Design Plan: Dark & Moody Transitional Bedroom Makeover With Dark Brown Walls

I’m in full nesting mode over here until the baby comes in a couple of months. So obviously, I’m going to be nuts and try to tackle our bedroom before that time comes. Since I’m kind of at a standstill for our living room and dining room until we finish a couple of major projects (like refinishing the dining room table and finishing our fireplace), why not start a whole new project? I know it sounds crazy, but this project actually sounds much easier to me than the others because I don’t need my husband’s help every step of the way. Sanding and refinishing a dining room table is the last thing I should be doing, but coming up with a design plan and ordering some furniture for our bedroom is definitely something I can do.

So let’s break down my game plan and take a peek at the room, shall we?

Ever since we moved into this house, I’ve been gathering inspiration left and right, so I’m excited to finalize some ideas and bring them to life! The rest of our house is a mix of browns, creams and greige colors, so I wanted to bring that same look into the bedroom, but slightly different.

Our bedroom (like the rest of the house) is really nothing special. It’s a simple rectangle with a single, basic builder grade window. As much as it is boring, it’s also a blank slate to do whatever I want, so I decided the best plan was to go moody. Cue some dramatic paint… a muted chocolate brown, to be exact.

The dark and moody rooms I’ve seen on Pinterest really inspired me to go dark, so I knew I wanted to go that route.

Once I knew I wanted to go moody, the next (most obvious) task was to find a rug that didn’t completely clash with the carpet. The carpet in the bedroom is just downright ugly. Again… it’s nothing special, so I knew I had to get a rug to cover most of it up. That’s a great rental hack in and of itself.

I really wanted a simple rug, one with minimal pattern. I don’t know what it is, but lately I’m totally over the traditional/oriental style rugs. Don’t get me wrong… they are a great option as they blend with a bunch of different colors, but I feel like I’ve seen them all over the place… and in everyone’s home. (Is it just me, or does everyone’s home look the same these days?! I feel like I see the exact same house all over IG.) The last thing I want is for my bedroom to look like a Studio McGee replica. I want something that feels different. More collected… less perfectly decorated.

My search for the perfect rug ended up being somewhat of a nightmare. I ordered five rugs in total. Yes… five. I ordered a couple of rugs that seemed like they should easily work, as I had seen them on IG a dozen times. But to my surprise, they actually looked awful in person! The most disappointing one was The Melrose Rug from the Arvin Olano x RugsUSA collab. The color and look of it it was just WAY different than every single photo and video I’ve seen. By the way, did you know they just rebranded this rug for the collab? I was under the impression he designed them, but that’s not the case with this one. I feel like there should have been more transparency there, but that’s a subject for a different time.

So after ordering five rugs, I finally found one that I liked. The winner being a natural jute rug in a brown color. As much as I didn’t want to go solid… or pick a jute rug for that matter, the color was perfect and the texture it brought to the space looked SO good! Especially since it was going on the top of the carpet.

Once I finally decided on a rug, I felt like I could move forward and finalize the plans for the rest of the space.

My ‘simplified’ plan is this…

1. Paint the walls a moody dark brown
2. Add lots of texture through the textiles & artwork
3. Make my own artwork (or purchase a digital print to turn into a framed canvas print)
4. Install new light fixtures
5. Hang new curtains
6. Repurpose/use some pieces I already own (like the bench, console table, & mirror)
7. Make a pedestal to add some height and create visual interest
8. Get new bedding to add more texture and pattern
9. Make an extra long lumbar or bolster pillow for the bed

Of course, as I type all of this out… it doesn’t sound as simple as I made it out to be in my head. But isn’t that always how it goes?!

Since we’ve been buying a bunch of new furniture for this house, I want to use as many items as I can that we already own. That being said… I’ll need to buy a few of the major items like the bed, nightstands, and lighting. For some of the other items, I’m hoping to DIY them… like the artwork, pedestal, and pillows. As for the ceiling fixture I picked out, I’m hoping I can make some simple changes, like swapping the rods for some unique chandelier chain to make it look like a high-end, designer one I’ve been eyeing.

For the curtains, Homerilla kindly gifted me some custom curtains, so I’m thrilled that’s one less thing I have to purchase! Not to mention, I’m obsessed with the quality!! They look and feel SO high end once they’re hung! I highly recommend checking them out if you’re looking for some curtains for your space. I got the Lille curtains with a standard double pinch pleat in the color Ivory White, which is the perfect warm white.

I’ll properly link everything once the room is finished, but I’ll also try and link to everything I can above.

All in all, I still feel like this bedroom makeover is totally doable. What do you think? Think I can make it happen? I’m feeling pretty good about it, even though I know there are quite a few projects ahead of me. Stay tuned for the final look and don’t forget to follow along on IG for the real-time progress!

Until next time,

Cheers!