English Country Cottage Bedroom - Before & After

The door is open, so step on in to our Master bedroom.  

I know many of you have been reading my blog for a long time and so you know that our family has had some hard times, most of which I don't share publicly but some that I have.  We still do have our hard times. Probably, we always will.  But, I believe that in between those bad times we are given glimpses and moments of joy that make those hard times bearable and give a little reprieve to get us on through.  I cannot begin to say how blessed we feel to have found this house we are now living in.  It is like a dream home for us and it feels like home, a feeling my kids, hubby and I haven't really known in some time despite the fact that we have been fortunate to live in some lovely places, especially when we were in Colorado.  

This past weekend we hosted a Basic Training send off party for Jonah.  We invited friends and family and this was our first large gathering in our new house.  Most everyone that attended has known us through good times and bad and most of them commented about how this home felt like the 'Robert's house'.  One of my sister-n-laws commented and said "I couldn't imagine you all living anywhere else".   My Mother in law stated that, "there couldn't be a more perfect house for you all" and one of the boys best friends, Bryan (who is like a family member to us and has grown up around us), commented about how this house brought him back to his childhood memories of the 71st Street house (our home which we lost to foreclosure…the last place to feel like home to us).  Everyone made this night so special and it felt so wonderful to see so many people come together to celebrate Jonah and welcome us into a new home.  I had a 5 minute hugging and  bawling session on the couch with Jonah's best friend Robert…a giant guy who is a giant teddy bear.  We had a small fire lit out in the backyard and some of them played football (at 3:00 a.m. in the morning I might add!!!) while some sat around the fire and we listened to Shawn, my boys and a couple of their friends play guitars and sing.  It was such a fun evening and I'm so grateful for those that came by.   Thank you!

Five of my kids and some of my many nieces and nephews…two sisters which are both expecting their first babies soon!

Jonah's BFF Robert, aka Bert.  So thankful Jonah has such a great friend~

Ethan and Shawn singing and playing some Tom Petty around the fire~

 and the man of the day too.

Jonah with Grandpa and Grandma Roberts (Shawn's Dad & Mom)

 I just couldn't help but share some pics and mention how not only do we feel like we're home, but so do our family and friends.  That is a really good feeling.  Okay, so back to the bedroom.

Before moving in, I took a few photos of most of the rooms.  Our bedroom was painted a garish yellow color which needed to go bye bye.  I chose to paint the room a color called Afternoon Tea in an eggshell finish.  I like eggshell paint because it has a very subtle sheen that reflects light, it covers well and it is washable.  The color is reminiscent of hot cocoa with lots of cinnamon, a perfect backdrop color to my bedding ensemble which includes several printed fabrics: paisley, tattersall, floral, plaid and pinstripes in shades of green and aubergine.  I love many traditional styles so it's sort of a mix of English Country Cottage meets Bohemian Ralph Lauren.  I created custom looking bedding by mixing patterns and collections and because I love color I added whites here and there to tone down and break up the bold use of color.  I think it's important to add some light when you use so much color.  

Before 

After

Before

After

I do realize that the carpet is a choking hazard, as in I feel that I'm about to choke every time I look at it, but that's what lots of throw rugs are for and eventually, and hopefully, new carpet or even better; wood flooring.  Besides the 80's sculpted carpeting I am loving this bedroom and I thought it would be my least favorite space in the house.  The reason for that being that the angled wall bothered me and it doesn't align with the corner that it faces…and then on top of that the ceiling fan is just randomly placed on the ceiling.  Those things may not bother many people but if you're OCD, it can be a serious dilemma.  Now that it's all together, I've realized it's more spacious than I thought it would be.  We were able to add a seating area at the foot of the bed and in front of that is an armoire which houses our television.  I love the room now and feel it exudes exactly the romantic, cozy cottage feel I wanted it to have…  

…and of course be a place to display some of my purple transferware collection.

Next post I'll be sharing some vignettes around the room with close up pics and decorating details along with announcing a giveaway.

Stay tuned and thank you for stopping by,

Joining:

Wow Us Wednesday

French Country Cottage

A Stroll Thru LIfe

Boogieboard Cottage , Creatively Living  , My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Cedar Hill Farmhouse

 Mod Vintage Life ,The Dedicated House , Between Naps On The Porch , COZY LITTLE HOUSE