Oasis
The goal behind every design choice I make is to create a playful, yet soothing space where world-weary friends and family can feel safe to let their guard down so they can be refreshed and maybe even healed. In designing our bedroom, my goal was to give the Bear and myself the gift of a place that maximized relaxation and romance. On a budget, as per usual. We were super blessed to be given an entire bedroom suite (including the mattress!) by my mother-in-law so we were off to a good start.
“The Kiss” by Klimpt is my favorite painting ever. The lamps are from At Home, the lamps shades are from Ross, and the comforter set is from Overstock.com. Oh, and the sconces are from Walmart – I have no shame.
About six months into redoing our first house, I got tired of two-dimensional art. Fortunately, my Bear happened to work at a wine store at the time and occasionally brought home wine crates, which he generously allowed me to conscript and press into service as decor. I attached a shallow ledge to each one, white washed them, and added contact paper.
Yes, that is a functioning intercom, straight from the 80s that I just can’t be bothered to do anything about for now. I filled out my little wine crate gallery with pieces found at various and sundry thrift stores along with memorabilia from our wedding.
I needed a large, vertical piece to go in the corner over the side table, but wasn’t super excited about anything that was already in existence. My inspiration came from Genevieve Gorder.
{Image by David A. Land via HGTV.com}
I was immediately enamored by the pink map with the words “Let’s run away.” I love the idea of a piece of art that invites you into mystery and adventure. But, failing to find anything in the real world that met my ideal, I needed to figure out how to create it. Given that world maps are all horizontal (for good reason), that was out. Somehow, sunrise on a beach simultaneously communicates “peace” and “mysterious adventure” to me. So, of course, I hopped on Pinterest and searched for beach sunrise tutorials and found this one, compliments of beachblissliving.com:
True, I deviated significantly, but it got me started. I also wanted it to feel exotic, so I added the Moorish arch outline.
The table is made out of a candlestick that I found at Goodwill and a pine round that I got from Lowes which I proceeded to paint and stencil using a Moroccan inspired pattern.
And a macro shot of the capiz candle holder because it makes me happy. There’s nothing quite as ephemeral and lovely as capiz.
The slipper chair was a hand-me-down from a coworker, but it was originally an orangey red. I made a slip cover out of ribbed faux velvet so it would play well with the other colors in the room. I’m a sucker for Moroccan lanterns, so when I found the one above the chair on clearance at Ross, I pounced. That whole reading nook makes me smile. I can almost hear it say, “Kick back. Read. Dream.”
The cheval mirror under the other window came from Habitat for Humanity ReStore. I was in there looking for sinks (which I did find), but I knew I would kick myself if I walked out of the store without that piece.
Something still felt off, though. It took me years to figure out what was keeping this space from being the inner sanctum I had hoped it would be. Stay tuned for the solution.