I’ve had the pleasure recently of doing these 1/2 hour consultations for people who gave a substantial amount to the shelter as a perk/thank you gift (THANK YOU, AGAIN). They send me a PDF that has their photos and their needs/wants, and then over the phone I whisk through quickly what my advise is for each question. They want honesty, I give it to them gingerly and it’s all very satisfying, hopefully, for both of us.

One such project, Breigh’s master bedroom, seemed like a really good opportunity for a quick design post – not as thorough as an E-Design and more involved than just a ‘Design Agony‘ question but I really felt like I could help with just a few hours of shopping online and having someone from the team pulling together a quick plan (in this case Brady).

Here’s what her bedroom looks like:

Clearly she’s doing ok, and nobody should feel sorry for her. That bedroom is more pulled together than 95% of American’s bedrooms. BUT, she wasn’t psyched about a few things and wanted help. She felt that it looked too impersonal and dark. She was ‘over’ the bed (too shabby chic for her), hated the dark and graphic pattern of the curtains, wanted updated lamps on the nightstands and then just needed a few things to help dress up the space (rug, art, lamps for dresser, etc). I tried to talk her out of wanting a new bed but when you are done with something you are done with something (lord knows I know how that feels).

Here was what she and I came up with:

We wanted to make it slightly more modern, help it feel more stylized and give it a bit of soul.

1. Upholstered Headboard: She was sick of the the faux traditional rustic bed that she had and wanted something that was a bit more modern and updated but still provided a cozy place to lean her head up against at night. We opted for this simple upholstered bed rather than something with tufting as we already had tufting in the room with her existing benches.

2. Brass Table Lamps: She did not like her existing table lamps and because she wanted to keep her existing nightstands we wanted something that was lighter, brighter, and visually less heavy to go on top of the already heavy wood nightstands.

3. Existing Mirrored Nightstand: Great storage, she loved these so no need to change. 

4. Art: We needed something to fill in the space above the bed and continue your eye up to the beautiful ceilings. We found this beautiful (and totally affordable) print which helps pepper the blue that she loved throughout the room. On the site it shows it vertically but as it’s abstract, and we loved it so much, we decided that we would flip it horizontally and use it above the bed that way. This might be an insanely controversial thing to do, I realize, and ideally it would be hung vertically, but listen, we did it and we are moving on.

5. Existing Tufted Benches: She/we loved these so no need to change. 

6. Persian Rug: She desperately needed something on her floor to cozy up the space, as all that wood (although beautiful) was so heavy and cold. We went with this antique inspired Persian rug as the room architecturally leans more traditional and it brings in a quiet pattern. It also was our jumping off point for the color palate of the room as it has the blues, creams, whites, browns and taupes that we used in the rest of the room – which was her request.

7. Cream Roman Shades: Breigh was ready to ditch those black and white lattice patterned curtains and go for something cleaner and more streamlined which also provided a way to block out all of the natural light that she was getting (you know for those mid-day catnaps we all need every so often). So we found these natural colored shades which can be backed in blackout fabric and help to rid her of all that fabric that is currently covering the windows.

8. Existing Duvet Cover: Requested to keep. 

9. Cream Euro Shams: She was in need of a new pillow situation so we went with these large euro shams which help to balance out the height of the headboard and also bring in the cream color that is found in the rug, on the shades, and in the benches.

10. Indigo Batik Bolster Pillow: Because everyone needs something that is vintage and blue. We also went for a simple bolster pillow to pair with the Euro Shams and her standard pillows to keep the bed simple as her duvet cover already had quite a lot going on visually.

11. Tufted Grey Side Chairs: These grey chairs add a shade of grey against the grey wall that adds depth without being too fussy and the curves work organically with the curves of the existing white dresser that she had. We would get two of them and flank the dresser on either side, or you could opt for one and throw a fiddle leaf fig on the other side of the dresser. Not every bedroom needs a chair but if you have the space for it then its certainly a lovely inviting luxury to have.

12. Brass Table Lamp: We wanted a little bit of metallic to pop off of the grey walls and the traditional dresser and chairs. These are simple enough that the space doesn’t get too fussy

13. Round Wood Mirror: She needed something above her dresser and we opted for a mirror which will help to bounce the light throughout the room. The dark wood frame also brings in the dark wood from the nightstands that sit on the opposite side of the room.

14. Existing Dresser: Pretty and classic, no need to change. 

15: Blue Throw: Simple, Blue, and brings some more of that indigo blue color into the room.

Breigh, thank you so much for donating to the shelter and I hope this quick mockup helps you towards the bedroom of your dreams.

If you are interested in a service like this check out our services page and fill out the questionnaire. For E-design we typically do a more involved plan (pricing, more options, and floorplans – see this post for an example). But we also do ‘Design Agony’ questions which is where we answer a question that you are desperate for help on (this could be finding a specific solution to a room like the right rug, paint color or coffee table). Pricing is based per challenge and quotes are given within two weeks (E-design starts at a $1500 service fee, Design Agony at $150). Our design team is working hard on these and we’ll have more to show you on the blog soon. xx