We made an offer on our house (almost) sight unseen. It’s what happens when you mix a pandemic, an expiring apartment lease, and a couple quarantining with family two states away. As our realtor FaceTimed us through the house, she informed us that the master bedroom was likely too small for a king bed. The current owners had squished a queen and the tiniest nightstand I had ever seen into the corner where a bed would logically go.
After a decade of squeezing more furniture than imaginable into awkward NYC apartments, I’ve learned that most spaces are bigger than meets the eye and that vertical space is your best friend (underbed drawers for the win!). As we already owned a king bed, I was not inclined to buy a new, smaller bed. By reconfiguring the room, I managed to finagle our king into the room with enough clearance so that the closet doors could be fully opened.
Here is a photo of where the previous owners had their bed:
Another angle of the bedroom before:
And here is our bedroom now:
I may be partial, but I think this is a much more efficient use of the room. I’m working on a little reading nook in the corner where the old bed went and am excited to share that at a later date!
This room was a bit of a challenge to bring together because I had a lot of existing pieces that I wanted to keep (the white throw pillows, grey curtains from my mom, gold/grey lamps and gold/white nightstands). It started to look a bit stark and random in there with so much white, grey, gold and the huge black headboard.
Obviously I bought a throw blanket to warm up the space. Who doesn’t love a good throw? With a king bed, most throws are too small to drape across the entirety of the bed with overhang (and too-short throw blankets are a pet peeve of mine…like…where is your generosity?!). I didn’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on an oversized throw given that it was purely decorative. So, draping this 50″x60″ Marvelyn Double Knit Throw over the corner of the bed was the perfect solution.
I scored the two grey euro pillows and buffalo plaid lumbar pillow from HomeGoods for a steal, but here are some equally appealing options since the inventory at HomeGoods can be hit or miss.
MIULEE Pack of 2 Grey Throw Pillow Covers (26×26) – $25.99 (they come in SO many colors and sizes!)
Yesterday Home Euro Feather Pillow Inserts (28×28) – $29.99/each (always buy a square pillow insert one size up from your pillow cover for a filled-out look). I’m also a big fan of the “chopped” pillow look, which can really only be obtained with feathers. Polyester pillows aren’t malleable enough for chopping.
The buffalo plaid lumbar pillow I have is 14×24, though the more standard size is 12×20. I think the 14×24 pairs better with a king bed, though you could get away with a 12×24 too since it’s more about the length than the height. Below are several options in different sizes for a buffalo check lumbar pillow. If you have a bed smaller than a king, I would go with the 12×20 option since it’s far more affordable than the bigger covers.
Cari Joy Designs Buffalo Plaid Pillow Cover (14×24) – $34.75 (several sizes available)
HomeLiving Buffalo Plaid Outdoor Pillow Cover (12×24) – $20.00 (technically for outdoor, but I have no problem bringing the outdoors in when it comes to pillows)
Miulee Classic Retro Checkers Pillow Cover (12×20): $7.99
Basic Home Pack of 2 Oblong Feather Throw Pillow Insert (14×24): $35.99 (several sizes available)
We live in a Cape-style house where the ceilings are pretty low. Couple that with our tall-ish headboard and there wasn’t a ton of height above the bed for artwork. I found a set of four 11×14 frames that ended up fitting perfectly in the space (and they were a steal!)
Egofine 11×14 Set of 4 Picture Frames – $39.99 (also comes in white)
The frames come with two matting options where you can either use a smaller mat for an 8×10 photo, or a larger mat for a 5×7 photo. I opted for the latter because I’m a sucker for oversized mats in gallery frames. I printed our photos in black and white for a more cohesive look since they were all taken at different times and I didn’t want the coloring between the photos to clash.
The room really came together with a few new elements (pillows, frames, and a throw blanket), which just goes to show that you’re never really too far off from where you want to be.
I hope these tips encourage you to rethink how easy it can be to design the bedroom of your dreams with a limited amount of space and budget. I’ll be back soon with links and tips on how I shopped for our bedroom furniture with both storage and design in mind. Thanks so much for visiting!
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” – Theodore Roosevelt
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