How We Transformed Our Bedroom with 5 Key Changes

How we updated our bedroom to create an elegant Parisian-inspired retreat without a full renovation

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I have a laundry list of updates I want to make to our little starter home now that I know we are staying here longer than we originally intended (thank you 2019 mortgage rate!), but our primary bedroom wasn’t a priority on that list. I was willing to delay beautifying my husband’s and my space if it meant making our more communal spaces more updated and functional. However, that changed when I found a Cyber Monday deal on a bed I liked - and from there my ideas started to flow and our bedroom was getting a makeover. Here’s how we transformed our bedroom without a huge renovation, changing these 5 things:

1. Paint

2. Lighting

3. Window Treatments

4. Bed & Bedding

5. Wall Decor & Accessories

The before: a blah bedroom

Our bedroom before was very unremarkable except for the statement-making closet with walnut French doors that was installed by previous owners. Our room contained a hand-me-down bed and dresser (which is actually a beautiful walnut dresser with beautiful details), a melange of my farmhouse / black and gold glam decor from approximately 2018, and green paint we kept from previous owners. I also must mention the ‘boob light’ on the ceiling which for me represents just a complete lack of intentional design and personality. But again, we didn’t think we’d be staying in our house long enough to make aesthetic changes worth it so just lived with the blah.

I never felt the desire to spend much time in our room beyond the little hours of sleep we’d get in there with two toddlers, but always thought about what our FUTURE beautiful dream bedroom could look like- whether that was in our current house or the next one. That was always a pipe dream with my and my husband’s space taking a back seat to other priorities, but once I decided our room was getting a makeover, I was excited about the idea of our primary bedroom finally feeling like a beautiful space with my true style and personality woven through it. 

The inspiration: Paris apartment meets cozy English cottage

If you know me, you know that part of my heart and brain are always in Paris. I studied French in high school and college and have fallen in love with the language and culture, but I also just love the the spirit of Paris and beautiful design & architecture everywhere you look. I specifically love the Hausmann-style interiors– chic, light-filled apartments with warm, cream walls and ornate molding and parquet flooring. Until I get my own pied-a-terre in the City of Lights, I wanted to feel like I had a little piece of it in my current home. I wanted bright, creamy walls, ornate details, and just a dreamy vibe. 

The dark walnut nightstands, dresser, and closet doors that were staying in our bedroom weren’t exactly aligned with the Parisian apartment vibe, but that’s where the cozy cottage piece comes in. I like how the wood texture brings warmth to the room and the dark walnut tones could create contrast with the cream walls and ceiling.

I built on that idea of coziness and warmth by bringing in playful floral and checkered patterns and greenery. 

The elegance of Paris and the laid back charm of a cozy cottage ended up being the perfect combination for how I wanted the space to look and feel. For more details on all the pieces I used in this room check out this post!

The Process: 5 Elements to Transform the Bedroom

Like I mentioned, the whole process of redesigning our primary bedroom started with the purchase of a new bed on Cyber Monday in the beginning of December, however, the space wasn’t fully completed until the following April. And we weren’t even doing any heavy lifting renovation in the space- just painting and bringing in new decor. So what gives? First- having two small children who require constant supervision and second - trying to pick the perfect cream paint color…

Here’s a little breakdown of the 5 elements I changed in our bedroom to create a totally new and refreshed space. Changing these 4 elements in any room will transform it into a completely updated haven.

1. Paint

The color of your walls sets the mood for the entire room.Whether you go bold or neutral to create a blank canvas, paint is one of the simplest but most transformative tools in creating the bedroom atmosphere you want. In our bedroom, I wanted a calm, light and airy atmosphere so I wanted to go off-white. Not only would it beautifully reflect sunlight, but it also created a blank canvas for other colors to pop in the room.

NOTE: Even if you have a favorite color, that doesn't mean you need to or should paint a room that color! Green is my favorite color but I was more than happy to replace the sad sage green paint in our room with something brighter. The thing is - did you know how complicated finding a cream / off-white paint color is?? There are a billion versions to choose from across paint brands, and like most paint colors they look different throughout the day in different lighting, AND they can lean too yellow if you don’t choose the right one. The fear of a yellow-y room was big for me so I needed to make the right choice. 

I started by choosing 7 (SEVEN!) paints from Benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams, and Farrow & Ball to sample. I painted swatches of each onto our bedroom wall and looked at them for a couple weeks and decided none of them were right. Then I get some Samplize samples of more cream colors and put those on the walls for a few MORE weeks. I finally was between two colors - Roman Column by Sherwin Williams and Butter Pecan by Benjamin Moore. I ended up choosing Butter Pecan because it had more of a cream hue to it than Roman Column which was more ivory. I made the right choice because I ADORE how it turned out. 

The painting process took about 4-5 days total, including a couple nights of us needing to sleep in our mattress in the living room to avoid drying paint fumes. We color-drenched the room with Butter Pecan- a matte finish on the walls and ceiling and satin finish on trim and windows. I love how the uniformity of color makes the room feel more open and airy.  I hadn’t painted a room in a while and underestimated the labor of it - the prep work, need for multiple paint coats, etc. So just a reminder if you’re painting your own space that it may take you longer than you think! Especially when you have toddlers who want to be your painting assistants coming into the room every 20 minutes. 

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2. Lighting

   
   

Lighting in a room should be chosen based on how you use the room throughout the day and the types of lighting needed to accomplish what you use it for. That will determine the amount of overhead, bedside, or other accent lighting needed. Lighting is also a beautiful design element that can be used to make a statement and create more interest in the space. 

I knew I wanted some sort of statement light fixture in our room to bring some Parisian drama and fill up some vertical space. Inspired by those Parisian apartments, I wanted to bring in a taste of ornate millwork into the room - and a ceiling medallion was the perfect way to do so. I chose this gorgeous medallion that is the perfect combination of drama and elegance.

I love mixing those more traditional designs with something more contemporary, so I chose this globe chandelier in brass to create a playful contrast in the middle of the room. Typically a ceiling medallion is recommended to be installed to the ceiling with some sort of adhesive and nails with caulk around the edges, but our light fixture kind of tightened it into place on its own - we just added one nail to make it hang straight. No problems so far in this short cut approach!

My original vision for bedside lighting was to install plug-in sconces on either side of the bed so we wouldn’t have to do any electrical hardwiring. I also felt the need to have the lights perfectly match the globe ceiling light, so I originally chose these globe sconces. I did some mock-ups and it felt like too many globes floating around, and I wanted something softer for the bedside. And not everything in a room needs to be matchy-matchy! I started looking at other sconces then realized that having the cords hanging from them would drive me crazy even if I covered them - SO the journey led me to lamps. I found these beauties from West Elm that I adore with their quirky shape, wooden detail, and chic pleated lampshade. I think they are a bit short, but like them for now!

3. Window Treatments

Window treatments control light, add softness, and bring in texture or pattern without overwhelming the space. When chosen thoughtfully, they create both function and a sense of polish. In the case of our bedroom, I wanted the curtains to provide privacy while still allowing sunlight to filter through. 

The single black-out curtain we had on each of our bedroom windows was a result of my 4 year-old son’s newborn days sleeping in our room and needing complete darkness for a decent night’s sleep. In our desperate sleeplessness we just got one pair of curtains to split between the two windows and never upgraded– until now! 

Let me just say—curtain lengths are more complicated than they should be. More and more people nowadays are installing their curtains closer to ceiling height to create more grandeur and depth around their windows, however, the standard lengths that curtains come in (84”, 96” or 104”) do not accommodate for that effect, which is a challenge I faced. My ceilings are 8 feet tall (96 in) with crown molding and the top of my windows are at 7 feet (84 in). 84 inch curtains would not create the taller window effect, and 96 inch curtains would need to be installed below the crown molding and have over 4 inches of fabric trailing on the ground. Instead of getting customized curtains, I found 90 inch curtains on Amazon in a beautiful cream color with linen texture that light streams through beautifully. You get what you pay for though, because the curtains actually are only 88 inches. At that point I just didn’t care anymore so kept them.  They are installed about 4-5 inches above the window and do provide a heightening effect. And a beautiful warm glow in the room!

The curtain rods I found on Wayfair paired so well with the vibe of the room and were relatively reasonably priced. I love that they are such a small detail but stand out so beautifully. 

4. Bed & Bedding

The bed is the heart of the bedroom, both visually and practically. Your bedding choices from the frame to the comforter to the sheets to accent pillows can turn a functional place to sleep into a cozy, beautiful retreat. It also serves as a canvas to tie in your color palette and add pattern and texture. 

The bed that sparked our whole bedroom redesign is linen-upholstered and blends in with the cream tone of the paint, so I wanted the bedding to create more of a contrast while also connecting to the darker tones of the wood closet and other walnut tone furniture. I chose a dark olive green duvet cover that pairs beautifully with the wood tones. The linen texture adds casual elegance to the room and the throw pillows bring in color and pattern that tie to other design elements of the room. 

The bed was the only new furniture piece we purchased for our bedroom proof that you don’t need a full furniture overhaul to make a big transformation. Use what you have- even if it’s old and mis-matched try to find one new piece that can tie everything together - like our bed did!

5. Wall Decor & Accessories 

After the bigger pieces are figured out - paint, lighting, windows, bed– the rest of the space can be filled in with the smaller pieces that reflect your personality. Or not-so-many pieces if you don’t like too much stuff! Whether you are minimalist or more maximalist, art, mirrors, and collected objects are what bring personality and soul to a bedroom.

I was starting completely new with decor in our primary bedroom since the majority of what we had–farmhouse things, black and gold stuff–was no longer aligned with my design style. I wanted more sophistication and of course had my eyes on the Parisian-cozy-cottage theme. I started with new mirrors which are a must since I use my dresser as a vanity and also need the full length mirror for fit checks ;) I see so many ornate gold mirrors in dreamy Parisian apartment photos and had my sights set on some options from Anthropologie. I purchased their round Cecilia mirror not knowing what I’d settle on for the full-length mirror which I wanted to coordinate. I liked the matching Cecilia floor mirror but it wasn’t as big as I wanted.  Now, I NEVER have a lot of luck with things like this, but that same week I was browsing Facebook Marketplace and this found this beautiful peacock mirror from Anthropologie being sold for a steal– I messaged the seller within minutes of it being posted and got it. How serendipitous is that?? My husband and I picked it up and carried it down 4 flights of stairs– that thing is almost 100 pounds! I will be passing down this story (and maybe the mirror!) for generations…

Once I had the mirrors figured out it was all about art, shelves, rugs, and little decorative objects. I go into more detail about the all the decor in our primary bedroom on this post. I love how everything came together, but know I will always be putzing around and changing things out as time goes on. One item I will point out here is the Louis style frame above our bed. I love the ornate style of these frames and knew it would be perfect over the minimal headboard. I paired it with a minimalist art piece (for now) as well which allows you to focus on the details of both the frame and the art individually. The art is a simple print from Etsy I have some ideas for modifying with a little DIY, but more to come on that. 

Something I have learned about my decor style is I don’t like too much design clutter. I like having empty spaces to let the room breathe a bit. Some people have a more eclectic style, filling in spaces with tchotchkes and vintage finds which I love to look at, but cannot live in peacefully! Just not my style as a person with a cluttered brain. I do see some spaces on the wall on either side of the bed I want to fill eventually but don’t yet have a solution for. I love to create volume and fill in space with greenery which you can see throughout the space – filling in spots gracefully without too much clutter. 

The power of making space for yourself

At the risk of sounding dramatic, transforming our bedroom into the beautiful place it is now made me realize just how much more home can mean when it truly reflects you. I made every decision in this space with intention, and now it feels like a little luxury—a room filled with details I love, where I can actually relax. It’s wild to think we once believed this kind of space had to wait for the next house or a different season of life. 10/10 recommend creating a room that makes you feel as chic as a Parisian and as calm as an English countryside cottage.

To be totally transparent, the space probably reflects me a bit more than my husband—but let’s save the whole “husband’s role in home design” debate for another day. xoxo