a little ruffle & a little indulgent

I believe the master bed and room itself should be indulgent. I think I decorate ever so slowly compared to others. Oops! I have been promising myself to "try" and not compare myself or my blog to others. In my grand decor philosophy, I really believe in taking your time and enjoying the process of finding each piece..and most importantly, loving what you bring into your home. There should be no deadlines in decorating. Life is full of deadlines, so why instill them in attempting to make a house a home?

I think I found the another element to add to a fabulous bed.

Meet Miss Velvet Ruffle. Her shade is not white yet it is not ivory...but a marriage of the two. I swear she changes with the sun.

Those little ruffles are swoon worthy. It was obvious we were meant to be besties. She has been texting me ever since we 1st met in a Target aisle. But it wasn't until yesterday I took her seriously. She was on clearance at Target for $23.

I think she adds something to the bedding that was missing. What do you think?

Underneath all those pillows, I have something a little indulgent. Quite some time ago I won a CSN gift card from My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia. It was to expire at the end of December. So guess what I was doing on my NYE? :) I decided on some new 600 thread count sateen sheets. I actually spent all of summer and fall debating on what to get...but when I found the sheets, I thought it would be a perfect way to spend my new found prize. I spent all of my gift card and paid only a few dollars for shipping. Thank you Kristin for the giveaway! It was such a delight.

So underneath all that lush bedding you will find these:

And they smell like this:

Both the sheets and the detergent are a little indulgent, but when one is free and the other was bought with a coupon..I think the money was well spent for the perfect sweet slumber.

Cheers~

e

my love affair with glass

I chose glass.

Those little crystal flowers had me at hello. I just needed a little enabling to go ahead and "scum" shop for myself so close to my birthday.


And the furniture getting the dainty baubles? My master bedroom dresser. I love how it lightens the dark wood. (Yes that is my cable line. This is how I roll..dainty glass knobs with hideous cable cord.)


I also love how the glass knobs curtsey at my battan & board.


My little green topiaries look even more at home. (Mr. B's side)

Because we all love a great BEFORE & AFTER:

BEFORE (excuse me while I die from embarrassment)

And Happily ever AFTER! Look at my lovely cream magnolias peeking in the mirror.


I am giddy that my master bedroom is slowly evolving into the room I envisioned..and one that I truly love.

Cheers~
e

glass vs. wood

Excuse me, but I need a little feedback. Please be honest....I have a "feeling" but I need some enabling.

Which do you prefer?

Glass

{or}

Wood

I am purposely not showing the overall piece to get your 1st instinct just from the jewelry you prefer..I mean knobs. Thank you for your thoughts...now back to your regular weekend schedule. :)

Cheers~
e

PS Am I CRAZY for wanting to paint my lovely blue bathroom back to a neutral? I think I might be.

blooming ceramic magnolias

I have loved these magnolia plates for years and always pictured them above my bed. When undertaking a new decor scheme for my Master Bedroom, I was completely inspired to use these plates amid a sea of battan board.

I saved and purchased them on sale (of course). But I kept them hiberated in their sack for over a month.

Then after a week of relaxing with no school, I finally set aside my fears and hung my plates. No plan..no blueprint, just me and my Hercules Hooks.

Here is the result.

I am smitten with how heavenly the white and cream are together.

Cheers~
e

PS Now I just need to finesse the room for the big reveal. :)

peekaboo..sneak peek

So here is what I have been working on since yesteday. Just thought you would like to see a glimpse of my Spring Break Reno 2010!

I can not wait to be done with priming and finally onto painting! I am only working on the bedroom during the day when Mr. B and the babe are away. Mr. B goes to bed early so I have limited time. :)

the wall is NOT dirty...just the under coat + primer+ 1 window = odd looking pic

Can you see all the shades of white I have been "experiementing with" throughout my room? If you need any white paint samples or thoughts..ask me. I have sampled only a 1000. :)

Hopefully I will be painting tonight. I sometimes under estimate my time frame. I am quite amazed that I might actually pull this off. :)

Cheers~
e

UPDATE: After 2 o'clock....here is where I stand on one wall. :)


P.S.
This weekend I started working on a nursery for a very good friend. Her husband and I are tackling that project. I am a painting fool these days.

Here is a glimpse of that project: (You know where we are going with this.) :)

junk in my trunk

Every once in a while I have a tawdry affair with Arhaus. Shhh! Don't tell Pottery Barn! I was in there scoping out an element I plan to use in my Master Bedroom when I came upon this bedding.

Now..my question is at $459 for JUST the quilt, who buys this stuff? I can not even imagine! I looked, I touched, and I think a bit of drool might have seeped out (luckily I snapped back into reality before a droplet escaped). And of course I continued on my way.

Then a few days ago while walking about in BBB wasting time before I had to tutor (yes I tutor math...I squeeze so much into a day), I found myself in the Clearance section and gazing at a bedding (KING quilt AND shams) that melted my spine. It looked just like the one at Arhaus but was LESS than 1/4 the cost AND reduced even more on top of that due to a flaw I dare not mention....you will have to wait and I will show you later. So I whipped my 20% coupon out of my purse (Am I the only one who carries them in my purse and in my glovebox?) and dashed out of the store giddy.

And where is it? Where all my treasures rest till I am ready for them....my lovely lady trunk.

It is the perfect marriage of softness, texture, creams, whites, and champagne!

I just want to curl up with this bedding and retreat to my bedroom with a good book.

As you can see it is still in the package. I am saving it for AFTER finals when I can start putting my bedroom together (and of course to make sure it works...I am keeping my fingers crossed.)

Just had to give you a sneak peek of where I am going.

Cheers~
e

trusting your instincts

We all have them. Maybe it is that little voice or a defined gravitational pull, but all of us at one time or another experience a moment where our gut is trying to speak to us. Well I think mine has indigestion. I can not for the life of me figure out what my gut is trying to say to me when it comes to my master bedroom.

It is so frustrating!

As you all know I have been in the process of perfecting my master bedroom. I want it to be a refuge away from pharmacy school and away from tedious external stressors. But seriously, the process in itself is becoming a stressor.

I use to teach the following concept to my students: Examine what you know versus what you think. I KNOW it is time to now take my own advice....so here we go:

I know I love neutrals.



I know I love texture.



I know I want to smile when I walk into my bedroom.

I think my new pillow speaks to me more than my toile pillow.

I think an old décor crush is now a décor love. (stay tuned for more on this)



I think I might have to reexamine my design plan.

If only pbskids.org had the solution. Thurgood loves playing the Curious George game. I find myself already SHARING my computer with him nowadays. I need to go...it is Curious George time. :)

Cheers~
e

divinity versus creme brulee

After delightfully purchasing my lovely toile fabric (with coupons of course), and imagining oodles of ways to create a “heavenly” bed infused with texture, softness, and style...I have come to a terrifying halt.

I can not for the life of me decide on a "foundation or base" bedding. I have though narrowed it down to two colors:

White versus Creme or as I like to say –

Divinity

versus

Creme Brulee

Who would have thought such sweetness could create such turmoil? Here I have two huge pharmacy exams fast approaching me next week and I can not detour from this dividing decision.

It all began with a darling post from the one and only My Sweet Savannah. I was under the impression I could harmonize both. That I could intertwine the serenity and crispness of white with the lucid and indulgent nature of creme.

Unfortunately after a trial run with my ivory velvet PB shams and a white duvet from my stash of goodies that I have collected, I questioned the look. It just did not work.

And so, I began to rethink EVERYTHING (except the toile of course).

How come these pictures can master what I can't?

(This last duvet set whispers to my Filipino heritage..so lovely all unto itself.)

And then it hit me...the toile. The toile does not gracefully bow to both colors. And so, I am caught in a love triangle between two of the sweetest shades...divinity versus creme brulee.

What are your suggestions?

Cheers~
e

master bedroom: the BEFORE pics

I cringe at the fact that I am posting this, but I believe we have to face our fears...so here it goes (please hold my hand).

Here she is, our master bedroom, in her sad state:


Yes those are pharmacy textbooks and notes by my side tables..and yes, those are Mr.B’s shoes tucked under the bed.

Here is the other side of the room (oh please do not disown me & leave my blog after I show you this):
This side makes me ill: the Pack ‘n’ Play with clothes spilling over (my husband LOVES piling his clothes over there), the TV, and the lovely cable cord.

And now for the long wall with the hideous OFF centered window. Why oh why builder did you place the window there? I try my best to embrace my home, but this window has become such a demanding family member that I just ignore her:


There it is…for better or for worse a glimpse into a room that is in need of a spa day AND a makeover. Calgon take her away!

Cheers~
e

PS These pictures are from a while ago, but they serve the purpose of exploiting my home decor flaw..my master bedroom.

Oh, and I have come to terms with the fact that being a pharmacy student = bad pictures. I leave home when it is dark and come home in the dark, which means not the greatest photography lighting. Just another reason to long for Spring. :)