Finally, the time has come to unveil our master bedroom revamp that I have been planning and working on for some time. You probably recall a post I did not too long ago about my bedroom inspiration and black accents. I had my heart set on a huge contrast in our private space for maximum impact. And finally, its complete.
To start, I thought I should give you a taste for what we have lived with (more or less) for the last 7 years. I’ve been scouring my files for some “before” pictures to show. I finally found them in an assignment I completed in my first semester of design school. While at least clean, I consider our bedroom to be quite boring, apart from my workspace.
One colour, light brown, a mix match of family photos and accessories, mostly because I didn’t want to put much effort into a space that I didn’t really even like the colour of.
I craved something more exciting, with contrasts and shiny accents. However, I was torn, because while I like dark, dramatic colours, I also loved the fresh look of white.
So I decided to do both!! And here you have it – our high contrast master bedroom.
While our bedroom furniture is dark wood, I really wanted to integrate more black into our bedroom wall, and behind the bed. So I decided to go for it. But what I did, when choosing the colours, was opt for a black that had blue/green undertones in it. This way it would allow the brown in the wood to stand out a bit more against the black.
For the white, I chose a warmer tone, since our windows face north, and we have a more cool daylight coming through than a southern facing room. When selecting the right shade of white, you need to consider what type of light you have coming into your space, including, which directions the windows face. If the room faces north, you will want to go with a warmer tone as the light that you get in the space will be cooler. Choosing a cooler white will create a sharp white, which, unless you are going for that look, can be a too crisp. Alternatively, if your space has rooms facing to the south, you should choose a cooler tone, or else the yellow undertones will really come out with the mid-day sun.
Choosing colours is trickier than you may think. It’s really important to consider how the colour will look at different times of the day, and how they pair with other colours in your space or that you would like to incorporate. I highly recommend hiring an Interior Designer to help you with choosing these colours, in your home. At minimum, when selecting colours at your preferred paint retailer, ensure you take your time, look at how the colours next to your ideal tone differ (it will help you see the undertones), talk to the sales person, and then bring the swatches home to compare in the room. Just to give you an idea, prior to getting my certification, I didn’t do this, and ended up choosing a taupe with purple undertones for the kitchen!! My husband had already painted a wall and a half before I came in and told him to stop. When he went to get another, better colour (which I now LOVE), the clerk even mentioned that there was purple in that swatch of colours…a rookie mistake on my part.
Back to the bedroom, once it was painted – I had mixed feelings. I loved the black! However, the white was really missing something. But that’s where the fun part comes in – accessorizing!! For me, it was wall art, of course. Black and white photographic prints, did the trick – specifically of world travel. I already had one print that I loved, that had been on my desk. It reminded me of the gate to the home in “Under the Tuscan Sun” – a movie I loved so many years ago because I wanted to live in Tuscany (well don’t we all).
But, that’s all I had, to cover all the empty wall space.
So I was on the hunt – and it’s one of the main reasons I’ve been stalling on writing this post – to make sure the room was complete. As much as I would have loved to have a great piece of art on the wall, our budget wasn’t going to allow it. So I was left to comb the racks at Home Sense until I could find one that worked for the space and my vision.
After numerous trips – I finally found some great pieces. A canal lined with restaurants and cafe’s in the evening. And two old street maps of London and Paris that were framed. I was also able to pick out some great shelves from Umbra with built in planters – since you already know my insane love for natural greenery. Other than that, everything else has been collected over the past few months with this project in mind. Even new curtains!
Remember this shot? My workspace? Well it was updated as well, with some new colour and accessories.
Now I’m extremely happy with the space and surprisingly, so is the hubby. It has the perfect mix of bright whites with the contrast I was looking for. Again, taking time to select the right colour was more than half the battle. Now I just need to tackle the ensuite colour as it matched more the old bedroom colour…but that’s another project for another day.
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