Embarking on a home decor journey is always an adventure, and few spaces tell a story quite like a bedroom. Recently, I unveiled the latest iteration of my mid-century meets coastal bedroom makeover, a design fusion that perfectly captures my evolving aesthetic. Looking back, it’s incredible to see how this deeply personal space has transformed over nearly a decade since we first purchased our lake house in 2013. My style has certainly matured since our townhouse days, but some passions remain constant: a love for crisp white walls, the timeless allure of mid-century modern design, and the captivating charm of interesting art. Throughout these transformations, a guiding principle has been to “shop the house,” creatively re-purposing furniture, decor, and even draperies from room to room, and sometimes even sharing pieces between my mother’s home and mine. This approach not only champions sustainability but also imbues each piece with a richer history. Join me on this nostalgic journey through the various chapters of our bedroom’s evolution, and I’d love to hear which version resonated most with you in the comments below!
The Bedroom – A Glimpse into the Past (Before We Arrived)
Stepping into our future home for the very first time, the bedroom presented a unique challenge and a blank canvas of potential. Here’s how it looked with the former owner’s belongings. The original window was notably smaller, suggesting they might have accommodated a queen-sized or even a double bed. For us, however, the challenge was integrating our king-sized bed into the space, which would eventually dictate many of our design decisions. The room, though modest in its initial presentation, held the promise of becoming a sanctuary, awaiting our personal touch to truly bring it to life.
2013 – A Fresh Start: Embracing the Blank Canvas
Upon moving in, our first priority was to infuse the space with our signature style. We immediately transformed the room into a pristine “blank canvas” by painting the walls and trim a crisp, clean white. This instant refresh laid the foundation for everything that followed. We then thoughtfully filled the bedroom with cherished furniture pieces from our previous townhouse, creating a sense of familiarity amidst our new surroundings. A notable addition was a dresser from my mother, which served as a functional placeholder until we could find a pair that perfectly suited our aesthetic vision. Even though these were existing items, the act of re-arranging and re-contextualizing them made the space feel wonderfully new. For instance, the vintage chair, which I had lovingly recovered, and the charming vintage table, a thoughtful gift from my grandmother and subject of a previous makeover, had previously resided in the townhouse’s guest room. Similarly, the vibrant vintage poster art, a unique find I brought back from Hungary, had initially graced our kitchen. These deliberate shuffles breathed new life into familiar objects, integrating them seamlessly into our new home’s narrative.
The bed itself held significant personal history. The headboard and nightstand were designs born from my own creativity, meticulously welded by my talented grandfather back in 2007. The bed skirt and crisp white bedding were relatively new acquisitions, purchased just two years prior during a spruce-up of our townhouse bedroom. It was also during this period that my mother and I collaborated to sew those beautiful green silk pillows, adding a touch of custom luxury. This initial version of the bedroom, with its personal touches and comforting familiarity, felt incredibly sweet and happy, providing a much-needed sense of solace after the challenging experience of selling our townhouse. It was a true reflection of fresh beginnings and the power of bringing cherished pieces into a new home.
2014 – Introducing Bold Curtains: A Quest for Privacy and Color
As we settled into our new home, the need for privacy in the bedroom became increasingly apparent. A year after our initial move, we decided it was time to address the bare windows. I acquired a sleek white curtain rod, and my mother and I embarked on a DIY project to sew custom back tab drapes. Having previously favored neutral curtains and sheers in our townhouse, I was eager to explore a more vibrant palette this time, seeking a fabric that would beautifully complement the existing vintage poster art. However, finding the perfect colorful fabric proved to be a significant challenge within our city’s limited selection. At the time, I was hesitant about ordering fabric online, preferring to see and feel materials in person. Yet, with persistent neighbors often peeking into our windows, the urgency for privacy outweighed my apprehension. I eventually chose a striking teal print fabric. In person, this fabric was a near-perfect match for the central poster in my collection, adding a much-desired pop of color to a room predominantly featuring white walls, ceilings, and bedding. Reflecting now, a simple white curtain might have been a safer, more timeless choice, but in that moment, the desire for a bold statement was paramount. This decision, however, prompted a minor re-shuffle of furniture. The teal pattern didn’t quite harmonize with the green chair that had been in the room, so it was swapped for a black chair that had previously served as a focal point in our townhouse office, maintaining a cohesive yet evolving aesthetic.
2015 – A Mini Green & Mid-Century Modern Makeover: Refined Aesthetics
The year 2015 marked a pivotal moment in the bedroom’s journey, ushering in a “mini makeover” that significantly refined its mid-century modern aesthetic. My artistic vision for the poster arrangement evolved: I decided to sell the middle poster and purchased a different one that had captivated me during our travels in Hungary. While I hadn’t initially planned to display all three posters together, I found myself drawn to the impressive scale and visual impact of the trio, leading me to find a piece that seamlessly integrated into the existing arrangement. This artistic update brought immense satisfaction, but it naturally meant the previously bold printed teal curtains no longer aligned with the room’s direction. I relocated them to the office for a time, eventually selling them to make way for a new vision.
Once again, the local fabric selection proved inadequate, prompting me to finally embrace online shopping for textiles. After ordering several fabric samples, I discovered the perfect bold green tweed fabric, which my mother and I transformed into new DIY back tab curtains. I seriously contemplated a neutral white tweed, but the specific shade of green was an exact, undeniable match to elements within the new poster art, making the choice irresistible despite my previous foray into bold colors. This period also presented an exciting opportunity through a brand partnership, allowing us to finally acquire new dressers. Though they were advertised as grey-stained cherry, they arrived in a deep, rich espresso finish, which, surprisingly, added a layer of sophistication to the evolving space.
This brand collaboration truly ignited a comprehensive mini bedroom makeover. Beyond the new poster art, curtains, and dressers, 2015 was also the year we meticulously crafted beautiful, modern walnut storage boxes. These custom-made pieces were designed to perfectly fit the open, glass-shelved nightstands my grandfather had welded, adding both functionality and a refined mid-century touch. Simultaneously, I painted new abstract art pieces to flank either side of the bed, further personalizing the space. And, in a highly anticipated move, we finally installed new closet doors for the bedroom, replacing the old, broken glass ones that had been removed back in 2013. Each of these thoughtful updates contributed to a cohesive and elegantly refreshed bedroom, solidifying its mid-century modern aesthetic.
2017 – The DIY Walnut Bed: Elevating Mid-Century Style
Even two years after the invigorating mini makeover, while I still cherished the room’s aesthetic, a persistent design element began to grate: the bed skirt. Not only did it collect dust and pet fluff from our beloved Szuka (who found it an ideal leaning spot, creating a permanent dent), but it also felt somewhat dated. This functional and aesthetic frustration spurred a new DIY project in 2017. We meticulously constructed a new walnut bed frame, specifically designed to perfectly complement the existing welded headboard. This significant addition truly allowed me to lean fully into the mid-century modern vibe I adored, giving the bed a substantial, custom-built feel that resonated with the era’s craftsmanship.
Alongside the new bed frame, I also seized the opportunity to upgrade our bedding, opting for a new duvet cover and shams that maintained a consistent theme of white with rich texture. To further enhance the layered look, I splurged on a luxurious new wool throw. This careful curation of textures—the bold tweed of the curtains, the subtle variations in the bedding, the softness of the wool throw, and the sheen of the silk pillows—created a harmonious and inviting atmosphere. The walnut bed frame became a true focal point, anchoring the room with its warm tones and sophisticated lines, transforming the bed from a mere sleeping space into a central piece of art within the bedroom, truly embodying a refined mid-century modern sensibility.
2018 – A Pastel Mini Makeover: Embracing Serenity
The year 2018 brought an unexpected yet profoundly impactful mini refresh to the bedroom, largely influenced by a poignant personal event. The passing of my husband’s grandfather led us to inherit five beautiful new pieces of his artwork. With our home’s limited wall space, a thoughtful re-evaluation of our existing art collection became necessary. My beloved vintage poster art, which had graced the bedroom for years, found a new home with my mother, making room for these meaningful new paintings. We chose to hang one new painting above the dressers, complementing another piece we already owned but had previously displayed elsewhere in the house. The ethereal and light quality of this new artwork inspired a significant shift in the bedroom’s aesthetic. The formerly bold, mid-century modern vibe gently gave way to a more peaceful, muted pastel aesthetic, creating a softer, more serene atmosphere.
To align with this new direction, I strategically relocated the turquoise tweed curtains, which we had originally sewn for the office, into the bedroom. Their softer hue perfectly suited the evolving palette. I also softened the intensity of the art pieces I had created for either side of the bed, toning down their visual impact to blend seamlessly with the new tranquil mood. Another practical change involved the lamp shades: hanging a new painting in the dining room necessitated smaller lamp shades for the credenza lamps there, allowing me to repurpose the larger shades into the bedroom. This was a welcome change, as I had grown weary of dusting the formerly black lamp shades! To complete this gentle transformation, my mother and I collaborated once more, sewing exquisite new gathered silk pillows using leftover silk from my wedding dress, alongside framed Hungarian embroidery, which added bespoke touches and solidified the softer, more sophisticated look of the space, moving towards a peaceful pastel bedroom decor.
2019 – A Brighter Horizon: Bigger Window & Enhanced Light
By 2019, a major home improvement project brought significant changes to our bedroom: we had replaced all the windows throughout the house, granting the bedroom a truly stunning, much larger new window. This upgrade dramatically increased the natural light flooding the space, but it also meant our old curtain rod and beloved DIY back tab drapes no longer fit. After the window wall was meticulously patched, I faced a minor dilemma: unable to source the exact shade of white paint to match the rest of the room, and lacking the energy for a full repaint, I opted for a creative solution. I painted just the newly expanded window wall a soft, tranquil green, introducing a subtle accent that perfectly complemented the enhanced light. We then indulged in new custom blinds, offering both privacy and light control, and installed a captivating bubble lamp I had thrifted for a mere $20, adding a unique, sculptural element to the ceiling. Further personalizing the space, I replaced my existing DIY art with beautifully framed antique postcards featuring evocative scenes of Lake Superior. These pieces, which had been displaced from the living room after we constructed a TV bump-out and installed new speakers there, found a perfect new home, tying the bedroom’s aesthetic back to our lake house identity and infusing it with a sense of cherished history and local charm, all while enjoying better light from the bigger window.
2019 – A More Vibrant Palette: Infusing Rich Hues
Later in 2019, my design inclination swung back toward a craving for more saturated color and dynamic visual interest. After the serene pastels of the previous year, I felt the room was ready for another infusion of vibrancy. To achieve this, I embarked on a creative DIY project: I crafted a couple of bold, ice-dyed throws. This unique dyeing technique allowed for unpredictable yet stunning color patterns, resulting in textiles that added a lively burst of color and a modern, artistic touch to the bedroom. These throws draped casually over the bed, instantly elevated the room’s energy, demonstrating how small, yet impactful, DIY additions can dramatically alter a space’s mood and palette, bringing a renewed sense of excitement and personalized style with a more vibrant palette.
2020 – A Grounding Element: Vintage Teal Rug & Newfound Depth
The following year, 2020, brought a significant addition that fundamentally changed the bedroom’s ambiance and anchored its design: a vintage, overdyed rug. For a long time, I had felt a certain ambivalence towards rugs, largely due to practical considerations such as allergies and the presence of dogs, which made me favor unadorned, easy-to-clean floors. However, a partnership with a rug company presented an opportunity to reconsider. When this particular vintage rug entered the space, it was an undeniable stunner. Its rich, overdyed teal hues immediately captivated me, and I quickly realized its transformative power. Far from being a mere floor covering, the rug acted as a grounding element, highlighting our beautiful DIY walnut bed frame, which previously seemed to blend into the warm tones of the wood floors. With the rug, the bed became a distinct and celebrated focal point, its craftsmanship accentuated by the vibrant foundation beneath it. To further enhance this renewed monochromatic look, I “shopped the house,” thoughtfully relocating some plush velvet throw pillows we had originally sewn for the living room. The integration of the rug and these carefully chosen pillows created a newfound depth and richness in the bedroom, making it feel more cohesive and intentionally designed, and reigniting my appreciation for color in the space with this vintage teal rug.
2021 – A Bold Misstep: The Tie-Dyed Mural Experiment
Inspired and emboldened by the undeniable success of the teal overdyed rug, and how much its vibrant color had invigorated the bedroom, I felt ready to push the boundaries of my design aspirations in 2021. I envisioned an ambitious new makeover, one that would distinctly fuse a “coastal meets mid-century modern” vibe. Central to this bold vision was a striking “tie-dyed” mural, complemented by fresh coastal striped linen bedding and elegant white linen drapes. The concept, in my mind, was captivating. Initially, I was genuinely thrilled with the outcome; the mural brought an undeniable artistic flourish and a unique dynamic to the room. However, over time, the reality began to set in. The mural, while undeniably gorgeous in its design, ultimately proved to be overwhelming for the relatively small space. Its intense pattern and scale dominated rather than enhanced, creating a somewhat crowded sensation. Adding to this growing unease, a slight mismatch of one of the seams, initially minor, gradually became a relentless source of frustration, driving me quite literally bonkers. This experience served as a valuable lesson in scale and the delicate balance required to achieve true harmony in design, even when pursuing a bold vision, marking a bold misstep with the tie-dyed mural.
2021 – A Newfound Sophistication: Wallpaper and Serene Coastal Elegance
Learning from the bold experiment, just six months later, I decided it was time for another significant change. I carefully removed the tie-dyed mural and, with a fresh perspective, installed a softer, more elegant wallpaper. This beautiful choice, featuring a delicate beach glass-colored background adorned with stylized seagulls, immediately set a new, sophisticated tone for the bedroom. It ushered in an era of airy, coastal elegance—a refined aesthetic that felt both calming and invigorating. I found that this new wallpaper harmonized beautifully with the existing elements that I loved: the distinctive overdyed rug, the crisp striped linen bedding, our custom DIY walnut bed, and the cherished artwork inherited from Hubby’s grandfather. However, the pale green accent wall, which once felt serene, now competed with the subtle beauty of the new wallpaper. Consequently, I decided to repaint it a unifying white, allowing the wallpaper to truly shine as the room’s focal point.
To further elevate the sense of luxury and cohesion, I splurged on a custom curtain rod, and my mom and I collaborated to sew exquisite, wall-to-wall linen drapes featuring a refined Euro pleat. After years of experimenting with various colors and patterns, the decision to finally embrace crisp, white curtains felt like a breath of fresh air—a perfect complement to the coastal theme. We also dedicated time to sewing new linen throw pillows, including elegant Euro shams. This marked a deliberate shift in my bedding philosophy; after years of opting for perfectly matched duvet covers and shams, 2021 was the year I embraced mixing and matching, cultivating a more relaxed, layered, and effortlessly sophisticated look. This attention to detail in every textile choice underscored the room’s new direction toward understated luxury and serene comfort with new wallpaper and coastal sophistication.
As part of this comprehensive transformation, we also finally replaced the dark espresso dressers, marking another significant update. This change was particularly poignant, as it was spurred by the unfortunate passing of my grandmother, from whom I inherited her cherished vintage dresser set. As many know, acquiring these sentimental pieces was actually the catalyst that set this entire final bedroom makeover into motion. My primary desire was to create a truly beautiful and deserving space for these dressers, a reflection of their special significance and the deep memories they hold for me.
To further enhance functionality and aesthetic harmony, we also re-built the DIY nightstands, thoughtfully integrating practical drawers and completing them with charming DIY knobs. This final touch ensured that every element in the bedroom was not only beautiful but also perfectly suited to our needs, solidifying the room’s elegant yet functional coastal-mid-century aesthetic.
Throughout these past nine years, I’ve genuinely cherished every distinct iteration of our bedroom’s decor. Each version held its own charm and reflected a particular phase of my personal style and design preferences. However, it’s only with this latest transformation that I find myself consistently walking into the room and exhaling a soft, contented sigh. This space now embodies a profound sense of peace and harmony that truly resonates with me, a testament to a thoughtful interior design journey.
It’s important to underscore that despite the numerous changes and evolving aesthetics, I have always approached these bedroom makeovers with a strong commitment to sustainability and mindful consumption. My philosophy revolves around “shopping my house” first, which involves extensively evaluating and creatively re-purposing what we already own. This often means carefully finding new, loving homes for items that no longer perfectly fit the current design vision, rather than simply discarding them. For example, the vintage green chair, a long-standing favorite, now enjoys a prominent and well-deserved pride of place in our living room. The vibrant green tweed drapes, the elegant green silk pillows, the cherished poster art, the sleek black mid-century modern chair, and the charming vintage metal table have all found new life at my mother’s home, where they continue to be appreciated. The placeholder dresser that served us so well in the early days now gracefully offers convenient storage for guests in our bunkie. Even my old white duvet cover and the previous bed frame are actively being used by a relative, ensuring their continued utility. I consciously opted to sell the original teal drapes and the espresso dressers, extending their lifespan with new owners. Currently, only the turquoise tweed drapes, the unique ice-dyed throws, and a few framed poster art pieces remain in storage—but I have no doubt they will see the light of day again, patiently awaiting their next chapter in our evolving home or another. This deliberate approach not only minimizes waste but also allows each piece to continue its story, contributing to a more sustainable and personal decorating journey.
I make a concerted effort to highlight this aspect because the interior design industry, spanning from influential blogs and glossy magazines to major brands, frequently emphasizes the allure of what is new, fresh, and highly coveted. There’s often limited discussion or focus on the fate of replaced items, or crucially, how to ingeniously make do and reinvent existing pieces. Through my own experiences, I strive to present innovative ways to redecorate and refresh spaces that celebrate the inherent beauty and potential of older, beloved objects, integrating them into new aesthetics and narratives. It’s a testament to the idea that true style can be achieved not just through acquisition, but through thoughtful curation, repurposing, and a deep appreciation for the history within our homes.