DecorBook Classic : Bedroom with a View

When we moved into our house years ago, P was quietly telling the movers to put my office in one particular spare bedroom. I was quietly telling the movers to put his office in the same room. He wanted me to have this view of Leona Canyon Open Space Regional Preserve and I wanted him to have it. I won arguing that I had the better view in the last house. Now that he is gone, it has taken a year to turn the room into an extra bedroom. Let's see what happened.

In January of 2022, I discovered the deck door was leaking during a big storm. A mold abatement team did their job, moving out P's office furniture. Later in the year, I had the room repainted, carpeted, the old phone line and cable outlets removed and a new ceiling light installed.

Last summer, the painters put up iron curtain rods (Target) while I tried to buy the same linen curtains I have in the bedroom next door. Turns out my beloved Pottery Barn linen curtains are now $380 a pair. Spending a $760 for a spare room curtains seemed crazy. YouTube is filled with videos on IKEA's white curtain hacks. Considering they are $$29 a pair, I easily chose that option and the cleaners hemmed them as they were too long.

Last month, Handyman Brad assembled an upholstered bed (Amazon, $219).

Then, an IKEA sconce for reading on each side of the bed.

I bought a sweet used night table at Uhuru Funiture's warehouse sale. I couldn't believe when the cashier told me it was priced at $19.50. Setting up in the garage, I used Restor-A-Finish to remove scuffs and white rings.

I only wish I had its mate.

Brad assembled this little settee (Amazon, $135).

I used an old Matalese bedspread to sew up a slip cover.

Brad added Kartotek hooks (IKEA, $17) in the closet.

I left P's old storage shelving in the closet and am using for guest room linens.

The Amazon bed was nice and sturdy but the color wasn't as pictured online. It was a dark blush instead of beige. Too pink! After a few weeks, I just couldn't live with it as it made the walls look yellow.

My plan was to donate the new Amazon bed and order something else, but it was such a good deal and I had paid to have it assembled. Then it hit me, why not just paint it? Using leftover interior paint as sample colors - Benjamin Moore's Simply White (left) and Sherwin William's White Duck (right), I decided to paint it Simply White, adding BB Fresh Paint Transformer Powder to the paint. I was in business.

1st coat. As Jayne said, "Are you sure you want to do this?" Good question.

Third coat of paint - one more to go. Miraculously, I didn't spill any paint on the new carpet.

Nothing like waiting for paint to dry.

I bought a mirror (Homegoods, $40) only to get into my stash of craft paint to turn it gold.

Here's one corner of the bedroom, including my sunflower photograph framed in a flea market find.

I'd like a bigger nightstand on the right but for now, I'm using a little brass drum table from Target. Gold velvet pillow covers (Amazon, $22 for a pair) just for fun.

John and Jim gave me coffee table books for the nightstand. Perfect colors! The room with the view is "finished" for now. I do think the settee corner looks a bit bare. I have an old louver 3-panel screen I might bring up from the basement. In the meantime, I hope you have a project - each one brings me a lot of joy, keeping me busy. It's satisfying to complete a project, too. Enjoy your Sunday!

PS : The next day, I remembered I had a old cow skin rug in the basement.

Then I brought out a beautiful batik Ruthann brought me from some foreign land. That will do for now.

PPS : If you live in Oakland or nearby, I suggest you give the nonprofit Uhuru Furniture a look. Treasures are added almost daily on their website : https://uhurufurniture.blogspot.com . Their store is jammed with used decor and pick up is easy. Also, they happily pick up donations,