Bedroom Update: Part III
It's finally here! The big reveal of the final bits from my bedroom/office update.
It's ok if you aren't as excited as I am.
When I last left you, I had added wallpaper accents, a new light fixture, new curtains and sheers, and new bedding. I chose to pick up the pink in the wallpaper to add a little more brightness to my room. Luckily, my husband doesn't feel like his masculinity is attacked by pink accents.
Here's a reminder of what all that looks like:
All that was left was to make our dressers look like they belonged. I didn't necessarily need them to be matchy matchy, but I needed them to feel like it was on purpose.
As you can see, the dressers are not cohesive. And truth be told, I've really grown to hate mine. It's already been made over once - back in 2019. I couldn't bear the thought of moving to an apartment and not being able to paint so I painted my dresser. It worked with my bedding at the time (it also worked well with the bedding shown above), but I've never loved it in this house. I'm not entirely sure why - maybe it was just too bold with the bold wall color. Maybe it was just because it obviously clashed with his. Or maybe it was just a reminder of 2019 that I was ready to be rid of.
All I know is I love it now. I used leftover paint from our kitchen cabinets, added new hardware, and some gold leaf details. I even used leftover wallpaper inside the doors and drawers. The only structural thing I changed was behind the doors had one shelf on each side and I never felt like I was utilizing the space well. So I removed the shelves to allow for more space and then one day at Dollar Tree I found fabric storage bins that are an exact match and now I love it!
I use the bins for bathing suits on one side and socks on the other. Easy peasy!
And remember the poster frames? I used to want to silver leaf them back when I was going for that Hollywood Regency/Art Deco Glam vibe but now I'm glad I didn't. I did have to buy additional gold leaf but I was able to do 3 27" x 40" poster frames and then some - and I still have a lot left.
Between the original kit I purchased and the additional gold leaf pages, I spent less than $35. I was able to gold leaf 2 11"x14" frames, 3 27" x 40" (4 if you include the one I messed up because the gold didn't match), and 2 canvases...plus the embellishing of the dressers. I couldn't have purchased one gold frame for that!
Also it's kind of fun to do. A little time consuming and challenging for a perfectionist but I cannot argue with the end results:
In addition to the paint matching, I also added matching hardware to both dressers. I liked these ginko leaf pulls to bring a little of the wallpaper to that side of the room. I found the other pulls at HomeGoods by lucky chance but these look really similar. It's a sort of rough stone finish.
As you can see I removed some of the details from the front of his dresser to give it a cleaner look to match mine. I had planned to remove the bottom apron but it was more structural than decorative so I kept it. I added the gold leaf on top and bottom to mimic mine as well.
The paintings are originals by me. I tend to keep them in the bedroom because I'm not overly proud of them but the memories attached are more important. The bridge one was done when Chrissy first stayed with us - it was a group outing with the other exchange students. And she must have enjoyed it because it was the number one item on her #germanwishlist when she came back to visit with Julia.
And suddenly I am wondering why we didn't try to do that in Maine. #redo
If you've seen my art wall in the dining room, you will know I like a raw edge on my art, rather than framing it. Sure, there's an obvious budgetary factor but I really just like the look. However I decided to take some of the gold leaf - since I have so much - and pretty up the edges of these two. I think it worked out beautifully.
Also in case you are wondering why I have Disney movie posters hanging in my bedroom, I'll tell you. Reason number one is they are art to me. Both of the ones above my dresser are original, double sided one sheet teasers. They were produced for theatres. I first got the Beauty and the Beast poster because I loved the movie so much and I just thought the art on it was gorgeous. I thought Aladdin complemented the colors well, so when that came out I snatched it up. The third poster is from a Pinocchio re-release, and I only have it because the colors look good with the other two (though it is also an original, double sided teaser).
I did look at them as investment pieces. When I first saw the Beauty and the Beast poster at Remember When it was $20. I saw the movie opening day (which was my birthday) and went in the next day to buy it and it was gone. I was put on a wait list and maybe 6 months later I got the call and bought it for $75 (this was a lot of money for me back then). When I saw the other 2 posters, I snatched them up immediately for $20 each.
Are they worth more now? Maybe. Almost definitely worth at least more than the $115 I paid all total, but they aren't paying for my retirement either.
I still think they are pretty though.
Also I have never been a big fan of gold so I do find it odd that I am accenting everything gold right now. I think it looks great and I have no regrets but I do wonder if I'm going to hate it all in 10 years.
Then again, I will probably want to redo everything in 10 years anyway, so what does it matter?
I'm not comfortable turning this into a DIY blog - I rarely follow directions - but if anyone wants something gold leafed, let me know. I'm happy to share what I've learned or do it for you for a small fee. ;)
I've got nothing but time on my hands right now.
#stilllucky #infinitelybetter #bedroommakeover #diy #dresserupdate #ginko #maximalist #wallpaper #goldleaf #disney #movieposter #onesheet #teaser #beautyandthebeast #aladdin