most of that stuff slowly over time. I don't mind the Target lamps I have on my bedside tables, but for the living room I want to have good quality lamps that will last a lifetime. I guess the fact that the bedroom IS just a personal space allowed me to take more risks experimenting and not care as much if I had to get a cheap stand in. Plus, I like simple bedroom decor, but in the living room it is harder for me to find the balance of it being uncluttered and having free space but also not being boring or underfurnished.
We had a similar experience with our bedroom. It was ignored for years, until we bought a fancy new comforter cover, and loved the colors in it so much that we're painting our bedroom to match. Now I can't believe that we lived with the old color for so long.
want to know why our bedroom is last? because all the duvets and comforters I see are so ugly or cost $600. It's either too girly, too masculine, or too plain. I tried just dealing with it and buying something I wasn't in love with. Didn't work. I returned it and now we are back to a naked duvet. Grrr.
I'm the same way. Just finished decorating the rest of my house, but the bedroom is ugly and bare and curtainless and smells like dog. Ugh. I think I might give in and pay for painters just to get it started & done!
Sugarbakers, I'm with you. While I searched for the perfect duvet cover at a price I didn't gag at, I got a very inexpensive temporary cover at Ikea. It may be there forever. Who thought it would be impossible to find a freaking blue and off white, gender neutral duvet cover? There better be fabric for me down in the LA garment district or I'm toast.
I always put the bedroom first when I move. If it doesn't feel right and home-y then I can't sleep. And if I can't sleep, nothing else matters!
I've lived in my house 3yrs and my bedroom still isn't finished. Money has been spent on the living room, kitchen and even garden whilst all the clutter and unpacked boxes remain in our bedroom. I can sympathize with you Sarah. Strangely I do have nice bed linen.Just need a nice budget to finish it off.
Man..glad i'm not alone! The bedroom is really the last room that needs to come together. Change the flush mount fixture, get in new furniture, organize my jewelry....
unfortunately, i have a husband that loves to leave clothes on the floor and leave the bed unmade when he leaves the house hahaha. it's constantly messy whenever i get home from work.
I can SO relate to this. We're renovating our house and our bedroom and master bath have become the deposit point for everything we don't want company to see. It's our dirty little secret, and I know it isn't healthy for us. I've recently started collecting inspiration photos and when the Spring Cure rolls around, it's gonna be bedroom time! I can't wait =)
We've been talking about hanging artwork in our bedroom for weeks. And we already have the artwork. We also rent, so there's only so much I can do... painting is mostly out of the question. The only duvet cover that I have is white and summery, but it stays on all winter because I refuse to let the bed sit naked. I have the same dilemma- so many are just too feminine.
Emily
Not only do I always decorate the bedroom last, but I always clean it last too! God forbid guests see dust and grossness in the living room or kitchen, what they don't know about my dust bunnies under my bed won't hurt them.
I was just thinking "Wow, my bedroom was the first room I painted" but then I thought about how I don't like the layout I have and how I want a different headboard (to facilitate a layout I think will work better) and how I haven't yet finished the quilt I want to use as a bedspread and... actually, it's not done at all!
Maybe I should just buy a bed frame and fake it for a while to see how the new layout looks. And I'm so close to being done with that blasted quilt (I've only been working on it since '03...). At the very least I can clean the room, those clothes do NOT need to live on the floor.
For those of you who can't find a good duvet cover, I say make one. It can't be that hard and there are zillions of fabric choices out there, including a couple of sites that will print YOUR fabric.
The bedroom is always the first priority for us.
Maybe it's because the bedroom is the least-public room in your home, so if you entertain a lot, making other areas presentable can seem more urgent.
Shortly after I finally finished getting my bedroom perfect, I found myself planning a move...the bed is perfect, but now I have to deal with re-hanging all the artwork, anchoring a huge gilt-framed mirror to the wall, dealing with the fact that there are only two electrical outlets (!), and figuring out how the heck to store my entire wardrobe in a small closet (yes, I've already given away everything I rarely wore).
Like lorigami, my mother's dumping ground for all her clutter when company came over was the bedroom. My parents had nice, matching bedroom furniture, but it was covered and/or hidden with layers of junk! The bedroom doors were always closed when guests came over. As a reaction I have styled my bedroom, have an original watercolor hanging over the bed, etc. I always start cleaning at the back of the house (my bedroom) and move toward the front. And I ALWAYS leave my bedroom door open for guests to peek in when they come over. It's liberating to not have anything to hide!
Bedroom is last for me as well. I think my problem is that the bed "clothes" I really like aren't practical for me. My dog sleeps on the bed, so I need something pretty durable and easy to toss in the washer. I guess I just haven't found anything suitable that is any better than what I already have yet. Now that I have recently moved into a studio where everything is on display at all times, I may need to step up the search for something nicer.
I sleep with my eyes closed, so I don't worry too hard about what the bedroom looks like.
The bedroom is my sanctuary, and always comes first in cleaning and decorating. I'm more concerned with making myself happy than impressing guests, so that is the room with the most original artwork, the best lamp, etc.
Bedroom has always been last for me as well. With our newest move however I've decided that must change. We're having a home built for us that will not be ready for 4 more months, but I have already bought new linens, a fab tempur-pedic mattress, and have even painted and distressed some side tables in preparation. I consider it not only putting the bedroom in order, but taking a step towards putting my marriage first! Who cares if you have a great living room for guests to enjoy. When they all leave, what's left is the two of you. :)
Bedrooms and Kitchens always come first.
You can't sleep or eat without them being arranged and organized...
...and you can't work without eating and sleeping.
Half the time when I have company, they're staying in that bedroom! I don't have a guest room, DC is a town where people need a place to crash, so I'm on the couch and put them on the bed. It's still not "done," but it gives me an excuse to put paint on the walls and sheets on the bed.