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Decor

Our Primary Bedroom Refresh

March 13, 2018

This post is sponsored by Loloi. 

Over the last couple months, we've been slowly giving our bedroom a makeover. And although we're not completely done yet, I'm excited to give you a more pulled back view of our "new" light and serene room.

After 3+ years of living (and loving) sleeping with dark walls, we decided to lighten them up and, boy, has that changed everything. It feels like a completely different room!

The refresh was sprung by the launch of Loloi's new Porcia collection. We were asked if we wanted to feature one of their rugs in a space in our home and their Adobe Spice rug felt perfect. It looks like a mosaic, but it feels like a cloud. We've been trying to incorporate warmer tones in our home and this rug definitely helps bridge that. There's a lot of dark and light blues mixed with copper, rust, deep tans and light beiges. It's not as rust colored as it appears online, but I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised when we rolled it out. It's stunning.

We went with an 8x10, instead of a 9x12 like our last bedroom rug--which I know, I know, seems to go against everything you hear about rugs "the bigger, the better!" In our case, our bedroom felt dwarfed by the 9x12 rug. The nightstands teetered. The floors were barely showing. When I got the new rug in place, my mom stopped by and said, "This room looks huge! What's different!?" And at that point, we had only swapped out the rug. Even with our king sized bed, in our room, an 8x10 was just right.

Our nightstands are a deep mahogany and bring out a lot of the tones of the area rug, so we knew we wanted to keep our bedding lighter. We kept our same window pane sheets, but got a new textured white duvet, added on some striped shams and these ultra-textured pillows with pompoms (also by Loloi).

They're substantial and make me want to make our bed every day. Get some pillows that help you do that! 

For a long time, I wasn't sure what I wanted to hang above our bed, if anything (I was loving the breathing room the blankness brought, to be honest). I ordered an abstract painting one night, but then I pulled this from our guest room just to see and I'm smitten with it here. Our bedroom was kind of stripped of all moodiness and it injects some of that back in (which feels very us) while still maintaining the serene vibe we're going for.

As a reminder, here's how our bedroom looked before we started the refresh. I still love that version, but this change feels refreshing!

We still have a few things to finish up in here--window treatments, for one. Built-ins around our television, for two. But we're taking it slow, keeping it simple and less cluttered.

You can check out the new Porcia collection by Loloi on their website right here. Loloi manufactures beautiful textiles and rugs, but they are generally sold elsewhere. You can find our rug on a few different sites, including rugstudio.com right here.

SHOP THE ROOM

SOURCES

Wall Color- Benjamin Moore Olympic Mountains
Area Rug
Bed Frame
Window Pane Sheets
Duvet
Striped Shams
Textured Pom Pom Throw Pillows
Cloud Art
Nightstands
Floor Lamp
Tripod Table Lamp
Tan Vase
White Vase
Faux Olive Branches
Faux Green Branches
Blue Striped Mug
White Jewelry Hand - sold out (similar)
Glass Display Box
Catch All Bowl
Sonos Speaker 
Geo Orb
Floor Mirror
Bamboo Blinds
Ceiling Fan

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  1. Hi! Question about your bed frame. I am looking at this same bed frame from West Elm. Are you using something under your mattress and if so what are you using? I’m worried just a mattress on bed frame won’t be comfortable!

      1. I was looking at the same thing and since the base came with your mattress, did you just find the same fabric that’s on your bed frame to cover the base with?

      2. Which fabric did you choose for your bed frame? Was it the linen weave or heathered crosshatch in gray?

  2. Hi Julia!
    We have the same bed and are looking for a single piece of art for above the bed. I've found one on Minted that similar in tone to yours, but I'm not sure what size we should use. What size is yours?

    1. It really depends on your ceiling height and such. I think this one is about 36" wide but the one I ordered for the room (that just got here!) is 48".

  3. We love these nightstands, but don't have a walk-in closet, so we're in need of a dresser(s). Without being too "matchy-matchy" what would you consider pairing with them for storage?

    Also, I too have been a firm believer of a 9x12 rug with our king bed. It has gobbled up our room. Thanks for the inspo to break the rule!

  4. hi julia, you mentioned at some point (maybe on the podcast?) that you were second guessing the color of the nightstands. how do you feel about it now? we are looking for new ones and i like the design and charging aspect of these. also, do you have a dresser in this room?

    1. We love them!!! If you go back and listen to the story, I second guessed them for a minute and it's been all love every since. The charging aspect is amazing.

  5. Where did you get the boxspring and cover? It matches so well! We just bought the same bed frame but in boucle cream and I'm thinking we'll need to raise it up a little bit with a small boxspring

  6. This looks really serene. Y'all did a great job on this. Also, I really like that ceiling fan. You've had it a while now. How do you like it? We've got the ugliest ceiling fan in the world and it badly needs replacing but I've never been able to settle on one.

  7. The smaller rug size is everything! Love it! I know your art is from Minted, but did you order it framed or do it yourself? I'm so close to ordering my first piece from Minted but am torn on what to do about the frame. They seem expensive, but it also seems a lot easier to just order it framed instead of doing it myself or taking it somewhere.

  8. Okay, maybe I am alone, but I liked the darker color. I think that I prefer a medium tone in the bedroom - it feels cozier. However, I love the rug and the single piece of art! I like that the rug is interesting but doesn't seem busy. Maybe that is the mosaic look? Is that how it comes across to you? And that is the second before and after (from gallery wall to single piece) that I felt like a gallery wall looked exhausting. It makes me wonder if the change felt that way in person?

  9. This room though! Lovinggggg it! I do wonder how many branches of the olives branches you have in that vase, as well as the pottery barn branches! Thanks so much!

  10. I love the lighter look! So, now that the guest room curtains and artwork have traveled to other areas of your home, will there be a refresh in there as well? :)

    1. also the rug in there! Hahaha. Poor guest room. I actually put the curtains that used to be in here down there and I ordered another piece of art for our room, so once it arrives we'll see how everything shakes out.

      1. So sorry to bug you, but I think you now have a new piece of black and white art in your bedroom, and I'm wondering if you could tell me where you got it. I know you get a million requests like this, sorry to add to it! xoxo

  11. What flooring do you have? Looking to put new flooring throughout the house before we move in and love this color and grain! Also love the design of both versions!!!

      1. Do you still like the faux wood tile? Years ago, I found your website researching faux wood for our above ground basement. I loved it at first but after three years we got tired of walking on tile. We laid a wood floor on top a few weeks ago.

        I much prefer the wood. I don't think I'd ever use faux wood tile again unless there really was a need.

      2. With three little kids and a big dog, I've only ever been thankful for it. We still love it all these years later because I never worry about it.

      3. The damage was a concern of mine as well. We have two big dogs, three kids and two cats. But after three years with the "hand scraped" , engineered wood floor not getting damaged on the first and second floors, I knew it would be fine.

        I think these new engineered wood floors can really take a beating. We even had a roof issue that caused a lot of rain water to get on the floor and it did not swell at all. Still looks the same.

  12. This is looking good. But I don't get the bigger is better way of thinking with rugs. It makes no sense to me. I think the exact right size and shape for the space and furniture placement makes the most sense and looks the most beautiful, especially if you have nice floors.

  13. I want to get a black fan for our bedroom but we desperately need lighting! It's our only source of light other than the window and the bedside lamps. Seen any cute lighted fans? What do you use for light?

  14. What is the story behind the framed envelope?? :)

    Also, I'm currently refreshing our master bedroom...what are your thoughts on one dark wall behind the bed and the rest of the walls lighter? I'm so conflicted.

  15. Love the new look! Question about the bed: do you guys use a box spring under your mattress? I noticed it looks higher than the West Elm photos. How do you like it?

  16. Can you share where your actual duvet and pillow inserts are from? Our duvet insert is so lumpy and I’m ready for a new one.

    1. Our duvet insert is also from Crate and Barrel, recently. And the pillow inserts we usually just get from Target! Although the big pom pom throws in front came with inserts.

  17. Hi there,

    Do you always hang bamboo shades on the outside of the window frame? Just wondering what to do in my bedrooms with the shades?

    1. We are actually probably going to swap these out as soon as we figure out what we want to do for window treatments. If you have nice window molding, I prefer it inside mount.

  18. Is that a humidifier under your television? If yes and you really like it, please tell me the make and model. In need of a bigger one. This winter has murdered my skin.

    1. It's actually an air purifier. This one! We got it because we knew our bathroom had mold in it, so we wanted to dispel as much of that as possible before the renovation. But I'm surprised (probably shouldn't be) with how much healthier we've been!

  19. I really like this version of moody - the rug and artwork do their job of bringing the atmosphere, while the lightness of the rest of the room makes it feel less gloomy during the daytime.
    Is that paint really beige? Almost seems like a cream to me... I guess I would call it palest beige going greige due to the cool light. I never participated in the gray trend as I dislike the color so now that it's leaving and warmer tones are creeping in, it doesn't seem that new to me as it's what I've been doing all along! Beige is back but in a much less heavy way than those faux Italian beiges from back when... it's very much in keeping with the light and open styles we've been seeing. Ok, lecture on color trends over ;-)

  20. I loooove this version of the master bedroom! And that's saying something because I loved your last version too (I painted my daughter's nursery that same room colour, and created a similar coloured gallery wall above her dresser/change table too!)

    Just when you thought beige was out! So good!!

  21. Will you be doing a Guest Room 3.0 reveal now that the curtains and rug were moved to the office and the large art piece is now in your room? ;)
    The bedroom update does make the room seem so much bigger! I'm excited to see what you choose for window treatments.

    1. Haha, poor guest room. I actually hung the curtains that were in here in there, so it's not completely sad. But we'll have to give it some love soon.

  22. I love the rug so much and am seriously contemplating incorporating it into our master as well. I’ve been trying to keep our room pretty light and airy with white walls and light rattan ceiling light. Do you think this rug would still give it that light effect or is it much darker and heavier in person? Is there a chance I could see a picture of the rug in your room without it being edited :). Totally fine if you’re not able to. I know it’s a big ask.

  23. We have the same West Elm bed, but I notice yours has an extra grey part under the mattress. Is that another mattress or box spring or something else? Just trying to figure out why ours is missing it!!

      1. Phew! Thank you!! And I LOVE the new vibe of your room. So serene, light, and airy, yet with some dark accents to ground it. As usual, perfection!

  24. Lovely. It's amazing how small things can change how a room feels. I liked your old room a lot also.

    Do you plan to paint the fan white so it disappears into the ceiling?

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