Home Tours

House Tour: Emily and Todd’s Bedroom

The goal of my blog is to help readers feel like they can be their own decorator. This is probably a subject for another post, but I truly believe not everyone needs to hire a professional decorator to have a beautiful home they are proud of. This blog is great advertising for my interiors business,…

The goal of my blog is to help readers feel like they can be their own decorator. This is probably a subject for another post, but I truly believe not everyone needs to hire a professional decorator to have a beautiful home they are proud of. This blog is great advertising for my interiors business, but I mostly do it because I’m an over-sharer. I like to talk about the ideas I’ve got brewing, what’s worked for me (and what hasn’t), and hopefully share some ideas that educate and instill confidence about tackling the decoration of your home. Emily, who is in the PR field and is a busy mother of two boys, is the perfect success story!

Emily lived in the dorm across the hall from me our freshman year of college. A few years later, she ended up marrying one of the really great guys in our group of friends, Todd. We only get together every couple years, but we definitely have one of those friendships that picks up right where we left it. I love hanging out with Emily!

She and Todd moved to North Carolina recently and it’s been fun to hear about their projects in their new home. I pop in over the phone or email with ideas every now and then, but mostly this beautiful house, which I’m super excited to share with you this week, is a result of Emily’s blog and magazine reading and her and Todd’s hard work.

First up is the master bedroom! Come back in a couple hours today for Emily’s home office. This is going to be such a fun week!

(and a huge thanks to NC-based photographer Jessica of JJ Horton Photography for the beautiful images!)

From Emily:

“The master bedroom was the hardest room in the house to decorate. We wanted a retreat that didn’t have to bend to the rules of decorating with little kids like the rest of our house. I also had no idea what color scheme to go with.

“Lucky for us, Jenny posted about this Barbara Barry bedding right after we moved in and that gave us a starting point. From there, we chose a pretty mint coverlet and sham from Restoration Hardware similar to what they show with the BB bedding collection. We bought it when RH was getting rid of all the old stuff to make way for the company’s recent facelift so it was a huge discount (I think around $75 for both the sham and quilt), especially since the quilt they sell with the original bedding is $300.

“I liked the pop of color that the yellow flower pillow gives. This pillow is everywhere so if you’re reading this and own this pillow, I highly recommend putting a new pillow form inside. The one that comes with the pillow is way too small and doesn’t have any oomph. Another trick I learned from a professional seamstress to make shams look like the professional pictures was to wrap the inserts with batting and then put additional pillow stuffing between the insert and the batting (the batting just keeps it looking smooth). I also sewed twill strips to the back of my shams and tied them together to keep the shams tight around the insert.

“The layout of our room is awkward with a vaulted ceiling and slanted walls. When the bed was against the wall like the owner did before us it threw everything off and made it impossible for any other furniture to look right. Nothing seemed to work.

(before, from the previous owners)

“When Jenny posted about what to do when you need to put a bed in front of a window, I knew that was the solution. Next, we needed nightstands. I really would have preferred to do a small desk on one side and a nightstand on the other but there isn’t enough room. In order to keep us organized and clutter free I wanted nightstands with a lot of storage (we even added baskets underneath because we filled up the drawers!). After checking Craigslist religiously, finally on Christmas Eve a pair of vintage Baker nightstands came up for $140. If you’ve ever searched for a pair of matching nightstands you know how hard it is to find, especially on their own without an eight-piece bedroom set to go with them. We painted the nightstands Benjamin Moore White Dove and replaced the hardware (not original) with these wonderful knobs I found on ebay for $8 with shipping. They’re unique and little on the tacky side but I love them.

“To accessorize the nightstands (and the rest of our house) I went to Home Goods almost every Friday night after the kids were in bed. It became a ritual and if my husband could he will make sure that our next house it at least 60 miles from a Home Goods. The lamps are from Home Goods. The only problem was they came with a silver base which I thought clashed too much with the hardware on the nightstands. We ordered acrylic bases from here. However, if you ever try this just beware it is a lot harder than it looks. You basically have to unglue the balls and
then get them to fit back perfectly and glue them together again. Luckily I was about 8.5 months pregnant when my husband tackled this project so he couldn’t get frustrated at me.

“I struggled with decorating these nightstands and I’m still not sure I love the arrangement. I really like having personal things out but I also like to keep it simple. My nightstand (the one on the right) has a mirror, a couple of favorite Jane Austin books, and a small set of French Limoges boxes that are part of a bigger collection (my mom started a collection for my sister and I almost 20 years ago when they took us to France) hidden away where my three-year old can’t find them.

Parker loves these boxes. Every morning when he comes to wake me up he opens and closes these boxes. I’m always surprised what he can fit in them. For a while a fireman lego was in the glass box (he was hiding from the fire?).

“On my husbands’ side is a python tray from the wonderful Furbish, a plant, and a picture of us when we were engaged.

Furbish opened around the time we were moving in and when I saw the picture of the blue armoire with all the pillows I knew I had to have it. I had always wanted an armoire and this one is perfect. On top is a canvas by James C. Christensen (my favorite artist) called Touching the Hem of God. In front, is a glass jar from Home Goods and a restored antique tool box from the flea market.

“Next to the armoire is an antique quilt rack I got for $8 from the flea market that I use to put my clothes on at the end of the day because who puts their clothes away every day?? I like to let them build up and when it’s about to finally fall over I put them away.

“The chair is a garage sale find that we painted the same color as the nightstands. The fabric is made by Lee Jofa (you can buy it at Ethan Allen for around $60/yard) but lucky for me I found it at a local fabric warehouse for $12/yard. I bought the fabric before I had a project in mind knowing it would work somewhere. So when I found the chair and ottoman it was the perfect fit. I had big plans to reupholster it all myself but after researching I realized this was one specialty I was not really up for.

(chair before)

So off they went to Agello’s Interiors in Raleigh, NC. They were wonderful to work with. Nito’s work is beautiful and the turnaround time is only two weeks! They do upholstery for Hunt & Gather and Antiques at Five Points.

The lamp is a flea market find for $10 that my husband rewired for about $2. A while back my husband had told me to find a storage piece that we could put against the wall between the doors to our bathroom and closet. The plan was to mount a small T.V. where the painting is and the piece would hold the cable box and other equipment. I found this little piece at Home Goods for about $60 but it was an awful color with painted flowers all over it.

(before)

I painted it a pale mint to go with the bedding and replaced the hardware. But when we got the chair back this piece didn’t look right on that wall anymore and it made it really hard to get to the closet. So it got moved to the other side of the chair and I decided to create a small vanity-style area for all my jewelry.

The little pedestal table from Z Gallerie used to be downstairs in the living room but got replaced with something else (you’ll see in the living room post) but it’s so cute that I just had to make it work somewhere. We’ll see though. I may need to retire it for a while. My eight month old is about to start crawling and he already tipped it over once.

“The vintage travel posters are from ebay from this seller. I got them for $4 each (looks like his prices have gone up a little) and the frames are ikea.

At the local flea market is a discount framers that took the existing mattes and re-cut them for free! In researching this I found out that a lot of framers have the ability to open up mattes, it’s a lot cheaper than buying a new custom matte, usually around $4-5 depending on the size. These are some of the places we want to visit someday. We originally got the idea of this series from Jenny but her post was about putting them in the entryway. I would have loved to put them in our entry but our room needed some big art to fill the high walls and this was the best, cheapest, and most colorful way to do that.

“Finally, the windows. We decided to go with this fabric from Dwell for the panels and this one for the roman shade. The fabrics speak for themselves so I really don’t have anything to say about them. When I told my husband we would be doing blackout lined panels and a roman shade I wasn’t sure of the reaction I would get. His response was “you mean, it will be like a hotel in here all day?” He was on board. So I got to work on sewing the panels and learning how to make roman shades. By the way, this book is an awesome resource if you’re interested in learning how to sew home décor. I have a good friend who is a seamstress and has been so kind to help me with questions. This book is my back up for when I don’t want to bother her.”

Sources
Bed: Pottery Barn, Valencia (husband bought it for me at a PB outlet for our first Christmas married)
Nightstands: Craigslist, vintage Baker
Knobs on nightstands: ebay, vintage
Armoire: Furbish
Jewellery cabinet: Home Goods
Hardware on cabinet: Anthropologie
Mirror above cabinet: Target
Bedding: Barbara Barry poetical
Coverlet and Sham: Restoration Hardware
Yellow flower pillow: Target
Pedestal table: Z Gallerie
Lamps: Home Goods
Mirror on nightstand: Gifted
Limoges and glass box: from childhood
Python tray: Furbish

Basket under nightstands: Home Goods
Jewelry tree: Urban Outfitters
Beaded Jewelry Box: Anthropologie, about 10 years old
Miscellaneous vintage trays and dishes: flea market
Glass jar on top of armoire: Home Goods
Wooden Tool Box: Flea Market
Wooden quilt rack: Flea Market
Touching the Hem of God painting by James C. Christensen, can be found at art galleries
The Lost Sheep by Minerva Teichert painting, can be found at art galleries.

Join the Conversation

57 thoughts on “House Tour: Emily and Todd’s Bedroom

  1. This is why I like your blog so much. I think it's easy to have a great interior if money is not an issue. It's much harder – but possible nonetheless, as you show us time and again – to have a great interior with a limited budget. You do have to spend some time on it, though. Thanks for sharing this.

  2. Jenny, I love this post! Thank you and your friend so much for sharing. For the masses that can't afford a decorator, or more likely, can't afford the decorator's designer furniture, your blog is a blessing! Thank you for your how-tos, ideas and inspiration. Your blog is definitely helpibg me decorate my house!
    Stacey

  3. Love this room and I can't wait to see the rest of the house. YAY Raleigh! Our flea market is amazing as all locals know but most people outside this area have never heard of it.

  4. Jenny, you are so right, sometimes all people need is a little bit of direction and perseverance to create a great room. Emily and Todd's MBR is a perfect example. I love that Emily went to Home Goods every Friday after the kids were in bed, her diligence certainly paid off. What a fabulous space, can't wait to see the other rooms!
    Cathy @ Room Rx

  5. A truly beautiful bedroom!! I love how you have combined high and low end to complete a very elegant, yet comfortable look!

    I must start checking Craig's List and Ebay more often!

    I hope you will visit my site and let me know what you think of my Autumn decor, so far…..

    xoxo
    Karena

    Art by Karena

  6. can't find any link to Agello's in Raleigh area. VERY MUCH need to know how to contact them. Any rough estimate on that chair reupholstery? Absolutely perfect. thanks.
    denise in virginia

  7. Gorgeous! I love it! I'm one of their neighbors, in Durham! I'm in the process of updating my bedroom as well and this gave me some great ideas! Love this space!

  8. These are my favorite kind of posts, Jenny! Decorating on a budget that doesn't look like decorating on a budget. Emily has a great eye. I can't wait to see more of her home!

    If she checks in on these comments, I would love to know the paint color on her walls.

    Kelly

  9. I'm in Raleigh as well, and I'm curious about your chair reupholstering – was Agello's Interiors reasonable? I can't find them online. I'd appreciate any help!
    Thanks!

  10. OOOOOMMMMMMMGGGGGGG this is my dream bedroom! So, so pretty Emily and Todd!! Congrats on a job well done!!

  11. Absolutely, 100% perfect in every way. Way to mix those patterns! You know, Jenny, this room reminds me of that great home you posted about from Martha Stewart Living. I think Chloe Redmond decorated it. The article was about mixing patterns. There was a pretty floral and an ikat and a geometric I think. So similar to this room, but I like the soothing colors here more. Better for a relaxing vibe.

    Great job everyone! Keep the posts coming!! Can't wait!

    Jan

  12. Emily, what carpet did you put here? It looks like (based on the before image) that you added new carpet. It almost looks like a sisal, or like a sisal had a baby with a berber. (SCANDALOUS!)

  13. This bedroom is beautiful! I love the yellow pillow on the bed because it gives a great pop of color. I also love how airy and light this room is. Great job!

  14. Oh boy oh boy! I'm so excited for the rest of the house! This week just got GOOD for me!! Thanks Jenny for always bringing me inspiration!

  15. Is there a link to the post where you discuss putting a bed in front of a window … I can't find anything and would love guidance!

  16. Hi everyone, it's Emily. Thank you for all the compliments on our room. Jen has asked me to answer some of your questions. If I miss any please let me know. First, Agello's Interiors can be reached at 919-796-0188. They were about $75 less then other local upholsterer's. If that number doesn't work call the stores we mentioned in the post and they should have their number. The wall color in our bedroom is Benjamin Moore Gray Owl. As for the carpet,I wish I had a better memory and could tell you exactly what it is. It is a Berber and we got it at Home Depot. It has held up really well and is great for getting stains out of. I also forgot to source the little twig jewelry thing on my nightstand, it's from Garnet Hill.

  17. Okay, I have more information on the carpet thanks to Todd's great memory. It is Dupont's smart strand carpet technology which is actually a natural fiber (made from Corn) and is incredibly stain resistant and our particular carpet was made by Mohawk from Home Depot. But the name of the color and style will vary depending on where you go.

  18. Well done Emily and Todd! It looks lovely. I could definitely hang out in that room for a long time. Your little family is adorable. Miss y'all!

    Dixie

  19. What a cozy little bedroom! I love those curtains! Very cool with the browns and neutral colors and the touch of colors sprinkled around. Very lovely. Very awesome updates to all this furniture! Something I really, really want to start doing!

  20. I totally agree! Being a design professional myself, I always think along the lines of "teach a (wo)man to fish, not give a (wo)man a fish." Not everyone can afford a professional's help, and money certainly shouldn't be the case for not having a beautiful home! Thanks Jenny for sharing this inspiring post :)

  21. Beautiful bedroom! I love the fabrics. I've been searching for your post about putting the bed in front of a window too! We have no other option and we've been struggling with this.

  22. Beautiful bedroom! I love the fabric selections and the tips for decorating on a budget. I would love to see the post about putting a bed in front of a window. I searched too so if you find in Jenny let us know! Thanks for the inspiration!

  23. Hi there! i have a big piece to paint myself. i would love to know:
    what type of paint you used on the armoire [high gloss, matte, oil?]
    how you primed the piece
    what you applied the paint with [rented a sprayer or little rollers?]

    thank you!
    renee

  24. Can you please provide the source for the roman shade fabric? I don't see it mentioned and there doesn't appear to be a link. Thank you!

  25. This post is awesome. I am in love with the fabric on the chair. So gorgeous. I have a thing for Home Goods as well so I loved that part too. Great inspiration. I love that you don't have to spend a fortune to have a room that looks like you did.

  26. The room is beautiful and has a really good vibe to it. What I love most about it is that I suspect it's a true reflection of the couple who sleep there! Oh and that awesome wardrobe, I'm so jealous she lives close to Furbish!!

  27. I got the drapery rod through a good friend of mine that is a seamstress. She has access to custom rods for wholesale. It's the only curtain rod in the house that is custom so it doesn't have the little lip. It's awesome, especially because we open and close these panels everyday.

    For the question about the wardrobe color and painting process. I believe Jamie at Furbish mixed a custom color but it's very similar to the color of the console in my office, which you'll see soon. I'm not sure what tint it is, but personally I always use Satin. For directions on how to paint furniture, Jen has some tutorials in her archives, also the Young House Love blog has some good tips.

  28. Room/home tours like this are my favorite kind of post, thank you for sharing! Also, the quilt rack as place for clothes idea is brilliant, am going to borrow. :)

  29. Just love the resourcefulness, deal-finding, savvy decorators you ladies are! You are both so awesome to open your homes to us all.

  30. Such a beautiful and serene space. I am so excited about this tour series! I so love the reupholstered chair and ottoman. I turned a little bit green when I saw it.

  31. Thank you for sharing Emily's house with us. I love it. I was thrilled when you announced that you were going to showcase it. I had the opportunity to tour her house while I was visiting my sister in Raleigh. I fell in love with her decorating style. She turned me on to your blog which I read daily. Emily and you have inspired me to completely redesign my whole house. I look forward to the rest of the week's posts.

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