Happy New Year to all of you! I’m excited for 2017 and refreshed from a lovely Christmas break. I’m really convinced that Christmas break is the best thing ever. Plenty of sleeping in, cozying up with family, celebrating Jesus’ birthday, and then the fun of New Year’s. And then all those kids go BACK TO SCHOOL! Whee!
Not that I’m excited in the least bit about THAT. 😉
We spent the last full week of Christmas break at Carlton Landing where I had a long list of projects and things I wanted to get done there. I drove the boys down with a car loaded to the brim with decor, accessories, diapers, a bookshelf, and everything else you can possibly imagine. I had every intention of living in my sweatpants and slippers and watching a ton of movies and painting our bedroom.
I call this photo Teenager In the Making. #jesustakethewheel
I’ve been planning a bedroom spruce-up for awhile. It’s been 2 1/2 years since we moved in and I’m starting to feel more confident about making a few changes to the house. And first is a little upgrade to make our bedroom feel more grown-up and cozy.
The first day we dashed down to McAlester to go pick up my paint order; I had to sample a few different shades with some quarts I had brought from OKC in the room before I could make the call on what to paint it (NEVER GO OFF A SWATCH!). It was pretty easy to tell immediately what was going to work and, more importantly, what wasn’t. So I ordered the paint and picked it up along with all the necessary painting supplies.
In between painting prep, there were lots of walks around the neighborhood with Archer who is learning how to navigate his new balance bike. And who loves squealing “WHEEEEE!” when he starts going too fast downhill (a problem considering all of Carlton Landing is basically on a hill).
Meanwhile, back at the ranch – erm, house – the painting of the bedroom went pretty quickly. I prepped and painted like a mad woman while Archer napped. I went with Benjamin Moore’s Van Deusen blue – it’s so utterly rich and velvety, with a good dose of warm undertones. It totally transformed the entire room into this cozy chic getaway – it’s masculine but not dreary. I’m once again reminded at the transformational power of color to bind an entire room together.
Schoolhouse Electric sent a pair of these gorgeous brass swing arm sconces and they are simply stunning. I went with plug-in sconces so we could avoid hardwiring anything. Since it’s phase 1 of this makeover, I still haven’t nailed down what to hang over the bed and I’m imagining some art hanging on either side of the bed maybe to cover up the cords. And speaking of the bed, I’d like to do a natural wood headboard or maybe a rattan of some kind. Thoughts?
So so yummy.
Because light fixtures absolutely can be delicious.
And in the guest bedroom next door, it’s still bright and airy, the perfect counterpart to the cozy moodiness of the master bedroom.
The rest of the break was spent cleaning out the pantry, hanging out with friends and family, welcoming in the New Year and taking loads of naps.
Here’s to a fresh start with 2017. Happy New Year!