I realized the other day that I never posted photos of my bedroom after the Great Room Swap this spring. I moved my guest/craft/work room into the smaller room (and posted a picture here) and my bedroom into the larger space. It was a really satisfying change, because it made everything feel different, but it hardly cost a thing.
I find this room so tricky to work with. It only has one north-facing window, which means that it’s never very bright. And the walls are real plaster, making it hard to drive a nail in, much less hang anything that weighs over a couple of pounds. So the walls always look sort of bare. But I still like it, and it’s nice to have more space now. It seems like both room are actually being used more efficiently than before.
One thing I did buy after swapping rooms was about two dollars of pretty clearance wrapping paper from Michaels, for this dresser:
It’s a cheap-o particle board dresser that has been around for years and has been dismantled and reassembled several times now. Not attractive. So I used some spray adhesive, a bit of Tacky glue, and a lot of patience and covered it with paper. I still have to paint the drawer pulls, but it looks pretty good, no? Even with nosy cats getting in the picture. If you click on the first photo to enlarge it, you can admire all the hard work I put into making sure the stripes lined up on the drawer fronts.
I usually keep the bedroom doors closed, because cat hair on the bedding makes me itchy (and cat sick on the bedding makes me shouty), but every now and then they’re open, and I catch a glimpse of my nice bedroom. It makes me happy. And relieved that those stripes match up.
How clean and zen and calming!
Kudos on the paper pattern lining up so nicely. Those sorts of things are the hardest.
What a neat job with the dresser! I have some old Ikea dressers that need just that kind of sprucing up.
What a lovely bedroom. So peaceful looking. Have you tried the 3m command hooks or their picture hanging velcro type stuff? It works wonderfully on old walls. I am particularly enamored of the velcro type strips they have now.
Digging the paper covered dresser. I have a small melamine coated particle board book shelf that I want to alter and consequently will need to paint/cover/do something to blend the materials. This just might work! Thanks for the inspiration.
Anna — The command strips are a good idea (I used so many of those in college!), but the walls are very textured, so it wouldn’t work. I’m sure I could sink something in if I got out a drill, but I’m reluctant to make permanent holes in my walls like that. Plus, there’s something about walls and trying to hang things that makes me go all limp and useless. My one (of many) weakness.
It looks lovely. I do like the way the stripes match up. It would be rather chaotic if they did not line up. I too have old plaster walls in my house. Hanging a picture or shelf is such a big commitment, like getting married, I think!
I linked to your craft room pictures, also very lovely. The cabinets from Ikea are just grand.
I’ve been wanting to do this to some old dressers for ages – thanks for showing such a lovely example. It looks great, well done!
You room looks lovely, serene and calm
I would second the 3M hook comment. In the dorms at university we were required to hang everything and anything we wanted on the walls with these things, because nails were not allowed. Most people had posters and things, but the bulk of my stuff was in frames and some were quite heavy so I was skeptical, but I never had problems.
Since then I used them in an apartment where two of my walls were cinder block, and I am using them again in the building I am currently in. It was built in 1920, and the walls are a kind of strange dense material that sometimes will not hold nails and makes worrisome crumbling sounds when you hammer a nail through. So it was time to go for the hooks.
These things are usually with the tape type products in the supermarket. I’d get a small variety at fist, see if they work for you, and then get more as needed. The brilliant thing about these hooks is that they are reusable — the hooks themselves are a hard plastic and can be used again with different adhesive strips, which I think are sold separately.
Good luck!
Maggie
I love the dresser. If it were me, with all the opening and closing, and me being clumsy, I feel like I’d rip the paper by accident eventually. Is it holding up well? I’ll do this someday.
Hi Anna!
Lovely room. I’m not allowed to have the cats in our bedroom, because my husband is slightly allergic to them, and then he doesn’t sleep well. But I was getting so sick of the shut door blocking all the lovely afternoon sun! So……I bought a baby gate! Maybe you don’t mind having your door shut, but if you’d rather have it open (and your cats aren’t big jumpers) you should try it. They sell really nice looking ones (I got ours at Target) if you’re willing to make the investment. And it has a swinging gate/door, so it’s not like you have to move the whole thing to get in and out. Makes me happy.