A Cottage Bedroom - The Marmalade Makeover

Hello friends, and Hello 2013!  I hope this brand new year finds you and your family happy and well.  We've been chipping away at this little house and today I have a bedroom makeover I'd like to share with you. 

I believe the last time I wrote about a cottage style bedroom makeover was back in 2010 when we installed the hardwood in our youngest girls' room.  Well, this month, we were able to work on our oldest daughter's room while she was away on a trip.  {This is the last room in the house that needed hardwood, and I am so glad THAT job is behind us!}

  I neglected to take any before photos before we moved her furniture and things out because a) we had very little time for the project and I just wanted to get down to business and b) oh, it was so ugly!  Imagine gray berber carpet that was well over a decade old and tired, beaten up periwinkle walls.  I did catch a shot with my cell phone right after we ripped the carpet up and began patching the walls.  As you can see, we did some work on the closet...enlarged it, actually.  For some reason, originally there were two small closets on one wall, which resulted in wasted closet and wall space.  So we combined the two closets. Much better!

All primed and ready for paint! 

  After the paint was on the walls, we installed hardwood {Bruce, 3/4" oak in a finish called 'Marsh'}, added crown moulding, and finally, added farmhouse style baseboards and window trim.  We will add a wood plank ceiling down the road...still not a fan of the popcorn! Again, I didn't have a lot of time to take 'in progress' photos, though I wish I did!  

So what color did my girl request for her room?

 Orange. I have never used orange myself, but she is a teenager and knows what she likes.  I found a shade called 'Marmalade' by Behr which I thought might work well and so I hoped for the best. I gotta admit, when we first put it on the walls, I was a little hesitant, but....I don't think a more perfect color could have been chosen.  

I was worried about how the wood finish and traditional style of her furniture would work with such a bold color, but I think adding lots of crisp white and  refreshing, complementary blues helped to bring it all together.

I had toyed with the idea of introducing some shades of green and had actually bought a pretty green striped rug, but it seemed out of place.  So I searched for another one and was thrilled to discover this rag rug at Ross for $12 in the exact shade of blue I felt the room needed.  

The thing about having children, and especially a teenager, is that your idea of what looks nice and their ideas are often quite different.  So before we moved all of my daughter's things into the room, I had fun photographing a few accessories that she would never go for.  

Shells and teacups and pretty books about the beach, for instance.  

This table is actually a small white table topped with a larger painted framed mirror.  I needed a table for another photo shoot a few months back and had a mirror hanging around in the attic. Why not? :)

I glued burlap to the mirror, let it dry completely, and then simply painted it.

The curtains were from Target.  I had a hard time finding what I liked in the length I needed {95"} so I was pretty happy about finding these - and they were very inexpensive at $13 a panel.  I used four panels total for a fuller look.  It's hard to tell from the photos, but the curtain rod extends 9 inches from each side of the window, making the window appear much larger than it actually is.

I found this sweet little lamp at Ross.  It was actually the first thing I found for the bedroom after the paint was on the walls.  When I saw the blue, I knew it would be just lovely with the Marmalade walls.

If you ever find a vintage globe while out thrifting, buy it.  Just do.  {I have to admit, I'm a little sad that my girl chose not to leave it in her room, but that's ok...I'll use it elsewhere!} 

Again, the 'before/in progress' shot...

...and the same space now.  LOVE the chunky trim!  It's just 6" wide pine.  Easy peasy to install with no mitered cuts.  The crown moulding was easy, too, with those nifty corner pieces.  We painted the trim and doors Ultra Pure White by Behr.  The doors still need another coat!

We added the wood appliques {bought at Lowes} to these doors as we have on all the other doors in the house.  Just a little something pretty.

The inside of closet still needs shelving and a clothing rod, but that's another project. ;)

I'm on the lookout on Craigslist for a desk and bookshelf for this wall.  It's a little bare now.

My only regret is that we weren't able to get to this room much sooner.  My baby leaves for college in another state at the end of August.  I'm not even going to think about that right now. Needless to say, I hope this year goes by muuuuuch slower than the last! 

Edited to add:  Before I began my search for coordinating colors and accessories, I found the color board below on Pinterest and fell in love! This is what inspired me to try to add some green to the room.  It *would* have worked  well  if the rug I bought wasn't striped.  It really clashed with the patterned lamp shade and made the room feel busy and disjointed.  BUT, as you can see from this color board, with a good balance of the right patterns, these colors work beautifully together!

I hope you enjoyed this bedroom makeover and I can't wait to share more projects with you in 2013!  I have an ambitious list of goals to tackle as time and money allow and I thank you so much for continuing to be here to share this journey with us!

May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself. -Neil Gaiman