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Awkward Space Turned Cozy Space

Updated: Jun 19, 2020


This room in my home is a space that I have really struggled to decorate. Our home is a three bedroom house, it's only my husband and I, and we have our bedroom, a guest bedroom and then this room. I thought I just wanted it be another traditional bedroom space, but I soon realized the awkwardness of the space because of the layout of the window and two closets.

After a few months of decorating/redecorate and arranging/rearranging, I finally realized I had to let go of the idea of designing a traditional extra bedroom. I felt like the furniture pieces that I had left after decorating the rest of the house and the overall layout of the room, fit more along the lines of napping/lounging/reading space rather than a traditional bedroom.

Soooo that's what it is now: a napping/lounging/reading space, and I like it so much more! Haha.

I started with deciding where I wanted to place the twin bed, and again because of the size and layout of the room, I decided to make it a daybed to save space. There wasn't enough room on either side to have a side table or even to put a lamp, so I opted with putting the rattan footstool in front on the bed to add just a little something extra.

The bedding is a Target brand, but again I got them from Dirt Cheap for little to nothing! It is a cream white, so again I am trying to mix the shades and textures of white through the room. I usually choose white for bedding, because it makes it so much easier to change the color palette for a room if your essentials are neutral.

The two big white throw pillows were extra pillows from my couch. The long body pillow in the back is one I made from fabric from Joann's. The rest are pillows that I hand-dyed myself using Shibori techniques. I tried to mix shades of gold, green, and pink, which are the main colors for this room.

The rattan foot stool was a thrift store find, and the white fur cushion is from Pier One.

The small yellow landscape painting framed in gold is from 2018. It is available to purchase framed or unframed. I think the yellow acts as a gold and thus making it a neutral in this room filled with so many shades of gold.

The large painting above the bed will be a part of my new landscape series set to release March 28-29 at the Ocean Spring's Spring Arts Festival. This painting doesn't match the colors of the room exactly. It introduces new various shades blue, but in adding a new color to the room, it actually clarifies and brings together the essential colors of the room. I think this was such an important lesson I learned about art, design, and color, that everything doesn't have to match perfectly and sometimes adding an unexpected color to a room or paintings can help unify it more!

I had to leave the space in front of the window open, because it would block an way to get into the closet. I placed the rocking chair by the window and the mirror beside it. After that, I started adding different heights around the two pieces, like the plant, the side table, and the basket to make the space feel more complete.

The rocking chair in this room was actually mine, my two brothers and two of cousins when we were babies! It is a piece that holds so many sweet memories, and it adds a sense of family to the room, which makes me feel so at ease. I hope to rock my children in it one day!

The side table beside the rocking chair is from target at least 4 or 5 years ago. I love the hint of darker wood on the top of the table to break up all of the white in this space. It also has a dark bronze gold bottom, which breaks up all the yellow gold accents I used in this room.

The side table is decorated with a beautiful wedding book that my aunt gave me after I got engaged, a photo from my wedding day (the frame is from Tish Gammil Interior Design), and a small blue candle that one of my preschool students gave me for Valentines.

The floor mirror is from Ross's. They have amazing prices are large mirrors. This one was around $60. Mirrors are great helping a small space like this one seem larger! I also love how it allows you to see the large painting above the daybed in the reflection.

The basket is from Dirt Cheap about 4 years ago, but it is a Target brand. I used this basket to tie together the wood from the end table to the plant stand to the rattan of the foot stool by the bed.

I can't remember what type of plant is in the pot,but I know that it is hard to kill! Haha. It required little water and not a ton of light. The pot is from Target and was a wedding gift. I think it was $40, but you can find similar ones for half the price at T. J. Maxx. I think the green of the plant ties in nicely with the curtains.

The curtains are from Tuesday Morning and were around $30. I love the soft watercolor floral pattern they have. The hint of pinks and purples tie together with the color palette of the room and give a break from all the whiteness.

Next, I added the dresser with the floor lamp beside it to complete the room.

The dresser was a hand-me-down from my aunt. It belonged to my cousins when they were babies about 15 years ago. I chalked painted it white and spray painted to knobs gold to freshen it up. I love the swirly details of this piece.

The dresser is decorated with my first two prayer journals, an art book, a sea shell that Zach and I found on our honeymoon, a diffuser my mom got me, and a vase that Zach bought me at a thrift store.

Almost all of the little things I decorate with have a sweet story behind them or were given to me by someone I love and when I look at these things they aren't just things, they are reminders. I think its so important to have these sweet reminders sprinkled throughout your home.

The floor lamp is from Ikea. It was originally a dark copper gold, but I sprayed painted it a brighter gold to fit more with the style of this room. I think it was only $30 and the spray paint for $4.

The two small framed paintings are from my painting series, 'Clarity.' The slight variation of the white wood tones in the frames to the stark whiteness of the rocking chair and dresser is a nice relief. The colors in the painting also go nicely with the large canvas painting without matching exactly. If you are needing a larger art piece for space, but aren't in a place to spend a ton of money, I recommend using a large mat like these. They not only give the artwork space to breathe, but they add some size to an otherwise tiny painting. The paintings in these frames are only 3x4 inches, but they are matted to fit an 11x14 inch frame. These paintings are available to purchase framed or unframed.

Finally, I added a runner rug to finish the room.

I chose to use this rug, because it was the only rug I had (haha), because after the room was filled with furniture there was a long narrow space right down the middle, and because it acts a bridge and unifies both sides of the room. Plus rugs always make a space feel more cozy!

Thanks for reading!

Shelby Leigh Kizer

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