One Room Challenge™ Week 5 – Bedroom Makeover – Lighting & Artwork & Plants. Oh my!

Week 5 of the One Room Challenge™ is here! whoop, whoop!

Our bedroom makeover is almost done. This past week I got some great lighting options, bought and made some new artwork, organized my jewelry and dresser area, and I found some more plants. And I realized I’m officially obsessed with plants.

LIGHTING

I really wanted wall sconces to go on either side of our bed but I didn’t want to go through the hassle or expense of installing electrical boxes. So I found these plug-in versions at Home Depot and they’re perfect. They even have dual switches, a dimmer light and a brighter one.

A plug-in wall sconce is a good solution when you don’t have much – or any – table top space but need good task lighting. I also used a plug-in wall light in my daughter’s room by her desk area. Click here to see that post.

I also found this cute blue lamp at Target – in the kids section. The blue color goes great in this room and I don’t think it’s too kid-like. Plus it’s a touch on/off. love that.

ARTWORK

I bought this print at Hobby Lobby a few months ago and I’ve been trying to figure out where it should go.

I love the quote and even though it’s gold, mixing metals in a room is ok in my book. As long as you have a good balance of different metal finishes, it works great.

I also did a little DIY artwork. I did a series on easy DIY wall art last year. Click here, here, and here to see some of those posts.

The watercolor stripes was the favorite so I made one for this room. Easy peasy.

I also made a mixed media collage. This is a fun and forgiving project that anyone can do. And it’s a great way to display personal items such as a postcard, a ticket stub, a favorite quote or just a pretty photo. Gather all your items and have fun putting them all together.

Add a matte and frame and you have some unique personal artwork. And there’s no wrong way to do this. I paired it with a small “Footprints” wood sign and for simple and inexpensive artwork.

We kept the big art over our bed. This was a print that we found on a trip to Nantucket years ago. It was only $20 unframed and I dragged it through Nantucket and home on the ferry so I just had to keep it. I had it framed without glass. I think it looks more authentic this way – and it saved a lot of money. I added the three starfish above the art. I have a thing for shells. And three reminds me of our kids. Is that silly? I’m working on a wood sign for this room but I haven’t figured out what I want it to say. I’ve been making several of these rustic wood signs and selling them online and at local venues. The response has been amazing so I have to do one for our room. Click here to see my wood signs for sale in my Etsy shop, but I’m happy to take orders too. And if you want to DIY – click here to see my post with all the instructions.

PLANTS

I’m getting a little obsessed. But I just love how greenery – plants, branches, succulents – all can really make a room come alive. I added a spider plant and some air plants to my macrame hangers. I also added a few other air plants in small vases and a funky succulent/cactus on my bedside table.

And I’ve had quite the green thumb lately. A friend asked me to do a post on how to keep plants alive. Great idea and until then, here are my favorite – and easiest – plants to care for:

1. Ferns – usually inexpensive and fairly easy to care for.
2. Air plants – I have about a half a dozen and haven’t killed one. yet. No soil is needed – just good watering, or even soaking, once a week. You can be creative with displaying them too. I’ve paired mine with shells on a cake stand, topped them off in a small vase, or in a clear terrarium.
3. Succulents – I’ve had some luck with these and noticed when they have good drainage they thrive.
4. Spider plant – My mom had the biggest spider plant when we were growing up and it just kept sprouting spiderettes (it’s a real thing). She would clip them and put them in water and grow new plants. One of the easiest and most tolerable plants to care for.
5. Pothos – I’ve had the best luck with these. They need low light and water only every 7 to 10 days. And they hang beautifully.
6. Fiddle Leaf Fig – This trendy, hearty plant with big violin-shaped leaves is having a moment right now and it’s probably my favorite floor plant. But it’s not quite as easy to care for. I don’t have one in our bedroom – they need bright, constant light. But I’m thrilled the one in our sunroom has been thriving.

JEWELRY & ORGANIZATION

I added these knobs on the wall and they’ve really come in handy for displaying and organizing my jewelry. It makes it much easier to pick what to wear, plus they look pretty like this.

A few simple jewelry holders, a ceramic egg crate and a tray to hold all my goodies. And more plants.

Here are the items from my makeover wish list:

• DIY headboard – possibly a solution to cover the ugly bed frame
• new end tables
• curtains
• linens
• wall art – gallery wall done, still need art for additional wall spaces
• rug(s)
• task lighting
• add some plants – probably need a few smaller ones
• accessories and additional storage – more?
• upgrade our white painter grade doors?

So week 5 is done. And as you can see there are just a few more items my wish list. And we were just notified that the One Room Challenge™ will be extended an additional week! With all the natural disasters in Texas, Florida and California, many participants have had to endure unusual circumstances that have impacted their projects in many ways. So even though we’ve been fortunate not to have those impact us here in the Northeast, an extra week is appreciated. So now I have no excuse not to get my things done. Have a great week and thanks for following along!