Blerg. I either have food poisoning or a stomach bug today. But thanks for all the stool love this morning, guys (wait, that sounds kinda gross). And as for this afternoon, while I attempt to avoid breathing on anyone else in this house (who are all thankfully unscathed so far), I thought it might be fun to create a little “timeline” of how each room in our house has evolved, since it’s definitely never an overnight transformation around here. And given our copious bedroom updates, we thought it was a fine place to start. So without further ado, here’s how the room has evolved over the last twenty months since we moved in. It’s still not done, but it has definitely come a long way – and it’s really fun to look back on some of those “middle” stages and wonder what the heck we were thinking. Haha. Thank goodness for trial and error!
This rundown is a pretty great reminder that small changes (along with a few big ones) can really breathe new life into a room as you learn what you love and how you’d like to live. We’ve actually come to a place where we wholeheartedly believe that over-time tweaks are half the fun (I’d probably want to move every year if I could only do a room once and then had to live in that frozen-in-time-result without changing a thing). So here’s the very first shot of our bedroom that we shared the day we moved in. Pretty much a blank canvas.
First we just plopped our furniture down on the floor and didn’t even have a bed for the first three weeks or so. Getting up every morning from a ground-height mattress = not our fondest memory.
Then we got Ed the Bed since we were overwhelmingly excited to have such a giant room to work with (our old bedroom was around 10 x 11′ and this room is 16 x 16′ – so we thought something big and frame-y would look awesome in our cavernous room).
Then we got this duvet on clearance from West Elm, but John only let me get it under the stipulation that we would ebay it if we found something we liked more down the line. Hindsight = 20/20. We never should have settled and definitely should have held out for something we both loved. Oh well, live and learn. Right now it’s neatly folded in our playroom just in case we decide to use it/the fabric for some other space (curtains for Clara’s big girl room, etc). Otherwise it’ll definitely hit ebay someday.
Next came our big ol’ snowball of a chandelier, which is still one of our favorite things to stare up at before bed or squint up at in the early morning. Here it is hanging oddly low thanks to that top bar of Ed the Bed (it looks crazier in this pic than it did in person, but it still wasn’t quite right).
We struggled with Ed for a while, tweaking him to remove those top posts since they were just too encroach-y with the chandelier. Oh and we got a nice big jute rug to cozy up the splintery old wood floor. Here’s that phase.
Then we found two Alaskan botanical prints at a yard sale (we honeymooned in Alaska, so we thought they were sweet for our bedroom) and hung them on either side of the bed with Ramsey in the middle.
Things pretty much stagnated there for a while until Ramsey was broken during a book shoot (he jumped off the wall in the kitchen when no one was even in there) and we decided to hang the botanicals inside the bed posts instead. And then we found our new rug at a local outlet, so we pulled the old rug out (with plans to use it under our dining table or in our sunroom eventually – or craigslist it if we don’t like it in either space down the line). Our new super-discounted outlet rug definitely breathed life back into this stuck/stagnating room. So grateful. Sometimes it takes changes like this to jump-start things again once you’ve hit a wall.
Then in a flurry of trying new things, we gave three different prints (picked up for $2.99 from Ikea a while back) above the bed along with different pillows from around the house…
… only to decide we preferred the botanicals and another pillow combination (along with some lamps that we actually bought for the bedroom instead of just using leftovers from our first house’s living room).
Then we finally put on our big kid pants and decided to just give the bed a try on a wall that we previously thought would be way too challenging (thanks to an off-centered window on one side and a nook on the other side). At first it looked crazytown…
But after we re-hung some art/rearranged some furniture that we already had, we ended up here.
And then we gave Ed a little haircut.
And then we made an upholstered headboard to cozy things up a little more.
Next we finally painted the walls a darker color (Rockport Gray by Ben Moore) which definitely helped the headboard and all the thick white trim pop (John wanted to do it for months and he finally wore me down). Boy was right. We love it so much more in this moodier sleepier color.
It’s especially noticeable how much the new color accents the chunky white trim around the sink nook. Such a difference!
Of course we still have plans to:
- refinish the floors
- possibly paint the ceiling a light light blue color
- furnish the entire bare wall across from the bed
- eventually turn a window into a door that leads out onto the deck
- someday vault the ceiling so it’s sweetly peaked (how cozy would that be?)
… so we’ll have to keep you posted. But it’s pretty interesting to look back at all of these phases of evolution, sort of like a time capsule of where we were, where we were trying to go, and where we are now.
Actually when we look back in our archives, every single room in our first house evolved the same way – moving things around, using what we had, altering things to work, getting new things along the way, and hitting up lots of outlets and thrift stores along with affordable retailers like Ikea and Target to keep things wallet friendly. Did we make mistakes? Sure! Did we learn as we went. Absolutely! If we could rewind would we skip all of those wrong moves? Who wouldn’t! But it’s pretty cool that even with those mistakes, you can come pretty far (and learn a ton about yourself and what ya love) by just giving things a shot and letting a room evolve over time. Sometimes over a long a$$ time. Haha. But the journey is part of the fun, right? Our first house took us 4.5 years to figure out, so maybe we’re getting a tiny bit faster in this one?
Although some other rooms are completely untouched, so maybe not. Haha.
It’s funny how some things stayed, like:
- Ed the bed (although he did get that trim)
- our free hand-me-down dresser from John’s parents
- our leaning mirror (which John got me as a wedding present back in 2007)
- our $50 Ikea chandelier
Meanwhile, other stuff came in from other rooms, like:
- the Hobby Lobby mirror that used to hang in the living room
- that small white cabinet from the dining room
And other items went out, like:
- the old rug
- the old side tables (both of which we’ll reuse or craigslist for loot to put back into other tweaks)
Thankfully even things like those old too-small yard sale side tables were just $11, and we’ll probably get to use those in Clara’s big girl room (and can always resell them for at least that much) so it’s a good lesson that just because you buy things, you don’t have to be married to them. Undoing something like a paint color or an upholstery fabric can take a day of work, but it’s hardly irreversible. And it just might be the key to making it through a not-sure-where-we’re-going phase and onto another love-it-so-much-more phase. Heck, even if over time you realize that a furnishing or accessory isn’t the best choice for a room, there are definitely other rooms where they can go to live (like our blue stool story from this morning). We love keeping things flexible and taking a completely reversible approach to making our house a home. It’s just so much less intimidating and final than having some unspoken can’t-make-mistakes rule (even if you wait for years between decisions, there’s no guarantee that you’ll love each choice- sometimes you just have to live and learn).
It’s fun to see all of these bedroom evolution pics on one page, right? So stay tuned as we slowly work our way through all of our other rooms (probably on and off over the next few months – or years if we fall off) just to see where they’ve been and where they’re going. The goal would be to keep these posts updated as we go, and to link to them from our House Tour page – or another page called Room Evolutions – so anyone who wants to see details on a specific room could click on that room and see these rundowns with a bunch of links to all the projects during those different phases (a number of readers have actually requested that we group room updates that way).
Have you ever snapped photos of a room over time as it evolved? Did it take more than one paint color to get it right? Were you surprised to see what stayed and what went? Were you shocked at how much of a difference some free changes like rearranging the floor plan or tweaking furniture (like cutting Ed’s posts) can make? Did little homemade touches (like an upholstered headboard) end up making all the difference? I think our DIY headboard along with our giant pineapple-based lamps are our favorite things in the room these days.
What’s your favorite thing in your bedroom?
Psst- This month we’re making a trip out to visit John’s grandma in Huntington, WV, so if anyone has an awesome house that they’d like us to crash (a la these) in either Huntington or Charleston WV, we’d love to check out your digs and hopefully stop by (just send your submission pics to [email protected]). Woot!
sandra says
Looks fantastic. For an added bonus, every time I hear you say Ed the Bed with a Haircut, all I can think of is Marcel the Shell with Shoes on.
Have you seen it? It’s terribly cute. Here’s a link to the youtube video.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha so cute! We love Marcel!
xo,
s
Morgan says
This is awesome. It makes me feel so much better when my room doesn’t look half as awesome as yours does now. Learning to live with the progress.
My favorite part of my room is how relaxing it is. I love the futon that I can read on now, and I am just able to chill at the end of the day. But yes, work in progress.
http://livingyoungwildfree.wordpress.com/2012/08/27/framed-to-perfection/
YoungHouseLove says
SO cute! Love those little frames.
xo,
s
Leighton says
I love how it is now! Good job!!! :)
Wintry Mix says
How about my favorite thing in YOUR bedroom? That is for sure your hand-me-down dresser from John’s parents. I love that piece of furniture. Great lines, beautiful warm finish, and the way you have it positioned and styled is so great. It makes me happy.
Okay, so my bedroom…umm…how about my husband? Both because he’s awesome and because our bedroom is in serious need of some decor help. Or maybe I should say it’s still evolving.
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahah!
xo,
s
Margo says
So you talked about having a stomach bug and then talked about “stool love.” Maybe my mind was being gross but it made me think about certain symptoms of a stomach bug!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I know it! Ick!
xo,
s
Kristen | Popcorn on the Stove says
It’s always fun to watch these changes happen, and all of these were good changes!
PS – I love the shots of Burger in the before and after of the rug swap. He looks so proud!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, he thinks he’s the star of this show. Actually he is (and Clara too).
xo,
s
Kristen | Popcorn on the Stove says
PS – Feel better! I had a stomach bug last month and it was the worst!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Kristen!
xo,
s
Erin {Home Everyday} says
I love this post. It helps to remind me that even pros like you guys don’t complete a room overnight. It reminds me to be patient with ourselves. Plus, an evolved room is so much better than one done overnight because it means you’ve really thought about every detail in depth, and every single item in the room is something you really love. Thanks for sharing!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Erin!
xo
s
uzma says
No doubt room is at its best now , but who knows :)…..everytime you guys make change looks like this is the best but there is always most beautiful in your fantastic minds :)
Jess @ Little House. Big Heart. says
I love your bedroom. It’s relaxing, yet really reflects both your personalities! Our bedroom is so close to being “finished and I can’t wait to share its evolution… Although I’m sure it’ll never truly be done done.
Can’t wait for more of these posts! Feel better!!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Jess! I’m just so worried J and C will get it, so that’s the biggest drag. Cross your fingers for us!
xo,
s
Jenn says
I love this post. I like being reminded that my house doesn’t have to be perfect immediately. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Jenn!
xo,
s
Ashley says
Loved seeing all the updates together and where this room has ended up (for now!). It’s making me want to see if I can make grey walls work in our bedroom – love them!
Susan @ Retro Restyling says
Love Burger so much! He definitely has the “blog pose” down. After buying our first house (been here 3 weeks so far!!) I see all the things we can do to it, slowly but surely… and you know how the saying goes, “Slow and steady wins the race.” Love how you guys keep us interested with your creativity with every slow and steady move you make. :)
Annie R. says
I love the bed on that wall- I think it feels more welcoming. However, everytime you show pictures of that room, you never show pictures of the wall facing the bed, which makes me feel like it’s some sitcom set that you never see that other wall(just the back of a TV or something), and then, occasionally, you do and it’s so weird. Just saying.
I love the gray in there- we used the same color in our family room!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- so true! We have a mystery wall. Someday when we furnish (or even start furnishing it, haha) that it’ll make the roundup!
xo,
s
Kari says
Man! Would love to have our house crashed but alas, it is not up for a crash – yet. We just built last year so we have only lived here about 9 months. I have not even had the heart to nail into the new drywall to hang pictures! Maybe you could come “crash” our house with ideas??? I need help! Hahaha! I do have a lot of crafty/DIY friends here in the Huntington area so I’ll spread the word, for sure!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, thanks Kari! Sounds great!
xo,
s
Emily says
So much fun to see the room evolution!! What a great idea you two had! I can’t wait to see the other rooms!! :) And I hope you feel better soon, Sherry!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Emily!
xo
s
Sarah says
So I just realized this when you said you have been living in the house for 20 months. I have been engaged for 20 months. In fact, the bf mentioned that very stat last night. It’s funny to see how long it’s actually been through your series of photos. Although, it doesn’t feel that long at all. (We tie the knot next weekend!)
YoungHouseLove says
So funny! That’s so exciting about your wedding next weekend! Have the best time.
xo,
s
Kelley says
I love this post. Mainly because you’ve shared some “oopsies” with us. You guys always seem so together and purposeful in your selections so it’s good to know I’m not the only impulse buyer out there (can someone tell my husband that this is natural??). I am currently going through some similar frustrations with some of our rooms, but then magically, other rooms have just come together with things from around the house. Things we just needed to match up. Your bedroom has come a long way and I think it looks great. Feel better, Sherry!
Suzy says
So cool to see the evolution of a room. I never really noticed how much the paint changed so many things in the room. I notice the wood finish of the dresser along with the base of the lamps. Love the way you change it up with no matchy-matchy designs. You two have inspired me to start my own blog soon as I decorate one room at a time!
Jayme says
I live in Huntington, WV!!! I am in the middle of moving so have nowhere for you to crash as I am currently crashing at my parents!! Lol but I am hyperventilating thinking about how you all will be in my town!! Ahhh I hope I run into you!! Loll
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I hope we see you Jayme!
xo,
s
Stephanie says
Considering all I have in my room right now is a bed and random end tables, we’re going to go with the bed. Comfy comfy bed.
I did however take a dresser from my grandmothers house that I’m going to paint. I bought all my supplies this weekend. Now I have to sand it and paint it.
I’m painting the outside black and on the inside of the drawers I think I might do a bright color or a pattern (chevron maybe?). So ask me in a week, and that will be my favorite. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I can totally relate to that!
xo,
s
Lindsey says
We love the sassy winking bear portrait over out bed.
http://lostandfawned.com/2011/11/27/bedroom-makeover-preview/
We also love that we nailed the wall color on the first shot for once. Seal from the Martha Stewart Living collection is the perfect shade of dark warm “almost black”.
We’re on the hunt for a new bed now.
YoungHouseLove says
Love it!!! The sassy bear and that yummy wall color!
xo,
s
Rachel says
No way! I’m at home with food poisoning (I think) today too. Blergh. Hope we feel better soon.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, sorry Rachel! I can definitely relate. Hope you feel better soon!
xo,
s
Crystal @ 29 Rue House says
Oh man I hope you feel better and no one else gets sick!
I love that you showed the evolution of your room and think you should definitely keep doing it with other rooms.
Sarah says
Great post, a good reminder that great rooms don’t happen overnight and it is okay to realize that something isn’t working. Your bedroom looks wonderful, cozy and inviting. I can’t wait to see what you guys do next!
Penny says
I could never be this cheerful and conversational with a stomach bug! Go lie down in that cozy bed and feel better soon.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha thanks Penny! The worse of it was between the hours of 1am and 5am. Haha. So I’m dragging, but happy to be feeling a little better.
xo,
s
ryan says
Yes for house evolution! I take photos of our house around the anniversary of us buying it each year to see how far the rooms have come. It’s been a blast to go back and look at so far. : )
YoungHouseLove says
That’s such a fun idea!
xo,
s
Claire O'Connor says
Hey Sherry, it would be fun to also have a budget breakdown for each room on this and any other future “Evolution of…” pages. More work for you!
This was a lot of fun!! Thanx for putting it together!
YoungHouseLove says
That would be fun! I don’t know if we could go back and find every receipt, but we usually include prices in our write ups, so maybe it’s possible!
xo,
s
karla says
My favorite pieces of furniture you have are your old bedside tables. I LOVE the style! They would be cute in a big girl room for sure! Or even a little gentleman themed boys room. you know all Mad Men look! :) and yes I now, down the road whenever that may be!!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, it’s true! I’d love them in a little man’s room.
xo,
s
Christine C. says
This is so true. I am struggling with our couches and wall color right now…and I honestly feel shame that I made some mistakes! My living room is the same color and as your new bedroom shade, but I’m afraid it makes the room look too dark because our whole house feels dark. Its good to know you make changes, and that nothing is perfect immediately.
Any tips on how to brighten up a space despite a darker wall color?
YoungHouseLove says
I would use art, curtains, and accessories to brighten things up and break up the darkness!
xo,
s
margaret says
oh please oh please I want your side tables if you decide to sell them!
Liz says
I almost choked on my coffee when I read “Huntington, WV”. We are just up the road in Ona (between Huntington and Charleston)! We bought our house just a year ago and have been living the dream making it a home together. We have a lot of work to do–a partially unfinished basement with an awkward half bath, small open floor plan, backyard deck potential, etc. A lot of our challenges have come from marrying our tastes and creating that unified vision from our untapped potential. We might not be the best “House Crashers” post, but we’d be happy to share what we’ve created so far and chit chat about where we could go!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Liz! Feel free to send pics our way and we’ll check them out and try to schedule something. And even if it doesn’t work out, here’s hoping we bump into you at Target out there or something. Haha.
xo,
s
kristy says
You bedroom is beautiful and inspiring. thanks for sharing it with us. I hope you feel better soon! Unless it’s the 9 month flu, in which case it may be a few months before you feel better ;) ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, this evil nastiness is not a baby, I promise!
xo,
s
Lindsay says
I loved this post. It makes me realize that it’s ok if rooms take a long time to finish! Hope you feel better soon!
Brenda says
I did a double-take at the first photo, because I suddenly got unsure if this was for your old house. It’s crazy how it looks so different with a different wall cover and no rug on the floor.
Crystal says
Feel better soon! Do we get extra points for counting how many pics included Burger? (3) I love how he seems to pose for the camera!
YoungHouseLove says
Why not – bonus points for you Crystal! :)
-John
Kelli says
Hope you feel better Sherry!
We’ve been in our lil house for a year or so and the big news in our bedroom is we finally got a bedside table…not two, only one :) besides that…nada. Haha
You can see the table here
http://Www.littlecottageofmine.com
So sorry if this posts twice, the iPad is weird sometimes.
YoungHouseLove says
SO pretty! I love it!
xo,
s
Anika says
So sorry you’re feeling ill Sherry – hope you feel better soon!
I found this post particularly interesting/exciting! Like other people have said, it’s so very reassuring to know that a room can look just okay or even be a real mess for awhile during the process of getting to a great state. Thanks also for the reminder to just try switching things around when you feel stuck – I’ve been frustrated with my bedroom setup for awhile now and I think tonight I’ll recruit the hubby to help me move things around. If we hate it all we’ll have wasted is some energy and time, no big deal. Thanks for backtracking and finding all these pictures and post-links for us! Can’t wait to be reminded/see the progress for the other rooms!!
Rebekah says
Baby P #2??
YoungHouseLove says
Alas, just a good old case of puking every hour for 12 hours straight. Thankfully Clara only gave me about an hour of being sick each morning. Haha.
xo,
s
Christina @ Homemade Ocean says
It’s like you read my mind! I was just telling the boy toy about your bedroom and all the changes it’s been through and I was trying to look through all these different bedroom posts to give him an idea.
Now I can just show him this :)
Amazing how much it has changed, I love it with the gray paint….good choice!
Amanda says
It seems like my rooms change on a weekly basis. The bad thing is all of the extra decorating “stuff” that I am left with to find a place for =)
Barbara says
Somewhere I missed that you moved the bed so I got kinda confused with the pictures!! Of course, had I read the text…
And I just have to say that Random Burger in those shots made me so happy!!
Melissa Cable says
We are picking a blue for our daughter’s room to match her coralish/watermelonish pink damask quilt and I love the blue you picked out prior to the grey, do you remember the name? Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
It was called Carolina Inn Club Aqua by Valspar.
-John
Barbara says
Oh, and PSS…if you decide to craigslist the nightstands, don’t. Just email me and I will gladly buy them from you and pay for shipping. Seriously. Not kidding. They match my dresser.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, sounds good Barbara!
xo,
s
Rhiana says
so you guys inspired us (the hubs and I) to repaint our bedroom- Rockport Gray! We love it! Our ceiling was blue from our original bedroom colors but we are not loving it. I think we will paint it some shade of gray…
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip Rhiana!
xo,
s
Allie ~This Yellow House says
Hope you get feeling better soon Sherry! I just had food poisoning last week, not fun at all!
I can’t tell you how much I love this post! It was really fun seeing how the room evolved. And I love seeing all the tweaks on one post. Makes me wanna see how I can make my bedroom better.
Oh and side note, I love your ikea chandelier! Seeing it again in this post just made me want it even more! On my way to their site right now…
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Allie!
xo,
s
Stacey says
When do you think you’ll switch Clara from a nursery to a “big girl room”?
YoungHouseLove says
So far her doc says that she’s sleeping well in her crib and not trying to climb out so he has encouraged us not to rush her out of it, but once she outgrows her crib (and we get to auction all the book stuff in the playroom) I think it’s on!
xo,
s
Frannie says
I don’t want to be “that” obnoxious commenter, but I learned after much googling a few months ago that stomach bug is spread by… how do I say this… miniscule droplets of the sickies. Ew. And bleach is the only thing that kills it. My hubby had it twice in two months, and I was trying desperately to keep myself and our little girl from catching it. It seemed to work! I quarantined him to the guest room/bath and wouldn’t let him in the kitchen until he was better. And I sent him in with the bleach and papertowels :) A mama friend told me that real blue grape juice works too. I drank it and who knows if it helped or not but we never got it! Feel better :)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Frannie! I’m cleaning up after myself and pretty much hiding for the most part. My cure has been Gatorade & two ibuprophens (for the super soreness I’m feeling). Haven’t thrown up in eight hours, so maybe there’s something to it! Haha. So for anyone else out there, I couldn’t keep down anything else, but that combo seems to work.
xo,
s
sophie says
favourite thing in our bedroom? The books I’m reading. hands down.
Next favourite – the curtains I sewed from sari fabric purcahsed at Value Village, and the two dressers we found on kijiji. But those are tied with the leaping lizard green we chose for the walls.
Krystle @ ColorTransformedFamily says
From the looks of it Ed’s post were never meant for y’all. I forgot that you guys started morphing him back from the beginning. The room has come a long way and looks great! It will be interesting to see what it looks like in another two years.
laura says
I’d actually buy those nightstands from you if you’re willing to give them up! I’d need the dimensions to make sure they work w/ our bed, but if they work I’d pay $40 or $50 for the pair.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Laura! A few folks have asked about them so I’ll have to see if we’ll be using them and put them up for grabs in a nice fair way if we don’t end up keeping them :)
xo,
s