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.
Lady, you are a genius. There is no way around it. Absolutely breathtaking.
that looks awesome! and i LOVE the color with that headboard!
oh my gosh! I Love this idea!!! and love how you painted it to match the wall color. Its beautiful!!
Fabulous tip for those of us in smaller spaces. I love the color combos, too!
Awesome color, especially with the headboard!
what are the dimensions of this bedroom? looks great! trying to figure out if smaller bedrooms are OK when purchasing a home. 10x10s seem to be the norm here but they feel a bit too snug for me. but of course with a bit of decorating etc (thanks for the small room decorating inspiration) a small room can feel.. no so small. :)
OK just kidding I just went back to read your old post and found the dimensions!
What a great solution for nightstands! Love the dark wall, too.
I love the nightstand solution–perfect!
Stunning! You have such a fantastic eye for color!
Really daring and fabulous! The wall color, the head board, the nightstand – perfection! Heading over to The Homies to vote for you!
The coral and dark green look amazing together! good job :) x
Love the colors! Just curious though, why wouldn't you recommend the drawer under the bed route? We definitely HAD to in our place, but I'm curious as to why you don't recommend it for normal rooms?
Beautiful job as always Jenny!
Champagne Lifestyle on a Beer Budget
That last pic could be the cover of Domino mag, love!!!!
That last pic could be the cover of Domino mag, love!!!!
Gorgeous, as usual! Love that color!
Heidi
http://www.therusticmodernist.com
I am in love with this room!! The dark walls are so dramatic, but the fur rug and velvet bed are amazing little touches, along with the diy shelves! I have to ask, where did you get the fur rug? I'm on the hunt for the perfect fur rug or fur throw but I haven't quite found any I liked
Love your blog and your style, esp your use of bits of brass/gold on hardware and fixtures. (I'm currently searching for a sconce similar to the one you used here above the nightstand.) I'm curious though, if you see the brass/gold trend as a passing craze (as I do, but can't help but succumb), and how in general you avoid falling for design trends which fall out of favor quickly. It wasn't more than a couple years ago that everything was polished nickel, then oil-rubbed bronze, now brass/gold are the big hot thing. Obviously, I should just choose things I love and stick with them, but I wonder if you can offer any other advice on this. I don't want to be replacing all my lamps, fixtures, sconces, hardware, curtain rods, doorknobs, etc, every 5 years! Thanks much! LOVE the Bavarian green!
I LOVE that you painted the little side tables the same color as the wall. What a great idea!
This looks great! Love the coral headboard against the dark walls – brilliant!!!
Gorgeous! Oh how I love the mix of rich and vibrant colors in this room.
This is so cool, awesome and clever. Love the "night stand" seriously! Thanks for sharing so many of your great Ideas. WIsh there was something I could do to say thanks so in the mean time sending you a lot of happy vibes and wishing you all and your family all the best.
You are so creative, your sister is lucky to have you! I love the finished look!
such a fabulous space! i love how much you can do with a teeny tiny room…inspirational!
How lovely!
You have the most amazing sense for color. Period.
Patricia Villamil – There are lots more posts coming up on this room redo (including the pax units!) They are working fabulously!
xx
Pimp my bricks –
The dark color is AMAZING. We get great light in this room, so I think it looks beautiful in the daytime and feels extra cozy at night. I'm with you – I am so sold on dark colors (that's why I decided to go with a dark charcoal for the master – post coming!).
Naomi G – CRAZY the similarities!! Your sister is so lucky to have you!! Isn't the sister relationship the best there is? I'm so glad my girls get to experience this! :)
xxxx
Me Mo Baby – The sconces are wall-mounted from Urban OUtfitters (I linked to them in a previous post and will be talking about them in a post next week). And the bedding in the before shot is vintage (from family) and the new duvet cover is also from Urban. Heather picked out the duvet herself and it helped me pick the wall color. I love tone on tone room elements.
xo
Hannah – In my experience the bed drawers never work that well after a bit of time. And they just look bulky and not pretty (to me). But function should trump form most of the time! :) There was no other option for us in this room.
xx
Camille S – The flokati rug is from Rugs USA. I think I linked to it in the bedroom ideas post I had here in the body of this post. Hope that helps!
xx
Mollymn,
I love and still use all finishes! I using brass in my kitchen, polished nickel in my bathrooms. I have oil-rubbed broze on most of my door hardware, etc. I am all about the mix in a home. And you're right – I say do what you love. It looks as if there is no "timeless" metallic finish (though I think unlacquered brass is about as timeless as you can get), so just go with what you like right now :)
xx
It's gorgeous!! Love the idea for the nightstand.
Ruth
I can't even get over you. I mean, how do you do it? The bedrooms in our house are small, and I struggle with finding things that fit/are in proportion. I never thought about attaching nightstands to the wall. Thanks for all the inspiration!
Patricia Villamil – There are lots more posts coming up on this room redo (including the pax units!) They are working fabulously!
xx
Pimp my bricks –
The dark color is AMAZING. We get great light in this room, so I think it looks beautiful in the daytime and feels extra cozy at night. I'm with you – I am so sold on dark colors (that's why I decided to go with a dark charcoal for the master – post coming!).
Naomi G – CRAZY the similarities!! Your sister is so lucky to have you!! Isn't the sister relationship the best there is? I'm so glad my girls get to experience this! :)
xxxx
Me Mo Baby – The sconces are wall-mounted from Urban OUtfitters (I linked to them in a previous post and will be talking about them in a post next week). And the bedding in the before shot is vintage (from family) and the new duvet cover is also from Urban. Heather picked out the duvet herself and it helped me pick the wall color. I love tone on tone room elements.
xo
Hannah – In my experience the bed drawers never work that well after a bit of time. And they just look bulky and not pretty (to me). But function should trump form most of the time! :) There was no other option for us in this room.
xx
Camille S – The flokati rug is from Rugs USA. I think I linked to it in the bedroom ideas post I had here in the body of this post. Hope that helps!
xx
Mollymn,
I love and still use all finishes! I using brass in my kitchen, polished nickel in my bathrooms. I have oil-rubbed broze on most of my door hardware, etc. I am all about the mix in a home. And you're right – I say do what you love. It looks as if there is no "timeless" metallic finish (though I think unlacquered brass is about as timeless as you can get), so just go with what you like right now :)
xx
Hi Jenny! I LOVE your blog! I see that you painted right over the light switch, is this something that you recommend doing in general?
Holy crap! I love those wall mounted nightstands. We have a freakishly shaped master bedroom and there is no room for traditional nightstands. I love these and they may work perfectly!
can you be my big sister? this is the bomb. heather actually went to hs with me, she is a grade younger, my husband graduated in 03 when did you? im trying to piece together who you are lol :)) ive read your blog in the past and just love it. impeccable taste.
LOVE the side table idea!!
So inspired by this color combo! I created a mood board because I loved it so much. I'd love for you to take a look! Keep the inspiration coming :)
http://landonandlexie.blogspot.com
I have a studio apt, and have been searching for a tiny table option. This is perfect. I'm copying!!!
you're the best!
You, my dear, are a crafty little genius!!
Love this idea! I do believe we will be doing this in our small bedroom apartment! I’ve had trouble finding side tables that fit! My only question is, did you use 2 of the corbels for the one table, or just one and you had 2 tables? So awesome!