(Un)Extreme Bedroom Makeover in Progress

I decided it was time to actually try to decorate our bedroom after a year of living in a room full of hand me downs from our college apartments. I never really loved our bedroom but I lived with it because I had no idea what I wanted. I just shut the door and ignored it. But then one day while wasting my afternoon away on Pinterest, I found exactly what I was looking for.


This.

 It is no secret that I love neutrals. I  have always wanted white bedding and tried it once, but did it all wrong. This time I was determined to do it right and to get that clean, open, airy, hotel feel. Using these pictures as inspiration I was determined to achieve a similar look and feel for very little money in a much smaller room. So the brainstorming and shopping commenced.

I knew the first thing we needed was a new mattress set. Our bed was given to me used by my grandparents, oh about 10 years ago. Now, my grandma is a rule follower. She didn't put the decorative pillows on her bed for the first time in her life this year and it was a HUGE deal. I am sure she bought a new mattress and gave hers to me at the recommended 7 years so I am guesstimating that the mattress was 17 years old. We got our new mattress over Memorial Day during the sales and even bought the floor model because we are just that cheap thrify. That night I got the best.night.of.sleep.ever. I didn't realize how bad our mattress actually was until we got the new one. Needless to say, I am in love (and much better rested).

Now came the fun part...decorating. I decided to keep the paint color and use some things I already had on hand to, in the words of Tim Gunn, make it work. I used a pair of lamps I found a while back at a thrift store. They were so ugly when I bought them for around $4 a piece but nothing a can of white spray paint couldn't fix. The side tables were given me by my aunt a long time ago and the  white curtains were given to me by, again my grandma. Have you noticed a trend? My grandma spoils us. Anyway, back to the room. Here it is...

I am really loving it so far! I wish I had a better camera because these pictures just don't do it justice. There is still some work to be, but I love the changes. The next change I want to do is add a chandelier. And did I mention, we made that headboard? More on that later.

For now let's remember how far this room has come. From this...

 to this...

Much better.