ORC Week 5 (Master Bedroom): The Reading Corner Gets Some Love!

Hello all, and welcome back to the fifth week of my master bedroom makeover as part of the Fall 2020 One Room Challenge. It’s been a productive past few days over here chock-full of DIY projects. This week, my main goal was to complete the nook in our room that houses the smaller built-ins and I’m happy to report that I was successful. Back at the start of the challenge, I had painted this area all black and I’ve felt so torn since that time about whether it was a bit too heavy. So on a completely impulsive whim when finishing up the trim this weekend, I grabbed a brush and painted the front of the radiator cover the same Chantilly Lace white that’s on the walls. It felt like I was moving in the right direction but it looked a bit stark and simple. After some deliberation, I determined that I needed to lean into the whole “reading corner” idea that I had previously kicked around. What did this mean? THROW PILLOWS of course!

I found some PERFECT ones by Hearth & Hand by Magnolia at Target that compliment my duvet cover so well they honestly look like they could be part of a set. As you can see, I also added a seat cushion that was a ridiculously easy and cheap DIY. I measured the seat area carefully, had a kind gentleman at Home Depot cut a piece of inexpensive plywood in the right size, cut a corresponding piece of 1″ foam from Michaels myself, and wrapped the whole thing in – wait for it – a cloth SHOWER CURTAIN that I found at Target. Originally I was going to order fabric online but I wanted to keep this whole project south of $50. So when I spotted a shower curtain for under $20 in just the shade I was looking for, I figured why not give it a try and you know what? It worked like a charm! I wrapped the foam on top of the plywood in the fabric like a present and used a staple gun to secure it tightly in the back. VOILA! A simple window seat cushion for about 1/500th of the cost of a custom-made pillow.

After looking at window seats online, I felt inspired to add some faux-hardware to the front of the cover to give it a bit more visual interest. Literally the easiest DIY project I’ve ever done. I grabbed some old cabinet handles I had lying around, spray painted them in my favorite shade of brassy gold, and attached them to the cover with adhesive mounting squares. No drilling required and no holes to contend with if I want to take them off and do something different down the road.

Once the window seat was looking good, I turned my attention to the built-ins. I love them in their new black color but to be honest, I was finding them a bit underwhelming. We have beadboard in other areas of our house and I felt excited about the idea of carrying that into this space on the backs of the shelves. Using similar details in rooms throughout a house is a great way to help it flow and to make it feel cohesive.

So while at the Home Depot, I found a large sheet of inexpensive beadboard (less than $20), had the same kind gentleman that I mentioned earlier (I dedicate this week’s post to him) cut two pieces the size of our shelf openings, and used a combination of liquid nails and finishing nails to secure the pieces to the wall. Cheap, easy peasy, and ready for paint!

I styled the shelves with some favorite prints from Juniper Print Shop and BFF Print Shop (seriously, check them both out if you haven’t already!), some old thrifted books, pictures of my littles, potted plants (self-admitted crazy house plant lady over here), and some goodies from the Studio McGee line at Target. The space finally feels complete and so, so cozy!

With the reading nook done and the desk area complete, the only spaces left to style are the dresser and the bed. The mirror arrived yesterday and taking it out of the box almost brought a home-decor-loving tear to my eye. Fingers crossed that the cabinet doors on the built-ins behind the bed will be ready before next Thursday’s big reveal. What would a one room challenge be without a little last minute high pressure scrambling?! Don’t forget to tune in next week – I can’t wait to show you all the completed space.

Thanks for stopping by,