The Master Bedroom - The Reveal

This has been an arduous, but satisfying project.  After 36+ years of marriage, I now have the bedroom of my dreams.  It is not completely finished yet, but enough has been completed that I'm excited to show you what has happened in this room!

Let's begin with the bed.  I had always wanted a 4-poster bed, however, when you are married, you have to check with your husband once in a while on decisions that might affect him, and I felt it would only be fair to get his input on this one.  His only request was that the footboard be low enough so that he could stretch out fully on the bed.  

Done!  That was his one and only ask.  He honestly was fine with all the other decisions I made in the room.  Isn't he wonderful?

I like the simplicity of a white bed.  It provides a visual break, and seems very peaceful to me.  The sides of the quilt are able to be tucked into the sides of the bed.  No more bed skirts!  Yay!  Bed skirts have always been the bane of my existence.  I don't like them, I prefer this clean look.

The curtains remind me of the linen guayaberas, the traditional Cuban shirts that my father used to wear.  These are unlined to let the light filter through.

I chose white nightstands, and in a different style to avoid a vintage matchy-matchy look.  The white also softens the room a bit and makes it a teensy bit more feminine.

It took me a long time to decide on the lamps.  Who would've thunk that there were so many things to think about?  From the height (27¼"), to color (emerald), to finish (antique brass).  Ugh!  It felt like such a commitment!

I had glass tops installed over the nightstands to protect them from scratches and moisture.  I'm afraid both, my husband and I are rough on our nightstands.  We've been known to spill water on them, and I've put several scratches on the old ones with my phone and rosary.  It's actually not that hard to scratch a surface that you use constantly.

Then we added clear hooks on the side to hold our cords.

For my birthday, my husband gave me this lovely candle with the three-dimensional gingko leaves that look like butterflies.  It's so pretty and smells wonderful!  I haven't burned it yet, but when I take off the lid, it perfumes the air in the room beautifully.

The challenge with the dresser was finding one that, even if it didn't match the bed, it resonated in style.  I prefer clean lines that can mix well with traditional, contemporary, and Spanish styles.

I didn't opt for the matching mirror that came with the dresser.  Instead, I chose this one with the silver guilt bamboo frame.  I think the guilt finish adds a bit of glamour to the bedroom.  

Now, what to do about these lamps.  I've had them for a long time, but I'm not loving them so much anymore.  Do we even need them in the room?  Should they be smaller?  Maybe all that's needed is a different shade to spruce them up.  It'll take a bit more thinking . . .

The prints bring a bit of the outdoors into the room, and will adapt well to any bedroom updates . . . 

Nowadays, I make a lot of decisions with an eye towards our future retirement home.

And they work particularly well here in winter, when everything else outside the window is covered in snow.

The silver bamboo frame was another gift for my birthday.  It relates back to the mirror.  I have to say, it's nice that nowadays decorating rules have relaxed when it comes to mixing finishes.  My mother would've been shocked to have seen a silver frame placed next to a brass lamp.  The photo was taken in Venice in October 2019.

So, there you have it.  We are still waiting for Lee's chest of drawers, which has been on back order forever because of the pandemic.  I also want to replace my ratty, but comfortable chair and ottoman.  I've had it since the kids were little, and it's a bit worse for wear.  But I'm happy with the progress!

Bed:  Hickory White, INNOVATION 4-Poster King Bed, Newport Finish

Botanical Prints:  Ballard Designs, Heines Leaf I, II, III & IV

Candle:  Michael Aram, Butterfly

Cardinal Pillow:  Frontgate

Curtains:  Pottery Barn, Belgian Flax Linen

Dresser:  Durham, Providence, Victorian Mahogany

Lamps:  Lamps Plus, Uttermost Elva Emerald Green Glaze Ceramic

Mirror:  Pottery Barn, Bamboo Silver Guilt Frame

Nightstands:  Bernhardt, East Hampton

Picture Frame:  Pottery Barn, Silver Bamboo

Quilt and Pillow Shams:  Pottery Barn, Belgian Flax Linen Floral, White

Enjoying the View

I'm pretending to enjoy a luxurious continental breakfast in my bedroom this morning.  Well, that was the intent, anyway, but who makes their own bed before having breakfast in bed?  Um . . . that would be me!  Truthfully, I don't really like eating in bed, even when we are staying in hotels, but just for today, I thought it would be nice to pretend having breakfast in a space I am in love with!

You see, I have made redecorating the Master and Mistress Bedroom my COVID-19 project.  With all the time being spent at home, I needed to make my nest cozy, and, to finally, add pieces to my taste, instead of the ones I inherited from parents and in-laws.  But more of the redecorating project to come later.

Breakfast consisted of a Coddled Egg, Orange Scone (from Panera Bread, which we had picked up the day before), and a pot of Oolong Tea.  The dishes are Evesham Gold, by Royal Worcester.  I only have a few pieces of this beautiful china, purchased at an estate sale.  The Sferra linens are mismatched deliberately.  I liked how pale pink and gold looked together.

To make Coddled Eggs:  Butter the cup, add a raw egg and screw the top on. Place in simmering water for 4 minutes, or according to desired doneness. I like it so that the yolk is slightly runny, and the egg white is creamy.  The eggs would normally look even better with some chives sprinkled on top, but, alas, no more fresh herbs for us until next Spring.  Our garden is dormant for the winter.

Have you ever noticed how many European dish patterns there are featuring fruit?  It must be derived from the centuries of still life paintings that European masters put on canvas.  I'm very fond of how they are depicted in this china.

Here's a sneak peek of the newly decorated bedroom.  Unfortunately, it's not completely finished yet.  There have been countless delays related to the pandemic.  More will be forthcoming in the coming months.  For now, I'm sitting down and enjoying my first breakfast ever in the bedroom!

A Stars and Plaid Independence Day

Hurray for the Red, White and Blue!  I love Independence Day!  A day to celebrate our freedom and the many blessings we enjoy, even in these trying times!

The plaid patchwork quilt came straight off the bed of one of our guest rooms.  It used to belong to my son, John.  Well, just for today, it's gonna do double duty as our tablecloth!

Let's start things off with some watermelon stars and blueberries.  They were surprisingly easy and fast to do, and they look so festive!

See what happens?  Give me an inch and I'll take the whole arm!  The watermelon stars turned out so well, that I decided to make apple stars for the sangria.  Ugh!  What did I get myself into?  The process was painfully time consuming.  The apple wedges were barely big enough to get one star out of each wedge.  For the thrifty souls among you, don't worry, we turned the discarded apple pieces into delicious juice.

We soaked the apple stars in lots of lemon juice to keep them from turning brown, then incorporated them into the sangria.  It was delicious!

I have to confess that we wimped out and added a 20-oz. bottle of Sprite to the sangria.  It was too hot for alcohol, and we're not big drinkers anyway.

Red Cambria Stoneware dishes, American Star Flag napkins and Bistro Flatware all came from Pottery Barn.  The chargers came from Pier 1, they were originally hot pink, and were spray painted in this soft ivory.

Our guests could snack on some treats while the rest of the lunch was prepared.  In addition to the watermelon and blueberry, we had pretzels, popcorn and dark chocolate-covered almonds.  A little juicy, a little salt, a little sweet, a little chocolate.  All the bases were covered.

Red, white and blue . . . and berries, too!  I am forever on the lookout for cute cocktail napkins.  

Have you ever seen Gerbera daisies in such a brilliant red?  I didn't have to work very hard at putting together a centerpiece for this table.  With these beauties, anything else seemed redundant.

Voilà!  The table is set.  Given the pandemic, I was thankful to be able to pull all these pretty things out of storage without having to shop.

We grilled the most amazing shrimp.  Here's the recipe:  2 pounds of extra large shrimp, peel and deveined.  Make the marinade with ½ cup honey, 6 tablespoons low-sodium tamari sauce, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 6-8 garlic cloves, peeled and minced (be lavish with the garlic!), and ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes.  Add the marinade to the shrimp and refrigerate for 4 hours in a plastic bag, turning occasionally.  Skewer the shrimp and cook on the hot grill for 3 minutes on each side.  You've got to try this!

We served it with Spanish rice, corn on-the-cob, and cornbread.  

These are, hands down, our favorite corn holders - and we've owned a lot of them.  Our kids loved corn-on-the-cob, and we made it frequently.  Consequently, we went through a lot of corn holders.  They are generally rather flimsy, and the tines break off after a few uses.  The clear acrylic with brilliant colors, and the fact that they interlock with each other for storage are nice features, too!  I bought them at Whole Foods, but they are available at other supermarkets as well.

Among my favorite memories of our trips to Italy are the wonderful cakes that hotels serve for breakfast.  When we travel abroad we prefer eating a hearty breakfast at the hotel before heading out for a day of sightseeing.  These cakes tend to be a bit on the dry side and not overly sweet.  They are meant to accompany a great cappuccino.

A Cherry Almond Cake was just the ticket.  My husband was very helpful in photographing a few shots for this post, while I was busy getting lunch ready.

Aha!  So this is why he was being so helpful . . .

Easy, Tiger!  We've got to keep this G-Rated!

Anyway, the cake turned out delicious.  I used a yellow box cake mix, added almond extract and fresh cherries.  Then, I covered the batter with sliced almonds.  When the cake cooled, it was covered with powder sugar.

These days, I don't wear makeup for just anybody.  We got up early to watch the neighborhood's Independence Day car parade.  We wanted to support our association, that has worked so hard to keep the neighbors engaged, and safe during this pandemic.

One more picture with my hubby because he's a cutie pie, and has made the day tremendously fun for me.

And one more picture of the Gerbera daisies because, flowers.  I hope your holiday was fantastic!

This and That

The Easter lily has finally succumbed, but it brought us so much joy!

This year's plant was loaded with buds . . .

It bloomed and bloomed and bloomed . . .

Seventeen blooms!

We went to NIU to see our son and his work at an installation art exhibit.  The subject of his work was color and how humans make judgments based on cultural connections to color.  I told him that this picture of him reminded me a little of Che Guevara.  He said:  “Who's that?”  Goodness, I'm getting old!

We finished painting our bedroom!  The room went from Havana Cream yellow to Mountain Air blue . . . and we now have a lovely, smooth ceiling . . . the popcorn is gone!

The bedroom has a tall ceiling and it would be perfect for a beautiful chandelier, but then I'd have to give up the ceiling fan . . . I like having a ceiling fan, it really helps to circulate the air. It's nice when both form and function can be combined, but, for me, function has to come first . . .  We have wall controls for the fan, but I couldn't resist these swirly fan pulls.  It's like jewelry for the ceiling!

Today, for the first time, I pulled out the beautiful quilt my sons gave me for Mother's Day last year.  It has a muted palette that makes the room feel so restful!

Here's a shot of the little corner I call mine.  It has all the essentials:  Good reading light, my iPod, the Kindle, lots of pillows, an old, faded, comfortable chair . . . However, it's lacking . . . je ne sais quoi . . . style?

Once when I was a teenager, I became ill while visiting a friend of my mother's.  She took me into her bedroom to lie down and forever changed how I felt about bedrooms.  Her bed was soft and the scent of lilacs perfumed the air.  Her sheets were impeccably white and crisp.  The decorations were sparse, but she had just enough touches in the room to make it a pretty and very personal space.  I fell asleep and when I woke up, I felt better.  I've never forgotten that wonderful room. 

In recent years, we've gotten sidetracked with other projects, but seeing the freshly painted room and the lovely quilt has reminded me of how important it is to have a welcoming haven in which to read, pray, meditate and relax.  Now I'd like to try and recreate the feelings evoked by that calm and inviting room of long ago, and I hope you'll come along for the journey . . . stay tuned!