Primary Bedroom Progress Report: What’s The Holdup??

SOURCES: Chair | Throw Blanket | Curtains | Rug | Paint Color

I should know by now that whenever a project is running smoothly (and moving faster than expected), that’s usually followed up with a screeching halt for whatever reason. I should expect this by now! 🙂

So what’s happening with our bedroom renovation and why haven’t I addressed it in over a month? Well…there have been a few holdups.

Let’s rewind a few months. During the summer we had several very costly surprise expenses and repairs that needed immediate attention. You know what they say…things break in 3’s. Well in our case 4’s so those surprises took precedence.

But beyond that, I think I can unofficially confirm that I hit a creative block. It’s interesting, I used to be able to go years with constant ideas circulating through my brain while simultaneously making big decisions for our renovation without any major mental hiccups or holdups. But lately it seems I can only muster my way through 3/4 of a project before I can’t force creativity any longer.

The main holdups are *still* finding a dresser and a ceiling light. The room has a lot of beige with little pops of color, so it desperately need a warm wood dresser to bring depth back into the space. I was confident I could find a thrifted or antique dresser and stain it to my liking, and I even found one that I *thought* was the one. But the pine wood was taking stain oddly, giving the wood a high contrast striped look, and after 8+ attempts to get it fixed I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s just not going to work for our bedroom.

And this is where my creativity gets drained. When I search for months for the right piece and find no perfect match. Facebook marketplace, thrift stores, and antique shops don’t have a large supply of dressers in our area and it’s halted all other creative progress for the room.

Perhaps finding an antique dresser is not in the cards for us right now and I need to turn to a new dresser. I’ve started my hunt for new dressers and there are definitely options…they come at a price…but options none the less! These are my top picks so far. Any favorites of yours? I think mine is #2!

SOURCES: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

The other holdup is finding an overhead light. I shared a roundup of the flush mount, low profile lights I was considering and I even ordered one that ultimately didn’t work for the room. With our low ceilings, finding a slim light (3” tall or less) with some sort of milk glass shade to soften the light from our eyes is proving to be the biggest challenge. I’m considering finding a light shop on Etsy and having them make me something custom. I just have to wrap my head around the price tag that will come with that. But we gotta have lights eventually and at some point I just need to pick something and be happy with it!

There are a lot of things that have gone right with this project though. The paint color is putty perfection. The digital art that I had printed on canvas turned out amazing. I just need to frame and hang it. The bedding is basically sorted out. The “double” closet door DIY turned out better than I thought it would. And the window treatments are perfect.

Until I find the perfect dresser and light, I’ve learned that the best thing I can do for myself to overcome a creative block is to step back and do something fun (sometimes without documenting it). My version of fun is thrifting and furniture restoration and last week I found a small stool with chipped green paint that I thought could be a good mood boost project for me….and it was exactly that! (Watch that project unfold here) A quick, relatively pain free project that sparked the part of my brain that has been so bogged down with decisions.

I also found a coffee table on FB marketplace in the exact size, style, and wood species that I want so there’s another project that’ll distract me from the one project I actually need to finish. 😉

Rustic dresser sources and low profile light recommendations are welcome in the comments below!