When the signs that Things Were Amiss - first signs, teensy tiny little things that no one who did not know him like she drew him herself would have picked up on - started peeking their little heads around the corner , it was a source of consolation to lay in bed and decorate my next sans-husband bedroom, should I end up needing one. Everybody copes differently. I was looking at 75/25 odds he was coming home that kept ooching away from my favor, and I just kept thinking about my next place. My bedroom in particular. My bedroom has been my favorite room in every apartment I've ever had. My bedroom is not my favorite room in my house, which in hindsight should have been a blindingly bright indicator that something needed changing. I actually think the king size bed may symbolize the death of marriage for all eternity, and I'm wholeheartedly opposed to them now. I'd rather be elbowed in the head at night sharing a queen sized bed than ever get unmarried again.
I teased you on my bedroom inspiration in Friday's post. Like the living room, the splurge here is on the textiles. I just do not believe in cutting corners when it comes to bedding. You spend eight hours of your day and share the most intimate moments of your relationships in those square feet of padded space, and it needs to be the glory of the things that are "yours." It should feel cool and soft against your skin but fit crisply to the bed. Cheap bedding cannot do both.
In the kind of living situation where a 33-year-old female finds herself sharing two-bedrooms and 1000 square feet with two pre-adolescent males, it is a safe assumption that she's going to spend a lot of time in her room hiding rocking herself back and forth escaping River Monsters and Xbox 360 brouhahas relaxing with herself, reading a book, or watching the 80 hours of television she records per week. The room where one retreats when the "leave me alone or I'll cut you" response to everything hits. This room has been designed for my a) maturity since the last bedroom I decorated for just moi was pink and green; b) some resentful joy that I do not have to clear these components with anyone else and c) the expectation that I am going to spend more time in here than in my living room.
You know how you need to make a decision about something, but it's running circles and circles in your mind and you cannot get it to make sense in your head? I get stuck on rooms. When I write, it is not finished until it "sings." A room is not right until it "sings" either. For this room, I kept saving a rug ideas that *could* work, but none about which I felt passion. Then one Sunday morning, let's say Easter, I opened the RugsUSA website to see this houndstooth Surya Frontier, a $350 rug, on massive Easter sale for $58. Purchased immediately. Thought later about how I don't actually need it now. Then decided to use it to stage the sunroom, since the rug in there is a cheap outdoor Overstock score.
1. When I moved out of the dorm and into an apartment the summer after my freshman year, my mother bought me a white wrought iron bed. This one is the Pottery Barn Coleman Bed, because I cannot remember what mine is called and I have had it for fifteen years. This bed is girly, but the bedding and accompanying furniture pieces can help sophisticate it.
2. Immediately, I had a vision of linen and white. There is no mid-priced linen bedding, but that splurge is non-negotiable. This Restoration Hardware Vintage Washed Belgian Linen duvet cover in Prairie is the best one I've seen. Crisp but already a tad worn. Naturally shabby and modern. I already have the white sheets, my favorite ever with Swiss dots. I am one of those people who does not like to sleep under her duvet - I like it folded at the foot of the bed - but I already own the white blankets.
3. My uber-generous aunt gifted me two paintings when I moved into my house. One of them is a painting of boats by a Dutch artist whose name I cannot make out on the canvas. It hangs in the bedroom and inspired the sea glass palette we used in there. It does have the tans and blues, so it will carry over into the new bedroom. Mine has more green, but this boat painting by Willem van de Velde is similar.
4. I do not agree with coral in every room of a house, but I believe it for every room in mine. Some people can keep plants alive. I stick faux coral in every room. I got my coral lamp from TJ Maxx for $45. If you are have a more generous budget, go for this coral table lamp at Maison Luxe for $475.
5. I am going to keep bragging on my bargain abilities, because I did not realize they were as strong as they are until I put together this board. I bought a bow front chest from an antique store, painted it olive green and put it as a vignette in my living room. For the apartment, I'm going to paint it with Robin's Egg Blue chalk paint and use it as my dresser. I paid $300 for mine. This one is the Sara Dresser by Redford House for $2100. I also have a bow front two-drawer nightstand that will be painted the same color.
6. A girl's gotta put her feet up. It's the second thing we do after taking off our bra at the end of the day. I need to be left alone in my chair for at least fifteen minutes. Then I will gladly feed you. An ottoman or footstool of natural material, like this one from Seville, will offer storage and a texture to contract the smooth linen on the bed.
7. I have two matching wingbacks in a green damask stripe handed down to me by someone who had outgrown them. A grown person, so they were purchased from a fine furniture store years ago. One of the pair will be covered with a shabby chic slipcover, and I am liking the stripe on this one from Pinterest.
8. We do need some pattern in here. Toile can be very juvenile in basic colors for nurseries and kids' rooms. This Covington Bosporus Flax Fabric, in the PERFECT linen and blue to tie the textiles in with the furniture, will be lined with darkening fabric and made into Roman shades.
If you need me, I'll be dreaming about this room or hiding in this room, depending on the month you come calling. If I could figure out how to tastefully put a wine rack in here, I would only need to leave my room to use the bathroom. Both boys can use a microwave and a toaster, and Jake can cook pizza in the oven.
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