ORC: Cozy Neutral Bedroom Week 1!

Hellooo fall, chilly weather/chili weather, cardigans 24/7 and new seasons of all of our favorite TV shows! Also, driving to and from work in the dark, cuddling on the couch and dreaming big about finishing starting all of those house projects that we’ve had on the to-do list for about 3 years now. Seriously, Jesse just brought it to my attention that we closed on our house 3 years ago this week (yipes!)

We took a nice little getaway last weekend and stayed in Estes Park, CO to see the changing aspens, enjoy the cool weather and the scenery a short drive away from home. I’m fortunate to have a free house to stay in (thanks Dad), so we took our dog and some food with us and really spent most of our time drinking wine in front of the fire and listening to the elk and coyotes just outside the back door. I’m only slightly embarrassed to admit that we also happened to enjoy a few (ok several) hours of HGTV while we were there. We do watch TV at home, but we don’t have cable and have limited access to HGTV, so it was sort of a guilty pleasure and a good way to relax. After a few episodes of Love It or List It and Property Brothers, I started thinking about how our bedroom could really use a makeover. That and the office. Oh, and not to mention that second bathroom that we are still planning to put in downstairs.

I remembered seeing something awhile back called the One Room Challenge, an online event hosted by Calling it Home that happens twice a year. The gist is, 20 designers are chosen to feature a room that they will completely makeover in 6 weeks. There is also a blog linkup event, so that everyone who wants to participate can also choose a room and show off their progress each week. How fun, right? After some quick googling, I came to find out that the fall edition starts THIS WEEK! ACK!!!

I’ve been going back and forth about whether I am ready to make such a commitment, and on such short notice! It seems like a lot to do in just 6 weeks (5 now if we’re being honest because this is week 1 and I haven’t started). Work has been CRAZY lately, like, I’m working 12-14 hours a day when you include drive time. So needless to say, I am exhausted when I get home and don’t have the energy to blog, much less do anything crazy like get out the drop cloth and paint.

BUT, after some hemming and hawing and the ever-loving support from my husband (“Don’t you just have to like… buy some bedding?”), I’ve decided to go for it. I am officially going to be participating in the ORC Fall 2015!

I’m still pretty nervous about getting it done and making the right decisions along the way, but maybe having the deadline and the commitment to you internet folks is just the motivation I need. We shall see.

Since it is getting to be cuddle weather, because there is just too much to do to finish the office, and because I have in fact been day dreaming about getting some nice, neutral, cozy bedding, the “master bedroom” it is.

Here’s what my pinterest board has been looking like lately. Dreamy.

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I would love it if our bedroom looked even remotely like these above. I guess the first step is to swallow my pride and share our most private room publicly, so let’s take a look at what I’m working with now, shall we?

Exhibit A: Our bed. Currently, a lot of brown. The headboard, I bought when I first moved to Cheyenne and had an apartment all to myself. It’s not bad, but it’s actually just sitting against the wall rather than being attached to the frame. We do have the frame and matching footer somewhere, but it was originally for my double bed and I’m not sure if it fits our queen mattress. It may or may not stay just where it is.

I do really love this quilt/coverlet for its simplicity and nice embroidered detailing. It’s lightweight and perfect for summer, and best of all, it is super durable and holds up well when our dog gets a wild hair, decides to throw the rules to the wind and rolls and digs around in our bed like a crazed monster while we are away at work. However, the brown coverlet on brown sheets and brown headboard is just… too much. Unfortunately, the brown sheets are our last set because said monster dog has torn holes in all of our sheets over the past couple of years. Sadly, even the brown sheets even have a small hole from one of her more recent attacks. Our current method of deterring her from getting on the bed is to lay the clothes hamper down across the top of the bed when we leave for the day. It works – most of the time. If anyone knows of a different trick or would like to send Cesar Milan our way, please be my guest.

Exhibit B: Curtains. These are actually inherited from the previous owner of our house. Purple is not my favorite, but a deal is a deal, and I wasn’t about to argue with free curtains after spending our life’s savings on a down payment. I think it’s safe to say that we have gotten our money’s worth by keeping these up over the past three years. Also, you just missed it, but we did have some old artwork stuck up in the smaller window to block the sun during the summer when this sheer curtain doesn’t cut it.

Exhibit C: Dressers/Floor. I love our Ikea dressers. We could both work on keeping the clutter off of them, or at least contained better. I also love this rug, but it doesn’t have a backing on it so it slides all over the floor. I’ve also come to the realization that it is probably too small to do the room justice. I don’t know yet if replacing it is in the budget – so we’ll call that one TBD for now.

And then there is this pile of mystery pillows in the corner, usually our stashing place for the laundry basket in between loads. For shame.

Exhibit D: Side Tables and Lamps. We’ve searched high and low for side tables that are stylish and affordable, and have come up blank. For now, I have no plans to replace our Ikea Lack tables. While they are not specifically intended to be bedside tables, they are simple, sleek, and fit in perfectly with the neutral color scheme that I’m envisioning. Our Target lamps have also served us well. I’m not sure yet if they will tie in with the new look, since I haven’t fully figured out what that is yet.

Exhibit E: Walls and Decor. Painted in the same yellowish cream that the ENTIRE house was painted when we bought it, it’s about time for at least an accent wall in here. The canvases are photos that I took in Europe, and will probably stay. The pastel is actually a nice piece that Jesse did in high school I believe, but overall our walls are fairly blah. They could use some work.

The closet is a whole ‘nother project on its own. If we get everything just right in the bedroom and are feeling ambitious, we might just do a bonus round and clear out a bunch of clothes that we need to get rid of. But don’t hold your breath.

So here is my list for the next 5 weeks:

• Paint
• New bedding
• New curtains
• Update artwork/wall hangings
• Organize tops of dressers
• Possibly a new rug
• Possibly update lighting/lamps
• Plants? I’ve had terrible luck keeping hanging plants alive in our fairly dark room.

And of course some inspiration. I’m not exactly sure if this is how the look will end up, but I’m excited to go for it and find out! Wish me luck!

Oh, and don’t forget to check out the other transformations in progress right here. Big thanks to Linda for hosting!

Check out Week 2!

Linking up here: ORC, Work it Wednesday