Art changes in the master

February 11, 2013

gray green master bedroom

I started these master bedroom projects last weekend and finished up a few little things yesterday. I’m in LOVE with the changes. It started with the mantel (yes, a mantel in the bedroom – one of those things I fought hubby on hard when we built the house and now I tell him how right he was) and grew from there (of course).

I had my wallpaper art up there for years. I’m talking five or six years – that’s eons in this house:

The accessories stayed the same for all those years too. I never changed them, ever.

I got a wild hair a few months ago – and by a few I mean probably about eight? And I took the canvases down. That huge wall sat empty until I decided to try some Goodwill art I had bought years ago up there.

I painted the frame months ago with leftover chalk paint, and just touched it up with some dark wax to bring out the detail: chalk paint frame

You can see the wax along the bottom, nothing on the side, just to see how it makes that detail pop. (This was before I buffed it down and cleaned it up a bit.)

Like I said, I found the art at Goodwill forever ago. It had been sitting in the basement till I decided to try it up here. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea I’m sure, but I was oddly drawn to it. It’s kind of dark and broody, but I love the colors in it and the scene looks exactly like the street and building of our favorite restaurant in downtown Indy:

how to decorate a mantel

It’s where we had one of our wedding receptions so it makes me think of that every time I see it. :)

The piece is HUGE, and it was only $7.99 – it’s hard to find anything big enough to go over a mantel! I found accessories from around the house to decorate a bit:

  how to decorate a mantel how to decorate a mantel

The marble bookends and that brass bowl were from the vintage mart I told you about here. LOVE.

I think it looks SO much better than before – there’s COLOR here now!:

how to decorate a mantel

Then, like always, I got inspired to move some other things around in the room. This spot by the fireplace has always had a chair and a little table:

buffalo check drapes

I sit in that chair every morning to do my makeup (and watch TV) so the angle was important – but the chair took up SO much space. (It was right by the side of the bed.) I started moving things around to see how it could work better and got a BRILL idea.

I moved it to the other side of the room (I’ll share more about that soon) and brought up my little HomeGoods settee and put it in that spot instead:

gray gallery wall photos

It was love at first sight. I was so excited. This settee is nice and deep, so it’s really comfy to sit on, but it’s flat against the wall so it takes up WAY less space. It feels like our bedroom is so much bigger now, I can’t believe it.

I love how you can really see the pretty legs of my little gold table now too:

small settee

I have even laid down on this to watch TV. By the fire. Seriously? It doesn’t get any better.

The cats love it too, they cuddle up on it every night. :)

The only thing I needed was a light (for makeup and reading) and the lamp I had there didn’t really fit. So I went to my favorite spot for sconces (Home Depot) and found this beauty:

small settee homegoods

It comes so that it can easily be hardwired or plugged in – most of them I’ve purchased there are plug in. I thought that was a cool option.

I moved the frames around a bit above the settee – I went up and over a little. The black was too much for me so I painted them a gray chalk paint that I already had (I used the CeCe Caldwell for this). I didn’t wax them so they stayed a lighter gray.

I love the transformation and the bonus is I only spent on the new lamp, that’s it:

gray green walls

I still want to repaint the walls in here, but it will be a while. I was trying to decide between a dark color and light and after working in here again, I’m sure I want to go dark. I just love how warm and cozy and cocoon-like it feels!

I still want to come up with some kind of treatment over the fireplace, but the perfect idea hasn’t come to me yet, so I wait. For now I’m thrilled with the small changes – I liked it before but it was getting so, well…dark:

 

how to decorate a fireplace

This feels so much cozier to me now, but brighter at the same time!

Well, there you go, my adventures in switching stuff around – it was time in here. I’m not sure if that art will stay up there, but for now I love the change. I would normally never pick that piece for our home, but like I said, I just had this connection with it. Have you ever found old art that spoke to you? For $7.99 it was speaking to me real nice. ;)

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Comments

  1. What a big change for the price of a new sconce light- awesome!! =)

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  2. LOVE the setee under the frames. And next to the curtains... it totally pops! Gorgeous!

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  3. What a pretty piece of art to be found at the goodwill! Lucky you! Looks great!

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  4. Love the changes! It looks so beautiful and cozy!

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  5. I love those frames! It looks so good!

    Kayla
    www.lovelucygirl.com

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  6. It looks so comfy and nice! I too love to have a chair in the bedroom to do my makeup in and my daily devotional - so nice to have a space specifically suited for your needs! Great job Girlfriend ;-)

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  7. The art work is absolutely beautiful. I love that it previously hung in someone else's home or office. Wouldn't you love to know the history? Way to re-purpose the frame. I have a couple of flea market paintings in the basement that I've had forever. What a great idea to paint the frames...thanks for that!

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  8. I love the color of the setee next to the curtains. I've admired that sconce for my famiy room, too.

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  9. Fabulous changes without breaking the bank! I like the art piece up there.

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  10. I love that piece of art! It's not my normal style of art either, but it reminds me of a scene from long ago Paris. LOVE :)

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  11. Love your changes. Everything is so pretty.
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia :)

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  12. How wonderful to have so much space in the master. I love the settee by the fire. A fireplace in the master is one of the only features our new (old) house doesn't have that was on my shopping list. If I was building again I would do it for sure! I love that painting and the white frame too. I have a similar painting in my family room (I think mine is Paris)and I really love it - and I paid way more for mine!

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  13. It is looking great- - I especially LOVE to settee and the meaning behind the art.

    Jenny
    www.simcoestreet.blogspot.com

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  14. Sarah, it looks great there! Don't you love it when you make a little change that doesn't cost anything and it makes such a big difference! Love that! Love the new art above the fireplace, too. I so need to start buying more art for my home. You found a great one for your bedroom and the colors in the painting are perfect with your room! Have a wonderful week, my friend!

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  15. Hi! I'm your newest follower. Your blog was recommended to me by Sara @ You and Me are We! I LOVE IT! Your master updates look fabulous. That settee is the perfect fit and I adore the frame wall

    XO Samantha
    http://designerinteal.blogspot.com

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  16. looks great and I like all the color..

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  17. I love the changes -- they definitely brighten up the space. I think the art is really beautiful, and the way that you accessorized the mantel really softens it, too. And that settee is gorgeous! Great changes, Sarah -- thanks for sharing with us!

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  18. WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I love the picture so much better and your lovely settee is so elegant!! What a beautiful memory picture for your special day.

    Love it!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Pam

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  19. I am wondering... what method do you use for hanging photos on your walls so that you don't have to patch holes each time you do?

    Is there a method you prefer and recommend?

    xox

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  20. You should find a big mirror with a really good frame. Really ornate.Paint the frame gold like you table.

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  21. I love the Home Goods settee. I've been looking FOREVER for a loveseat for my living room, and something like that would be perfect! I will have to swing by HG today and see if they have something like it!

    Your bedroom is looking very nice, BTW!

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  22. What an awesome change! It was pretty before but now it POPS!! Lovely!!

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  23. I know exactly what you mean about a painting speaking to you. I found a beautiful original oil painting at Goodwill by Evelyn Chubb in a very heavy gold frame last year. I thought the frame was wood, but it turned out to be a combination of wood and plaster. The painting is of the English countryside - a river with a beautiful arched bridge. I just had to have it and for less than $20 (because the frame was a bit scuffed), I got it. It is quite large, too. It is the crowning piece of my gallery wall. A short time later, I found another small watercolor painting in an antique mall on sale for $8 in a gold frame of a watery coastline with many of the same colors - had to have that one, too!

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  24. Your bookcase is just beautiful!

    Kayla
    www.lovelucygirl.com

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  25. The settee looks wonderful in its new spot, Sarah. I like all your little changes- it's always fun to switch things around, though I'm usually too lazy to make changes very often. :)

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  26. Hi. I love that piece.I happen to love street scenes, especially rainy day ones. Your home is lovely and so is your blog. I also want to say thank you for pinning the Martha sunburst mirror from Home Depot. I bought it and plan to hang it on my fence outside-I have a firepit corner. It's metal, so it's perfect for outside, and for 35 bucks,it's worth a shot. Thanks!!

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  27. I can't believe you painted all those ceilings. My oh my, that's a lot of work. My favorite is your office. Thanks for the inspiration!

    my website | my blog

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  28. I just went dark in our bedroom. I absolutely love it!! You might find yourself switching stuff out though. Dark walls and the blue settee (which is awesome, btw) and the dark bed might end up being too dark. At least in my house it would because we have awful natural light!

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  29. I understand what you mean about the art piece just speaking to you. If I had found it I would've picked it up too! It's also not my style normally, but I swear my grandparents had the very same one hanging above the couch in their family/ tv room when I was growing up! Oh nostalgia for 7.99! Great buy.

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  30. Your master bedroom looks lovely. I love the sitting area with the great settee. Could you post a link to that lamp? -- I've never seen one that has the option of hardwired or plug-in before.

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  31. What material did you use on the fireplace?

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