Quick Fix

I make my bed almost every day! I don’t do it to make sure that I am successful for the day or that I am not embarrassed to have someone see an unmade bed. I do it because at the end of the day, I love walking into a beautifully decorated and put together master bedroom. In my years of decorating I have found that the most ignored space is the master bedroom. Often, the master bedroom is a collection of things that did not make the cut in the rest of the house. So they have taken up residence in the master bedroom and it looks like a mish mash of unrelated items. That is, until today! Let’s take a peek into a master bedroom of an Iris, and a master bedroom of a Gardenia that were given a quick fix, both in the same day somewhere in the heart of The Villages.

• Iris Master
Though I have no before picture; this bedroom was a collection of lamps, tables and a chair that did not work in the rest of the house. The only art in the room was over a tall dresser on the entrance wall to the bedroom.

• Art
The homeowner chose the picture titled, “Chairman of the Board “by Gene Rizzo. The picture is sandpipers on the ocean and has lots of sandy and blue hues.
The Iris bedroom has a wall between two windows that is a great place to hang a large picture or two medium pictures stacked. For this space, the homeowner chose a large water color by Elizabeth Kershaw titled, “Free Spirit”. The large picture shows a tall vertical palm tree by the shore of a lake and it looks amazing with the Gene Rizzo nearby. Tip: In the Iris model especially, it is important that the wall between the windows looks really nice because it can be seen from the living room.

• White curtains
We hung stationary side panels of white shimmery fabric. The side panels were hung outside the window so they don’t block light and soften the space. A white curtain adds a crisp summery freshness to any space.

• Bedding
The bedding had to be lightweight and cat friendly. We chose a washable white cotton coverlet to place on top of the sheets. We lined the headboard with three teal Euro pillows to create a strong pop of color at the back of the bed. We placed white king shams in front of the Euro pillows to give contrast to the teal. To finish the pillows, we placed a single starfish pillow in the middle of the king shams. Also, we got lucky because the starfish was a tan burlap color that coordinated with the tan bed skirt from the previous bed set. If you can save the old bed skirt, then you can save time and money. At the midpoint of the bed we placed a teal coverlet folded up like a bed scarf to pull it all together. The colors for the bedding were pulled from the colors in the artwork.

• New lamps
The old lamps were nice but small. We added new lamps covered in Capiz shell. These lamps are neutral, natural, and add texture to the space. They are taller and more appropriate in scale and don’t forget pretty!

• Gardenia bedroom
This master bedroom had all matching bedroom furniture but lacked visual cohesion between the art and bedding. However, we did have to keep some of the art that were heirlooms and very precious to the family.

• New Floor and no rug
The homeowners had replaced all the flooring in the rest of the home with engineered hardwood and wanted to replace the flooring in the master prior to the quick fix. Also, we decided not to lay down an area rug because they felt like it would be a tripping hazard in the night.

• Art
The homeowners were looking for a bit of a coastal feeling in the bedroom and they chose a picture of a sunrise across a beautiful sandy beach. The colors in the photo looked great with the tones in the furniture as well. We were able to keep the heirloom pieces by hanging them together on a side wall for a pop of color.

• Heavier Coverlet bedding
These homeowners wanted a heavier coverlet. They turn the air down at night and snuggle up so we were able to buy a really nice bed set with matching pieces. The husband did not want too many pillows but we really did have to add the Euros at the back of the bed to enhance the set. He said yes to that!

• Curtains
We did not paint the walls because they did not need it. They were a soft crème color and in good shape. However, to pull it all together and hide the alarm box above the bed we did install stationary side panels but this time we chose blue.
The blue matched the bed spread perfectly. We hung them out beyond the edge of the windows so they did not take away light but they did cover the big alarm box above the right side of the bed.

• New lamps
The homeowners chose tall beside lamps that provided lots of light. These lamps complement the tall heirloom lamp in height and shape. Altogether, that was a quick two hour fix!

P.S. –Attention, club presidents! I give free decorating programs! It is lots of fun and very informative. Call and schedule your club today or call Ruth your full service decorator at 352-804-2056.

Before and After Pics Below