Finally! The sun came out! So here we are with my latest interior project - a master bedroom refresh. Right now we're not in a place to dismantle our lives (ie the kitchen) for a big renovation, so decided to take on a smaller project instead. When I'm styling a space I tend to borrow from other rooms, and after I completed the master last year I moved around a lot of plants, books, odds and ends. The space was feeling a little empty. Time to refresh!

First let me share what stayed the same, which is actually a lot. The paint, window treatments and almost all of the furniture are still in use. We moved the crib over to the kids' room and in it's place I finally assembled a desk Adam gave me for mother's day last year (which was also the weekend we closed on this house and moved it, so that box became hidden under other boxes and on and on). I should also note that I kept my 'Secondhand First' mission with this space! My mom did bring me to a new set of sheets as a gift, but everything else is either second hand or self made. I'll go into detail below!

So what's new, Jess? Come on over and have a look!

Master Bedroom Secondhand First Jungalow Style

Custom Made Bedroom Pillows - Jessica Quirk

Bedding

To brighten things up, I started with a new-to-me white coverlet (found second hand on etsy). Underneath are the organic cotton sheets my mom gave me, which are also white with a small grey print. I swapped out my navy bedskirt with a white version I already had in my linen closet. I also kept the two quatrefoil cream pillows and blue textured pillow that I made last year for this bed. Although green velvet might not conjure up spring to most, it reminded me of moss and since I have a thing for using houseplants in all of my rooms now, it helped pull those colors into the bed area. I'm not sure that last sentence totally makes sense. For the throw pillow I used a modern paisley with a combo of pompom trims that I made myself. (and for the bench makeover you'll see on the opposite side of the room). I also kept the white throw at the end of my bed.

Behind the bed, I created a new headboard using 600 feet of cotton cord affixed to an oak base (which I also made). It was probably a week of knotting and Adam and I both love the end result!

Above the bed, I installed an oak shelf (on sturdy brackets, mounted to studs!). I'm still working on how I want to style it, so you'll see two different versions of that #shelfie in this post. One version has a Robert Cox oil painting I love and the other is just plants. I like how the painting brings in some blues and yellows (and in that version, I have the blue pillow on the bed) but I also like just plants. I might rearrange it every time I clean the room! Who knows! I've been playing around a lot with that shelf and I think as the plants mature and grow it's going to be even cooler.

Plants in Master Bedroom On Shelf Over Bed

Shelf Over Bed with Plants Jungalow style

Desk

The desk was a gift from last year and I'm keeping it simple with a couple plants and a framed photo of me and Felix. The chair was such a score for me - I'd been wanting to add something rattan to the space and this baby popped up at the Habitat ReStore just a couple days later. I sanded down the peeling poly and then rubbed on some beeswax conditioning paste I made. Finally, I used some leftover velvet to reupholster the seat. Hello retro! I love it! The woman who cut my fabric was like "is this color coming back in style? It's very 1970s!" to which I answered "I'm not sure, but that's exactly what I'm going for!" Green isn't going to float everyone's boat, but baby, it rocks mine! And velvet is just so lux! I used a 50% off coupon to buy it as well so la-ti-da!

Decor

Over the wide dresser is my ever growing collection of baskets and trivets and anything straw. Everything is second hand minus the hat which I made myself. I also have a Calethia plant that I repotted (it made its first appearance in my upper living room) and is thriving now that I actually take care of it. It's kind of been one of those that I let totter near the edge of death before reviving (or used to!) Now she has more room for her roots and gets enough water to be happy.

I swapped the location of the dressers, but kept the mirror where it was, so I put a plant, a globe and some yellow billy balls up there (those were formerly on my bedside tables!) Looks cute! On the left is the bench I reupholstered, using the same fabric as the throw pillow on the bed. Before it was a cat scratched mess with a loose leg and after it's sturdy and perfect for... gathering laundry and getting piled up with junk. Seriously. I'll try to keep it empty to use for putting on shoes or whatever. Mainly I bought it because I wanted a project and it was $6 so I'm pleased with the end result.

Lighting

I kept my same bedside lamps but finally installed an overhead light! You guys - I left the old wiring sticking out of my ceiling for 9 months. WTF?! Earlier this week I installed the new light, which I updated with some more macrame. It's subtle enough but still improves the look of a basic builder's fixture. And because I made it into a project, I consider it a "supply" which is kind of a round about way to keep within the second hand first. (I allow myself to buy project materials new.) Because nothing was up there at all, I couldn't just live with what I had and lights can be tricky finding used (there are plenty of boob flush mounts out there, but not my thing style wise). I hope there's no one out there bored enough to blog about the times I had to buy something new from the store! I'm sure I'm the only one who cares about the whole 'Make, Do, Mend' thing anyways!

Jungalow Style Master Bedroom Spring Refresh

So that's my spring refresh on my bedroom. I grew up with parents who loved to move around furniture and make small changes (or big, my mom would re-paint rooms all the time!) and it makes me happy to do the same thing. Huge thanks to my mom who helped me sew, pry out old staples and watch the kids so we could make this happen! If I missed anything, please let me know if the comments!