Bedroom Renovation

After 3 weeks, I have finally finished my first renovating project- our bedroom. So here are some before pictures.  

The main issue with this bedroom was all the furniture- there were way too many big, mismatched pieces that made the room feel even more cramped and smaller than it actually was. We had three dressers, a giant desk, and the black cubed piece that the television was on. It also needed a completely new paint job; the trim was a tannish, yellow color and the walls were green. 

So my first step was to clear out the furniture that was too large for the room: the dressers, the black television stand, and the desk. I minimized all our clothing into one dresser, a rolling bin I could hide under the bed, and the closet. This is always my first step when renovating a room. Once you decide where to put all the clutter so that it is organized or hidden out of the way, then you can actually start redoing everything else! After organizing and minimizing, I started the painting. I primed all the windows and trim before painting them white. Then I painted all of the walls this beautiful light grey. 

Here are some after pictures:

After the painting was all finished, I worked on the bed. I knew I had to get rid of the old-fashioned headboard and foot board because it just didn't work with how I envisioned this room. Instead, I built my own headboard from wood bought at Lowe's and a little stain (I will do a separate post on this headboard and how I built it in more detail). This rug was perfect in the space (besides the fact that it's so thick the bedroom door couldn't open). A good rule of thumb with rugs in bedrooms- if you want it under the bed you almost have to go with a 8x10 rug unless your bed is a twin. Personally, I think 5x7 rugs are just a little bit too small under the bed, so if you have a smaller rug, consider putting it somewhere else in the room.

 I also knew that I wanted a small, separate area in this bedroom to make it seem more purposeful than just a room you sleep in. This is why I ended up creating this little reading nook with this beautiful grey chair (found at Goodwill) and this white end table I found at Home Goods. This small area makes the room feel more cozy and homey. 

I was lucky enough to have my boyfriend's mom give us this big, white dresser that fit perfectly in the space.

The "nightstand" I made from an old soap crate found at an auction. This is a nice way to still have a nightstand next to your bed but not take a lot of space away from the room itself. 

My only other project was the windowsills. These beautiful, thick, inset windows are great in a room for many reasons; they add great natural light, they make the room feel larger, and they create a little bit more storage, especially if you're creative. I wanted to keep it simple though, so I opted for stacking a few books (since I got rid of the old bookshelf in the room), and baskets for storage. 

Overall, when redecorating and staging a room, these are the basics. The hardest part is the design elements. My best advice is: always add homey touches, like framed photos, journals, books, candles, the teddy bear I put at the foot of the bed, etc. To make a room feel "lived in," which is an important part of staging, you can add things like clothing, bags, magazines laying out, etc. I did this with the jacket and bag on the door, the robe hanging off the bedpost, the magazine laid on the end table, etc. Another must have in a room is greenery and plants. I bought a few small indoor plants at Lowe's and threw them around the room in different places so there was some green in every corner. I also added dried flowers, which is a cute, rustic way to have plants in your room with a lot less maintenance (aka none at all). On the dresser I added dried roses and dried blue flower petals as well for a pop of color. You need pops of color throughout the room which are easy to add; I chose candle holders, a blue lantern, crystals, wooden signs, etc. 

So, overall, you can truly see how easy and cost-effective it is to do a simple makeover to make a room look and feel completely new! A new coat of lighter paint can really open a room up and make it feel much larger, more calming, and extra cozy! Most of the decor items were bought cheap by simply searching thrift stores, auctions, and cheaper retail stores for good pieces! I highly suggest thrift stores for things like candle votive, photo frames, cute flower pots, and decorative trays and dishes. I also can't tell you how much I love Home Goods for cheap decorative pieces as well! Both of the canvas paintings in this room I purchased at Home Goods for under 10 dollars! The cute white side table was only 50 and the lamp was only 20! 

At the end of the day, this was my first room renovation and staging project and I'm very happy with the end results! I can't wait to move on to the next project! Stay tuned 😊😊

~ Yogi Renovator 

Here's a complete list of everything in this room if you're interested in any of the pieces I used.

Photo 1:

-Rug (Amazon)

-Comforter and pillows (Bed, Bath, & Beyond)

-Middle canvas piece above bed (Home Goods)

-2 blue frames on either side (Big Lots)

-Blue and grey elephant blanket (Ross)

Photo 2:

-Feather canvas (Home Goods)

-2 wood pieces underneath (I actually made these-just stained small blocks of wood and put photos on them)

-Chair (Found at Goodwill)

-Wooden box on windowsill (Found at Goodwill)

-Wooden decorative sign (Big Lots)

Photo 3:

-White side table and lamp (Homegoods)

-Jane Austen quote wooden sign (Homegoods)

-Plant (Lowe's)

Photo 4:

-Dresser (Not sure where Alex's mom found this, sorry)

-Golden frame (Found in the barn)

-Plant (Lowe's)

-Golden star votive (Found at Goodwill)

-Wine bottle (This was gifted to me by my mom who knows a woman who make them!)

-Golden candle stands beside dresser (Found at Goodwill)

Photo 5:

-Soap crate (Found at auction)

-Blue flower dish and candle votive on top (Found at Blue Mountain thrift store)

-Blue photo frame (Target)

-Blue candle votive (Yankee Candle)

-Wooden linen basket (Walmart)

-Brown incense burner (Found in a small boutique in Chincoteague VA)

-Sleep Mask (Victoria's Secret)

Photo 6:

-Metal Basket (Big Lots)

-Blue paper flower (Ten Thousand Villages)

-Green plant (Lowe's)

-Whiskey decanter (A gift to Alex)