Our Primary Bedroom Reveal!!

Well I definitely didn’t imagine this project would take as long as it did, but here I am sharing a reveal exactly one year after we started demo. If I’m being totally honest, I’m really proud of this one. Before I get into the details let’s start with a before and after.

Our primary bedroom was always a project that we assumed would happen years down the road. If our assumptions are correct, our bedroom was once a porch (or some type of outdoor deck space). The floors sloped away from the house (like a porch would). The roof is flat and low (like you would see on a covered porch). And we uncovered siding on the inside walls where the house ended at one point. In summary, we think our bedroom (and laundry room next door) were converted to an indoor addition and it looked like a bit of an afterthought.

Because of the flat roof and low ceiling, we assumed we would need to build an entirely new roof that connected to the original house. All of which required significant creativity for the construction of joining two oddly positioned roof lines along with significant money to pay for it. Hence why we didn’t think this project would happen for a while.

Well! Last year Chris was poking around and discovered that we could gain an addition 6+ inches of ceiling height if we followed the (very gradual) slope of the roof. Read more about that discovery here and how we saved $15k. The ceiling would still be slightly lower than standard 8’ ceilings (6’10 at the lowest points and 7’5 at the highest), but if it meant we didn’t need to build a new roof, I was open to the idea.

I had a few conditions though:

1. I didn’t want to try to make this room look like it blended in with the rest of the house. It was clearly different, clearly an addition, and hanging drywall on the walls & ceiling would just seem like I was trying to cover up the obvious. Rather than trying to mask the differences, I decided to highlight them. We needed to pack as much character into this room (some of which was original) and since we weren’t spending thousands of dollars on a new roof, some of that money needed to be invested in character.

2. If we couldn’t make the room bigger or taller in reality, I needed to make it feel bigger by adding more windows. We had 2 small (and oddly placed) windows originally and I wanted new, bigger windows (in better locations) to pack in as much natural light as we could while maintaining functionality.

To add character, I decided on textured wood planks for the ceiling. Imperfections were welcome! If our assumptions are correct, we think that’s what was on the the ceiling prior to the room being converted to an indoor space. And to bring in a variety of textures, I chose smooth MDF nickel gap planks for the walls. Those two projects deserve a post of their own and I have tutorials and links for those coming in the next couple of weeks.

The paint color is another long story that you can ready about here. It’s a custom mix and the putty color is that perfect light, but not white combination. View the custom color code here.

It took about 2 months to do demo, insulate, re-wire, install the ceiling, walls, flooring, and paint. It took another 9-10 months to finish the rest. I say this because I practiced slow design. I actively chose not to settle for pieces, furniture, paint colors, lighting, and decor that didn’t 100% fit the look and style that I was going for. I didn’t want to settle on anything that I was 60% in love with only to later find something I was 100% in love with and then regret my decisions. So I took my time and as I’ve learned, waiting for perfect takes a long time.

I started with one piece of furniture that we’ve had for years – our wood bed frame. It has a low headboard which is perfect for our low ceiling. From there I purchased a couple staple pieces. The rug, which has a dreamy color palette that I worked from. And the nightstands.

If you’ve been here for a minute, you know how long it took to find a dresser for our room. I was adamant on finding a used one and staining it dark to match the wood bed frame. But after so much trial and error, I ended up flipping and painting one black that I found on Facebook Marketplace and honestly I love it more this way! The wood grains still show through the paint and the little knobs are exactly the style I was going for.

The closet door is one of my favorite projects to date. I took a standard bifold door, added some trimwork, painted it, and added 2 antique knobs with back plates to make it look like double doors. A $25 project that I outlined here. And the closet interior was a project we tackled a couple years back. Adding floor to ceiling storage for our tiny little closet was a game changer. That before still makes me cringe.

Window treatment decisions were fairly straight forward. I wanted textural tone on tone curtains for the big window that nearly went from wall to wall. As for the windows on either side of the bed, there isn’t space for curtains so I opted for dark woven roman shades instead and I love the depth that they add to the eyeline.

From there I started filling in the room with artwork and decor ever so slowly. Vintage frames, a DIY antique mirror, and a handprinted lumbar pillow with the most beautiful floral pattern. My favorite decorative piece in the room? The antique brass candle sconce next to Chris’ bedside table. Every room needs at least one vintage piece and it’s the perfect alternative to framed art.

Graphite Art 1 | Graphite Art 2

This is my favorite room of the house. Not because it’s so spectacular, but because it required the most amount of problem solving I have ever had to deal with. Every inch of this room required extensive thought. Every decision we made was intentional and I’m proud of each little detail from the thickness of the ceiling planks to the bevel on the crown moulding. I suppose that’s the beauty of intentional slow design.

One more before/after for good measure? Deal.

ART LINKS: Graphite Art 1 | Graphite Art 2 | Art Above Bed | Art on Dresser

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Flush Mount Light | Antique Mirror DIY | Lamp DIY | Dresser DIY