Cozy Cottage: Master Bedroom Plan

For each house we renovate, I create imaginary owners as I start to decorate.  It might seem silly, but it gives me something to go with, as I choose colors, products and décor for each room.  In this house, I’m pretending the new owners will be a young couple with a little boy.  That helps me create each space – especially the bedrooms and bonus space in the basement. (BTW - I've NEVER guessed the future owners correctly!! You'd think I could get it right at least 10% of the time.  But no!  This is why I don't play the lottery!)

Master Bedroom Before

Unlike the rest of the house, we aren’t making big changes to the footprint of the bedrooms.  But we want to make them lighter and brighter and provide some of the character that we're adding to the rest of the house.  As you’ve seen in previous posts, we’ve changed out all the windows.  That was a nice first step.

Ranch (or clamshell) molding

We removed all the old ‘ranch’ molding (sometimes also called clamshell molding).  I wish it was an easy job, but for baseboards, the old school method was to install the molding  first and then the flooring was done over top of it.  That means you have the tedious job of cutting all the baseboard level with the floor and then dig it out.  Ugh!

Ranch molding is the cheapest molding available and was used a lot in the 60’s and 70’s.  I’m not sure why, but I HATE this molding.    It just has no character or architectural interest (although this is a 1960’s rancher, so it's historically appropriate J ) Instead, we’ll add a head casing and trim that’s similar to what you find in other cottages and bungalows in the area.  It’s hard to believe how much difference something this simple can make – but wait till you see it!

I’ve also ordered all new doors. – the old hollow luan doors have been donated to Habitat for Humanity.  And again, taking cues from old homes in the neighborhood, we’re installing simple 2 panel doors.  To make them a bit more special, I’ve ordered these knobs from Nostalgic Warehouse. These are going to really be a wow factor!

For the master bedroom, I reworked this headboard from a previous project and covered it with this tailored navy fabric from Ballard Designs.  To dress it up a bit more, I'll add giant nailheads around the perimeter.   






































For bed linens, I’ll be using this West Elm Nomad quilt, shams and throw, to give it a warm, cozy feel.   This needs to be a room you can relax in.

And for the window treatments, we'll use these soft sheers from IKEA - we want to maximize the light coming into the room!  

I’ve agonized over the light fixture.  We don’t have high ceilings, but I want something with some character.  So, I’ve ordered two different lights from Wayfair.  The first is a bit more practical and is flush mount to the ceiling.  










The second is more of a ‘wow’ and I really love it.  But it’s possible it will make the ceiling feel lower – so we’re going to try them them  out, once we get the room finished.  Stay tuned for the decision! 

I'd love to show you a progress photo of the room, but we have so much stuff stored in there - you can't even get in the door!  Hopefully the other rooms will be done soon and we can clean this room out!!

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