Refreshed Bedroom for New Year

Hola everyone!

You may recall back in November that I was thinking about getting different bedding for my bed and/or putting up some of that gorgeously dramatic large floral print removable wallpaper.  I blogged about the bedding here.  I blogged about the wallpaper here.

Here are a few photos of what my bedroom looked like BEFORE:

























For budget reasons and because I decided to go visit my friends in Las Vegas in mid-April this spring, I decided to stick with the less expensive option of changing out my bedding and leaving my walls as they are rather than spending the money to buy a removable mural or wallpaper large enough to cover one wall in my bedroom, probably the one that you see from the hall.

I ended up buying a bright floral print on black duvet cover with pillow shams.  I kept my gallery wall intact (not shown, but in the original layout the gallery wall is on the wall directly across from where the bed is, it is the same wall where the sliding closet doors are and the entrance to the bedroom from the hallway).

Since shortly after I got my bedroom set up after I moved in, more than 5 years ago (eek!), I'd wanted to try out angling the bed in the room so that the head of the bed was centered on the corner where the two windows meet in the corner.  But I didn't do it - until last month.

I wasn't sure it would work, and I was concerned about scratching the wood floor by moving the bed around the room.  But I worked slowly and methodically to maneuver the bed into the position I'd visualized and lo and behold - it worked!  And I loved it!

Here is the bed with the black bed skirt on, changed out shortly after the photos above were taken.

Here's the bed with the black bed skirt on, I put
it on last autumn and added a plush throw
(hanging at foot of the bed) for colder nights.

Here are AFTER photos:

I purchased the Getiann Black Floral Duvet Cover Set (full/queen size with two pillow covers).  I replaced the bed skirt with an already owned 16" long black ruffled skirt. Oops, I see the duvet was a little cockeyed on the bed when I took this photo.  I also purchased a much brighter (louder) coral ruffled bed skirt that matches some of the coral colors in the flowers, but the color doesn't go with the pink in the rug.  Me bad - I wasn't even thinking about coordinating with the rug when I purchased the bedskirt.  

You may recognize the rug.  I purchased it from Amazon in late spring or early summer last year for the living room when I did my "Think Pink" living room for the summer (which is definitely going back in for summer 2020).  It got tucked away last autumn for a nice rest and has now reappeared, as pretty as ever.

I swapped out two pictures on the gallery wall, but it
otherwise stayed the same.

I replaced the scenic Rocky Mountain views in the gold frames
with delicate bird prints for free from online.  The bureau was moved
much closer to the closet door but I still have enough room to access
the items hanging on that side - some old office clothes that I haven't
yet gotten rid of and an upper rod holding winter shirts and sweaters.

I've had the jewelry box since I was 9 years old, a Christmas from my dad
one year.  It's very precious to me, even 59 years later.  The bird resting on top
wears a crown - she's a symbol both of the Queen of Heaven and the Queen on the
chessboard.  The photo on the left is of me and my Las Vegas "sister and niece"
when they visited me in summer 2008.  On the right is a music box I purchased
in Las Vegas in 1999.  It plays "The Wind Beneath my Wings" when wound, one
of my favorite songs.

Still in love with my old bedroom set (the original bed is in storage in the garage)
that was purchased in the mid-1970s!  Almost an antique now, geez.  I replaced
the two smaller photos that used to hang near the chair in the corner with some
venerable (from the 1980s) Chinese silk embroidered prints that I had framed years
ago.  The border is a orange-color but the floral embroidery is filled with pinks
and golds, just beautiful.  You can't really see it in these photos, but the new duvet
cover does have some deeper coral tones in it (that's why I bought the bed skirt,
but it turned out to be rather overwhelming), so I figured they'd "go good enough."

I reorganized all the stuff I use daily (various creams, powder, deodorant, skin serum) that used to be scattered all over half the dresser top on to a glass topped picture frame with a pretty print underneath the glass that has the colors in the bedroom in it, a tip I picked up from Brenda at Cozy Little House.  Makes dusting much easier and amazingly quite easily cleaned up the cluttered messy look I had before.  Why I didn't think of doing it myself years ago - well - knock knock on  my skull:  helllloooooo, is anyone at home???  The chair is another much used and much loved hold-over from the first house I bought in 1986.  Yeah, I keep stuff forever :)  

I didn't remove any furniture from the room.  It's not large, per se, but at about 10' x 12' it's fine for me with my full/queen size bed frame (I only use a full size box spring and mattress), night stand, Queen Anne wing chair, dresser and bureau.  It looks more spacious because when I walk into the room now, there's plenty of room at the foot of the bed.  It gives the illusion of more space although in some areas it's pinched where it didn't used to be.  But since I'm the only one living here, it works fine for moi!  I haven't banged an elbow anywhere, that's my test for whether a furniture arrangement actually works :)