Okay, make that two night stands. Though technically they’re just the living room side tables…
… that were displaced by the arrival of Karl.
So even though they’re not technically nightstands, we love our Target tables (from the Victoria Hagan collection, purchased a few years back) and those seeded glass lamps (from the now sadly non-existent Nate Berkus collection at Linens N’ Things) too much to let them go unused. So they’ve now found a new home in the master bedroom. At least for now.
Not only do they start to balance the room more, they’re a huge help in the function department. Sherry’s poor short arms couldn’t take storing her cell phone and magazines on the floor much longer. At first we wondered if they were a little too low, but we’ve been reading in bed easily thanks to them, and we can also easily reach anything on the table since they’re within around 5″ of the top of the mattress, so we just roll over and grab.
So although they may not be permanent fixtures in our bedroom decor (Sherry has this crazy hankering for eggplant lamps someday, and I, for one, would appreciate a drawer or something in our future nightstands for some extra concealed storage) they were f-r-e-e and they definitely do the trick for now.
And one cool byproduct of our new additions is the way they change the character of the room at night. Using the soft table lamps (instead of the bright white fan lights overhead) cozies up the room big time. It feels a lot warmer, the paint color takes on a greener feel, and there are a few dramatic shadows thrown on the ceiling, courtesy of Ed the Bed.
And I can’t even begin to express how awesome it feels to be able to turn off the light at night without having to get up and walk over to flip off the light switch on the wall anymore. Now I don’t have to fake-sleep so Sherry’s forced to do it. Sweet.
Next on our bedroom lighting to do list: replacing that not-so-purdy fan. We have our eye on something kinda crazy, but it makes us smile so it’s a strong possibility.
Missy says
I just love your new house! You guys are great!
Sara V says
It’s not as much of an issue now that you have the lamps, but for the future, have you ever considered installing a remote on your ceiling lights? We have them on the ceiling light/fan combos in our bedroom and in the living room. You can set the fan level and also dim the light- no getting up! It’s really convenient and can also tone down the harshness of the light. They’re inexpensive and easy to install yourself.
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- that’s fancy! Other than joking about wanting “the clapper” we never really thought about remote ceiling fans. In our last house we had bedside swing arm lamps and in this one we now plan to have table lamps, so that should do the trick for us.
xo,
s
Snickrsnack Katie says
I understand that the fans in your house have been rather ugly – but what do you have against fans? You seem to get rid of them entirely, replacing them with some other light fixture or covering over them completely. I recently installed another fan in my house, and have to say I love it. It keeps my energy costs low and my kitchen airy. Are you anti-fan?
The rooms do look great, though, and I agree the fan in your bedroom is ugly, and certainly doesn’t go with that bed. Hope you find a pretty light fixture. Will definitely have to be something close to the ceiling – not much clearance there!
YoungHouseLove says
It’s all about personal preference! We love ceiling fans in certain rooms (we kept them in our last sunroom and den and plan to keep the one in our sunroom here as well) so we’re definitely not anti-fan. In fact we’d go on record as saying that we’re fans of fans. Haha. But we find that in the bedroom, a high quality table fan can provide the same nice cool breeze while we sleep and free up space for a more fun (or less heavy and invasive) fixture in those rooms. We used table fans in our last house’s bedroom (and Clara’s room) and they worked like a charm. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Amanda says
We do the “race to bed.” Last one in turns off the light!
I have a totally random personal question for you guys. I understand completely if you find it too personal to answer! Now that you are both self employed, what do you do about health insurance? Have you found any reasonable family plans, and what will you do when(if) you decide to go for baby #2? I have been reviewing insurance, and maternity insurance options and the costs seem unreal! I just wonder how people make it work?
YoungHouseLove says
Paying for our own heath insurance is no picnic, but it’s one of those trade offs for doing what you love. We just researched a bunch of “freelancers insurance” options in our area and went with the plan that seemed best for our family (it’s very expensive but well worth it for the coverage it gives us for Clara and future babies). It’s a peace of mind thing for us, but the price tag definitely stings every month when we send in that check. Haha.
xo,
s
bridget b. says
lol @ “fake sleep”. too funny.
G. says
lamps? at this height? are you serious? I have a girl just 2 weeks older than Clara….in five minutes they would be down…
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, so far so good in our house! We’ll definitely move anything that’s a safety hazard to Clara though. Baby before decor!
xo,
s
Bryanna S says
Where do you keep a baby monitor? do you not use one? She is so much further away now in this new house…. I’d be so afraid of not hearing her in the night without one!
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, we use two! One in the office for daytime naps and one in the bedroom for nighttime (it’s on the dresser since there’s not much room on the side tables and Clara sleeps through the night so we don’t have to switch it on and off from bed).
xo,
s
Handy Man, Crafty Woman says
Nice to use what you have. you can always change it out later if you change your mind.
Corey says
I always say what is mine is mine and mine to do what I want with. Whether it’s a cake pedestal for a candle holder/ center piece or a dresser that doubles as a tv stand in the bedroom, using pieces for other means makes you unique and creative.
I do agree that storage is a necessity, but form might trump function on this one. Refinishing those “nightstands” would be a great idea.
Krysta says
I love the way the tables look and especially with those lamps!! I NEED to know what you are planning to put in place of the fan. BTW,how did your parents like staying in the guest room?
diana says
You, guys, I’m so proud I’ve thought about this repurposing in the same time!
And I want to state this: Since following your story/journey, I, who could be at least a much bigger sister, I’ve learned a lot from you. And just today I did another thing I’ve learned from you. When doing my usual grocery shopping, I’ve carefully browsed the home section and scored: a VERY nice floor lamp, like this one, but with a round shade-
http://www.sursedelumina.ro/images/navalla/products_normal/eglo/88909.jpg
for…. 18 dollars! 18 bucks! 18!!!!!
..and this, thanks to you, because you’ve taught me to OPEN my eyes!
YoungHouseLove says
Wahooo! Congrats on your score. Eighteen bucks is amazing!
xo,
s
Michelle N says
Haha fake sleep!! I do the same thing so my husband can turn the closet light off. Even though I’m usually the one that forgets to turn it off. He’s closer that’s the way I look it, haha. Classic!!
Tricia Embley says
I’m sure you have posted this somewhere but what paint color is in your bedroom. I love it!!
YoungHouseLove says
It’s Carolina Inn Club Aqua by Valspar (color matched to Olympic No-VOC paint). Love it!
xo,
s
Ashley @ sunnysideshlee.com says
LMAO @ John’s “fake sleep”. The side tables look great as night stands … I think its the color of the wood in contrast to the other colors in the room. Plus, I heart soft white lights.
Lisa says
All the rooms look great and I love your color scheme. Especially loved the glass seeded lamps in the MB. Now that the Nate B line is gone, any ideas for where to find a similar lamp? Also wondered how the inlaws like the new color/decor in the guest room. The blue walls are gorg!
YoungHouseLove says
My mom and stepdad loved the guest bedroom. Whew. Of course they only noticed it when Clara was napping or asleep for the night because otherwise their eyes were glued to her. Haha. As for finding similar lamps, maybe try TJ Maxx or Marshall’s or even Target? We’ve seen glass based lamps a lot lately. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Morgan G says
Looks really cozy and warm guys, nice job. Sherry, I hope you do your fair share of fake-sleeping, too. Lord knows I do. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I try but John always makes me laugh. Boo!
xo,
s
Zvezda says
Random Question: You take tons of pictures! Where/How do you store them all? I’ve never seen an external hard drive (maybe b/c of your expert disguising skills), and I know that you both work off of laptops (which don’t conventionally have large hard drives). Just wondering…
YoungHouseLove says
We have most of them on both of our macs believe it or not (we have updated versions with extra space). We occasionally burn CDs of pics that we love and put them in our fire and flood proof safe or our safety deposit box at the bank (the treasured family ones get uploaded to flickr as well for even more back-up safety). But as for all the blog pics, once we size and upload them, we usually don’t save them anywhere. Except for the major before and after pics. Otherwise we’d both have thousands of progress pics to deal with. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Karyn says
I found a pair of eggplant lamps at Home Goods on clearance. They don’t go with anything, but I am excited to make them fit in our guest room when its all done!
Lindsay says
So last night as I was trying to fall asleep I was thinking about painting my bedroom your Moonshine color but couldn’t remember who it’s by. Have you ever thought about adding a link or a tab that has paint colors room by room? I know you have them in your source list but it seems like it would be easy and save a lot of questions/comment answering if it was in one short cohesive list…so who makes moonshine again? :)
YoungHouseLove says
Good idea! We’ll have to add that to our (admittedly long) to-do list. In the meantime, it’s by Benjamin Moore. And if you remember the name of the paint color (ex: Moonshine) you can always use the search bar on our site to search for that answer (putting in Moonshine would yield posts that should mention BM). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Jocelyn Stott says
As always, it looks great. I love how the wood looks next to your bed linens – very nice.
Ellen says
Haha…we “fake sleep” to avoid having to turn the light off, too.
megan @ a life's design says
They look great! We are currently searching for bedside tables and lamps. It isn’t an easy find.
Carly says
total random question, but what parts of Richmond would you say are your favorite as far as neighborhoods go. we have thought about moving to RVA recently but have no idea what parts of the city are affordable but still nice and convenient to shopping, etc.
YoungHouseLove says
The Fan is an awesome place if you don’t have kids (their public schools aren’t very well ranked but if you don’t have wee ones it’s an amazing neighborhood). Of course we’re also partial to Bon Air which is where we live (less walkability but great schools and lots of land).
xo,
s
Jennifer W says
I literally went ‘oooooooohhhhhhh’ when I spotted those lamps in the first photo. They’re so good. Too sad that they’re gone. RIP L’n’T.
Cristina says
Even on my bedroom sidetables there are two lamps with yellow warm light, they do such a cozy atmosphere.
It’s crazy how the same room with different kind of light changes! After I’ve seen the result in the bedroom I changed the light in the kitchen to get a warmer look.
Charlotte says
Shopping your own house is the best! Completely free and sometimes I end up putting things together in a way I never would have thought of before.
Tritia says
Hey guys..things are looking great over at YHL!
You said you had table fans in your past bedroom. Can you recommend one??
For my birthday last wk, my sister sent me the Ikea Maskros pendant. I’ve been in love with it for a couple of years, and finally asked for it since they released it in a smaller size.
We wanted to put it in our eat in kitchen, over the table but now I fear my hubby having to relocate junction boxes. Fix drywall, etc. And it’d look super cool in our bedroom.
We just fear giving up our fan!
Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
We love Hunter table fans – they’re well made and seem to hold up well for us. And the stainless ones look as good as they feel!
xo,
s
heather says
hi! i know you mentioned you wanted eggplant lamps…crate and barrel outlet has them on sale for $30! the hoopla purle table lamp. you might be looking for a deeper purple, but just thought i would mention it!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much! I think we saw those in person (loooooved them) but they were a bit too small for a nightstand. So sad.
xo,
s
Sarah Salo says
Potential “storage” for your open nightstands: the quasi-kitsch-but-back-in-fashion faux book(s). John Derian had a couple options in his now-ended Target collection: http://www.nitrolicious.com/blog/2010/08/10/john-derian-for-target/
Before being defunct, I picked up a few, screaming my name from the Clearance end-aisle. We have a similar problem with our drawer-less living room end tables, and found they worked wonders at holding remotes, coasters and the misc. pens I randomly need but prefer my toddlers not use to poke their eyes out. At HomeGoods this weekend (in MN – fully acknowledging no 2 stores are the same!), I saw others in similar styles, but a wider variety of sizes.
Stacked, we find they add some controlled color and texture to spartan tables, but also earn their keep by storing our necessary crap. If only our children were so efficient…
Random thoughts from Minnesota.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha. Love the random thoughts from Minnesota!
xo,
s
Irene says
Minimalist – I like it!
rachel says
Ha, i love the honesty, John!
I’m with everyone else… what the heck is that “Something kinda crazy?!” cant wait to hear… you guys are gettin, shall we say…. extreme
Jessica says
Love the new setup! Are you still using your long ottomans for file storage now that they’re in bedrooms? Yours and the guest room? Or do you have a new filing system?
YoungHouseLove says
Before we moved we were able to pare the paperwork down to one ottoman (which is in our bedroom) and the other one just holds an air mattress and some linens in the guest room. Works out pretty well!
xo,
s
Linda says
Is there any chance of seeing some “Clara and Granny” photos? I checked Clara’s side of the website, too. Alas, none were there either.
I hope you all had a delightful time together!
YoungHouseLove says
We’ve been meaning to update those soon! We also have a post planned to sum up all the adventures from this weekend with the rents.
xo,
s
Megan says
I like the lamp light too!
And intrigued to hear about your something crazy!! :)
Totally off subject, and I get the vibe that I’m sure you guys probably already make your own baby food, but if you’re interested, you could check out this: http://megandyanray.blogspot.com/2011/02/baby-food-parsnips.html
YoungHouseLove says
Yum! We did Baby Led Weaning (got the book for cheap on Amazon) and it has been amazing! Clara has been eating healthy finger food since 6 months old (and has great coordination since she’s used to feeding herself- she’ll also eat anything and everything which is fantastic). We haven’t purchased one can of baby food and we love making every meal she eats. We’re big fans of the method but love your parsnip baby food too. So sweet!
xo,
s
Kristen Windle says
Hey John & Sherry!
Love the use of the end tables as night stands, but I’m actually writing to ask a question about one of your previous makeovers. My bedroom is painted navy (slightly darker than your newly painted guest bedroom) and has yellow and white accents- think nautical. I am changing things up and want to add a little more color and liked the prints that you used to spruce up a living room. They are under the “other redos” tab. They are multiple colors and look almost like your yellow rug? Any idea how I can DIY them or if I can find something similar on etsy?
Thanks for your help and all the inspiration!
Kristen
YoungHouseLove says
They’re from Crate & Barrel and still sold in a set on crateandbarrel.com. They are semi expensive though, so maybe you can find decorative paper or a stencil and DIY them with craft store materials (we’d try Michael’s or Hobby Lobby for those supplies). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Hilary @ My So-Called Home says
We have a TV-free bedroom policy also, so kudos to you. But I agree, when we stay at a hotel I love to relax in front of the TV, although it keeps me up!
We added new knobs to our pre-existing nightstands to give them a little boost, gotta love workin with what you have:
http://mysocalledhome.blogspot.com/2011/02/if-i-was-from-paris-i-would-say-ooh-la.html
YoungHouseLove says
So pretty! I love what you’ve done with that room!
xo,
s
sarah says
Not sure if anyone mentioned this but your comforter made an appearance on HBO’s In Treatment last season… Hey I recognize that! :)
YoungHouseLove says
No way- that’s so funny! We’ll have to check it out.
xo,
s
SillySimple says
Thanks for the remix design inspiration. I love how sometimes it is so easy to make old things new again!
Jenny says
Where did you get the small white rugs by either side of the bed? Also, do you know about how much they were? Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Those were around $15 from Ikea. They’re faux fur sheepskins (they also sell real ones but we like the fake-o ones better). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Carrie says
Don’t know if this has been asked yet, but…Does the new house have a basement? Love all the progress so far, especially the beams!
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, it has a separate entry one, kind of like our last house had. You can check out a before pic by clicking the tab up under our blog header that says “House Tour” and then clicking the “current house” button and scrolling through the pics. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Travis says
When you were a kid, did you ever think you could flip off the light switch and run back to bed before the lights actually went off? I did. I have since realized that it is not possible!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes! I totally tried to do that. The funnier thing is that I was convinced that I had in a few instances.
xo,
s
christel says
Hi Petersiks!
This doesn’t really have anything to do with your cute new (old) side tables, though I do love them. But I thought you might want to check out this article including Virginia which is just ahead of my state, Minnesota! =)
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2011/smallbusiness/1102/gallery.smartest_states/7.html
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo! Love it! Thanks for sharing the link!
xo,
s
Andy says
Have you considered just changing the lampshades? Maybe get a pair from the thrift store & replace the covering with pretty paper or remnant fabric?
YoungHouseLove says
We could definitely do that down the line! But for now we like the warm glow and the simple linen-look of them. Here’s how we recovered a lampshade with fabric a while back though, for anyone who’s interested: https://www.younghouselove.com/2009/09/nursery-update-keep-it-light/
xo,
s
Angela says
In our latest room remodel, my husband installed a light switch next to the bed. So now when we got to sleep I just have to flick the light for the overhead light to go off!
BEST IDEA I EVER HAD! :)
Wom-mom Ethne says
The lighting is nice. Pretend-sleep – hilarious.
http://www.wom-mom.com
Sara @ House Bella says
I definitely know both feelings – the not having nightstands, and the having a too harsh overhead light! We got rid of an almost identical fan in our living room, and I haven’t look back since. It’s a wonder to go from that kind of light to just regular lamplight. And when we finally finished our nightstands in the bedroom, how awesome it was! No more hiding things under the bed…
hilliary says
im dying to know what you replaced the yellow with in the den when you moved it into the guest room for company!
YoungHouseLove says
We’re on a rug hunt! It’s hard to find something big enough for our sectional that doesn’t cost 1K, so it should be interesting!
xo,
s
Dana says
We have solved the “who turns out the lights” issue in my condo. For around $40 from Home Depot (Canada) we bought a remote control dimmer switch. My father installed it, so it is definitely diy-able. It makes a huge difference!
m @ random musings says
Are there any flooring plans? I see that the living space is totally taking on the blue/steel spectrum, which the parquet doesn’t support…any plans for updating that floor (wo breaking the bank?)
YoungHouseLove says
Here’s a floor plan post all about our home as we inherited it (and our plans to tweak things to work more for the way we live): https://www.younghouselove.com/2010/11/the-floor-plan-stan/
As for the parquet floors, we’d definitely love to refinish them in a rich deep color someday. We’ll also be bringing in some wood toned items (like a console table, larger media cabinet, etc) to mimic the wood tones of the floor so they’ll fit in more. Right now the room definitely looks super gray, but adding in warmer art, a larger rug, bold curtains, etc will diffuse that obvious contrast between the gray and the floors and add some nice layered interest and dimension. At least we hope it does. Haha.
xo,
s
Emily says
The post title makes me think of that Prince song – great song, not so appropriate to be humming/mindlessly singing while at work (teaching little kids).