Robin M Anderson: Master Bedroom Before and After

I am so excited to share our master bedroom with you today, because as you will see the transformation could not be more dramatic! When we purchased our home, the actual buying of our place nearly wiped us out and when I tell you we had almost nothing for the master bedroom, I mean we had almost nothing. The year prior we had invested in a quality bed, but the rest of our furniture was from a friend which we purchased before they moved for a grand total of $50 dollars. (Funny enough, with a new lacquered top and some new knobs, that dresser is the same dresser that is in the boys room).

Before:

To say the room was in need of a makeover is a vast understatement, it was just so plain and there was SO MUCH WOOD! After our incredible friend offered up her designer discount, the next few years we began swapping out our well used pieces for some more quality ones. The room was pretty much designed around the Eames chair, because well, it's an Eames chair, and the overall feeling I was going for in the end was moody and calming. My mother-in-law and I painted the accent wall behind the bed dark (when I was very pregnant with gray) and after we had to re-do our floors and walls because a foundation leak I knew I wanted to carry the dark gray throughout the room. I would read so much about how this can really make a space look smaller, because we get so much light in the room and it is already pretty large, I felt confident painting the whole space dark.

During:

From there it was really playing around with accessories. The art over the bed was the trickiest part, and when I finally moved the skateboards to the hallway and found that incredible print, the rest flowed from there. When you have such a dark background, colors really pop, as does white so I tried to sprinkle both around liberally. The richness really comes from the gold in the frames and sconces, and I even hung a few of my favorite necklaces off the frames to try to bring more of that lux feel in. Because we had such a neutral space I felt like texture was very important and really played that up with the throw, the pillows in leather and Mongolian Lamb and the cow hide rug, which like leopard really is a neutral. That crazy little stool was a unplanned purchase, but he adds so much whimsy to the space, I'm so glad I didn't pass him up. As you can see, the bedding was difficult for me to settle on, but once I saw that gray/blue linen that was slightly lighter than the walls... I knew we were in business.

The after photos taken by the insanely talented Sarah Winchester pretty much speak for themselves so I'll let them do just that. I included a source list at the bottom with quite a few similar items because these are definitely on the pricier side given that we were able to get them discounted through our dear friend.

After:

Can you all believe that was the same room from the first picture? Honestly, sometimes I can't even believe it myself. The whole space came together so perfectly, and it really is the perfect combination of dramatic and calming. For a room that has gone through so many transformations, I am happy to report that there isn't one single thing that I would change!

Shop the post

Paint- Farrow and Ball Downpipe

Bed

Side tables (which are technically used for seating, a suggestion from our friend)

Sconces

Orange Tray

Picture frames (I spray painted them gold)

Art over Bed by Jenny from MFAMB framed as a "floating" style at Blick Art (this is where I get all my framing done because almost monthly they have a 40% off framing sale.)

Leather Pillow CB2 (sold out)

Faux Fur Throw form west Elm (sold out) (similar here)

Linen bedding

Dresser

Rug (similar here)

Chair (similar here)

Suzani Throw (similar here)

Mongolian Lamb pillow on chair

Faux Fur Stool (you can read all about it here) (I know Nate Berkus did a great one for Target if you can find it in store or online.)

Art over dresser by Myles McGuiness the image is printed on wood

Bookends

Lucite tray