Master Bedroom Makeover (with Before and After photos)

For Valentine's Day, I redecorated my bedroom as a surprise for my husband. Yesterday, while the wind howled outside, he and I painted our room.  

Because we are DIY rock stars (in our own minds). 

In an Instagram frenzy, I photographed (sometimes in an endeavor to NOT start painting, because starting is the suckiest part of any DIY project) a bunch of pictures of our process and the finished product to show you. Today I'll share the "after" photos, and in a different post I'll show you a few behind-the-scenes glimpses of our work in progress and also offer a few pointers, in case you have "paint a room with hundred-year old plaster walls" on your spring to-do list. 

We did the red walls and the decor scheme you see here in our room when we got married almost eight years ago!!!  It's so time for  a new look.  I way-incredibly-loved the red walls in 2005.  We had a red living room also, which we painted over a couple years ago.  I'm over it. 

What I want now for our room is a fun, playful, inspiring space 

where we can enjoy our time together.  

So much of life is serious.  I want our bedroom to be fun. 

Everything I chose makes me smile.  

Saturated color. Sparkly sequined pillows. 

Wild floral textiles from India. Bold trellis pattern on the drapes. 

And the humongous, acid yellow gourd lamps. LOVE the lamps. 

On each night stand is a shimmery satin Ikat frame holding wedding day photos.

We are embracing all things new, but we always look back to the moments we laid the foundation of this beautiful life together. 

We have an 1896 Victorian home, and this baby doesn't have a "master suite," but we love the character in old homes here in Maine, so we roll up our sleeves and add the modern elements we love one room at a time, and we try to keep as much of the integrity of our old home in tact as possible.  

See the pretty wide plank floors?  Our other bedrooms have floating wood laminate over them, but ours we kept original.  I love it!

I'm really thrilled to see how the globally inspired textiles and colors work so perfectly with the very ornate, traditional furniture we had. The balance and contrast is interesting.  Plus it makes me not-sick-of-the-furniture, which is good, because it's what we have. Warm gray walls showcase all the colors in the room really well. 

One of my favorite things about design and fashion right now is that we can play with color, pattern, and line to make something very eclectic and chic.  We can take elements of style from different countries and different periods of design and pull all our favorite pieces to make something unique.  

(Not to mention that I'm SO excited about neon making a comeback.)

In my decor, I use a lot of symmetry, which is a traditional element (or perhaps a reflection of my Type A personality).  Maybe my New Year's Resolution in 2014 should be "Try to decorate asymmetrically." I'm think I might be getting hives just thinking about it...)  

I try to avoid "matching" things, because I enjoy finding pieces that "go" (a fashion strategy a la What Not to Wear, which I apply to home decor as well). 

Pulling together pieces that don't "match" as much as they "go" can give your space a sense of having items that have been collected over time.  No one has to know you found them all for a bargain at one marathon HomeGoods shopping spree, right?

Thanks for taking a look at my new bedroom!  I'd love to know if you have a decorating project underway and what items or colors make you smile in your favorite places.