Gray Area

Two weeks ago, I decided to move the guest room upstairs. When I shared my plan with the husband he looked at me like I had asked him to raise the roof for a third floor addition.  Men!

Moving the bed upstairs was the first step.  I won’t go into the details but these are the things that can test a relationship!  Luckily, no one broke a leg or anything exciting like that!

With the bed in place, I viewed the room as a blank slate.

My mind’s eye was saying, minimalist but not too minimalist.  There’s a time for releasing my inner child’s imagination and a time for restraint.  However, a minimalist style shouldn’t be mind-numbingly boring either.  I feel, it should be simple yet interesting with just the right balance of color and texture.

The Ethan Allen bed was a gift from my father-in-law for my daughter when she was two.  He thought she needed a big girl bed and that is exactly what she got!  Someday it will be hers again.

The color inspiration came from the rug I originally purchased for my desk in the craft room.  I love the gray color accented with navy and carried the same colors to the bedding.

As I was making up the bed, I thought of creating the Pottery Barn look. In their catalog the bed pillows have that random casual feel, as if someone tossed the pillows in the air and they magically land in an artistic pile. The first few times I tried arranging the pillows it looked like five little monkeys had been jumping on the bed. I’ll work on it some more, hopefully you get the idea.

One of my favorite aspects of decorating is working with texture especially when the room has an absence of pattern.  The texture of the linen quilt, the loose weave of the throw, even the lamp shade has a visible weave giving character to a very simple lamp.

The small picture above the bed is a postcard from Mission Beach, California, circa 1936. I found it at a flea market years ago when I was decorating the guest bath downstairs in a beach theme.  I still love the vintage look of the colors with the oversize white mat and frame.

 

The postcard on the bed side table was addressed to my grandparents from a friend that booked passage on the Britannic. I centered the postcard between two pieces of glass, so it can be viewed from both sides.

The Atlantic bucket on the floor holding maps is a replica of a maple sap bucket found at the same flea market as the postcard.

I really love how the room is coming together.  As soon as the other elements come on-line I’ll share more pictures.  See you soon!

Sweet dreams!