DIY Room Redecorating

“Decorate your home. It gives the illusion that your life is more interesting than it really is..." - Charles Schultz

I recently moved into a new apartment in the Boston area. I went from a large bright Northern Californian studio in-law style apartment with a walk in closet to a small New England bedroom in a three-bedroom apartment. So the challenge was how to maximum the storage space and make a small space into a cozy cave where I could study & relax. (Photo above: finished bedroom and photo left of the "book nook" before repainting.)

One selling point was that the room already had an accented wall in a deep emerald blue that I adore. Luckily, my roommate saved the paint she used so I was able to repaint the rest of the room a creamy white color and keep the accented wall. My existing furniture was a dark espresso brown collar, so I used the dark wood and wood floors as accents hoping for a more traditional new england summer beach house feel. After several days of repainting and a combination of my Ikea and Crate & Barrel Furniture, I think I was able to pull together a cozy look to the space. (Photo right of newly repainted and curtained bedroom.) I pulled on the blue and cream colors in the curtains, quilt and other accessories in the room. I used an old wooden chest (that I still need to paint to match the creamy white wall colors) as storage for my shoes and turned it into a bench with a couple of fun outdoor recliner seat covers from Thro. I hung a long shelf and hooks for my many purses & book bags to complete the look. Finally, I converted the small nook next my closet into a study/book nook with a leaning bookshelf/desk from the Sloane collection at Crate & Barrel. It's still a work-in-progress, but I am happy with the current look and am inspired to make some custom art work to post on the remaining white walls. Stay-tuned!