ORC (Master Bedroom) – Week 3: Some Small Space Solutions to Save the Day!

Hello all, and welcome to the THIRD installment of my fall 2020 one room challenge. How are we already halfway to the end of this event?! I’ll be honest, this may have been my favorite week so far and I’m not just saying that because I got a break from painting (thanks hubby, both for the help and for the sweet dance moves that my Instagram followers got a taste of on Monday). It’s been so much fun getting the furniture in the space and starting to choose artwork this week, and fun is what this is all about after all.

So, let’s talk furniture.  One of the challenges of this room is that while it’s fairly big, it’s uniquely shaped meaning not a single wall is long enough for a bed plus nightstands. This had me stumped for quite some time. I tossed around the ideas of using floating nightstands or tiny cocktail tables as mini-nightstands but I didn’t think either would be right in the end. Then I had a wild idea: what if I put the bed in the nook up against the built-ins? The cabinets that would be blocked by the bed house the radiator, so we wouldn’t be cheating ourself out of any real storage space there. And we could use the built-ins themselves as a place to put our water/phones/etc. at night. EUREKA! I found this upholstered headboard online on mega sale at Pottery Barn and loved how it echoed the shape of the arched casing in the room. 

With the black on the built-ins and the white on the walls, I knew I wanted the rest of the furniture to bring some warmth to the space. I found this dresser during that same big sale and thought the tone of the wood and the size of the piece would fit our space perfectly. There was a matching desk in the same wood finish that I was eyeing up but unfortunately it was a bit too long (like I said, short walls over here). In fact, I soon found that EVERY desk I liked was too long. Given that I am planning on using the desk as my vanity as well, I didn’t want to throw in the towel so I turned to one of my favorite small space solutions: the secretary desk! I found this gorgeous one at Ballard Designs and after ordering a swatch of the wood, felt confident it would pair nicely with the dresser.

Here’s a little preview of the desk decorated with a leaning gallery wall filled with some pieces of art I love from two wonderful online boutiques, Juniper Print Shop and BFF Print Shop. If you’re a fan of art and also like to change up your decor from time to time, you will LOVE the affordable and versatile collections available at both of these shops. I love mixing modern with vintage for a balanced and visually interesting look and had a blast selecting contrasting pieces (that felt meaningful to me – more on that later!) to layer.

With the furniture in position, the room is really starting to take shape! This week, I’m finally selecting a rug (er, wasn’t I supposed to do that last week?); choosing a table lamp for the dresser; and scouring my growing attic antique collection to pin down some decorative items to display on the smaller built-ins. So much going on here, so stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by,