Last weekend Matt and I tackled a home improvement project: painting our master bedroom. We also rearranged the furniture for a whole new look.
When we moved into our house, we had it painted Benjamin Moore Veranda View. And I have hated the color ever since! We didn’t get a chance to test the green in the different lights, and it was always either too minty or too neon for me. (Surprisingly, when I added soft baby colors to Mazen’s nursery, which is the same color, I started to like it in there and still do).
BEFORE
Before it felt more like a zen garden. Earthy and….green. Oh-so-green. [More before here.]
AFTER
After feels more like a sophisticated and romantic retreat!
I wanted a very light modern and bright gray for the walls, and we chose Valspar Seashell Gray. We tested it along with two other similar colors and liked it the best [in the middle].
So Sunday morning we prepped the room, turned the living room into a holding area and arranged for Mazen to have a playdate with his KK
We primed the walls with one thick coat and did one coat of paint. We decided after our last painting experience in Charlotte to forgo the painters tape and just use a steady hand with a brush. Good call!! Saved so much time. There are definitely a few flaws, but they are minimal.
2/3 of a day later, we had a new room! I absolutely LOVE the color! It’s almost purple at times, and very bright.
For those who inquired, our bedroom set is a steal from World Market that looks just like the Farmhouse Collection from Pottery Barn (which is like $4,000!) We bought it all in 2006 with 40% off coupons, so our bed, nightstands and dressers were all $850 total!! Unfortunately I don’t know if they still sell the set.
We haven’t yet moved this mirror to the new dresser location. We wanted to make sure we were happy with the arrangement first. We are.
Perhaps my favorite change is the new light we bought!
The old light was a typical boob light:
And the new one, which we bought at Lowes for $86, is much, much prettier. Matt is Mr. Electrician when it comes to lights.
We also replaced our front porch light for just $16! Yellowed cage –> lantern, also from Lowes.
We are loving the new arrangement too. It’s not the most practical because of the window placement, but it’s been a fun change and makes the room more dramatic to enter.
Here’s the room at night. The lamps I swapped with our guest room (I believe they are Pier 1 – from 2006 too) and the duvet is Pottery Barn, a wedding gift.
Now if only I could find the time to sleep for 10 hours straight in this room : )
Claire @ Live and Love to Eat says
Very peaceful color – I’m all about neutrals for walls, then you can be more colorful with fabric and other small details that are simpler to change. The lights make a big difference, too!
Jessica @ Burlap and Butter Knives says
I LOVE it!!!! Isn’t amazing how easily a room can be given an entirely new look?!
And when I say “easy” I realize that is not including the painstaking labor it takes to paint! lol. Easy as opposed to remodeling. 😉
Great job, it really is awesome!
Ashley @ Coffee Cake and Cardio says
I love it Kath! It looks awesome!
Jola says
It looks really great! Comfy, romantic and so fresh. I like it a lot. Usually, I’m a fan of colours, but the grey turned out fabulous!
Tara says
I agree! I like the neutral wall a lot more than the pastel-y green shade!
Anele @ Success Along the Weigh says
We just painted our room and bathroom a similar color! I LOVE your light! I’ve got 3 boobs I’m looking to replace and that would look awesome!
sara @ fitcupcaker says
Very nice and modern looking, I love it! I love that you call it a boob lamp!
vidya says
Wow…so different and romantic!! Don’t kill me for this but I see another adorable baby very soon in the house 😉 Oh my gosh! did I really say that?? LOL!! Anyway, nice color and good rearrangement Kath. I like the addition of those lamps. They are beautiful!
Ashley @ My Food 'N' Fitness Diaries says
I love it! I did like the green before, but I think this new color is an even better fit for that room.
Liz says
Looks lovely the way it is now. Love the color. Very elegant. Congrats!
Carly @ Snack Therapy says
I absolutely love gray paint for bedrooms! It’s much more calming to me than any warmer tone. The house looks gorgeous as always!
Beth says
Ha ha…boob light! Our landlady put 2 together in our kitchen making a nice set!
Rose (formerly OALP) says
Looks beautiful. Inspires me to make a change. Now I just need to buy a house that is mine all mine.
Kim says
I love your new color! When we moved into our house, we painted pretty much every room bright and colorful….now I wish we hadnt painted them all so bright! I like them but it is a lot harder to coordinate the decor with it. Like your new lights too!
Kim
[email protected] says
Looks awesome!! I need new bedroom furniture and I’m definitely going to check out World Market…love the look of your’s!
Karen says
I LOVE it…nothing like a paint color change (and modern light fixtures!) to completely renew a room – and one’s mood! Hope the mini renovation brings Mom lots of good zzz’s!
rosie says
Looks awesome!!
(Good call forgoing the painter’s tape. All ya need is a good brush and the edges cut so much better! K used to paint houses one summer in college- he is all about the good paintbrush 🙂
Spice Chicken says
Just beautiful. I’d like some info about the rug, please.
Kelsey at Fueling Strong says
I love your updates! Thanks for inspiring me to re-do my bedroom too!
Maureen says
LOVE LOVE LOVE the green walls!
Claire says
Boob lights! Cracks me up!
Pam says
Me too, hehe. My home is full of them, ahh.
I’ll make a note to stop at Lowe’s for a better looking light, love the one Kath picked out!
kiki says
love the new color!
Tonya says
beaute! I just remodeled my living room and it’s like I’ve moved into a new home. 🙂
Lisa @bitesforbabies says
That’s grey?! Almost looks like lilac-gray…which I LOVE! Nice choice 😉
Hillary | Nutrition Nut on the Run says
love the new paint color. it goes so well with all your furniture and decor – nice switch!
[email protected] says
Love the color. WHEN we are in a new house (renting now) I will be painting our bedroom the same color I had before: Sherwin Williams Contended. I found it in a model house on a parade of homes and have loved it ever since.
The Kidless Kronicles
Michele says
I love how small, inexpensive changes can make such a big difference! You’ve inspired me to paint and tackle our overdo bathroom remodel. Thank you!
Sarah says
So pretty! I love how the new color lets your furniture really stand out.
If you’re bothered by the window, you could put up drapes that are set a bit higher and wider to fill the space made by the posts of your bed. Drapes that match the wall color could even add more balance. But I only say that because you mentioned that it bothered you. I think it’s really minor, the overall room looks great!
Lisa says
Our bedroom color is almost exactly the same (perhaps a tad darker). We have moss green accents on the bedspread and curtains. I much prefer the placement of the bed the new way. Great job!
aebell says
This colour looks great – very sophisticated and crisp, and I think it suits the rug better than the previous green did. Years ago, I had a misadventure with green myself. My roommate and I had picked out colours for our rooms, and I chose a green – however, she did the painting while I was away. Rather than do a test patch, she went right ahead and painted all four walls. Well, the colour was awful – with the lighting in the room, it seemed to look like the exact green of surgeon scrubs. We were pretty broke at the time, so I lived with it for about 18 months until I couldn’t stand it anymore and repainted.
Anna @ On Anna's Plate says
Love it! I love doing room makeovers like that– if I had the time and money, I think I’d give our rooms makeovers about once a year, ha!
Avery @ YoungAspirations says
Ohhh I love it! This is actually really close to the color we have in our living/dining room area. I love the gray with slight hints of purple. We’ve found it very calm and relaxing 🙂
Lynn @ the actor's diet says
Love the wall. My hubby’s favorite color is green but it always comes out feeling like we are in a school or something.
aurelie says
YAY I missed your old blog post!! this one was def a cool one
anne says
I love the change! And, I also love that you called it a boob light, that’s what my fiance and I call them too 🙂
Elisa Kiviranna says
It looks gorgeous!! Can I ask where you got the dual closets?
KathEats says
IKEA : )
Alicia @ Wanna Be Ina says
LOVE the new color. I am redoing my craft room, and looking for the right grey to pair with lavender. Is it just me, or is grey a really hard color to get right?
Boob light…will be using that term from now on!
Sally Mae says
the second to last photograph is gorgeous!
Susan H. @ The Food Allergy Chronicles says
Love it! Very classic, sophisticated, calming and romantic…just what one needs at the end of the day! 🙂
Katie @ Peace Love & Oats says
Oooo I love it, the new color makes it much more relaxing and calm. A perfect getaway from everything!
Maria Tadic says
This looks so pretty! You cook…blog…are a mommy..and a have a perfectly clean house…anything you don’t do???! One day I hope our house looks as beautiful as yours!
cathy says
Looks great! Grey is a great color goes with everything. Ours is a blue and I’ve been wanting to change it for years now, but we keep waiting cause we want to do the whole room once we pick a bedroom set. 🙂
[email protected] says
Your skills never cease to amaze! It’s gorgeous! Now I not only want you to come cook for me but also to decorate and organize my home!
Averie @ Averie Cooks says
I love the transformation! I think the new color is so much more soothing, tranquil, and peaceful. Funny how as a nursery color with one set of lighting and other furniture vs. adult furniture and different lighting, the same paint color can create two totally different moods!
seana says
It’s so funny you call those lights boob lights. I always refer to them as nipple lights. We only have one left in one hallway. I can’t stand them. The paint color is much more soothing and relaxing than the green.
Andrea says
Your bedroom is beautiful!
kaneil says
I love the color and room arrangement! We also have a window behind our bed. One thing that I am want to try, and you may too, is to hang the curtain higher and wider (so it looks like the window is bigger than your bed). I think it would help frame your bed, rather than look like the window is hiding behind it. 🙂 Just a suggestion b/c I want to try the same thing! I love the paint color and your furniture. 🙂
Jennifer says
Yes! I agree wider curtains would look great Kath. I think this is something YHL does a lot – I see you have their book too 🙂 I love the wall color with the white contrasts.
Erin @ The Elliptical Chronicles says
That is a gorgeous bedroom (both before AND after)! I definitely aspire to that. I feel like my husband’s and my bedroom is doomed to adolescent decorating attempts forever unless I were to hire a decorator. I just have no eye for how to set up, organize, furnish, or decorate a room. What you have is inspiring!
erica says
LOVE the new look! very serene and sophisticated!
Björg says
Kath! That looks amazing! Congratulations 🙂
eliza says
I am sure you have answered this before, but where is your bed frame from??
KathEats says
World Market
Amina says
Loooove your full length mirror! Where from??
KathEats says
IKEA!
Diana @ Eating Made Easy says
I adore this makeover! My husband and I just moved and we’re looking to update so many rooms. This is great inspiration!! I love all your decor choices. Do you know where you purchased the curtains? I’m sure someone else has already asked this 😉
KathEats says
They’re from Bed, Bath and Beyond. Just their standard grommet waffle-style curtains
Avery @ Southern Belle Living Well says
That is one relaxing room, right there! Mine is bright yellow, so it’s a bit crazy. I love how cozy, yet airy it looks.
Pam says
Wow what a change, def. looks more sophisticated. The new light is very cool, we have way too many boob lights in our home! Time for a change.
Kerry says
Awesome- Looks great! I have green walls in the bedroom too and am not in love with it. Less zen and more like lets go take a hike in a moss forest green. Do you get cool morning light or warmer afternoon light through your windows? Looks like morning which is what I get. Inspiring!
Liz @ iheartvegetables says
I love the duvet cover!! And your colors are so pretty!
Kori says
Although I like that shade of green, I agree it probably didn’t suit the master bedroom very well. I love the gray! Very mature and relaxing. Great job!
Amanda says
Love it! I have a crazy obsession with the color gray. I wear it a lot and one of my bathrooms is gray.
Katie @ Talk Less, Say More says
Wow, your room looks absolutely beautiful! 🙂
Miwa @ Motion For Peace says
It’s amazing what a difference paint can make! LOVE the new color!
Meg Saunders says
B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L! The paint made a big difference! We need to tackle our master bedroom walls! Seeing your makes me want to do it today! 🙂
Kate @ Indulgent Wellness says
I read this post last week and got a chuckle out of the term “boob light”, which I had never heard before, but makes total sense. A couple weeks ago we moved into a new (to us) rental house and as I walked around over the weekend the only thing I could see were boob lights…everywhere! Why boob lights, why??
Jenn says
I like it! Of note: we recently upgraded to a king that looks very similar to this bed…by night and day.
kelsey says
OOooooOOOo!! I love it!!
Molly says
Just now re-reading this post (wanted some inspiration for my master bedroom redo) and I can’t get over how gorgeous yours is! It seriously looks like it is straight out of a design magazine!