{p,h,f,r} Throwdown with Like Mother, Like Daughter

After a long absence, I’m linking up with Leila and her {pretty, happy, funny, real} BEDROOM EDITION! Oh, la, la! No, not that kind of bedroom edition. I took on the challenge laid down by Leila on Monday to snazzy up my bedroom. She said I didn’t need to make a big deal about it and post before and after shots, but because you know I like to keep it “real” around here or, maybe more accurately, “humiliate myself in the hopes of garnering a laugh” I TOTALLY took before pictures. (You are going to feel so good about the state of your house when you see these.)

{real} (I know it’s out-of-order but I can’t put the ugly before under pretty and I don’t want to do the reveal first so forgive me just this once.)

I can’t blame any of this disaster on Sandy.

I didn’t even make the bed or pretend to make it look like I keep this room inhabitable. If you look close enough, I’m sure you’ll see a pair of underpants somewhere. In this fixer upper of ours, the master bedroom is last in line to get its uppers fixed. Because it’s the largest room upstairs, it became the office after one of the many stages of room reshuffling we’ve done. The desk is crying out for a mercy killing, and waking up to that sight every morning makes me want to dowse it with gasoline, light a match, take everyone out on a long drive and hope for the best. I’ve been thinking about moving the office to the upstairs landing but I’d hoped to install some cabinetry plus a long counter that could serve as a desk and craft surface; in general a useful space with all the Martha Stewart trimmings. But that project is AT LEAST a year off.

The upstairs hallways before aka the craft project graveyard and overflow library.

I decided rearranging would be better than suffering with things as they were a minute longer so without consulting my husband or children, I spent the whole day moving and cleaning.

And now the {pretty} after

Plus, the hallway got touched up even though Leila didn’t say anything about hallways. I think I deserve bonus points.

In case you’re wondering, I already had to beat Better Homes and Gardens off with a stick. But seriously, the walls still need painted, the water damaged ceiling repaired, trim installed, mismatched closet doors painted BUT I’m so much happier. I moved the bed to the center of the room and placed the two bookshelves as a headboard. I cleared off lots of other clutter and even hung up a photo from our wedding that’d been shoved in my closet. The layout also creates an easy pass through to the door leading into Teddy’s room, rather than banging into the office chair every time I go to change his diaper. Tony came home wondering why I wasn’t online all day and was completely surprised. Luckily, he really liked it.

{happy}

Now when I lay in bed, I’m looking out the window rather than a stack of mail I know I need to sort.

{funny}

Hola senoritas. Once relegated to a dusty corner, the lamp is back and proudly on display. I may not be able to snuggle next to him in bed, but I can view him from under the warmth of my comforter as I drift into a deep and spicy sleep. Ladies please, control yourselves. He’s spoken for. And what would your husband say if he say you doing that with the computer screen?

Now that I’ve exposed the skeletons in my closet, and on the desk and on the top of the dresser, go visit Like Mother, Like Daughter to see who else was up to the BEDROOM REDO THROW DOWN TO THE DEATH. It’s a pretty crazy group of gals so be prepared for anything.

9 Comments

  1. What an excellent furniture rearranging clean up pretty job. I tip my sombrero in your direction!
    I love the shot of the view out your window. Very amusing.

  2. Haha… I was texting my mom last night, wondering what the heck I was supposed to call my post… “Bedroom edition?” Nope. “Pretty in the Bedroom edition?” Nope. We didn’t quite anticipate that issue… 🙂
    Looks great, and you totally get bonus points for the hall.

  3. Nothing like big humor to lighten a big challenge 🙂 I love the idea of the re-positioning the bed to face the window. Thanks for sharing!

  4. Haha — we should have put you in charge of the title! You are way funnier than we are.
    And you did an awesome job on your room!

  5. I’m coming to the party l-a-t-e…since I’ve just this week discovered your entertaining blog…but I have to say what a fabulous job you did with the rearranging! And including “before” pictures was blogging genius. I have had a total bee-in-my-bonnet about us married girls making our bedrooms beautiful, comfortable places ever since we fixed up our own room some seven years into married life. Without going into details…it made a difference! Our house, too, is still largely unfinished (now some fifteen years into married life!) – but I have never regretted putting the time and money into our hidden bedroom instead of into the very-public entry or even the living room. Let’s get our priorities straight, sisters!

    Two thoughts on the bookcase-headboard: You don’t live in an earthquake zone, do you? ‘Cause the books & bookends on the top would give you a nasty headache tumbling down middle of the night… (Here in coastal B.C., that’s a consideration I can never forget!) Also, have you a pretty piece of cloth to hang or thumbtack across the backs of the furniture? It would give the headboard a cozier, finished look. Just thinking… And I love your bedroom curtains; I was looking for something similar myself, in dusty rose, for our room. Couldn’t find it…so settled on a wide damask stripe.

    (Dare I finish by asking whether you’ve been able to keep the clutter at bay these past three months?)

    1. We’re not in an earthquake zone so the only reason those books would come down on us would be because some kids jumped in bed and started trouble.
      I also thought of the fabric headboard but I don’t have anything good on hand so we’re sticking with the “rustic cabin” look for now.
      The clutter has been kept at bay with only a few instances of laundry build up. But I’ve been much more motivated to keep it clean. It’s the one room in the house no children are allowed to play and I need that clean sanctuary to retreat to at the end of the day.
      Thanks for stopping by!

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