The Boudoir- Part One

Designing a Colorful Bedroom-without painting the walls.

My favorite picture of my old bedroom. Oh the sunshine.

I adore my new apartment. My neighborhood is delightful and I have space to sew. Except for a few little things, my living room, sewing room (which is also the dining room), studio and kitchen are all set up. My bedroom though is just blah. In my old apartment my bedroom was this beautiful turqoise blue and the bedding and curtains were white. It was light and bright and airy. The shot below is the only picture I could find and unfortunately my bed wasn't made! Except you can see that it has color. 

Now take a look at the series of photos taken below. My bedroom is beige. The walls are beige, the carpet is beige and when I add in my white bedding and white curtain they take on a beige hue. Also, my bedroom is in the basement, which is great because I do not hear any noise from the neighbors, but the ceilings are a little low. What it does have going for it is that it is quite spacious and the closet is nice and big. Something a bit shocking to find in a Chicago apartment! 

Starting at the South facing wall I have my great-grandparents buffet standing in as my dresser. Since I have my cutting table in the dining room the buffet had to be moved elsewhere. On top of the buffet is a collection of old mirrors and a chandelier lamp that was a gift from a boyfriend.

South wall

The Southwest corner

On the West wall are two prints from The Black Apple. One is of a redhaired girl riding a seahorse and the other is a picture of a girl in a boat looking at a narwhale. The curtains are actually from West Elm and in my old bedroom, which had a huge window, the sun would shine through them beautifully. In this bedroom they are too long and since the window is a tiny cinder block square they look out of place.

West wall

Northwest corner

This is the North wall and on the left is an antique Singer sewing machine that my mother bought me for my birthday from Josie's in Dekalb many moons ago. The headboard, which I love, I bought on Etsy from Jacob Triche Designs. The problem is the wood of the headboard is competing with the buffet's wood. The nightstand is actually a bathroom cabinet from CB2 and as you can tell it is not the same size as the other nightstand and looks awkward. 

North wall

Northeast wall

East wall

You can see through the doorway part of the tiny spiral staircase that leads downstairs.

Quite uninspiring-eh? I'm thinking of a cross between the bedroom in the movie Amelie and a French Bordello. Next week we'll look at some inspiration to spice up this very freaking beige room.

KMC