The loft master bedroom's big reveal
Isn't it funny how our preferences change?
How something you once thought good enough to be a photo backdrop for your wedding soon becomes something you can't wait to update?
This has been the story of our 102-year-old Farmhouse - as one room gets better, the standards for the rest of the rooms are raised. And once we remodeled the bathroom off the loft master bedroom, adding skylights, a shower, and tons of old-school charm, the bedroom attached just couldn't compare.
In August I started back to school, getting my MBA at USC (fight on!) while still working full-time (plus) hours, a project that has taken time away from things I love (this blog... my house... my husband...) But Johnny, with his endless supply of energy, used his new-found free time to make plans for (and cut holes in) our bedroom, with some stunning results.
We ripped up the carpet (yay!) and added laminate wood flooring that looks just like old, mismatched planks of wood (we wanted the real stuff, but this is what we can afford for now... and it still looks so, so good!)
Two massive skylights let in TONS of light (a few spiders too, but we fixed that...) One of my favorite things is to look up at night and see the stars or sometimes the ghostly clouds passing overhead before I fall asleep.
We replaced our grey-and-white striped accent walls, which we loved, with shiplap, which we love even more! Johnny installed it all himself in a weekend... here's a time-lapse video of his work on one of the sides. See me helping for 0.25 seconds in a flash of pink at the end! (Feeling inspired? Our very own DIY shiplap how-to post, with step-by-step instructions, can be found here!)
With shiplap installed, we brightened up the walls (and our beloved mantle) with our favorite paint color, WHITE. I know - it sounds so boring, but it helps the room look so crisp and clean, and lets the beautiful floors and other unique wood touches take center stage!
I spent a rare, no-school weekend shopping for decor from Urban Outfitters and West Elm (like our curtains, pillows, more pillows, shelves and pin-tucked duvet). Johnny updated the two attic side entrances with custom doors, hand-made some wooden wall accents out of reclaimed original wood from our ceiling, and painted our old bed and dresser white. And just like that, the transformation was complete!
One of my favorite elements was the simplest of them all - we raised the height of the curtain rods on both sides of the room about 18" to be closer to the ceiling. It instantly made a massive impact, causing the windows to seem larger than they really are, with very minimal effort. It even made the ceilings seem higher, and the whole room instantly felt more regal.
I hope it won't be too long until I can write again, but in the meantime you can be sure that while I'm buried in textbooks, Johnny will be knee-deep in yet another room transformation (downstairs bathroom, we're coming for you!) Until then, we'll be enjoying every moment we can soak up in our light, bright master loft oasis!
