Gray Master Bedroom Makeover Phase 1: Picking colors, a budget, and getting PINspired

It's happening again...we went to change one thing and it ended up as a big project and a huge room update.  The first time this happened we ended up with a $5,100 new kitchen faucet.   Well, actually, we got a $100 faucet and decided we may as well put in $5000 granite counter tops, too.  Cause ya know, a new faucet requires new counters right? No...but anyway..did I mention we moved 6 months later?

This time there will be no moving - but a new bed has turned into redoing the entire master bedroom. 

Not a fan of the master bedroom paint color

We've been in our house exactly two years and while we've painted most of the other rooms, the master has been left alone.   Ironically, with it's rather drab and flat tan paint and marked up walls it was probably the room most in need of a fresh coat...So a new bed is a great excuse. 

Let me back up here for a minute...We've been sleeping on memory foam mattress for about a year, after the spring mattress I bought before we were married was deemed not comfortable enough by the Mr.  But, I'd say about 300 days of the last year I've woken up with a stiff back thanks to the memory foam. 

So, this time we're biting the bullet and going with the big guns - a Sleep Number bed.  That was awkward laying on beds in the middle of the mall to figure out I'm a 35..but I digress.  Anyway, after 8 years of wedded bliss apparently the honeymoon's over - my hubs isn't liking the cozy queen anymore and so I can stop cramping his sleeping style, we're upgrading to a king.  So add to the paint, all new bedding, plus a new bed (headboard, etc) and there you have the makings of a master bedroom makeover.


I immediately turned to Pinterest for some inspiration pinspiration.  I knew I wanted the master to have a relaxing and calming feel so I immediately thought a light grayish-blue might be the answer.  I always love a white bed, but I wasn't sure if I could fully commit to solid white so I've been looking around for gray bedroom decorating ideas.  I found this gorgeous gray and white master bedroom on the blog Centsational Girl.  What's great is she also has some dark furniture that she had to
incorporate into the room, as well.

Courtesy: Centsational Girl Blog

My Headboard Headache

We have a master bedroom set that my in laws gave us as a wedding present.  The furniture is gorgeous, but because the headboard is fit for a queen bed we're not going to be able to use it on our new king bed.  The furniture collection is discontinued so I've decided to go with something completely different instead of trying to match the color of the wood to the dresser and the armoire.

I tried looking around to match it, but what a headache.  Through pinterest, I found this gorgeous upholstered headboard from World Market and immediately fell in love. I love the detail of the nail heads and the linen.  But again, would the wood match our other pieces?

World Market Courtney Bed

That's when I decided I needed to go in a totally different direction and leave wood out of the equation.  Originally, we were planning to buy a new headboard and possibly a whole new bed, but when Pinterest lead me to Tenth Avenue South blog's Pottery Barn-inspired headboard (left) made with, of all things, a drop cloth I changed courses again.  Yup, I'm going to attempt a DIY headboard.   I have yet to tell my husband the part about the drop cloth or he'd immediately 86 the project before I even get started....so, shhhh it's our little secret.  I'll just let him call it 'linen' and after it's done and he loves it I'll confess.  Plus, at a two figure cost, instead of four, the price can't be beat.

PB Raleigh Upholstered Camelback Bed & Headboard with Nailhead ($1,499 + $150 delivery)

Can you believe this ^^^^ is the original PB headboard? I seriously hope I can pull this off!

Bedding on a Budget

Barbara Barry Poetical King Comforter Mini Set

With our bed now ordered and this awesome DIY headboard keeping me up at night, my next order of business was to find the perfect gray bedding.  I looked around for awhile, but I kept coming back to the comforter that was on that Centsational Girl blog post.  Thankfully, the blogger shared the name of the set, the Poetical by Barbara Barry, and that it was purchased at Bed, Bath and Beyond.  When I looked it up on their website I discovered they only sell it as a duvet cover and not a comforter.   When I started hunting around online for the comforter set the prices were all around $400-$500. Yikes..that's a little out of my budget.

Fortunately, I found it marked down at BonTon and with coupon code I found at RetailMeNot (seriously, never make a purchase without vising that site!) I got the Barbara Barry Poetical King Comforter set with matching shams for $200.  I wouldn't necessarily call that cheap, but it's definitely a good sale. 

Next, I moved onto the coverlet.  I've never owned one of these things (heck, I didn't even know what that quilt/blanket-type thing was called until I started googling it) but I absolutely LOVE the way beds styled with them look - just so elegant.  I found a few different white and ivory coverlets ((not sure which will match the comforter so I'm getting both with the intention of returning one) at Kohls.com for $69.99 -- down from their original $139.99 price tag.  I was just about to order them when I remembered I had a few of those 20% off coupons they send to their loyal card holders (my hubby may swear I'm a little too loyal).  One of the coupons was 20% AND Kohl's Cash, but it started the next day so I held off.   This morning when I went to order the King size Home Classics Anna Floral Quilt coverlets they were slashed even more to $39. Add the 20% off and at $32, I mean, I could afford to keep them both!

I also ordered two pairs of white king sheets from Kohl's Bedding collection. They're the Croft & Barrow 525 Thread  Count Sheet set with elastic all the way around and they too were marked down from $129.99 to $39.99.

Barbara Barry Poetical 18-inch Square Decorative Pillow

I love all the square throw pillows that are shown on the styled beds, but I'm not a huge fans of pillow shams. Before I spend $40 or $50 on a single coordinating pillow for my new Poetical bedding, that will most likely definitely get thrown on the floor every night, I am going to attempt to re-purpose the shams to make some DIY square accent pillows.  I'll keep you updated on my efforts once they arrive.


So for $293 I got all the bedding.   It's not a bad deal considering the original price of the comforter alone...without the Kohls sales and coupons all of that could have easily cost more close to $900.  Plus, did I mention I got $30 Kohl's Cash to spend too? No wonder I'm a loyal customer!

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall 

Cyan Lighting 02798 Mosaic Tile Mirror, Capiz Shell Finish

We've experimented with several different things over our bed, but nothing seems to really strike either of us.   But I've been pinspired to put a round mirror of some sorts in our new master bedroom.  I found this gorgeous mother of pearl tiled mirror, but the $600+ price tag was a little way out of my price range.  After poking around online last night I came to accept that even Walmart's large wall mirrors sell for $150 - $300.  So where did I turn...Kohls, of course.

Floral Round Wall Mirror 26" diameter

I just figured I'd check their home decor department while I was on the site this morning and what do you know I found this 26" diameter round wall mirror.  Admittedly, the Floral Round Wall Mirror is not exactly what I originally had my heart set on, but I did fall in love with the price -- $39 -- and it's close enough. I'm gonna try it and if I don't like it once the whole room is put together, I'll return it.  What can it hurt to try it? At that price I may save myself enough money to decorate the rest of the room.

So right now I'm just sitting back and waiting for ALL my purchases to arrive.  Oh my UPS man, who I have come to know comes right after lunch, will love me like he does at Christmas time....

UPDATE: Now that our master bedroom makeover is nearly complete, I wanted to add a quick update to detail just how much money I spent on it and where.

• New King Size Upholstered Headboard:  $164
• Four Throw Pillows: Free (made them out of shams that came with comforter)
• Bedskirt: Free made it out of left over drop cloth material from headboard project
• Lamps: $22.99/each $45.98
• Tray for Vingette: $7.00 
• Ikea Upholstered Chair: $99 (added nail head trim for free - left over from headboard project) 
• Sheer Curtains: $19.99/set for three sets $59.97
• Mirror for over bed: $31 (With Kohl's discounts, originally $99)
• Bedding: $293 (2 sets of king sheets, coverlet, comforter -- originally close to $900) 
• Paint: $55 for two gallons

How do you keep room makeovers on a budget? I'd love to know your tips and tricks as I continue shopping and planning our master bedroom makeover.