FALL 2021 ONE ROOM CHALLENGE: WEEK 8 – The Reveal

The day has finally come! My master bedroom is finally complete. If you have been following along with me over Instagram on this journey, you know it has been quite the tumulus journey. Between shipping delays, stock shortages, and DIY fails, I was almost ready to throw in the towel. But I pursued, and after a few pivots and design changes, I am so happy to say that I have officially completed my second One Room Challenge.

The Before

Okay, let’s go back to where things started. If you missed out on the details of my room and the initial design plans I had for my room, you can catch up on the details here and here.

Here’s what my bedroom looked like before. As you can see from the pictures, there was no style, rhyme or reason to anything in the room other than if it fits, it’s here. When I moved into this apartment, I moved with bits and pieces of my furniture from my old house but there was no cohesive design plan for the room.

The room is only 12’ by 12’ with two windows on the south facing wall that gets good light during the day. I do like the dark wood floors, but other than that there wasn’t much to like in the bedroom.

My main design concern for this bedroom remodel is that this is a rental apartment. Not only am I not allowed to make any permanent changes but this is also temporary so I am not interested in designs that are expensive. My design plans will only include changes that can be easily reversed or can be taken with me when leaving.

Additionally, another design hurdle that I would like to tackle in the room was lighting. Currently, the only source of light is from the overhead ceiling fan, and the switch is all the way on the other side of the room behind the entry door. The ceiling light is not very attractive and not the brightest either but since I cannot change the ceiling fan, it was important that I add some additional, more aesthetically pleasing lighting.

The Plan

My goal was to create a bedroom that is layered with different textures and shapes, moody with contrasting earth tones but with a neutral foundation. Since I can not add any structural changes, I planned to create a wooden slat accent wall to add some architectural interest and texture to the walls. This will be a good renter friendly way to add some creativity to the walls without actually damaging the walls. It will also create the illusion of higher ceilings therefore making the room look large. Lastly, I wanted to add some additional seating in the bedroom by creating a reading nook alongside a gallery wall.