The Boodwahr

The bedroom has been the one room of the house that has not been obsessed over, decorating wise. Mostly because I always intended to paint. SB did not support the idea, he likes the color it is now. I finally accepted the fact that it probably wasn’t going to get done, and over a year into homeownership, it finally looks purposeful. I give you, the boodwahr.

The first big improvement we made was installing these sconces. Our bedroom is just slightly larger than our queen-size bed, a common problem in old houses. There’s only room for one of us to have a bedside table, if it’s really small. Up until this week, we had a small plant stand on one side with a lamp barely perched atop it, that didn’t really make enough light for the peron on the far side of the bed (me) to read. We had the sconce idea, but then discovered DAMN they’re expensive! Everything I found that I liked was around $150 EACH. We finally found these at Seattle Lighting for about $50 a piece. I might change the shades at some point, but other than that, they’re great! We each have an under the bed basket for things that would normally go on a bedside table, were we so lucky.

(I was so focused on getting the sconces, I didn’t notice the bed was kind of rumply. Please ignore.)

We searched for ages to find a duvet cover we both liked. Most were too loud for our little room, or too froofy. We tried our hardest to buy something expensive from Macy’s but we didn’t love anything. This one is perfect, solid with a pattern, and it’s from Target.

We like to lay in bed and dream about our next trip.

A friend of mine paid a ton of money to have a world map framed, and it looks so good in their living room. I wanted one for the bedroom but I didn’t want to spend quite so much. I found this one at World Market for $15, and they sell this perfectly fitting frame, with glass, for $40.

We had a blank space above our dressers where I wanted to put art, but despite always keeping an eye out, I never found anything that was just right. I finally found something in Mexico. Having new art is what inspired us to get busy on the bedroom.

Aren’t they cool? I LOVE them. But here, dear internets, is where I ask you for advice. My sweet art, that I lugged home carryon, that I was so excited to hang, stinks. Yes, stinks. It smells like chemical-y paint and wood, which is logical, but unpleasant. When I first got home, I banished it to the garage for a couple of weeks, hoping it would air out, but it still stinks. We’ve been taking it down at night and putting it in the hallway until we figure something out. What should we do? Is there some sort of sealant I can put over it that wont ruin it or be equally as toxic or smelly? Any advice is welcome.

The one wall you don’t see in these pictures has a nice big window, with a dark bamboo shade and a wispy sheer over the top that looks awesome but is impossible to photograph.

This was such a fun project! With new window coverings, duvet cover, and light fixtures we turned our depressing, shove-stuff-in-there-when-people-come-over bedroom into a less crowded, more functional, and more beautiful place. I sometimes forget that home improvement doesn’t always have to involve dirt, sweat, and inconvenience.