Bedroom update

 One of the first projects Tomu and I ever tackled was painting the back rooms. We chose a rich chocolate brown for our room and I still love the color, but it was a terrible choice. Our bedroom is tiny and on the north side of the house, which means it gets very little light through the sole window. The room often felt like a cave and we only spent sleeping time in it. There were other problems, too - the bed was against the wall, meaning I had to climb over Tomu and the animals in order to get in and out of bed, even pregnant. Our pretty bed disappeared against the dark brown walls.

And something we didn't anticipate: apparently the previous owners had painted the walls with oil based paint, so our nice brown paint job easily scratched off. These photos are taken after we removed artwork from the walls, but you get the idea. Dark.

 One night after twisting my ankle trying to climb out of the bed at the foot and stepping on a riding toy of the girls', I'd had enough. Time for a change. We decided to change the orientation of the room completely, with the bed centered under the window. We split up the wardrobe wall and moved half to the opposite side of the room. Here it is shuffled over in preparation for repainting, doors removed.

As usual, my favorite part of repainting is the help:

We did a double coat of primer to both cover the brown and give our paint something to stick to.

 Then we painted the walls a nice warm white called Twinkling Lights.

 The difference is remarkable. Somehow the room that was cavelike is full of light now. Our bedframe really pops against the white drapes and walls.

 I went with yellow and navy for our bedding. I bought that great botanical fabric at Ikea and made the large pillowcases. Luckily Mr. Beetle was ready made!

 When we split the wardrobe, we added sliding doors to Tomu's. The mirrored door really makes the room feel bigger. There is only about 2 feet of clearance around the bed and 3 feet at the foot - enough to walk around but it's cozy. The mirror and frosted glass on his side are light and bright and give it an airier feel. One of my favorite additions to the wardrobes is that little hanging rack - it's perfect for airing out clothes or getting stuff out for the next day.

 Not only do I get a side of the bed of my own, I even have a bedside table and reading lamp!!

 And so does Tomu! Here you can really see the narrow clearance between bed and wardrobe. The nightstands were unfinished from Ikea, so I stained them dark like the bed and painted parts yellow just to brighten them up.

 Instead of a large rug which would be mostly hidden under the bed, we went with runners at the bedsides and at the foot of the bed. I really love these!

 From this angle you can see my wardrobes, which are not as deep as Tomu's. Originally that whole wall was filled with wardrobes with doors like those.

 The little nook next to my bedside we decked out with shelves to display some photos and wedding memorabilia.

 I had to include a photo of our poor little stepstool, who has been painted lime green, lavender, and now sunny yellow!

Facing the bed, I made some artwork for the wall and we were finally able to hang the faux wood horses that were in my maternal grandparents' bedroom. We bought a new door rack for our robes and you can even see a glimpse of the new switchplates we picked up on the bottom left.

 The room is so different now, and I just love being in it. The girls and I do storytime at night in the bed and I have often been retreating there to do reading myself. Also, the animals seem to love it!