Monday, March 11, 2013

Evolution of our Bedroom -Updated ( I know, sounds Kinky right! )

When we first bought this house we loved that our room was a whole story away from everything else. It's the former attic converted to a bedroom with small en suite  Having said that, it's also a room with no windows, lot's of angles and only 2 sky lights. Hence we can't see outside, unless it's up towards the sky. However, it's a good sized room with potential. But like most, the bedroom, especially for the grown ups,  usually falls last on the priority list. So for the 1st yr, this is our simple bedroom....

We had no real bed, only mattress and box...all miss matched odds and ends here and there along with the dog bed u see to the left lol...If there was one thing I hated seeing it was that eye sore of an AC mural unit on the wall. As much as I loved the luxury of an AC in the attic of a bedroom...I hated seeing it there ! A germ of an idea started to stir but it wouldn't be a reality for yrs to come lol...

Meanwhile, no windows made for other ideas. One day at a garage sale I saw a french door and for $15 it was mine. I figured it could make a cool headboard of sorts, while pretending to be a window all at once!! So I painted it black, then painted black branches on the glass to mimic the shadow of a tree at night. It also dressed up most of the wall for interest....

I purchased a new bed kit with curtains and although we still had the same furnishings, it was a really nice change for next to no money! 


We had an eye on a nice bedroom set for a good cpl yrs.The ransom being asked for it was more then we could fork out. We often visited "our" set at the store that was holding it captive to reaffirm that it was the set we hoped to eventually buy. Then came the importunity to finally buy it!. It was a 1st for both Chris and I . A real bedroom ensemble Wow!! Many people don't like matchy matchy but when you have Never had matchy matchy in your life, you tend to like the idea for a change LOL! 

So now we had new bedroom furniture with a real headboard and everything! So the window/door above our bed had to go. There was no room for it. So it's been relocated downstairs. 

But I still had that AC eye sore...and I was having visions about new colour....Uh oh.....But again, other things had to be done, so we put a hold on any ideas ...for a time. 
As time went by I came up with an idea for that AC wall..it was bare and ugly and I had a germ of an idea brewing. Around this time we also got a free tv. We'd never put one in our bedroom before...but since we had it we decided to try. It's not something we view there often but it's nice to have when we do. 

I wanted to make this room into more then just a bedroom...WhY? u may ask...Well, being a foster family, we share our home with mentally and physically handicapped adult clients. They live with us full time, all the time. So our whole home is shared with exception to our own room. It's the one space in the whole house that is just for us. Ours alone. So I wanted it to be somewhere we could hang out , decompress and just enjoy if we chose. 

So this march....finally we started with paint...and I have to admit, I was taking a risk with my choices....Grey and Black...yes I said black...in a room with no windows lol!! I was nervous but still couldn't wait.....
We "vacationed" in our guest room downstairs for over a week, while we painted everything in both the room and the little en suite...

Notice the eyesore on the far wall....Do I ever have plans for that thing!!!...
...........................DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!.................CLICK PHOTOS TO MAKE LARGER..........................

Small note; The large photo frame on the back wall has nothing in it yet LOL..I am waiting for the print I wanted in it to be developed! 
Now here is a closer look at the book cases...Do u see the AC unit?? Noooo you don't!! 
For at least half the yr we can hide it from view!! Here's how.......
We made a removable panel....Chris cut out the back and part of the top off the book case in order to push the book case close to the wall surrounding the AC unit...


For the hot months, we just remove that fake back we made to hide it...the air will circulate just fine ! But from fall to spring we can just put it back in place and unless u knew or got really close, you wouldn't even know!!
 Close up , now u can tell that the back is more towards the front then the other shelves...We added wall paper to the back of the book shelves for visual appeal and just make them a notch nicer then plain Ikea book cases. I also think it makes them look more *bedroom-ish* ...I glued the wall paper to the removable piece that hides the AC, But other pieces are just tacked down, for easy removal if I ever feel like changing it...So there you have it!....Our rooms Evolution over the 3.5 yrs we have been here..I think it will stay this way for a good while! lol  I have one more area waiting for a chair that will have a little table and lamp...As soon as my chair is here, I will add a cpl photos.......So as promised...Here is my new chair area..
I loved this funky chair! Ordered it from BeyondtheWrack ...Took a bit longer then expected. We found the table and pedestal at a clearance place in Montreal for next to nothing...

 We may purchase another chair just like it next time we see it for sale ...
I made one of these accents using paint chips of the colours we used in our room...
Last but not least, we painted out little en-suit off the room...We added some new hardwear and some glass shelving and a plant....


Again, u will see the sky light, oddly positioned but it's a good source of light none the less....I have to say that I'm more then thrilled to be DONE! After this big project with all the angles and cutting, anything thing else will be a piece of cake !! What do u think? Comments are welcome! 

5 comments:

Melody said...

Wow! You two are amazing. Love the room - looks fabulous.

Star said...

You ave such a flair for design! I love the French door/ window. I would never have envisioned that .

Charlene Ann Heier said...

Hiding that A/C unit was a tremendous idea and so well manipulated. My congratulations to the both of you! Bravo!!! Well Done. The room looks soooooooooo fabulous, your dream has come true and what a dream!

Lenore LeMay said...

You are a talented designer and decorator. I LOVE it!!! The room looks beautiful and luxurious.

Unknown said...

This is way more than talent. This is a genius in the works of modern design using her smart brain to make it beautiful, functional and inspiring. SUPER IMPRESSIVE!!!