Sharing the “before” and “after” (actually “afters” since this space got two makeovers in the time we lived in our home) of our master bedroom!
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Our master bedroom was quite a sight when we first moved in – gotta love the faux finished blue walls, overhead boob light, and mishmash of furniture:

We lived with it like this for three long years while we focused on renovating other parts of our home but then I joined in the One Room Challenge and during the course of six weeks, our bedroom went through the first of its two transformations. This was the newly made-over look:

One of the most obvious changes is the walls – the whole cracked, faux finished mess was covered in faux shiplap:

and painted in Farrow & Ball’s All White which provided the perfect backdrop for all of the gray tones I was throwing into the space. I share all of the details for DIYing your own shiplap walls in my full post on our DIY shiplap walls.
I was on a tight timeline for getting a new headboard in order to finish for my One Room Challenge reveal so I ended up snagging this cheap headboard on Craigslist, adding some extra height to it,

and painting it with Benjamin Moore Steel Wool. For the bedding, my jumping off point was the Schumacher fabric that’s on the front pillow, which was made for me by the lovely Linda of Pillow Time Girls. You can find it in her Etsy shop in a square size {here} but she’ll also sew up custom orders in any size that you need.

The linen shams are {these beauties} and the euro shams were made with {this gorgeous indoor/outdoor fabric}. The quilt is {this one} in Flagstone – it’s definitely stood the test of time and it washes like a dream! The drapes are {these lined blackouts} in charcoal and the linen ruffled bed skirt is from Pine Cone Hill but is no longer available.
For lighting on both sides of the bed, I went with {these swing arm sconces} so that we don’t have lamps using up the little nightstand space that we have. The sconces swing towards the bed, can be raised up and down, and the shades pivot at the top – love! And speaking of nightstands, the nightstands that I had bought for the room ended up being too wide after I went with a wider than planned headboard so I ended up with {these 16″ wide gunmetal nightstands}. It’s hard to find nightstands that are as narrow as this – I’ve gathered together my 15 favorite narrow nightstands in {this post} if you’re on the hunt!

At the foot of the bed, I stuck with my original design plan and used a pair of camp stools similar to {these} that are the perfect place to stack all of our new bed pillows before crawling into bed at night. The rug is {this braided beauty} that added some great texture.

For overhead lighting, I switched the old boob light out to this scalloped beauty found {here} – love it! You can check out my other flush mount lighting favorites in {this post}.
And did you notice a few other changes to that previously ugly corner?

For one, my worn chair was given a new life after being painted with Velvet Finishes “Luxurious” and reupholstered with an oversized buffalo check fabric – I’m totally smitten by it! And I have new artwork – it’s {this Minted print} by Jorey Hurley framed in an amazing acrylic and brass frame found {here}:

The photos don’t do this frame justice – it’s gorgeous!!

Across the way, things were also looking pretty darn sad before our makeover. We had a dark wood dresser with not a single thing on the wall above it:

I kept the dresser but gave it a whole new look with a few coats of paint and hung {this large round mirror} above it. The mirror came in a beautiful bronze finish but I used {this amazing stuff} to make a quick and easy change to a gold leaf finish that fit a little better with the design of my space:

The dresser paint color is Farrow & Ball’s Worsted which is a rich greige. It’s truly a stunning color with a lot of depth. The dresser knobs are {these mother of pearl knobs} that are my never-fail favorites:

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I kept the styling of my dresser super simple with {this lamp}, my thrifted planter girl head thingy, and two pieces of layered art from Minted including {this piece} by Melanie Severin and {this piece} by Renee Anne:

Our closet got a makeover too! Before it had two bifold doors and a center section that basically made half of the closet very difficult to access. So not cool:

I had my contractor remove the doors and the center support and then had the back of the closet wallpapered in {this phenomenal Farrow & Ball paisley paper}. I also kicked the old wood clothing rods to the curb and added some glam new acrylic and gold ones:

At the opening of the closet, I added a rod (a spray painted plumbing pipe from Lowe’s) and white linen IKEA drapes that I can pull closed when needed:

For the full details on our closet makeover, see {this post}
But come on, who wants to close the drapes when you’ve got this gorgeousness inside??

We already had built-in shelving on the left side of the closet but never used it very efficiently – I lucked into finding some great fabric bins at Lowes that were perfect fits for my space! Now instead of trying to see what’s buried back in the dark cubbies I can just pull out the fabric bins and easily get a good look at what’s inside:

That wraps up makeover #1 but a few years later I finally bought the bed I’d been wanting for forever and I did a little room refresh with a couple new additions too:

I bought {this upholstered bed} in a great neutral fabric – I absolutely love the classic, simple style. I also changed out the rug to {this braided jute beauty} that you can see more of in {this post}. I also changed out the nightstands since our new bed is much lower so shorter nightstands were needed – I went with {these gray nightstands} that work beautifully:

For bedside lamps, I chose {these USB lamps} because I love the convenience of being able to charge my phone bedside. I kept {this gray linen quilt} and added {this gray and white linen duvet & shams}. My pillows are {these gray and white dragon pillows} and {this velvet crosshatch pillow}:

The camp stools and scalloped overhead light {found here} stayed the same. To lighten up the room, I swapped out the dark gray drapes with white ones – I went with {these} which are the same brand and style – they’re definitely one of my go-to’s! The newly refreshed look goes so well with our new master bathroom addition – I love the way these two spaces flow together!
Thanks for coming along on my tour! If you’re wondering where anything is from, I’ve detailed it all in the Source List below:
XOXO,

Wall Color: Farrow & Ball All White | Closet Wallpaper: Farrow & Ball Paisley wallpaper
Furniture: Headboard was Craigslist find painted with Benjamin Moore Steel Wool | New Upholstered Bed | Vintage chair made over with this paint and buffalo check fabric from McGee & Co. (no longer available) | Original black metal nightstands | New gray painted nightstands | Camp stools (similar) | Dresser (old) with these knobs
Lighting: Brass swing arm sconces | White USB table lamps | Semi flushmount light (available {here} and {here} | Wood lamp on dresser – no longer available
Bedding: Euro sham fabric (gray geometric) | Cream standard shams | Gray & white dragon/floral pillows | Quilt in king (color is Flagstone) | Bed skirt – no longer available | Gray & white patterned linen duvet | Gray velvet crosshatch pillow
Drapes & Rugs: Window drapes (mine are single-width blackout lined) – had Charcoal color first and then White | White closet drapes | Cream braided rug | Diamond jute rug
Mirror, Art, & Frames: Large round mirror | Large floral print by chair (size 18 x 24) | Acrylic and brass frame | Colorful abstract print (16 x 20) | Small lily print (8 x 10)





Tammie says
Is your bed a king size? What size lumbar pillow did you use?
Thank you,
Martha says
Love your style and really just everything! Can you tell me which fabric you chose for the upholstery on the Ardsley bed? Thank you!
jan says
your room looks great! do you have any tips on upholstery and the cost, etc? i’d love to cover an ugly (but practically new!) couch… i’m in los angeles, ca. thanks!
Vany says
Wow it’s so beautiful! I have seen your other rooms too and I love it. You are so talented and creative. I get so overwhelmed with decor, I wish I would now what to do first lol, but no idea what to do. You’re amazing!
Sandy Murphy, IDS of Classic Design says
You are a designer like myself who breathes new life into older furnishings. I’ve done that for years and the idea of painting or reupholstering items is a thrill plus cost effective. I shared your closet ideas with my son and his girlfriend who purchased the 1950’s home I grew up in. It needed an update. They have sliding closet doors in a bedroom. The way you updated your closet with IKEA draperies, units added inside plus the wall covering there, is a winner!
I’m enjoying your photos. I too am a New England interior designer but in Massachusetts.
Sherry says
How big is the mirror
Staci Harper says
Hi Kris,
Congratulations on creating such a beautiful, comfortable master bedroom! I am in love with your bedside lamps and would like to order a pair – do you mind if I ask the distance ‘arm’ measures from the wall to the socket (center of shade). One website says that the total fixture depth is 13″ but that doesn’t seem right since the shade is 12″ diameter 🙂
Thank you for your time and inspiration!
Norma Dickerson says
I loved the cubbies built into the side of your closet. When I showed them to my husband, he asked how hard would it be to get the bins out once all the clothes are hanging? I couldn’t answer that! Could you let me know how that has worked?
Kris Jarrett says
That’s a great question – the bins toward the front are easy to get out but the ones toward the back are trickier – I have to push my clothes back on the rod to get to them. I keep things like travel items, old purses, and things I don’t use regularly in those harder to reach cubbies.
Allison says
I love that headboard!!! I know you have probably said it and I cannot find it anywhere!!? what is the name of the paint color used on that headboard?
Thank you!!
Kris Jarrett says
It’s Benjamin Moore Steel Wool!
Mandy says
Kris,
I am new to your website and am enjoying poking around. Also looking forward to receiving your e-mail updates. Because I am in the beginning stages of a master bedroom reno, I am wondering where your “old” headboard is from? It looks like one from Ballard Designs that I am considering. If so, did you not like it for some reason or maybe you were just ready for a change? Thanks!
Kris Jarrett says
Yes, I got it from the Ballard Designs Outlet on the cheap! There wasn’t anything wrong with it – we had just had it for several years and I was ready for a change!
Kara Bianchi-Rossi says
I am wondering what kind of paint and if you brush or spray the dresser?
Everything looks FABULOUS!!
Kris Jarrett says
I used Farrow & Ball’s Worsted paint and used a super small roller for most of it to get a nice smooth finish!