I’ve got another Art of the Mix for you!
We’re still residing in the little garage apartment, which I wrote about here. It has me lusting after rentals and dreaming up my own room plans and decor ideas. So much so I decided to design a bedroom that might work in an apartment with the living room I recently laid out here. I keep looking at the living room, getting lost in its color. I freaking love it so.
I’m no stranger to designing living rooms but I haven’t done much in other rooms. When it comes to my own bedroom I’ve considered pieces separately but not much the room as a whole. Last year this was as far as I got:
I really don’t know why I wanted to paint the brutalist nightstands white when clearly they’d be so good in their natural wooden state. Whatever past me. I like how I didn’t care to try to make the bedding look like it was really on the bed. HA. I have definitely developed my photoshopping/room mock-up layout skills as this blog has progressed. This room may have worked for me back then but not for me now.
But one thing that does work, one thing that must work, is my World Market bed. Right now I’m sleeping on a dang twin in the garage. I really miss being able to spread out on that queen! AH! So as I began this new room, I kept that in mind. WM bed and the Art of the Mix living room (a flow between the rooms).
(Click to enlarge)
I’ve been wanting the Brutalist nightstands going on a year now. When I saw knockoffs on Dabito’s blog I was so happy. They’re not vintage or as blocky but they’re about $200 each. The Paul Evans variety are about $800 a pair. $400 vs. $800? Hmmmmmmm.
One thing I don’t like about a lot of bedrooms you see, even the advice you’re given, is that they should be themed. I don’t want an all purple room. An all Moroccan room. An all yellow and blue room. A french toile room. A this or that room. Ya know? That is not my style. I do want my bedroom to be a calming place to sleep at night but still have a punch of personality, which for me is color and collected pieces.
Wallpaper really seems to be having its moment right now but I’m not really a wallpaper in every room gal. I did want something dramatic on the walls though. A lot of the historical apartments in the area have arches. If I were to rent such a place, perhaps I could repeat the architectural detail such as an arch on the wall with paint. Or maybe it could be a square, Or a big ol’ circle. You’d have to look at your space and see what was appropriate. I went with a violet paint color because it goes well with the other colors in the room (the ivory bed, the stripe in the bedding).
I brought unexpected pattern in through a bold black and white striped bedspread. I will tell you that I had this idea before I set out to find actual bedding. It’s slim pickings! I wanted my stripes to run vertically. It seems the majority of the world wants their stripes horizontally. And everything is a duvet cover. You might be okay with duvets but I personally hate them. I suspect they’re made better now than they were when I had one 20 years ago, but I still refuse. REFUSE.
I had this crazy idea of having one long velvet pillow instead of 2 shams. I still think that might be cool. Can you customize one big down insert? That sounds like money. I guess boring 2 shams is easier 
Anyway, that smaller stripe is actually blue, not black. Stripe on stripe!
One thing we can all agree on, I think, maybe, hopefully, that a bedroom needs, is a cozy rug. While the living room is bing bam boom color, I wanted the bedroom to be more relaxed. I tried lots of rugs (if you followed me on Instastory) and arrived at the conclusion that this flokati from World Market was not only affordable but pretty dang great looking aesthetically. In my mind I realllllly kind of wanted a shag rug and well, here it is. This isn’t a room where there is a lot of foot traffic so I wouldn’t be so worried about staining it.
There was a part of me that wanted to have some sleek and shine. At first I was thinking super 80s shapes. Like racetrack credenzas. I found this vintage dresser that had been lacquered in seafoam green. If you’re a diy person I would totally go to craigslist and buy a piece of junk and do this yourself. But I am notorious for buying crap and never even starting the project so I’ve learned to just pay the money and get on with my life with an already completed piece. Anyway, I love this pop of seafoam. The original hardware. Yes please yes. And I love love love that ram. Aries for life! 😛 😛 I chose a french gold mirror and liked how its arched shape also matched the wall shape. Boom, repetition to bring balance and cohesion to the room. Part of me still kind of wants a crazy 40s/80s room. Maybe I’ll find a way to mix it all in next time.
(Buy one of sad these crusties, any of these (fill in the original hardware holes first) 1,2, 3, 4, buy some paint/lacquer, and viola! A new 6 center-pull lacquered dresser.)
All the lamps in the space are from Target (with the floor lamp being one I own in real life. Thanks Mom!). I always like to add black to the space (or white) to anchor all the color. The red artwork is a piece we own in real life as well, a piece Jim actually owns, and putting a male touch in this kind of feminine space is important. I knew I needed a pop of red and how handy that we already have this!
I love the vintage floral chairs in contrast with the striped bedding. They have iron legs with feet that match my vintage crushed velvet chair. They are realistically completely out of budget but I can dream. I can’t afford $2000/yd Lee Jofa fabric like in the living room but who cares, this is for fun and assuming I’ll find alternatives when the time comes! I did find this affordable chair but it pales in comparison looks, style, shape wise. It does have similar colors though and it does come with its own lumbar pillow, just like the vintage chairs!
Lastly, since this is kind of a girly space, I wanted to rough it up with a vintage leather chair. This one ended up being vinyl but I still like it. I love the wooden arms with the tufting. There’s so much warmth to the space, lots of textures and materials to look at but not so much you’re overloaded.
Top it off with a plant or two and you’ve got yourself (me) an Art of the Mix bedroom!
Let me know your thoughts. I would love to hear them.
So, to create this room I’d have to buy a lot…
- Wall paint
- Brutalist-inspired nightstands
- Black Target table lamps
- Matching floral chairs
- Fancy brass foot stool
- Vintage leather chair
- Flokati rug
- Lacquered dresser
- Giant Italian ram
- French gold mirror
- Plant life
What I do own?
- World Market bed
- Target floor lamp
- Red abstract art piece
The Details: Tufted bed, Brutalist-inspired nightstands, Black table lamps, Flokati rug, Stripe bedding, Velvet pillows, Stripe pillow, Lacquered dresser, Target floor lamp, Vintage floral chairs (alternative), Brass footstool, Vinyl chair, French mirror
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