4 Year Anniversary Tour – Front Bedroom
The front bedroom is the least changed room in the house. To start, it had a crazy 1-foot-deep closet and a door connecting it to the middle bedroom, which is now the bathroom.
So there was enough of the middle bedroom left over to get me a good closet, but I needed a bigger door opening than the one above. I found big fancy doors at Philadelphia Salvage that were just the right size.
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- Fancy closet doors will go here.
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- Awesome door. Yes it’s upside down. Trust me, the other one looks the same.
I stripped them, bought reproduction pocket door hardware that was big and fancy and covered where the knobs used to be, and the Irishman hung them as bypassing sliding doors.
This is a little bit anachronistic, trying to make a 1950’s-60’s door configuration look like a Victorian one that is too grand for the house anyway. But it gave me nice doors that don’t swing out into my furniture so I say it’s fine. And plus, it means that a house in South Philly has a closet like this. Too bad I’m not into clothes and have no intention of filling it.
Now that the new closet door took one wall away, I wanted to make the old closet wall usable. But the chimney can’t just go away, so I built the whole wall in, making the room about 1 foot smaller. There’s room for a bed in the middle, but on either side the wall is framed out for cut 2 niches for built-in bookcases. One is where the closet was; the other used to be part of the room. Right now there are sections of wall with no framing behind them.
On to décor. I inherited this rather ornate Victorian bedroom set. It came from my grandmother’s aunt who got it right the third time and married a man who owned half the Wildwood boardwalk before the stock market crash of 1929. Then a good friend of the family gave me a little pan light, probably from the 1920’s or so, and a traditional Oriental style rug.
With that I have a cheap bed from IKEA, a pair of Colonial style chests, and a pair of mid mod lamps. I said with how formal the room was coming to look I wanted to make it look like a Victorian whorehouse. But then I painted the walls a sedate color. So anyways, before I show you the room now, here’s my worst progress photo. Yes, I was using the room like this.
And the after. The one below is about the same angle as the first photo in this post. When the bookcases are added, they’ll be in the wall behind the night stands.
And that fancy furniture I was talking about. The desk belongs in the back bedroom, as do the mattress and box spring behind that piece of plywood.
I’m at a bit of a stalemate with the décor in here. After Phase 2 is complete and I have permanent windows and no awnings, the cheap blinds have to go and I need something nice that blocks out the street lamp that’s like 8 feet from the window. Don’t forget where the radiators are though. The comforter is not nice (Nana bought it at Bradlee’s) and is starting to age, so it will also go. I have no attachment to the bed frame and may want a queen size bed eventually. The rug could stay but I’m not wedded to it. If you have ideas on how I can decorate around the marble topped furniture, I’m all ears. Understatement is usually my thing, but I was considering letting this room be more eccentric.
14 Responses
Time to tell us more about the Irishman.
What do you need to know? He’s a master carpenter, he’s bat shit crazy, he lives next door.
I can’t believe that in progress picture. That’s hardcore DIY reno. You’ve come a long way and it looks great. Congratulations.
Awesome job! I can’t wait to see it again when you have done the bookshelves.
You might want the blackout shades from Ikea. They blend in when not in use and work well. You would have some trouble with drapes, because you have a radiator in front, and short ones don’t look great.
I would get a plain white bedspread or duvet to keep the room light and not busy. Not eccentric, but zen/calm is good for sleeping.
Thanks. Yeah, I stayed in a hotel room done in an Edwardian whorehouse style, which was fun but maybe not actually me. I think I need some artwork for the walls before.i could commit to plain white bedding though. And I’ve thought of getting roller shades though I’d like the rolls covered with something.
I would pick one of the colors in the rug to use on the bedspread and tie it in. From the picture it looks like there is navy and a bedspread in that color might be nice in your room. A lighter color might be better, but I agree that you should stick with cool colors to keep it relaxing.
No, go a bit crazy; it’s your bedroom and no-one else has to love it do they ?
I quite like the whorehouse idea; you could go upmarket and call it “French courtesan” I have what Bizzyella calls a bordello mirror you can have
I just don’t have any vision for finishing off the room. But if I change the paint color, that won’t be until fall 2018. I also picked up an antique Chippendale library chair upholstered in a good modern fabric that would work with the rug, though it’s at my parents’ house for now. (They’re using it happily, not storing it in the basement.)
This room has great possibilities especially love the closet doors. I know you’ll sift through the advice and come up with something. Jo @ Let’s Face the Music
the room needs PLANTS. plants will tie it all together. a few on each marble top, one in the window, maybe a fern in the corner. but it looks amazing – love the new closet!
ps – ikea makes GREAT fake plants that look real.
Thanks for the tip! House plants need to be fake if they’re sitting on radiators… or if they belong to me. And those pictures on the wash stand aren’t staying where they are; I just plunked them there. As for the corner, I picked up an antique library chair on Craigslist, similar to the plaid chair in the living room but with claw and ball legs and a modern geometric pattern in cranberry on an off white field. Right now it’s on loan to my mom but I’d like to bring it in once the desk goes back into the other bedroom. If it’s not too big that is. I also need a few things on the walls to liven up the room before I decide what to do with the bedspread.
So this means you don’t think Uncle Bud’s boat radio is sufficient decoration for my dresser?
[…] For anyone who is new to this blog, welcome! I’m excited to participate in the One Room Challenge for my first and (in this house) last time. So far, I’ve been more of a tear the whole house apart and live in chaos and filth for years kind of a guy. The front bedroom is different though because there’s a lot left to do with it, it’s all finish carpentry and decorating that I think I can pull together in 6 weeks. After having no idea what to do with this room to make it better than just okay, we have a plan that we like. But first, a short review. You can see more about blowing up this room and putting it back together here. […]