A Bedroom Makeover - Between friends

I was so excited and happy when my good friend Pat Decker asked me to design the makeover of her bedroom.

Then...we were both really excited when Better Homes and Gardens magazine "REFRESH" decided they wanted to publish it.  What a great testimony to our venture!

Get the full story in this winter issue 2015

Here is how it went! When Pat called me, there were 2 major challenges with Pats bedroom:

1.  She wanted to keep all of her furniture for sentimental reasons but she also
     desperately wanted to change it.
2.  She wanted a new look, but had a small budget. Pat was uncertain about a style
     direction......except she really loved the color RED!

I set off to find a rug with a good punch of red! dashandalbert.annieselke.com/Rugs‎ served it up with this design we used as a bold design anchor.  The raspberry red from the rug was matched to a Rapberry red paint from www.benjaminmoore for the furniture.

It's amazing what can be transformed with Paint!
I painted all the dark wood furniture with 4 coats of gloss paint which totally transformed their look, making Pat fall back in love with them again. New Crystal knobs and nickel on everything perked up the finish.

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I thought the old brass bed just had to go, but Pat could not part with it!  Why throw away something you can fix?  She was right!  I transformed the bed with Krylon paints, using a black flat finish with a dusted shimmer of nickel.  The bed now feels a bit modern industrial but the bedding brings it back to feminine!

The wall behind the bed needed something special and I liked the idea of softening the wall with fabric. After a trip to the flea market for glass knobs, I attached them to a painted pine board. This idea means Pat can change the fabric for a new seasonal backdrop anytime!

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Personally, My favorite thing was finding the collection of vintage NYC subway maps. The graphics are wonderful.   They seemed prefect for Pat who's heart is usually half  in NYC and half in Ct.
                                   Subway maps from www.nycsubway.org/wiki/Historical_Maps

Red can be an overwhelming color if it is not balanced with complimentary colors. Adding the gray wall quiets the red while letting it pop! The blue and black accents and mix of patterns makes the room bold and interesting.

Once we had our secondary palette, finding accessories in these colors was fun and everything just fell into place!

Lamps and Chairs from Target! http://www.target.com

Subway maps from www.nycsubway.org/wiki/Historical_Maps 

As far as working with friends, It was so great working with Pat who's enthusiasm and mind was open to all the possibilities!

I'm ready for our next project PAT! xxoo

All Photography by the talented Michael Partenio!