Heather’s Country Bedroom Makeover

The Story

Buying a home teaches us lots of life lessons, doesn’t it? And while it’s quite true that learning life lessons (think budgeting, compromise … eating kale … ) is vital, the reality is that many important lessons lack a certain component of “fun” (think budgeting, compromise, and eating kale). Am I right?

Our current home is one that real estate agents would have described as having “great bones” or “endless potential.” Translated into regular human speak, that meant “it’s not about to fall apart, but it’s definitely not winning any beauty pageants.”

When we moved in, we were what is commonly known as “house poor.” So although we had pie in the sky dreams of transforming our beauty school dropout with “great bones” into a luxurious, gorgeous Ritz-Carlton, we didn’t have the budget for a Motel 6, let alone the Ritz. We had to compromise on the places in the house we were going to spend money. Which we did, and years later, all of the kids’ bedrooms are now complete, as is almost every other room in the house, save one – the master bedroom.

This is what our master bedroom looked like before we moved in. Very plain Jane. Good bones.

The Sleeping Area

We live in the country, so my design goal for this space was to create a bit of a rural retreat – a colorful yet calming modern farmhouse B&B feel. The anchor of the plan was this spindle four poster bed from Hayneedle. I had my eye on it for YEARS. To me, that bed reads as classic country with a hipster nod. I dig it.

The microfiber hotel duvet set we opted for brings in the look and feel of high-end hotel bedding. A simple, straight border on the duvet has a modern appeal. Layering that with traditional fabrics like the denim throw, toile, and floral pillows keep us grounded in our country roots.

To keep our edge, we’ve used these gorgeous mirrored campaign-style end tables bedside. They bring in a light, bright element beside a large, dark bedframe. They’re a twinge unexpected in the space, which makes them all the more perfect.

Sheepskin is another wonderful texture to use in farmhouse design. This faux sheepskin rug placed on either side of the bed is not only a lovely look, but I’ll tell you, it’s heavenly to have that soft rug be the first thing that greets me in the morning.

The Sitting Area

The bed looks into the sitting room on the opposite end of the space. This sitting room area is easily defined by the addition of a lovely striped rug. The rug calls in those blue tones that are a repeated theme throughout the room. A couple of thrifted cane chairs are mixed in with a gorgeous and airy armless settee.

Leather is another staple texture for a country, farmhouse design. It was used in the form of these two leather poufs that serve as coffee or end tables, and double as a comfortable place to prop your legs while indulging in a book by the fire.

Our home does not have gas, so a gas fireplace was out of the question here. But a cozy sitting room with a fireplace sounded like such a wonderful indulgence. So we brought in this modern electric option from Hayneedle’s own signature brand, Belham Living. Not only does it crank out some heat, but there are lots of options for the color of the flames, which is really fun. Plus, it was one more opportunity to blend that classic country feel with a bit of modern appeal.

The Final Result

No more plain Jane. No more Motel 6. After years of compromise and putting our own space on the back burner, our beauty school dropout with “good bones” has now become the gorgeous, colorful yet calming escape that we were dreaming of. Our beautiful, blue bed & breakfast is open for business. And I’m going to be a constant customer at this B&B. The only thing left to do is devise a plan to get someone to make me breakfast every morning (sans kale, of course) …

– Heather Thibodeau, The Heathered Nest