New Reveal: ALL The Details Of The Primary Suite At The Real Simple Home

Oh how I’ve missed a good reveal and it’s even more fun when I never got to see it in person. So when Keyanna of East & Lane (mentee + a true triple threat content creator – design, on-camera + photography) sent through her photos of The 2021Real Simple Home I was so happy and incredibly grateful that the design not only worked out, but was something that we were both proud of. I took the lead on the overall look and feel (much inspired by the farmhouse) and then Key took over on accessorizing and styling. And she nailed it. A huge thanks to Misty and Stephanie, the editors in charge of the execution of the design during what was a very challenging year to do anything in person. Managing so many designers, vendors, and the builder couldn’t have been easy and yet they were a total joy to work with. So without further ado, here is the room that Key and I designed.

Wallpaper | Roman Shade (in fog) | Side Table | Rattan Wrapped Cup (similar) | Bed | Embroidered Quilt and Sham Set | Sheet | Blush Pillow | Sherpa Pillows | Block Print Pillow (unavailable) | Duvet | Comforter | “Throw Blanket” | Nightstand | Table Lamp | Rug

Oh that wallpaper. I’ve been obsessed with House of Hackney for a while and I see more and more of it on the internet, my love for it does not wane. It’s the perfect floral (and comes in a few different colorways and in fabric as well). I MIGHT do our sectional in the TV room at the farm in a darker version of this fabric, TBD.

We chose to just do the top half, installing a horizontal shiplap on the bottom from Metrie and I love how it turned out. For the farm, we are going to do horizontal in a few of the rooms, but adding a bead to make it slightly more decorative, almost like super wide beadboard.

Flushmount

We decided not to have matching nightstands because the original dimensions of the room showed us (below) created some challenges. We would either have to not center the bed on the wall (with the headboard in front of one of the windows) or shove it closer to the closet, making it very off-center. And listen I’m not insistent on symmetry in a bedroom, but it is the one room in the house that I do enjoy some symmetry. Also, that bed is from Target and is honestly so good! It comes in a bunch of different fabric options too.

But I wasn’t going to put a bed in front of 1/2 a window (centering in front of a window is totally fine). So by shoving it over we had only about 20″ between the bed and the closet door (not ideal), with a lot of space on the other side. Since the room wouldn’t be symmetrical our idea was to put a small table or nightstand on the left side of the bed, with a sconce and a large dresser as a nightstand on the right, making the bed fit just barely between the windows but engaging the whole wall.

But like most decoration and renovation projects these days, things changed. The dresser that we really wanted for the right (this striped number) wasn’t going to be available so we got a backup. And you know what? It looks great.

Floor Lamp | Chair | Pillow | Throw Blanket | Side Table | Ottoman

We really wanted to lean into the Eclectic English Granny theme and mix stripes AND florals. But since the dresser couldn’t come in the time we sourced this chair from World Market which is legit AWESOME. In a perfect world it would be vintage (Jayson Home had some great options), but my goodness, for the price it’s an excellent purchase. With a smaller nightstand (or I should say in lieu of the dresser) this chair helped fill out the room and create a super inviting corner.

It’s just such a happy room. Of course, I had plans of doing a built-in desk with a bookshelf above the window, but ultimately we found this desk that fit pretty darn perfectly to put in the window nook. And no, those curtains weren’t meant to be that short 🙂 I think there was some miscommunication probably on my end when ordering them. HA. We got them and the shades from Wovn Home and besides our error, they turned out beautifully.

Curtains | Desk | Desk Chair | Table Lamp | Rattan Boxes | Match Striker (similar) | Candle | Chain Link

Such a lovely little nook (and great styling, Key). I have that rolling office chair at the mountain house (I returned the vintage one that I borrowed from Midcentury LA) and can promise you it’s excellent for the price. I’m wondering if I should snag it for my little office here because it’s so comfortable.

We had originally chosen a denim-y blue fabric for the curtains and shades, but I’m SO glad that it was out of stock and we switched to this muted lavender (it’s called Fog on the site). All colors were pulled from the wallpaper (including the pink rug).

Floor Basket

Over there you’ll see where they added the two closets (one for each person, I presume). I REALLY wanted vintage doors but just couldn’t source any for our budget online that worked with the builder’s plan. Turns out that with the wallpaper and the paneling, these standard doors are JUST fine.

Custom Closets

The closets (via California Closets) were a good reminder of how functional a closet can be if really planned out. While we really didn’t have much to do with the styling or the design, I wanted to include it here because it’s great (and I’m very jealous and can’t wait to plan out the farmhouse closets). I love that you have colored options for the drawer fronts and can totally configure the hanging space for your needs.

Rug

That MIGHT be my favorite shot. I love how the wallpaper interacts with the penny tile from Ann Sacks. I’ll be honest here, I thought that the bathroom was going to be a bit boring. I really wanted either tile or paneling on the wall behind the vanity, but due to budget and time they couldn’t. So I was so pleased to see that with the mix of materials, lighting, mirror, faucet, and hardware it actually turned out simple, classic, and pretty. We worked with Kohler on the plumbing fixtures (my favorite Purist line) and Ann Sacks on the tile, with Rejuvenation on the hardware and mirror and Circa Lighting on the sconce (I had the same one in our bathroom in LA). Key styled it with a cute vintage rug from Eliko Rugs and lovely little accessories (a lot from her own inventory).

Wall Art on Left | Sconce | Vanity | Mirror | Faucet | Sconce | Hand Towel | Wooden Cup | Vase | Tray | Glass Canister | Wastebasket | Knobs | Floor Tile (in lantern) | Art on Right

We worked with Minted on the art (I love that collage) and since it is a small bathroom (no tub, just a shower). It was nice to keep it so simple.

Shower Head | Wall Tile

I love that tile on the walls – it’s such a pretty texture. I think I would have not put the black on the damn, and niche but I think that is what they used on the bench and had more leftover so they put it there (we didn’t specify what should go there, so I get why they did that). The texture of that tile is so pretty. We had wanted the grout on the floor to be darker, but the white looks good, too (I just can’t tell about the penny with the textured brick tile).

That tile is part of the Ann Sacks line made in Portland (yay) and I’m pretty darn tempted to use it in Ken’s River house because the variation in it is so pretty (an update on that in is the works).

This was one of those projects (like the book) that was hard to really prioritize as it felt far away and not in front of my face. So a huge thanks to Stephanie, Misty, Keyanna and all of our partners for helping it turn out so well. I would live here in a SECOND and hope that the farmhouse guest bedroom (my inspiration here) can turn out as good.

P.S. Here’s a list of all the products for fast clicking. 🙂

Wallpaper | Roman Shade (in fog) | Side Table | Rattan Wrapped Cup (similar) | Bed | Embroidered Quilt and Sham Set | Sheets | Blush Pillow | Sherpa Pillows | Block Print Pillow (unavailable) | Duvet | Comforter | “Throw Blanket” | Nightstand | Table Lamp | Bedroom Rug | Flushmount | Millwork | Floor Lamp | Chair | Chair Pillow | Chair Throw Blanket | Side Drink Table | Ottoman | Curtains | Desk | Desk Chair | Desk Table Lamp | Rattan Boxes | Match Striker (similar) | Candle | Chain Link | Floor Basket | Custom Closets | Bathroom Rug | Wall Art on Left | Sconce | Vanity | Mirror | Faucet | Sconce | Hand Towel | Wooden Cup | Bathroom Vase | Bathroom Tray | Glass Canister | Wastebasket | Knobs | Floor Tile (in lantern) | Art on Right | Shower Head | Wall Tile

*Lead Design by Me, Emily Henderson
**Co-Designed, Styled, and Photographed by Keyanna Bowen