We did a bit more bedroom noodling — noodling, not canoodling. Anyway, we left off after moving our Alaskan prints over the bed and surprising ourselves by getting a new rug.
After Monday’s post we saw a lot of the same questions in the comments, including:
- Have you considered larger bedside tables?
- Can the bed go on another wall?
- Will you repaint, maybe in a darker color?
- What are your plans for the nook to the left of the bed?
- What about changing the pillows, painting the bed and tables, getting a longer bench, switching the lamps, etc.?
The short answers are: yes, but it’s complicated; no; we’re open to repainting down the road; likely an armoire or built-in for the nook; and yes — all of those styling and furnishing tweaks are on the list, we just haven’t done them yet.
To elaborate: larger side tables have come up, but the door swings into that side of the room and anything bigger would interfere. We could reverse the door to swing into the hall, but that might crowd the hallway. Pocket doors aren’t an option because of ductwork and electrical in the wall. A barn door on a track is something we’ve considered — it could rest where the leaning mirror currently sits — but we’re also thinking of using a barn door nearby, so we don’t want too much repetition. We’ll share plans when we decide.
Moving the bed is tricky because of this room’s unusual layout: two off-centered windows, a nook across from the door, a sink tucked into another nook, and a chandelier centered on the ceiling. The chandelier aligns with the mirror above the sink, and that alignment helps the room feel balanced. We’ve tested the bed in multiple positions, and the current placement — on the only long, flat wall — feels the best. In person it reads a lot better than photos: the chandelier reflects perfectly in the sink mirror when we wake up, which is a small but lovely detail that’s hard to capture in two-dimensional photos.
We’re open to repainting, including darker colors, but we’ll likely refinish the floors in a dark mocha someday and the new rug is already quite dark. The room doesn’t receive a ton of natural light, so we’ll think carefully before making dramatic wall-color changes. Many items like the lamps and bench are holdovers from our first house and were placed “just for now.” For example, our dog uses the bench as a step to get into bed, so it’s serving a practical purpose until we find something better.
On to the fun part: noodling with pillows and accessories. We started by swapping pillows and testing new art. Up close, the pillow mix worked — the floral shams, a blue bolster, and a small accent pillow played nicely together — but from a distance the new art felt far too small and squat compared with the larger Alaskan prints that had been in that spot. The room has tall vertical elements everywhere — the bedroom door, floor-to-ceiling curtains, and the mirror over the sink — so the shorter art looked out of balance.
Still, it was worth the experiment. The small prints were a clearance Ikea find for $2.99 for all three, and we already had the frames, so it was an inexpensive tryout. Trial and error (and a little spackle) is how we figure things out.
We also picked up new lamps with an artichoke-like silhouette, a fresh shape compared with the many gourd lamps we already own. They were a HomeGoods find with larger shades that make them feel substantial and give the side tables more presence. The new lamps’ rounded, textured forms unexpectedly echo the shape of the chandelier, which ties the vignette together nicely without competing with the pillows or the rug.
One of the bedside books is a small one-word journal — a Mother’s Day gift — that’s become a playful way to capture daily moments. Little details like that make the room feel personal.
Since the smaller art didn’t work, we returned to the Alaskan botanicals and introduced a pop of yellow in the pillows with a teal bolster to connect to the rug. A navy-and-white pillow in front helps ground the grouping. The yellow ginkgo shams came from a small shop in Northern Virginia and are made by Dermond Peterson. Pillows tend to migrate around our house, so this arrangement will probably evolve again; pillow swaps are as common for us as watching Parks & Rec while snacking on Oreos.
There are still major furnishings to add, but the small updates — the darker tones in a tiny accent pillow, the botanical frames, and the lamp bases — relate to the slate and navy tones in the rug, creating cohesion without feeling too matchy. The lamps might be our favorite tweak so far (with the rug still being the favorite big change).
Looking ahead, we’re considering many possibilities:
- Replacing the old curtains (definitely)
- Possibly painting the bed a deep charcoal
- Finding or making a longer bench for the foot of the bed
- Painting or refinishing the cherry-toned nightstands and dresser
- Adding an armoire or built-in in the nook next to the bed
- Possibly repainting the walls down the road
- Painting the ceiling
- Possibly removing the bedposts, though we like how they look in renderings
- Continuing to swap pillows and bedding
- Bringing in more art and furniture so the room feels fully furnished
- Staining the worn, yellowed floor a rich mocha
- Possibly adding a barn door to allow larger side tables
Some projects may happen soon; others might wait years. Even small changes can have a big impact — a dark wood floor mock-up in Photoshop already feels like our happy place. We’ll keep experimenting and sharing updates. Have you ever hung something new only to realize you preferred the original? Or made an easy lamp or pillow swap that instantly improved a room?