I love a good “Before and After.” I mean, really, who doesn’t?!? But there is so much that goes on behind the scenes to get to that gorgeous After photo. Typically it takes months of planning and preparing and then doing the actual work can take so much time, depending on the size of the project, if you’re DIY’ing it or if you’re hiring it out. It’s not just a snap of the finger and it’s all done.
So I thought I’d share my design process from the beginning on some of my own projects around our home. It’s pretty much the same exact process I use with clients {Although it’s SO much more difficult being my own client! I can pick things out for clients quickly and be fully assured that it’s the right design decision, but when it comes to our home, oh my goodness, I don’t know why it’s so dang hard!} If you’ve been reading for awhile, you may know we have been in our new home about 6 months. You can see the Before House Tour here. For those of you who are new, you can read this post, and get familiar with our recent little adventure. :)
Today I thought I’d share the beginning of my design process for our master bedroom. Maybe it will spark some inspiration for you if you are tackling a new room project or it will take some of the mystery out of hiring an interior designer to help you with that project.
Here are some photos of our master bedroom after some work had started back in June of last year.
That’s the master ceiling.
I was working with mauve walls, a wallpaper boarder and a full wallpapered ceiling. This room had green carpet that was also throughout a good portion of the house. When we purchased the house, we knew we wanted to change out the flooring and give this house some character. Our last house had so much uniqueness and character, and we moved into a pretty basic {although nice!} builder grade home. There are so many ideas I have to add personality to this house! However before we moved in last summer, I wanted to add some interest to our master.
Our last master bedroom had an awesome planked vaulted ceiling with beams. I loved, loved, loved our master bedroom in that house. I had designed a new fireplace surround, painted the walls, added new trim and window treatments, and it just had so much natural light and a view that I loved. I made a vow that when we moved into that house, our bedroom would be one of our first projects just because in our previous home and rentals, it always seemed like the master was the last we worked on because no one saw it. Except the people that lived there every single day!!
To add some interest to our new bedroom and to avoid having to tear down ceiling wallpaper, I had our carpenters plank the ceiling {it’s the same tongue and groove planking on the back of our built-ins in the living room that you can see here} and they added molding around the edges to finish it off. I love how it turned out. We also added all new baseboard, casing and new doors to this room. To save money, I had the painter paint just the entire ceiling, the doors and door frames. I knew I could paint the baseboards and walls. Don’t think that I haven’t thought to myself “If I had just had them paint this room, it would already be all done!” But we did save quite a bit leaving this room and a couple of others off the painter’s list.
Our new bedroom is pretty big. It has only one window, but it’s a fairly large one. In my day dreaming, I’d love to add windows along the bed wall, but that is FAR off.
I took these pictures last week. I mean, if you ever were intimidated by an interior designer, all you have to do is remember this picture. We’ve got a sheet over the window folks. Over a blind, I might add. The wand to rotate the louvers broke off when we were having work done and so it can only get so tight. It’s a real designer look, that white sheet that is tacked to the molding. ;) Remember this is the process! 
The white spots all over the walls are dry wall patch and paint overspray from the door casings.
It’s been like this for 6 months. And I finally just got rid of that moving box leaning against the wall. The movers broke our large Ikea mirror in the move and I have been waiting to write a claim for a few of the items that were damaged so I had that stick around. Then I went to try to fill it all out and it just seemed to be too much work!! I’m sure that is what the movers are counting on. So that mirror is now sitting in our garage waiting to get hauled off! 
The duvet cover was in the wash that day.
Bed // Bedside Table
When I first start on a project, I talk with the client {in this case, in my own head ;) } about what they like, what they don’t like, how they hope the space will feel and function. Since I loved our last bedroom, I’m using that as inspiration. For this room, the only furniture we may add is a bench and maybe a smallish chair, or possibly move another of the same Ikea Ektorp chairs up from the basement to have two chairs for the sitting area. Otherwise, no new furniture is being used. I have since moved that little white bookcase out of here too. It may come back, but at this point, I don’t think it will. I would love to add a large rug in here, too.
What we desperately need is a good window treatment option. Since the ceilings are high in here, I found some longer drapery panels from Ikea. I couldn’t find the Werna ones we purchased, but these are similar, and they come in 4 different colors. You can use them on a rod, or with rings. Just be sure you get the curtain hooks to go with those rings!
I really love using custom window treatments. It personalizes the space and makes the window treatment work specifically for that window. However, there is a lot to do project-wise in this house and in our last house it took almost 2 years to save up for custom treatments. So I found the next best thing.
To get an idea of what I want in this room, I just printed off some black and white copies and drew the window treatment and possible artwork layout right on top. Again, this is how I do it with clients a lot of the time if they need a visual on how it will look. The printer ink is low and so it made it look like the walls do in real life! 
I don’t know if I’ll have to hem them, or if I’ll need the 2 sets I got, but it’s better to have a fuller drape than one that goes flat against a window when it’s drawn. I’ll be sure to do a post on dressing these ready-made panels up to make them more custom. I would like to get a decorative “tape” to put on the lead edge. In our last bedroom, I used a 4″ band of fabric on the lead edge that I liked a lot, but since these aren’t custom drapes, I’ll stick with an easy tape I can add with fabric tape.
I will be purchasing a custom hardware rod. It’s just such a huge window and I want it to be sturdy. I have found that going the custom route {as opposed to purchasing a rod that can extend to the length you need} works best for large windows where the drapery is moving regularly. I have off-the-shelf extendable drapery rods in my office and the girls’ room and they work great there because they are smaller windows without a lot of drapery weight on them. By getting a large rod and hanging it up high {I like a few inches from the molding or ceiling} it will make this window look larger than it is. I’m ready for more natural light in this room!
You can see some first round sketches: A rug outline on the floor and some ideas for artwork layouts on the walls. I’d love something round above the bed, but that may be a mirror and I’m thinking of possibly adding mirrors above the nightstands to get the effect of windows on that wall. If I go that route, I wouldn’t put another mirror over the bed.
Paint color options will be Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter {we used it here in our last powder bath and in our new office}, Silver Chain {the color of our last master which is very gray until it goes on the wall and then it definitely has a blue undertone} or Baby Fawn {which we used through the main living room area of the house.}
My next step in my design process is to make up a design board that has the paint colors, the existing furniture, the artwork, window treatments, bedding, a rug, and accessory options all pulled together on one page to see how it all will come together. For this particular project, having a plan in place to start is like a road map. I know the look and feel that I’m going for and I can tackle each step and move on to the next. This room won’t be completed all in one phase. Paint, window treatments, artwork and accessories will be the first phases and then we’ll move on to adding a rug and possibly an additional chair later.
Phew! I’m sorry this post got so long!!! But I thought there’s a lot of value in seeing the design process from the beginning. It takes out a lot of the “perfection” we see on social media these days and helps to keep it less intimidating, I think. I’ll be doing some painting in here this weekend, and hopefully have some progress to share in the next couple of weeks! Have a great weekend :)
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I like what you are thinking! The drawing on the pictures of what you are envisioning is very helpful. I’m interested in seeing the end product.
Thank Mom :)
Thanks Mom :)
Thank you for sharing the process and it is just that, a well thought out process. That is why we all use you! Love what you have accomplished, so far, in the bedroom. You have added so much interest with the moulding, floors and doors. Don’t you miss that wallpapered ceiling?! Planking it was genius! Can’t wait to see further updates. Then do our bedroom!!
It is definitely a process, right!?!? So glad you like what has been done so far! Can’t wait to get more completed and share it soon. And then I will definitely come and help with your bedroom :)