Fall 2021 One Room Challenge - Week One - Planning a Master Bedroom

Its week one of the One Room Challenge!!! This is our first year (after nearly 10 years of watching others do it) that we are participating in the ORC and we could not be more excited. For the Fall 2020 challenge, we are doing our master bedroom. We moved in this past December and so far have only hung a new light. We lived with it for as long as we could but it’s time that we made our bedroom a retreat to escape to while we tear up the rest of the house.

Designing the Room

We follow a very similar process to design and execute each of our room projects. Before we start a room, I take into careful consideration how we use it and how we want it to feel, and budget accordingly.

1.) Our Needs Based on How We Plan to Use the Space

Here were our needs for the Master:

• makeup space

• full length mirror for dressing

• functional closet

• reading corner

• a “wow” moment when you view the room from the door — not part of function but soooo necessary in my opinion

• New flooring that ties into the main floor

• Soft rug under bed for chilly Calgary mornings

I then take into account how I want the room to feel. I wanted the room to feel:

• cozy

• relaxing

• calm

2.) Mood board, sourcing and budget.

Next it was off to Pinterest to review my Master Bedroom Moodboard. I’ve been collecting images and inspo for our Master since we found out we were moving in. From the Pinterest board, I could see a definite theme appearing and a colour palette. I wanted something airy and light and bright with a white, beige, taupe, gold and black colour pallette. I wanted a bit of vintage flair here and there in some smaller details, and my husband and I had been talking for months about using our bedroom to showcase a new spec wall hanging for our business.

Then I went about finding the perfect rug, affordable sconces for low lighting, a beautiful mirror for the closet, nightstands, and a little reading chair. There was a lot of reviewing my saved pics from my favourite instagrams, and looking back at Pinterest for inspiration. One of my biggest tips is to refer to your Pinterest boards for a clear idea of what you really want. After all that research, I put the mood board together!

There were a lot of different iterations of my mood board and changes made. Changes had to be made to stay in budget, and because so many things just weren’t available due to shortages and products being discontinued while I was in the design process.

3.) Purchasing Specific Items

Once the budget and mood board was finalized, and we had saved up the amount we planned to use on our bedroom, (a budget rule in this house!) I got to work sending in my orders for everything. This part is kind of exciting. As items arrive, you feel extra special and honestly giddy 😂

So far i’ve ordered/gathered the following items for our bedroom:

• bed

• nightstands (which will get a makeover, stay tuned!)

• black sconces

• bedding and (new! eeek!) throw pillows

• reading chair

• large under-bed rug

• small closet rug

• curtains and rod

Still to gather:

• reading corner side table

• art

• frames

• misc. styling items (a faux olive tree if budget allows?!)

And that is Week One: The Design Process! I confess we have already started on the room— we’ve cleared out and demoed the room, started patching (a lot) of drywall, and started painting it all a fresh bright white. Hopefully we can finish up painting by the time I update you next week!

Thanks for stopping by!

Brittany