A More Restful Bedroom

Oh hi. Happy New Year and welcome back. If anyone thought the lag in posting was owing to my having given birth, I'm sad to report that this is not the case. I'm still lumbering around impatiently.

I've already started my leave from work,
which is probably a good thing since I'm so distracted, but it's really exaggerating how slowly time is passing. This would be a good opportunity for me to rest, but I can't sit still. I've read that during the very end of pregnancy one can either be overwhelmed by fatigue or fueled by inexplicable surges of energy. I'm surprised to find myself amongst the latter grouping. For the last few weeks I've been positively bouncing off the walls, on the lookout for something I can clean, reorganize, or store in a Ziploc bag (a strange new compulsion).

With all of this energy and free time, I've come up with an ever-growing list of projects, but most of them are not worth writing about. Unless you want to read about organizing the food storage in the kitchen? See, told you so.

But here's a project worth bringing up: the bedroom. It was the last room requiring our attention before I could finally consider us "moved in."



Unfortunately, this is going to be a room makeover post without Before pictures. Why have I failed you? Well, it's really not my fault. I actually took several pictures during the rejuvenation process, but they were all taken on my phone. And recently my phone turned into an a-hole and I had to do a factory reset which deleted all of my pictures, not to mention my phone numbers. At the time, I was assured this info was all suitably backed up, but it just goes to show you shouldn't blindly trust someone because he's wearing a Verizon Wireless sweater vest. Especially if that someone also pronounces texts as "texes."

Anyway, here is the bedroom.


Now, if you want a before picture, imagine the walls are the color of the Before bathroom.


Like literally I think they used the same can of paint. Have I mentioned how much I love yellow?

Now the walls are a deep smokey brownish gray, which is pretty much the exact same color as the accent wall from the previous bedroom, seen here.

I didn't exactly mean to match it, but I have a tendency to inadvertently pick out the same paint colors repeatedly. This is why Oscar's room is the same color as the second bathroom in the old house, which was the same color as the kitchen cabinets in the apartment before that.

Regarding the curtains and the fabric panels behind the bed from the old bedroom, there's been some discussion about hanging those in the new one. The discussions usually take place on a weekend morning when Devin enthusiastically suggests we tackle it after breakfast, and I respond with a noise that sounds like a sick goat and change the subject. I love how the old bedroom turned out and still love those pieces. I just can't deal.

I'm also into the high contrast of the white blinds with the dark paint, and this inspired me to decorate in a black & white theme. By the bed I hung some black and white pictures of us that we've had for years.
Then on the opposite wall, I gave myself a little project.
I ordered this black and white poster of Hollywood online. It was something like $10. Then, we had this large, framed piece of crumby Ikea art sitting around. The frame was too big for the new poster, but fortunately the blank edges of the artwork served perfectly as a matte. All it took was a little double sided tape.
The frame itself was natural wood, so I painted it with some white acrylic paint kicking around in my craft bin. There was a little bit of a finish on the wood before I painted so it didn't go on totally smooth, but I liked the messy effect I wound up with.

There were pictures of all of this. Oh well. Thanks a lot, Texes.

Now things are sufficiently cozy. But there are two areas that need work, and may not get them for a while.

One is the closet.
It's just too cramped for two people and I haven't given much thought to organizing it or maximizing space. And it's only going to get worse because right now much of my regular wardrobe is stored away and I primarily just have my maternity clothes hanging up.

The other problem is this wall of broken Ikea dressers.
The two birch colored ones Devin and I have had for years. They were holding up okay, but recently the drawers have started to give out. The espresso colored dresser in the middle is one I bought from Craigslist and was originally intended for Oscar's room before I realized it didn't match the crib and was also a rapidly deteriorating hunk of crap. What? Second-hand Ikea furniture isn't standing the test of time? Shocker. Since purchasing it a whole piece has fallen off the front and the bottom drawer has come apart and won't close all the way.

Anyway this just looks cumbersome and awful, but I also don't know how to downsize into something daintier. We've both gone through several rounds of trimming down our wardrobe and still we are busting at the seams. Ideas?

Ignoring those two eye sores, I think the bedroom is good enough to sleep in. Now, if only I could actually sleep...