Our Bungalow Primary Bedroom Renovation Kick Off: Before Photos + Inspiration

Giddy up, you guys, I’m officially kicking off the renovation of the one bedroom in #mytinybungalow! We did a mini refresh about a month ago when Sean first moved in, but I’m really itching to get on with the bedroom renovation already. I’ve been living with this icky room for almost and year and it’s time to turn this sad, dark room into a sanctuary. And, now that Sean is living with me, he’s involved, too! In traditional makeover style, let’s start with some scary before photos, shall we?

Our Bungalow Bedroom Renovation

Before photos

UGH, I really don’t want to show you guys these photos…

So you can see that the walls are a weird, dingy butter color and they are in really bad shape. Some of the wall is drywall, while other portions are thin wood paneling that has buckled over the years. All of that needs to be fixed. The paint on the window trim is also globbed on, almost like someone let a blindfolded kindergartener paint it 100 times.

I also don’t have words for the pile next to the bed that functions as my “nightstand.” It’s actually where all of the extra lamps in the house go to die. Seriously, I have 3 lamps on my nightstand.

I also have very delicate “designer eyes” and it has been KILLING me that I go to sleep under 1. a boob lamp, but 2. a lamp that is not centered to the room. It’s about 2 feet off and drives me freaking insane.

Then there’s this terrifying hole to the attic… sometimes if a large vehicle drives by my house, stuff falls out of this hole. Oh, and you can see the lovely textured ceiling. Did I mention it’s time for a bedroom renovation??

And then… the closet. Basically, the bedroom has become the dumping ground for the rest of the house. I don’t want to mess up the pretty living and dining rooms with my clutter, so those things have ended up in the bedroom… THE BEDROOM THAT DOESN’T HAVE A CLOSET.

Yup, I have been living without a closet for close to a year. I have an industrial rolling rack and a dresser… but, as you can see, this system is less than ideal. I’d also like for my boyfriend who lives with me to actually be able to keep his things at the house, too. You see, I’m not asking for a lot here…

It’s kind of hard to tell from this last photo, but the bedroom door is a problem. When it’s open, it blocks a good portion of the “closet” area. Our solution is going to be to install a barn door that will open to the other side of the bedroom and create fewer traffic jams.

Our primary bedroom remodel to do list:

• remove terrible textured, possibly dropped ceiling
• remove crown molding that seems to be made of mushy MDF
• fix scary attic hole and replace with a pull down entrance (or relocate to kitchen??)
• remove boob lamp and center electrical box to the room
• remove terrible plastic blinds
• drywall the ceiling
• remove wood paneled sections of the walls
• move bedside outlets
• drywall the walls and patch crappy old drywall
• strip 108 years of drippy paint from the window
• prime and paint
• wallpaper pop wall (yesssssssss!)
• install new ceiling light
• install shelving and rods for closet
• install barn door
• install bedside sconces
• source nightstands, dresser, rug, storage baskets, window coverings.

I can’t tell if that’s a long list or a short one… but at least I have Sean to help this time!

And now… some pretty stuff to look at:

Primary Bedroom Renovation Moodboard

image sources: Savvy Home, Rebecca Atwood, The Woven Home, Death by Elocution (I can’t find the real source of this image), Blissful Blog, The Neotrad. 

I pulled together a moodboard of inspiration, naturally. My friend Jessica McCarthy (the one who designed my living and dining rooms) has been amazing and helping me pull inspiration and source pieces for the makeover, so I’m eternally grateful for her! Basically I text her at all hours of the night and day asking for her opinion on every tiny detail of the room. ;)

I want the space to feel airy and cozy, sophisticated and sexy. The room is pretty dark currently, so we’re going with an mostly white theme, but with a pop wall and some gorgeous brass and black details. I’ve also always wanted to use that Rebecca Atwood wallpaper… so I think it’s time!

image sources: Stylizimo Blog, West Wing, Tumblr (I can’t find the real source of this image), My Domaine, Made from Scratch.

I also pulled together a moodboard specific to the closet area because I felt like I needed extra visual guidance there. There isn’t room to have proper closet doors, so we’re going to do an exposed/open closet from floor to ceiling across the ENTIRE wall. Then, we’ll have curtains to cover it. Hopefully the effect is airy, breezy, and a bit romantic.

So that’s the plan… what do you think??

Stay tuned because I’ll be sharing updates in the coming weeks about how my bedroom renovation progresses!