one room challenge // bedroom week 1

Welcome to the One Room Challenge and Week One of my bedroom makeover! (If you're confused about what on earth "ORC" means, you can check out yesterday's post to catch up). I still can't believe I'm doing this. When I first posted pictures of my bedroom, I wouldn't even promise to take down the blinds. Now I'm signing up for makeover challenges. Somebody better be prayin' for my husband.

In any case, can I just pause to first thank Linda, the hostess of this challenge? Every time she has done it I have reeeeally wanted to link up, but guts and opportunity never collided. Well this time I'm going to be brave. I'm truly grateful she's created this challenge and is so generous in opening it up to others. Thank you Linda!

For those of you who haven't been following along, let me back up to tell you about my bedroom for a minute. Prepare your eyes and stomachs- it wasn't pretty. You can see the full post I wrote about it here, appropriately entitled "The Stuff of Nightmares."

It turns out that it is possible to publicly shame yourself into cleaning your room. As soon as that post went up, I spent an entire weekend cleaning out, purging and organizing, and yes, putting away the vacuums. 

After that, hope started to creep in. Ryan, my husband, agreed to paint, and to buying a much needed bigger bed. We are trying really hard not to let this snowball out of control (obviously I'd love a wood floor, new trim and doors, and a barn ceiling, but we're going for baby steps here). So here's my wish list:

• White paint
• New bed & bedding
• New nightstands
• Bedside lighting
• Possibly a rug
• Drapes 
• Ceiling fan

And here's where we're at: We painted.

The mattress industry might be a disaster. I can't prove that, but I. had. no. idea. how crazy complicated of a purchase this would be. I also had no idea it was going to cost roughly the same amount a teenager spends on a car. It's not that I'm totally against selling my kidneys for a good night's sleep, but it wasn't my first choice. And I think my friend Stephanie said it perfectly when she said, and I paraphrase, that people in the world are sleeping on dirt floors. We should not have this many choices for mattresses. 

I had two plans for how to procure a mattress. (And full disclosure, I haven't set foot in an actual mattress store yet. The idea of walking into a vast sea of white rectangles and eager salesmen kinda makes my head want to explode). 

My first plan was to go to Jubilee Furniture and buy whatever NEW king sized mattress is under $400 and on their floor. My husband, the practical one who realizes we actually need to sleep on this thing, was inclined to do a bit more research than that. So he called them and found out they almost never have new mattresses. Deal breaker. (My germophobe friend Kyla was appalled at how much time Grace and I were willing to spend on a hotel floor at Alt, much to my amusement, but even I draw the line at buying a used mattress).

My second plan was to order one from Tuft & Needle. The minute I saw they had only one mattress to sell and that they are in rebellion against the entire mattress industry, I was sold. I don't even care what it feels like. $750 seemed horrible to this novice mattress shopper, but then Sleepy's down the road wanted $4700 for the latest Tempurpedic model, so, maybe $750 isn't so bad after all. And I'm totally happy to support their cute glasses and hipster beards. Now the only problem is I keep wanting to call them Flock & Tinker, thanks to this website. 

Anyway, I think we have a mattress plan. 

Next there is the small matter of bedding. I'm in a philosophical quandary over this. I'm definitely tired of buying cheap alternatives to the thing I really want. Do I just decide to live with less (like, a TON less) so that I can have fewer but more expensive things? I honestly wouldn't mind living with less - please, there are days I think I should just toss a lit match behind me as I walk out the door--it's the expensive things part I might not be qualified for. I'm pretty sure those things are just going to get destroyed like everything else. 

Case in point: Yesterday in jest I was asking the kids, "So...when I get new bedding, approximately how many times do you plan to pee on it?" (They thought this was hilarious and arduously promised "ZERO times, mom!") "And how many times do you think you're going to puke on it?" None, they assured me. Aaaaaaand that very night one of them puked in bed. I'm not making this up! 

If money and puke were no object, I've decided I would go to In Bed Store and buy the charcoal linen duvet cover, peach sheets, and light grey pillow slips. Why? Because I want to duplicate Kate Arend's house down to the last detail and that is the bedding she has. 

via Wit & Delight

via Wit & Delight

Seriously, it's all I can do not to go out and buy an English Labrador right now. As I searched around, I found that Kate isn't the only one singing the praise of linen bedding. After reading articles on the subject by Apartment Therapy and Remodelista, I must say the argument for this supposedly warm-in-winter-cool-in-summer-indestructible-for-decades-soft-as-butter stuff is pretty compelling. 

via Remodelista

(Top Image as well) via Cultiver

But the pricetag is super duper hefty. And that brings me back to my original question. Is it worth the money? As I was cleaning up baby puke and putting a fresh set of sheets from Target on his bed, I realized the answer is probably no. The Target sheets are soft and cozy. They are sturdy enough to endure what we throw at them (or throw up on them, as the case may be). They don't come in fancy packaging with cool lettering (what's wrong with me that the MOST tempting part of In Bed linens is the part where I get to 'gram the newly arrived bag?) and they aren't going to last a lifetime, but that's just not us. Our house is casual, and disposable, and our stuff can't be sacred. The whole point of a bigger bed is to jump in it with my kiddos and my dog and snuggle without someone's limbs hanging perilously over the side at all times. I shouldn't do bedding that makes me not want to be in bed. 

So. I did find that H&M makes a charcoal linen duvet set for 99 bucks. I am tempted. I'm definitely afraid that it's going to feel like sandpaper, and if the caliber of their clothes is any indication, then the quality police would be in for disappointment. But if I remember what I'm going for-- nothing sacred, the look without the worry, for now and not forever-- then it seems like I should at least try it. 

via H&M

And the great news is, however it gets pieced together, I'm excited to have a color direction! Here's a moodboard I made for the bedroom. I'm not 100% sure this is how it'll go, but it's where I'm leaning today. (Oh, also, haha, this is all just a *tad* outside my price range...).

watercolor | bed frame | typography print | rug

drapes | bulb pendants | shapes print | bed 

plants | copper pendant | botanical print | nightstand

Here are pictures of our paint progress:

Goodbye horrible yellow, helloooo white. (No one is surprised it's going to be white, right?)

Hip hip hooray and yeehaw, the burgundy mini blinds have gone to the garbage! Hilariously, a sheet looks 100% better than they did. How did I live with them for so long?? Side note: It's abundantly clear that this wood trim will have to be painted too. 

Dyson approves of the changes so far. I must admit I'm a little sentimental now about getting rid of this bed that we lovingly chose as new homeowners. But it'll find a new spot in our guest room I'm sure (if we ever have a guest room).

I'll be posting updates on Thursdays (and fair warning: that may be about the only blogging I do during the next six weeks), but as always, advice is welcome (wink wink). Wish me luck!

Oh, and you can check out more of the ORC and the other makeovers in progress right here. Thanks again Linda!