Holiday Sanctuary

Well you must feel great now that you have finished the top of your cabinets finally and your guest bath is in shape for Christmas. However, it is just one and a half weeks until Christmas and we have not yet addressed the most forgotten room in the house. This room provides a momentary get away when you just need a break, a peaceful night’s sleep, and often a second place to watch TV when yours has been taken over by Sponge Bob Square pants. This room is often the room left for last and can look like an afterthought when it should have been the first thought. Webster’s Dictionary defines the word sanctuary as a place of refuge and protection and that is just what a master bedroom should be at the end of the day. So you may not have time to do a complete overhaul before Christmas but you still have time to freshen, brighten and make the space feel more complete. Let’s take a peek into a master bedroom of a Begonia Model and a master bedroom of a Gardenia model that are freshened up just in time for Santa somewhere in the heart of The Villages.

• Bedroom #1 Begonia
The bedroom looked nice but the homeowners wanted to lighten it up a bit and just add some freshness to the space. We removed the dark green Euro pillows from the back of the bed because dark sagey green absorbs light. We still needed Euro pillows (a large square pillow) along the back of the bed so we replaced the green with a light tan Euro pillow. The light tan matched the light tan comforter on the bed. The lighter pillows changed the look of the bed by just brightening up the space.

• Art over the bed #1
The saying painted on the wall over the bed in the before picture was very nice. We hated to get rid of it but we needed a large focal point over the bed and art would do the trick. The homeowners chose a long panoramic by Alan Maltz titled, Maiden Voyage. The colors in the picture tied into the tropical bedding perfectly.

• Mirrors Bedroom #1
This bedroom has a long wall without windows that opposes sliding glass doors. We decided to create more light by adding three large mirrors to the wall. The mirrors provide an artistic look with the metal design in heavy gold leaf as well as providing light to the space.

• Bedroom #2 Gardenia Windows
The first bedroom already had the windows done with shutters and headers. We did schedule this bedroom to have the same thing done to the windows and achieved that before Christmas. However, if it is not in your budget to change the windows and since there is not time to schedule shutters and molding by Christmas, don’t let that stop you from freshening the rest of the room. All windows can be done later or last.

• Bedding bedroom #2
Many people will buy all matching bed sets and that is great but when the bed is made the all matching looks just a bit dull because there is no contrast. To create contrast there must be a basic bedding color as the palate. The first bedroom was tan as the base color on the bed. For this bedroom we will chose white as the base bed color on the bed. I often find an inexpensive white coverlet to lay on the bed first. This coverlet was thirty three dollars and it is washable. Next, I find white Euro pillows. These pillows are only seventeen dollars each and will last forever! I line the back of the head board with the three Euro pillows as a foundation. The pillows that you sleep with can be hidden behind the Euro pillows so that all we see is the white Euro pillow. Next, I place the king shams in front of the white Euro pillows. The white as the backdrop will make the shams pop!
Next I place any decorative pillows that complete the bed set in front of the shams. Finally, I fold up the comforter in thirds and lay it at the end of the bed. The thick comforter at the end of the bed looks decadent and full like a luxurious hotel. The bed skirt did come with the bed set and the homeowner made it look more appealing by adding crème ribbon to the top and the bottom of the bed skirt. Remember, that you can always enhance something that is off the rack by adding your own special touches.

• New lamps
This bed is decadent and needed new lamps to show it off. We chose tall robin’s egg blue crackle lamps with a crème shade. This lamp comes in at a towering thirty nine inches high and is great for reading in bed.

• Enhance the dresser décor
The dresser looked great in the space but we needed to enhance the décor. We added three candlesticks with teal electric candles and small piece of faux coral. Also, we added a tall white orchid arrangement in a teal blown glass dish.

• Rug
We added a 5×8 jute rug in cream and blue to the space. We angled it under the front leg of the bed so that the rug is the first thing you see when entering the room and it looks so good that you want to see more.

P.S. –Attention all club presidents! We give free decorating seminars. It is lots of fun and very informative. Call and schedule your club today. Also, we are on-line check out our web-site at www.ruthdyer.com and you can always e-mail us at ruth@finishingtouchfl.com or Call Ruth your full service decorator at 352-804-2056.

Before and After Pics Below