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?

it's officially time to start my next renovation project, the master bedroom in my tiny house. get the full design plan and home decor inspiration on jojotastic.com

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.

it's officially time to start my next renovation project, the master bedroom in my tiny house. get the full design plan and home decor inspiration on jojotastic.com

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??

it's officially time to start my next renovation project, the master bedroom in my tiny house. get the full design plan and home decor inspiration on jojotastic.com

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 officially time to start my next renovation project, the master bedroom in my tiny house. get the full design plan and home decor inspiration on jojotastic.com
it's officially time to start my next renovation project, the master bedroom in my tiny house. get the full design plan and home decor inspiration on jojotastic.com

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:

blue, white, and black boho bedroom moodboard. it's officially time to start my next renovation project, the master bedroom in my tiny house. get the full design plan and home decor inspiration on jojotastic.com

Primary Bedroom Renovation Moodboard

image sources: Savvy HomeRebecca 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!

moodboard for custom closet design and storage/organization ideas. it's officially time to start my next renovation project, the master bedroom in my tiny house. get the full design plan and home decor inspiration on jojotastic.com

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!

Behind The Blog

Joanna Hawley-McBride is a Pacific Northwest-based social media strategist, content creator, and former textile designer. Joanna is the founder and editor-in-chief of Jojotastic, a lifestyle blog focused on Joanna’s work-in-progress cabin, finding the best pair of underwear through #UnderwearThesis, and empowering women to explore nature — all in her signature unfiltered style. Her work has been featured in Domino, CNBC, and Eating Well.

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Leave a Comment

12 Comments

  1. 2.20.17
    Anita Lee Yokota said:

    Dreammmmy:) Cant wait to see it come into real life!

    • 2.20.17
      joanna said:

      Thank you! Hopefully it goes a lot smoother than the living room ;)

  2. 2.16.17
    sara g said:

    It’s so refreshing to see that even stylish bloggers don’t have a picture perfect house, lol! Ah, the ubiquitous boob light. I wish I could get rid of ours, but we’re renting. Someday. :(

    • 2.17.17
      joanna said:

      Thank you! that is exactly why I posted the photos :) This is REAL life!

  3. 2.15.17
    Lisa said:

    I have been completely forgetting to take before photos of all of our ugly, ugly rooms, and I’m so sad about it! These are some good before photos, for sure.

    • 2.15.17
      joanna said:

      you could always use the listing photos!

      • 2.15.17
        Lisa said:

        This is true. They are atrocious.

        • 2.15.17
          joanna said:

          mine are, too! full disclosure: sometimes i look through them so i can re-affirm all the progress i’ve made!

  4. 2.15.17

    Oh…things are going to look great in there post-reno! I’m sure I’m like many readers when I say that I LOVE before and after photos! Keep sharing, please!

    • 2.15.17
      joanna said:

      thank you! i’m a big fan of a good before/after, too ;) more to come!

  5. 2.14.17
    Katie said:

    I LOVE that wallpaper! I’m living vicariously through your renos, as we’re just kicking ours off too :)

    Also – on the open closet thing: we used Ikea’s new(ish) Elvarli system to create an open closet in our house. It. is. AMAZING. And looks so much more expensive than it is.

    • 2.14.17
      joanna said:

      oooooo good luck with your renovation! and I totally looked at that IKEA system. It looks awesome and really nice, but the dimensions weren’t quite right unfortunately :(