Frankly, I prefer the red chairs as night stands. I found this an interesting way to store extra seating. I hate stacked suitcases for any reason. I also prefer the painting over the bed in the "before" picture.

Agree with above.

I really like the vintage American Tourister Luggage -

Tho I think the old painting has more character and works better w/ the red-accent theme, it wasn't reflecting the light from the windows...
...and the new one is still crooked.

I prefer the chairs as nightstands, too. That first painting, though, might give me nightmares. Come to think of it, the second painting appears to be a nude holding a bird skull, but it's better than a painting that appears to be running blood.

I like the puzzle pieces on the wall. Before and after.

It's a good opportunity to see how little changes build up over time allowing your space to evolve into what you're most pleased with.

Well, I prefer the after! The old painting was too dark and creepy for above a bed, I think (though I agree with Terry that the new one may be more of an improvement in color/feel than actual creepiness), and the new bedding lightens the place up a bit. I could go either way on the chair v. suitcase debate--maybe she's using those suitcases as useful storage for extra bedding or some other such seasonal item--it's cute, and it could be way more practical than an extra chair nobody will likely ever sit on. Plus, I'm guessing the missing chair probably found a home someplace else in her house, and is just as useful as it ever was.

Thank you for posting my updated bedroom. I haven't had a chance to work much on my apt recently, but I hope to find some time (and resources) over the summer.

It is interesting that when the "before" was first posted, most of the people really disliked the painting, bedding and so on... :)

If you have any more advice (esp. lamps!) I would appreciate it. My apt is a work in progress!

Keep the two chairs, get some sheets that make sense and just get rid of the art altogether. Done!

The wall alone is good enough... love it!

I think this after looks more mature and refined.
Nice work.

And I don't care either way about chairs/suitcases. Both function well as night stands.

Hum. I guess I don't like either. They both just seem odd too me. The before is more pleasing to my eye, but it's not quite right.

I do love the paint job with the golden accents. Very creative.

I think it looks pretty good. The wall is cool. The only suggestion I have is to switch the lamps on either side of the bed. That way your red accessories might look more balanced.

Ha, I saw the "before" sign and went "Oh nooo, I hope she didn't down the puzzle pieces!"

Glad to see they are still there. Easily one of my favorite walls I've ever seen on any design blog. :)

Sorry, but I just don't get it. Looks kind of dorm roomy to me. If you're going to do something like that to a wall you can't half ass it, and it has to be the focal point.
This is what I would do if you left me alone in there for a weekend: I would buy a couple dozen extra puzzles, a few cans of gold paint, take those stripes all the way to the floor, and leave the art off of it. Bring in both of the chairs and saw off part of the legs so that the back of the chairs are at the same height as the top of the headboard, nothing wrong with a low nightstand. I would attack the chairs with a can of paint as well to brighten up that red. Start over with the lighting, something that shines light both up and down. My two cents. I'll eff off now.

manu_pty - what kind of sheets would you put? I admit it's difficult to me to get set that would much. I thought this one is at least better...

Thank you all for such supportive comments!

I strongly prefer the before version. Only two suggestions for improving it:

1. Straighten the picture
2. Replace the white pillowcase, with a dark shade to go with dark hues in the rest of the room.

To my eye, in the AFTER picture,
1. The art work is way out of scale (too large)
The glass covering the art is distracting in the photo, I suspect it is in real light too. And I think the picture is hung to close to the bed. Certainly would be a nuisance for a tall person like myself who likes to prop up with pillows and read in bed.
2. The bed linens distract from the color scheme.
3. I really like the matching chairs in Before. Stacked suitcases is so Ladies Home Journal decorating.

But in both before and after, like the beautiful wall covering and the metallic wall decorations very much. Lots of potential here.

I really love the walls. It's very interesting and it almost looks sort of ethereal, like stardust.

But I don't understand the rest of the stuff with it, in either the first or second photo. I think everything you have in there distracts from what an amazing idea the puzzle pieces really is.

"what kind of sheets would you put?"

I wasn't asked - but if I wasn't going with white, I'd choose something like these sheets in Amethyst (you could even mix and match) to pick up on the color of the walls:
http://www.westelm.com/products/b514/?pkey=cduvet-covers-quilts
http://www.westelm.com/products/b335/?pkey=csheet-sets

...and again, if not a plain white duvet and shams, I'd go with these in Amethyst - again to bring the wall color down to the bed:
http://www.westelm.com/products/b519/?pkey=cduvet-covers-quilts

Nah, the strips are much more beautiful because they trail off. I you just slapped on pure vertical lines from top to bottom, you would lose a lot of the momentum and movement of the piece.

A lot of art involves what *isn't* there as much as what is.

So glad the bloody streaks are out of the bedroom. Better hung near a kitchen wall, next to a knife rack.

That idea for extending the flowing puzzle pieces and not having other art over bed seems just right.

Spirit gum (rubber cement) works well for attaching small papery things to walls, comes off a little easier than white glue--use an art gum eraser. Don't apply it to both surfaces, either. One should work. It may leave spots, but you don't need to sand the wall.

Offtza, keep on having fun with your apartment. You can make covers for small lampshades, and if you have plain ones or old spotted plain ones (like mine), you can paint them with watered-down acrylic craft paint and hot glue things on them, such as silk flowers. I did one this summer using pink paint, and old silk posies I found in my mom's laundry room. Girly, but just right for my old wrought iron floor lamp. You can work out your own statement and it will be fabulous, like that wall!

So many great ideas!
bepsf - thanks, these are really nice. I love the amethyst quilt they had, it's a pity these are completely not in my price range... I will keep looking around for sales and good deals, maybe I'll find something similar.

stejeanne - I like changing lamps, when I feel potential in them, I painted my cheap white buffet lamps for my dining room and changed completely a lamp I picked up on a yard sale... You can see the result here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yoannah/4176887245/in/set-72157622982117828/

I am looking for the right size around thrift stores, I hope I find something I can upgrade to fit my rooms!

Yoannah, the image/poster over your bed looks so familiar. Who's the artist?

I don't like either piece of art. What about a small ledge with some simple white votives? The paint detail is so striking that I'd rather see something very simple and clean, if anything, above the bed. You've got a sort of magical theme going on with the descending sparkle on the wall, I'd keep going for things that are magical.

I prefer the suitcases to the chairs, and think that simple white pendants on either side of the bed would be pretty.

The bedding that bepsf suggested is GORGEOUS. I think Target has something similar that might be cheaper.

http://www.target.com/Home-Garden-Party-Chrysanthemum-Quilts/dp/B001PNPTES/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&searchView=grid5&qid=1276900915&frombrowse=0&fromGsearch=true&node=1038576|1287991011&keywords=purple%20quilt&searchSize=90&id=Home%20Garden%20Party%20Chrysanthemum%20Quilts&searchBinNameList=purchasing_channel%2Csubjectbin%2Cprice%2Ctarget_com_primary_color-bin%2Ctarget_com_size-bin%2Ctarget_com_brand-bin&searchNodeID=1038576|1287991011&searchRank=target104545&sr=1-4&searchPage=1&rh=

Sheesh, that's a long URL!

I prefer the before as well. That metallic accent is gorgeous!

Glad to see the puzzle pieces are still there...the title of the post had me worried a little bit! ;) I really like the new artwork over the bed and the suitcases look great. Keep posting pictures as you evolve in your space...would love to see what you do next.

Oh Yoannah-Keep trying. As the saying goes, "The 3rd time is the charm."

I loved the color scheme of your original post so much that I used it as inspiration for my roommate's bedroom design. I really enjoy the use of steel gray/blue mixed with metallic gold as well as red. I personally prefer symmetry so I like the two red chairs as nightstands better. Perhaps propping up all the pillows (NOT having two tucked under the linens) would help make it look less dorm like? I also think a nice accent pillow to tie everything together would help (perhaps something with all the colors in it?). Lastly, I feel like the art may be too big and too low in conjunction with the puzzle pieces?? I agree with a small ledge...or maybe just let the puzzles speak for themselves?

I think it will come together eventually - it will definitely take time - hang in there! Took me a good two years to love my bedroom as it has evolved...but when you do, it's heaven and completely worth the wait! :)

HELPFUL HINT: Try taking a photograph of your room with just the basics and photoshop things in and out before committing to something drastic. This helps you to envision all the ideas better and helps make decisions.

Completely agree with *idreampink*. I like the 'after' much better, but I would go all out with the puzzle wall!

Maybe you can check out some yard/garage sales over the summer in search of MAJORLY budget-friendly pieces, your lamps, for instance! You are likely to find puzzles for less than $1.00 too! (If you want to expand the wall)

So the addition of a few suitcases and a change in bedding and artwork warrants a whole new post?!

The puzzle pieces are a great design feature, and I think the wall would look much better with them alone, and no artwork (neither artworks look right in the space).

Perhaps if you really want something above the bed, then some bigger jigsaw pieces could be painted. Failing that, I really like KelleyK's idea of a simple shelf with votives.

If you're going to go with un-matched bedside 'surfaces', matching lamps may look good. Simple, unadorned white shades.

As far as i can tell the "makeover" which has somehow taken 6 months consists mainly of having changed the bedding, a picture and putting some cases by the bed, seriously, is that deserving of a whole article?! At this rate i guess it might be done in, say, 5 years! I look forward to the next 10 slow updates!!

I'm finding this all pretty dark and depressing really. Not something I'd want to wake up to - it feels like a mismatch of ideas which don't work very well together. Time for a total makeover?

andrewlondon--

I don't think anyone is billing this as a "makeover". I think it's intended to be a revisit to see how spaces just sort of organically change over time.

And who says a room has to ever be *done* anyhow? Lord knows, some of my interior design clients don't seem to think so! Which would be GREAT, if I charged by the HOUR! :)

Personally, though, I think the original piece of art was more in synch with the puzzle piece thing.

And I find the big skeletal bird to be just a *tad* creepy, far moreso than the red painting.

Bedroom pet peeve: unmatched lampshades on lamps flanking a bed.

Offtza, the sheets in the "after" picture are perfectly fine.... When i say "make sense" i'm meaning something more put together to round up all you have....

You don't need to go buy some 5,000!! thread count sheets or some Alex McQueen ostrich feather nightmare....

You're good to go.....

I like the puzzle pieces, but the not-very-straight lines at the edges of the clumps distract me. I'd remove the art (at least from that wall -- maybe a different wall instead?) and I'd add more golden puzzle pieces at the top of the wall, scattered within the clusters in the manner you now have at the bottoms, for more continuity. (Just near the top, not as far down the wall as the existing groups.)

If you are going with the glitzy golden wall treatment, I think you need a bit more glamor in the room. Mirror, crystal, more gold... shiny fabrics. I'd make a slipcover for the headboard in something luxurious like velvet or satin or maybe from a thrift store bedspread in quilted taffeta... I'd use crisp white sheets and a couple of pretty toss pillows.

Personally, I think the red chairs look too country for the glitzy wall -- they fight each other. I'd put the suitcases under the bed for storage there, and find a couple of craigslist or thrift store night stands and paint them white or maybe even gold. One way to add glamor to them would be to find (Home Goods often has them) beaded round or square place mats as toppers. (I'm using some fancy mirror embroidered pillow covers on my night stands, similar idea. Not stuffed, of course!)

You have a great start, I just think you need to pick one direction and go with it.

I agree with Sherry you have too many styles going on and your eye doesn't know where to go. I LOVE the shiny metalic pieces on the wall. A round mirror about 2/3 the width of your headboard would look great just remember to hang a bit higher than the picture. Would also get rid of the chairs or paint them an accent color, possibly painting headboard another accent color. http://desktoppub.about.com/od/colorpalettes/l/blcppurple.htm The 6th color block down has the same purple as your walls, with some cool accents. If you stay with the chairs I would match the lamps flanked on each side and run the corn down the back instead of to the side as in pic, it looks unfinished. The suitcases are not the old leather Samsonites that have a real sense of style so would forgo those except under the bed as someone else suggested. Just don't say in the purple range of colors, you need some energy in the room. Really looking forward to a new post...happy decorating.

thank you all! these are great ideas, and I'm really energized to do more.
It's been taking me a lot of time to do changes, b/c it's hard to find time to do so much working full time and being on extremely tight budget. But I am having fun and the summer will help!

I think one of the things that isn't working about the "after" is the way you have made your bed... you have put the longer bolster pillow or body pillow under the duvet, and the pillows on top, along with a decorative pillow, making it look rather awkward. The way to deal with that pillow is to have the head pillows in front, leaning against it (and lose the decorative pillow; it feels very granny-ish).

The purple target linens someone linked to above could work very nicely in this room... you could also look into some quilted silk velvet throws, and perhaps pillows, as they could add richness. They often come in the most amazing deep, rich colours that would work well with what you have going on here.

Is this the sort of look that you are perhaps going for? Something rich and sensual? (this is the London bedroom of Sam Roddick, owner of Coco de Mer):

http://roomenvy.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/bedroom2.jpg

I love the touch of red that you are trying to introduce into the room, but I think that it would be more successful if instead of chairs (not suitcases!) you were able to eventually do so with some lovely antique Chinese red chests. The cinnabar, along with the patina of age, would be perfect. It never hurts to keep your eyes open... Here are some ideas:

http://www.redrivertradingco.com/catalog/Antique_Red_Lacquered_Trunk_3.html

http://www.redrivertradingco.com/catalog/Red_Lacquer_Cabinet_2_Door_2_Drawer.html

http://www.europeanstyleantiques.com/catalog/?fn=detail&id=1141

http://www.thehumblehouse.co.uk/product.php?product_id=0000000050

http://www.ozmosisart.com/categories/oriental/Chinese_Lacquer_Chest.htm

And while I think you should look at the lighting in the bedroom example I linked to above -- which consists of a vintage nickle French architect's lamp, as well as some black Serge Mouille, I think that an eccentric silk lampshade -- a Sera of London-style bustier or wondercorset lampshade for example -- over a 'thirties table or floor lamp base -- would lend some more richness and exoticism.

http://www.seraoflondon.com/files/html/main_prodzl.asp?id=8&designer=Rude lampshades&index=33

http://www.seraoflondon.com/files/html/main_prodzl.asp?id=8&designer=Rude lampshades&index=30

http://www.seraoflondon.com/files/html/main_prodzl.asp?id=8&designer=Rude lampshades&index=27

I think that the first artwork was more successful because of its very strong texture and colour; the second doesn't work as well because, glassed-in, it has a slick texture, and it is creepy as opposed to sensual (that may work in a study -- thought-provoking -- but not in a bedroom...).

I love how you are creating a rich and complex room, and look forward to the next installment of its development.

@mschatelaine - such a great treasure of resources! thanks so much!

I love deep colors, and generally love colors (which if you wish can see on my flickr site in living room - one wall is covered in red-cranberry-burgundy stripes) with special attention to dark blue through purple to red. These are the colors going through my whole apt.

I wanted to make something sensual, but also calm and relaxing, with a touch of unusual, odd (that's where the puzzle come in).

I will look for more purplish sheets.
I had a huge problem with the body pillow, how to hide it. my problem is also that the pillows I sleep on are the body-contour type, so they don't look as interesting and decorative.
and the small pillows is a gift, it does look gran-y, but it has a sentimental value to me.

I was thinking about getting some old architect lamps for both sides! I wanted to paint them old-red with touches of old-gold. I think I will look for these, as I am really not confident in choosing the right shades in traditional lamps!

thank you again for great tips!

I don't mind the suitcases, but I do think their mass makes the room seem unbalanced . . . perhaps bring back the original chair, and distribute the suitcases in other ways? One on a chair, a few stacked in another corner?
The other two areas of imbalance are the bed ~ I actually really like the fabric, but it's a busy pattern and there's already a lot going on in the room. Perhaps breaking it up with a large, single-color (red to match?) blanket? and secondly the artwork, which is a little too big for the space. I think the lamp solution you propose would be lovely, but you could also just change the white/patterned shade for another red one to match.
In any case, these are small quibbles for a lovely room.

I have approximately the same wall color in my bedroom and, after looking forever for an affordable solution, recently bought the target quilt kelleyk mentioned. It does tie in really nicely with the wall color, though I found I liked it best with some additional white accents.

I like the puzzle pieces, very creative. I don't like any of the art before or after I think it's too much on that wall and you could remove both. Instead, you can cover the bed headboard with a nice fabric, maybe something that light up the space (maybe with a bit of gold), because that headboard looks a bit dull. The side tables look fine to me in both the before and after pics.
If you want a sensual feeling in the room, then you should replace the bed cover with something more sensual looking and less granny looking and add a throw with texture (like wool.) Add some candles and a small vase with flowers. Plain matching light shades will do the job (I like the red one), don't overdo it and keep it simple, the puzzle motive is already making most of the impact.
I think changing the headboard and removing the art piece above the bed will make the best improvement.