3 BFF Bedroom Redo - Part 1: Intro & Planning

I have a BFF.  It's true.  And she is pretty great.  Like the greatest of the great.  Like, I have a BFF like none other and I wouldn't trade her for any other!

I once read a quote, that completely summed us up in one sentence, "Friendship is one mind in two bodies".  Yep, that's us, completely always thinking the same way, which makes us fabulous support systems for one another, in those times of BFF need.  I actually met my BFF, who we like to call Erin, a little over 9 years ago while working together in an office.  It was there that we realized that we were destined to be long time besties, the kind of Betty Whites you see meeting for coffee or a movie at the age of 80.  That will be us.

And for some visual stimulation here are some of my favorite memories with my favorite gal:

 

Jen & Erin on a girl's weekend getaway

Jen & Erin at Erin's Wedding Shower

 

Jen & Erin at Erin's Wedding {of course we were one another's Maid of Honor}

 

Erin & Jen on vacation in Michigan

 Most recent photo of Jen & Erin, at dinner

As you can plainly see, we do EVERYTHING together, from dinner and movie dates to far away vacations, to weddings, holidays and babies.

Erin is married to a husband almost as fabulous as my own {wink wink Josh!}, and together they have the most precious little 9 month old boy, Nash. 

 Nash & Jen last summer when Nash was uber little

And because Erin & I are like superglue, that means we also spend a lot of time together as families, because really, we are one big happy family!

Bryan, Jen, Erin & Josh zip-lining in Michigan

So the funny thing about Erin is that she is exactly like me, except she's not me... weird.  We have similar style and taste and she so hearts organizing too!  Which is why I was beyond flattered when she asked for my design advice when it came to updating her master bedroom suite.  I felt like I had just won a Grammy or Academy Award.  And because this is going to be an amazingly incredible room makeover {no pressure right?}, we thought it would be fun to share with all of you!  Aren't you excited?!

She very much knows the look she is going for and has her walls painted a pretty brown which will be the backdrop for the new room.

Here are her bedroom "Before" pictures:

 

  

 

And as one should do with most makeovers, she actually found an inspiration piece for the room, which was in the form of  bedding from Crate & Barrel:

But this makeover is all about being on a thrifty and on a tight budget, so $200 bedding wouldn't put us in the best shape right off the bat.  So my resourceful friend did some online shopping, and found a similar set for half the price!  Yes, I said half!  Which included the FREE shipping!  Score!  So, here is our starting off piece:

 

Which is exactly why IHeart Target, they always seem to have "similar" styles to the expensive and trendy home stores, for a fraction of the price!  YAY!

Next was a fun way for Erin and I to spend some girly bonding time together.  We laid in the center of the room and started dreaming and brainstorming and envisioning.  We talked about how the space was used and what would be good functionality additions.  And of course, we were definitely on the same page!

Then, so I would have measurements and references, we grabbed hold of a tape measure and scrap paper and measured out the room:

 

As you can see from the drawing and photos above, the space is actually a tad awkward.  Although it has low ceilings and limited wall space, that should never discourage anyone from thinking they couldn't have one of the most fabulous spaces around, because we will absolutely prove here that you can.

Once we had the floor plan and measurements jotted down, and spent hours sifting through decorating mags for inspiration, I was set to head home and put all of our ideas into an IHeart Organizing Design Style Tile. Say that five times fast.  Goodness, but that is what it gets called for now, for lack of a more creative name.  I will be taking suggestions if anyone is better with words than I.

So, are you ready for the big reveal?  I am a little nervous and shakin' in my slacks, since this is the first time I have put together a Design Style Tile for anyone other than myself, and revealed it for the world to see.  Sink or swim baby, and I am singing Nemo style, "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming"...

Without further ado, Josh & Erin's Master Suite Design Style Tile {click to enlarge}:

And now for a quick breakdown of the plan:

1.  The bedroom layout will actually stay exactly the same and there will be minimal changes to the physical structure of the room itself.  However, I did recommend a fresh coat of bright white paint on all of the trim and doors, to really brighten up the smaller space.  

 

2.  Although all of the parts to the design play together to create a more cohesive feeling, the real bang is going to be a chandelier, hung from the center of the ceiling, which is currently sporting a ceiling fan {and they agree to removing it since they have good airflow via two windows}.  And the chandelier hasn't been finalized as of yet, we are scouring eBay and thrift stores for deals, with the potential of a future DIY project.

3.  For the wall behind the bed:

I am recommending some fresh white curtain panels on each side of the window, which will not only give the window a larger feel, it will also brighten and soften the space that features darker brown walls.

We will also complete a DIY project in which we sport J & E monograms on each side of the bed.

4.  Speaking of brightening up the space, this room is lacking in natural light.  And what better way to create more light within a space, than a mirror.  The plan is to again create a fun DIY project, which includes purchasing a cheap tall wardrobe mirror, framing it out with some white crown molding and then adding these fabulous pretty clear vases down the front:

No worries kids, the mirror will be more for reflecting light than for dressing, since my pretty lady has a whole 'nother room dedicated to getting dressed.

5.  Originally Erin was in the mood for some new night stands, but I knew we could save some pennies by keeping the ones she has, and giving them some amazing love:

 

She mentioned that the drawers were a little sticky, but I told her to rub a bar of soap on the track to smooth that problem out a bit.  And the master plan for the nightstands?  First, we are going to try to lose that top drawer to create some shelf storage.  Then, lots of sanding and priming and some white paint, which will make these nightstands look brand spankingly fresh and new.  But, why stop there, the bottom drawer will get some spiffy new hardware similar to this floral knob:

 

Some wicker storage on the newly created shelf space:

 

And some pretty yet very subtle paper on the top, kind of like icing a cake:

 The lamps will also get completely switched out for these:

Erin also mentioned that she takes off her jewelry and removes her hair clips each night when she crawls into bed, so I thought an adorable floral bowl would be some perfect accessory storage:

Last but not least, a fun new alarm clock will add a little more glam along with function:

 

6.  Next it's time to address the TV wall:

 

There currently is about 32" from the wall to the end of the bed, leaving options for this wall very limiting.  However, I couldn't help but be completely distracted by the cord running down the length of the wall, so I really had to sell to them a solid idea for this problem.

Solution:

A super shallow shelving unit with a floral frosted glass door, securely affixed to the wall.  With this shelving unit, they would only be losing about 6 inches of valuable space, still allowing over 2 feet of walk through area.  Plus, they will be gaining some additional storage space to boot.

We will also install a cord cover down the wall behind the shelving unit, and do another little DIY project in the form of growing our own grass for some cheap decor atop the bookshelf:

The rest of the accessories shown in the Design Style Tile above, will be placed throughout the room with the possibility of also adding some white floating shelves.

So there you have it!  Pretty exciting right?  The best part is that this blogging world is opening a ton of doors for us to share the step by step DIY processes we endure along the way, from refinishing the nightstands to creating a fun light enhancing mirror to drumming up some monogram artwork.  

So as they say, stay tuned, because we are going to tackle this room HGTV style, and you get to be the ones pacing until the big reveal at the end!