You might remember a bit of the history of what is now Heather’s room.
Actually, let’s back up, since I get lots of questions about Heather every time I mention her.
Heather is my youngest sibling (there are five of us and I’m the oldest). She graduated from college last spring and came to live with us in the concrete jungle where dreams are made. She is working and also helps me with some of my business stuff and she pitches in with the kids (basically, she is saving my bacon. Also she is clever and funny and lovely and a general dream of a person to get to be around every day. We feel lucky to have her.)
So Heather was living down on the garden level for the first few months, but we decided to switch things around in December-ish. Michael and I moved downstairs, which made it so much more convenient for us to be closer to the office where we both log in long hours, and she moved into the small room up by the kids on the third floor.
She was super down with doing black walls like I had originally planned on for that room. So while she was home in Arizona for Christmas I decided to surprise her with some room progress.
Remember those dang shelves hanging above the bed from when the bachelors lived here? Well those shelf rails must have been there for decades because there were probably 17 layers of paint slapped on top, leaving the ugliest deep trenches behind. It was such a pain, but we scraped and sanded and filled up those trenches with as much joint compound as we could pack in there.
Here’s the sad, neglected before shot, right after we pulled down the shelves and while we were building the IKEA Pax units (those mirrored doors to the right).
The light from the windows is casting some funny shadows here, but the walls are about a million times better than they were before after that sanding and scraping. They are old, imperfect walls though, so we went with an eggshell finish with the paint (since gloss would only highlight the imperfections). The color is Benjamin Moore’s Bavarian Forest. It is the perfect dark teal. Close to black, but a little softer. Heather’s favorite color is green too, so I knew she’d be cool with the small change in plans.
Since the room is so, so teeny and clothing storage is super tricky, we ended up buying this bed with drawers in the frame. Guys, I don’t recommend this route unless you are in dire straights like we were. But the frame itself is pretty non-descript and the drawers actually work well. We ended up screwing the velvet footboard right onto the bed frame’s existing footboard, so you can’t even really see any of the old frame.
But as you can see, there is zero space for nightstands, especially because of the drawers in the frame (there’s one up by the head of the bed). I looked around for wall-mounted options, but I couldn’t find anything right, so I ended up buying a pair of these corbels from the hardware store.
They fit the narrow space perfectly. I was on my way back to the hardware store to buy some wood to cut down to act as the table top, when I stopped by Michael’s and checked out the wood section.
These little pine boards were about $5 each on sale, and they were the exact right size. Too perfect to pass up, I say!
Two quick drywall screw-ins later and we had a nightstand!
Since the table top was securely attached to the corbel, I could just hang the corbel itself on the wall and it sits there securely. I also filled in the screw holes and the small little pine knots with a bit of wood filler and then I painted out both nightstands in the wall color.
I love how these turned out! They add a little something to the lines of the room, but they also disappear since they’re the same color as the wall.
Cool ideas and love the color combo!!
This is fabulous as always! I love the corbel idea!
I audibly gasped when I saw the final picture! GORGEOUS! It looks just perfect.
That is a gorgeous wall color!!
That's all fabulous, I'm so impressed that you go for dark colors and yet I could never do it, and you do it so well! (I voted for LGN yesterday) I would have loved to see how you incorporated the PAX wardrobe into the tiny space.
Breathtaking. I absolutely LOVE what you have done here. Thanks for sharing.
Emily
LOVE this color!
Love the nightstand solution! Super chic. Not sure how I feel about such a dark color for such a small space, but I do like the color itself…
What a nice surprise for Heather! The teal looks gorgeous with the orange headboard. Thanks for sharing with us!
I think this is one of the best posts you've written, from the point of view of inspiration. I'm so impressed by the corbel tables.
I'm hoping you'll say more about using such a dark colour in such a small room – specifically how it affects the natural daylight and the perception of space. I've painted several rooms incredibly dark over the years and have always, without fail, loved them. But for some odd reason I'm dithering desperately about painting a (large) living room with so-so-ish natural light in a bluer but similar tone to this.
PP
Absolutely loving the colour combinations! That dark teal is such a mood setter! Love the space saving options too!
While I do love this project, I desperately need you to share the details of how you installed the dentil moulding in your new place. We are just about to do it in our new home but I am SO nervous and am looking to you for guidance!
The color looks fantastic! Loving the dark green. Looking forward to reading about the projects to come!
the colors! I'm swooning.
You are so creative!!
Genius! You always have the best ideas and your style is something I look to for inspiration:)
Oooh, those corbels are yummy. I am absolutely going to steal this idea. We're about to move into a marginally smaller bedroom, upgrade to a cal king bed, and add a mini crib and a baby. I've been messing with online room planners all morning… thanks for the great idea! I hope I can incorporate it cause I love it.
The wall color is amazing you your use of the corbels and wood shelf was pure genius!! Painting them the same color of the walls was very clever too … great job!
I love the wall color and your use of the corbels and shelves was pure genius!! Painting them so they disappear into the wall was also very clever – great job!!
looks sensational!! great job once again!
I love the white baseboard! Omgosh. What a transformation. Can you please show some full spectrum shots? It's amazing. xo
My mouth just dropped. I don't know how something so simple can be so mind blowing, but you are just amazing! I think I am going to try this in our guest room!
Love this! So great!
Wow!
Totally amazing (as always) I'm saving this one for the next time I need inspiration on a small room!
This post has so many levels of goodness from your sister living with you, her bedroom refinish surprise, the side tables, and the color combination. I can't stop looking at the first picture. It's so inspiring. Thank you.
LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE!!
You are brilliant! I'm in awe of that green. It's marvelously rich.
GOR-geous!!! LOVE that dark teal!
I love it Jenny! So perfect how you painted the light switch and all. How did you decide to paint the corbel the same color – it looks amazing! Is it because too much busy in a small room is bad??
You are a genius! That's just perfect and I love it.
Really beautiful!! I LOVE the headboard & footboard with that wall color- they look more pink and less rust, which is just gorgeous!
I L-O-V-E this. I wish I had just a teeny, tiny bit of your talent! You're amazing! Lucky sister!
I love it all – the wall color, headboard, custom shelves… You're pretty much a genius. True Story.
What a great night stand! (pin!)
Jenny! In addition to the obvious reasons I love your blog, I just knew there was a reason I felt so connected and in touch with everything you do- I'm the youngest of my 4 siblings and I just graduated from college this past May. I moved in with my oldest sister and her husband and their two children! I was so excited when I read about your & Heather that I just went and woke my sister up to tell her. Ha! They let me spiff up a room and everything. It has been so great being here, I'll be sad when the time is over. But it is definitely a very special time right now. Oh, and love the red headboard.
That Bavarian Forest is so gorgeous, Jenny! I am so glad to know that that color exists. And you're right, the coral headboard looks amazing up against that wall.
I love reading your posts because you always have such great ideas! I could totally use that wall table idea in my own bedroom because I need something like that on one side of my bed where I can't fit a nightstand. Thank you for being so detailed in your how-to's, they are so useful!
Brilliant night stand solution for the limited space. And that wall color is amaaaazing!! Love how it all turned out!
Gorgeous as usual! Can you tell us more about the clipped on sconce and the bedding in the before and after shots?
Great idea with the corbel and it looks fabulous! I'm sure your sister must be so happy there.
gah, such a fantastic idea! This looks so purposeful and pretty!
I love how the color of the walls really makes the headboard pop! I totally want that velvet fabric!
Perfect colors! And the night stand solution is genious!
Loving the color & the corbels. Brilliant!! I can't wait to see the rest!
Oh that looks perfect! Well done! My husband and I bought a bedroom set that has a captain's bed, as we really needed the extra clothes storage. His side is full up, but I have empty drawers on my side…. womp.
Wow- I love the corbels with the wood top- great problem solving.
We are renovating our apartment and we used a dark teal (Behr's Cathedral) as an accent wall in our hallway nooks and in our living room. It's dark and dramatic, especially with the bright white baseboards. We have a dark yellow velveteen chair in one of the nooks and it looks awesome. No pics yet on my blog… just our master bedroom preview (Prelude by Behr!)
It is so lovely. Such sweet sisters!
It is so lovely. Such sweet sisters!
Clever, clever use of space! Still drooling over that bedframe, little missy.
Clever, clever use of space! Still drooling over that bedframe, little missy.