Before & After: Hidden Surprises in a Master Bedroom Makeover
Frances’s master bedroom needed a little oomph. They decided to modernize the space by highlighting the character of their space. They added some fresh paint, set off the original floors and snuck in a fun pop of color.
From Frances: When we bought the house last year the ‘master bedroom’ had dingy yellow walls and a beige carpet. The room felt tired and in desperate need of modernization.
When we moved into the house we discovered an original 19th Century fireplace had been lurking behind a desk! And, beneath the carpet the old floorboards were still intact. The room itself had a lot more character than we thought, so we stripped it back to bare basics and highlighted its assets through a new color scheme.
The process took a few months of working on the weekends. My husband and I did all the work ourselves. The biggest setback was that we hired an industrial sander to try and get a good enough finish on the floorboards to expose them naturally, but they were covered in a tar substance which was too ingrained and meant we ended up having to paint them.
The room feels so much more light and spacious now that it is painted a cool grey. We have used a contrasting white color to highlight the original features, such as the fireplace surround and floorboards, which has meant the room has so much more character. I also love our secret wardrobe with the pop of green color on the inside as it brings a bit of fun and glamour to the space.
If I were to do anything differently I would use a matte paint on the fireplace. We used a full gloss dark grey paint on the fireplace (90% sheen) which highlighted all its imperfections and my brush strokes!
Doing the work yourself can give you a real sense of satisfaction as well as being kinder on the bank balance!
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Thank you, Frances! You can see this project and more on Frances’s blog Archi~Styling.