OUR BEDROOM MAKEOVER (BEFORE AND AFTER PHOTOS)
If you’ve been following the blog, you may remember that last year I spoke a lot about our bedroom makeover. Our apartment makeover is pretty much done now… you can see our sports room here, and our living room here… but the bedroom has always been close to my heart. I wanted it to be just perfect.
Here’s a shot of our old bedroom. Although it was at our old apartment, all the components were pretty much the same. The same mattress of the floor, wooden IKEA shelf and lots of boxes!
You may also remember the post I made about our bedroom concepts way back when last year. This was the concept I came up with after lots of brainstorming and soul-searching. The bedroom is really important to me — it’s the place you wake up in to start the day, and the place you rest your mind before going to sleep. It is important to me that it imparts a sense of peace. We wanted something clean that is not too girly, although I did ask that the bedroom could be a little more feminine since the rest of the apartment is quite masculine. I think it is a good compromise, and the green is quite a neutral-gender colour.
So here we go! This is the new bedroom with the makeover! I think we did a pretty good job of staying true to our concepts.
Here are some shots of the bedside tables and highboy under construction 
The biggest part of the makeover (and the most time consuming) was the furniture. We bought some old dressers and side tables in French provincial style off Craigslist and completely re-did the hardware, stripped, sanded and painted for many many weeks. The paint is a white antique lacquer finish from Mohawk, and the handles were purchased from Lee Valley. We also painted the handles with metal paint and I think they look really cool and very similar to the design concept. I’m really proud of the beautiful curvy King-size bed that we custom designed and ordered from Vancouver custom woodworker KLK Woodworking. Kelly was really amazing and built the bed that we dreamed of! It has a French style but it is still whimsical to make the room look a bit more modern. To save money, we ordered the bed unpainted and it took several more weeks of sanding and painting to finish it.
The linens and bedding are where we really splurged though. We really pinched our pennies by buying used furniture and getting a custom bed, but the bedding was something I wanted to make sure was good quality and lasted. After months of looking around online and in stores, I FINALLY found the sheets we were looking for! We got our bedding from Terra Nova Interiors downtown. They are gorgeous Italian Sferra sheets… we purchased the “Alice” coverlet, 3 euro shams, and small green throw pillow in the front. The bed sheets underneath are from HomeSense and the two green throw pillows from the Bay.
I am absolutely in love with the scalloped edges and the texture of the linens!
The lighting is also an important part of any room, so it took me about 6 months to find the right lamps. We finally ordered these white Robert Abbey Piero lamps from Chintz and Co downtown. I like how they are modern (following the Oversize design trend this year), but they are still timeless with a classic design (I hope!) .
Here’s a better shot of the bedside tables we re-did and the base of the lamp. I also made the flower arrangements with silk flowers from Chintz, as well as the vase. Picture frame from HomeSense.
Here’s a shot of the view of the bedroom if you were laying on the bed. The tallboy dresser has a flower arrangement I did from Chintz, as well as two silver and glass candlesticks from them as well. The white shelf holding the candles is from IKEA, and the candles and glass holders are from Wal-Mart. It really sets a romantic mood in the dark with lots of light!
The other bedside table has two beautiful mirrored accessories from Nicole Jane Home. I was looking for something mirrored but couldn’t find what I was looking for from other stores. They are actually one of the few stores you can deliver interior design goodies to Canada (they are based in Vancouver!!) and they have a great selection. I literally just ordered the picture frame and jewelry box, so I haven’t even had a chance to change the default photo yet.
The last finishing touch to the room is of course the picture frame, which I had mentioned in the design concepts is an absolute key to the room. It’s an image from the drive to Tofino… a peaceful forest with a rushing stream. It really brings the room together in my opinion, and I love the green in it. I learned how to custom frame a photo myself at Opus Framing on Granville Island! It’s much cheaper than ordering a frame and it’s actually quite easy to do. Highly recommended for the photographers out there.
So that’s it! The room is finally done and I think it’s pretty similar to the design concepts. I am really happy with it, and Allan and I have been sleeping in it for the past 6 months now and we really love it!
What do you think of the makeover?
Tags: bedding, bedroom, before and after, candles, design, flower arrangements, home, interior design, KLK Custom Woodworking, lamps, lighting, makeover, Nicole Jane, pillows, Robert Abbey, Sferra, sheets, Terra Nova Linens
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January 25th, 2010 at 1:02 pm
What’s with the tripod by the window? Were you spying on your neighbours or something? :p
Lovely room, love the makeover.
January 25th, 2010 at 1:03 pm
Allie, it looks AMAZING! You and I have similar design styles and once we get our house finished, I hope to do up a series of posts as well.
Thank you for the links, as well. The lamps are stunning and I think we may have to get some too.
January 25th, 2010 at 1:31 pm
That is one amazing makeover. It looks like a room in a boutique hotel. Really nice, and the effort shows. Good work!
January 25th, 2010 at 1:38 pm
Thanks everyone so far!
Tawcan, haha no, it was set up like that for a timelapse when we were moving
January 25th, 2010 at 2:35 pm
Wow! Allan lives in this room?
Haha, good job you two. Very nice.
January 25th, 2010 at 3:54 pm
wow! the bedroom is gorgeous! wonder how you could ever leave it? well done!
January 25th, 2010 at 3:55 pm
Umm, it’s a little sterile.
January 25th, 2010 at 4:01 pm
Very stylish as per usual. Not sure i’d be able to keep it looking like that if it was my room though. do you let Allan in?
January 25th, 2010 at 4:03 pm
Haha yeah, it’s usually a big mess. Both of us aren’t that neat
January 25th, 2010 at 10:21 pm
I adore it!! It is gorgeously done!
January 25th, 2010 at 10:41 pm
Love the room Allie! Before seeing your room I was not a big fan of white/light colors in the room. I usually like the dark wood colors, but this looks great and I think I am starting to like these colors for the bedroom instead. Great job!
January 26th, 2010 at 12:33 am
Really? Don’t misunderstand what I mean, I agree with you partly, but when you say something like this you actually have to be ready to defend it.
January 26th, 2010 at 5:06 am
That is an awesome room! It looks like you get a lot of natural light which makes adds to the warmth from the walls. Kudos!
January 26th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
Wow Allie you have done an incredible job – looks BEAUTIFUL!!
January 26th, 2010 at 1:59 pm
So lovely! Inspires me to to the last few things to get our bedroom feeling as cozy and complete.
January 26th, 2010 at 9:24 pm
a very romantic bedroom – i like the balance between masculine and feminine. I also agree the bedroom is one place in my home that should have some girly touch – like you, the rest of my house is more modern and masculine looking.
love that you scouted out vintage dressers and re did them to make them your own. that makes everything so much more special.
oh and bedding…yes do splurge. i also splurged at The Cross and I am happy for every cent i spent on it.
January 27th, 2010 at 10:47 am
You have great taste, Allie. I love your new bedroom. I particularly love the hit of green. Gorgeous.
January 27th, 2010 at 10:57 am
[...] This is a photo from of Allie’s new bedroom on vancityallie. She posted a wonderful “before & after” article about her bedroom renovation. [...]
January 27th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
looks great Allie, I love the lamps
January 27th, 2010 at 4:17 pm
Beautiful! It turned out great. This is sort of creepy, but I was just thinking about your furniture project and wondering if you were going to post the final product. And I ventured over, and there it is. Strange.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:01 pm
I completely agree with everybody else! You did a really great job redecorating. I love the bedroom concept.
?
May I hire you to design my apartment
January 28th, 2010 at 7:29 am
Waaaw !!
That’s wonderful !!
I love your bedroom now ! haha
January 29th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
LOVE IT! What colour is on your walls? I am inspired now to re-do mine.
January 29th, 2010 at 9:11 pm
So.. I’ve been busy showing Marnie your place in pictures, as well as the aquascaping – suffice to say, she’s pretty stoked. It’s not like either of us have the motivation or drive to get our place looking as nice as yours, but we can always dream.
On a somewhat related note, where did you get your picture printed before framing it? Not that I’d be one to copy you or anything.. no sireebob. =)
February 2nd, 2010 at 12:51 pm
Great job Allie. Love the simplicity of the colour combinations with the intricate detailing of accent pieces. I’ve been trying to redo my house but its very daunting. Specially when it comes to the cost. Miss you. Hope to see your condo sometime.
February 2nd, 2010 at 11:22 pm
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Lucia
Italian bed
February 4th, 2010 at 12:42 pm
That really is an amazing make over, ever think of doing interior design?! Seriously, that is UNREAL………..
February 5th, 2010 at 5:20 am
Wow! You did a great job with the room!
I LOVE the colors, the pillows, the lamps!!
It looks like a room with an awesome energy. I always love the white for decorate.
xxx
February 5th, 2010 at 5:37 am
The white rooms are awesome. Apart from that looks more comfortable and makes the room looks bigger, has a positive energy that I love!
And the candles part is so cute!!
xxx
- Laura
February 11th, 2010 at 10:20 am
Is this where you leave the connment for the free curling tickets and is it too late?
February 11th, 2010 at 10:21 am
P.S. Awesome makeover!
May 29th, 2010 at 10:23 pm
Really great job. Looks very professional. From dorm room dump to grown up chic!