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Well, I think we can all agree that this quarantine hasn't been easy for anyone! Being pregnant and cooped up in the house has been a challenge but not nearly as big of a challenge as putting together a nursery for the new baby. You see, I had this idea in my head that baby #2's nursery would have a safari theme, complete with giraffes and lots of jute/rattan materials. Well that idea quickly went out the window when I realize a lot of the textures I was looking for are manufactured in other countries and right now the import service isn't exactly working like clock work. All of the woven pieces I was looking for are on back order until at least July 31 (and that was BEST case scenario). After weeks of racking my brain on whether of not I was going to wait it out, I decided against the whole thing. If you have children you know that if it doesn't get done by the time the baby gets here, good luck! There are just not enough hours in the day. Plus, our little one is due to make his debut June 12th. So, back to the drawing board I went. I had to figure out a new game plan that would work with the pieces I had already ordered. I ended up being able to keep the giraffe idea but incorporating a modern elegance feel to the room. By swapping out my grass pieces for gold I was able to create a soft relaxing mood that I think might even work better than my original plan, but we shall see. We are still in the planning stages but all of our pieces have been ordered and construction on the wall molding starts today.
One of the last rooms in our home to be completed was our master bedroom, and maybe what they say is true. "You save the best for last". My vision for this room was clean and calm. I wanted the colors to be neutral and the vibe to feel like a spa. I chose to work with creams, nudes, and greys to accomplish our relaxing environment.
I used a lot of our old furniture and added some new touches. I kept our Bloomingdale's side tables and dresser, along with our Restoration Hardware tufted bed and bench. I was also able to keep our older Homegoods lamps and Birch Lane wall art.
Our additions to this room were moderate but large enough to keep this sizeable room from feeling empty. We added a 96" media cabinet from Pottery Barn, along with a 65" TV to keep our longest wall from feeling bare. We also hung a Catrina Earl's family photography gallery on either side of the TV. This is probably my favorite feature of our bedroom because the gallery goes in chronological order, starting with our wedding and ending with our last family photoshoot when we added our Aupair Elena to the mix!
Homegoods is always great for rugs. It's the first place I go when I have a budget but I want a designer look. I was able to snag this Ralph Lauren 9' x 11' cream and grey area rug which tied our whole room together seamlessly.
I think the biggest changes we incorporated into our room were our Pottery Barn curtains and our sitting area by the window. These were two of our larger projects because they included seamstresses and reupholstery.
When I originally priced our curtains the price tag was astronomical. However, I quickly realized that the look I was chacing was obtainable by splitting the pannels for HALF of the price. We already had blackout blinds in our room from the previous owners so the curtains were more of a cosmetic feature. We also have five windows in our room so that its self was increasing the cost. I found a great seamstress and by splitting the panels I was able to save hundreds!
Our sitting area was the real adventure and probably the most fun to create. My mom's boyfriend was getting rid of two traditional high back chairs and an ottoman and when I heard he was just giving them away I jumped at the opportunity. Sure they didn't go with our vision in their current state but what about reupholstering them? I called around and got a few quotes before I decided to go with Midas Reupholstering in Pineville.
Our Aupair Elena has a design degree from her time spent at University in Italy so I recruited her help for this venture. We went to Midas with our color scheme in mind and found the perfect fabrics and patterns to update our vintage furniture. Although reupholstering is a longer project to complete (6-8 weeks) now our seating area boasts a modern classic finish that completed our master dwelling flawlessly.
Before we moved into our new home this room was being used as a home office. If you read my blog you know, I love my husband but he is not the tidiest person ever. Thus, there was NO WAY I was going to let his messy cluttered desk be the first thing you see when you walk through our front door. Sure we could have put French doors on this room but what I loved about our new house was how open our floor plan is and I didn't want to stunt the flow of our new airy design.
I have always wanted a "parlor" or bar room and it wasn't hard to get Dallas on board with my idea of making this room our own personal saloon. When we bought this property, this particular room was simple with plain beige walls that felt unimaginative. My idea was to dress this space up in classy contemporary duds that felt both manly yet soft and feminine to keep with the tide of the house.
Here are our before pictures of this room:
I wanted this room to be the best of both worlds, spotlighting each of our personalities, individually and as a couple. I used six principal pieces from our previous home to launch my creative style in the right direction. I wanted to play with textures in this room. I repurposed our old Pottery Barn Bar and Bar Sign, along with our Homegoods metal Strager "S" and linen chair. I pulled our old gray linen living room curtain into this room as well. They seemed to compliment the metals I was gravitating towards. (Budget hack: I took my two curtains and had a seamstress cut them into four. Saved me a ton!) Although none of these pieces worked together in the past, in this moment, it was the construction of this room that pulled all of my misfit furnishings together.
Our contractor Gus of The Levi Group helped me design an elegant room with intricate molding and sleek glossy white walls. I told him "Before I put any furniture in here, I want this room to be beautiful on its own." Gus heard me loud and clear. I remember walking into our construction zone to roll out my new Homegoods rug as the finishing touches were being painted. I stopped dead in my tracks and said out loud, "God I can't wait to have a smoked Manhattan in this room!"
Another hurdle I needed to overcome in this room was the lack of light. I had to have our contractor bring in an electrician to install wiring overhead and through the walls for sconces.
I REALLY wanted to use my old Pottery Barn wine glass chandelier that I saved from our old house but rod iron wasn't the right metal and Pottery doesn't make that fixture anymore. I looked high and low for another manufacture that might carry the same design but I kept coming up empty. Then someone suggested I refinish the piece myself. Now, let me just say I had NO IDEA what I was getting myself into, but I did document this experiment if anyone is interested in refinishing one yourself. (Video below)
Once the room was complete and furniture was placed it was time for the details. Our old "Bar" sign was constructed of silver metal and once we hung the centerpiece for the room I realized it needed to be gold. I had some leftover paint from refinishing our chandelier and our aupair Elena (Who has a design degree) offered to help paint the gold brush strokes through the once silver words. I found a silver and bronze cocktail tray from the Hearth and Hand collection at Target along with a bronze hammered corner barrel to displace wine on. I filled an empty vase with old champagne corks and ordered a bourbon smoker from William Sonoma.
The room was almost complete. However, it was missing something I couldn't put my finger on and one day, while I was scrolling through Instagram, an ad came up for a "Press For Champagne" sign. Damn it Instagram, it's like you were reading my mind! (Or listening to my conversations, which we know you do.) I clicked the link and the moment I read the words "it really rings" I was all in! TAKE MY MONEY!
With the missing piece in place, I walked behind the bar and made myself the best smoked Manhattan I had ever tasted. It tasted like success. I kicked back in my big linen chair and savored every sip.
When I found out we were pregnant it didn't matter to me whether it was a boy or girl. All I knew is that I wanted a healthy baby and a black and white nursery. Not because it was gender neutral but because it was chic.
Now, black and white nurseries are all the rage but two years ago when I decided I wanted one, they were not.
My husband didn't see my vision. He thought our son was going to grow up to be "Beetle Juice" junior. I can't tell you how many times I heard that!
My entire family tried to talk me out of it. Don't you want a sweet frilly pink nursery? Or a cute blue and white room full of trucks and teddy bears? "NOPE." I told them, "I have a vision in my head and I just need you to trust me."
I have done all of the interior design in my home and my mothers beach condo in Ft Lauderdale, Florida and I know sometimes my creative little mind thinks outside of the box but I just knew this was going to be a home run.
I added pops of gold to break up some of the patterns in the room and compliment the room's hardware. I also opted to put the crib in the center of the room for a different look and feel. Ikea storage closets added to our lack of space and they were so affordable. Although they almost caused a divorce during install. I swear sometimes you have to have a PHD to figure out those directions.
Now, I get more compliments and questions regarding the theme than ever before. Thus, I decided to blog about it and give you all the links you need if you're expecting a little one anytime soon!
