Understatement of the century: 2020 has been downright awful in so many ways. And yet, on a personal level, some incredibly exciting things have happened too...like the fact that we’ll be welcoming our first child soon, and we bought our first house this summer! A 3 bed/2 bath condo, to be exact, which is kind of a unicorn here on Maui. I love a good before and after, and so my plan is to share a room-by-room transformation of our condo starting with today’s post on our master bedroom!
Bed frame | The best mattress ever (seriously, we have them in all three rooms + have gotten multiple friends and family members hooked) | Rug | Black and faux leather Euro shams | Set of Euro down inserts | Floating bedside tables | Bedding | Custom macrame art
Please note that while this post does contain affiliate links, NOTHING in this post was sponsored or gifted by any retailer. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases—at no additional charge to you.
Before (listing photos)
After
Let me just start by saying that the “nesting” aspect of pregnancy is real. I thought our existing bedroom decor could live comfortably in our new home once the popcorn ceilings were scraped down and all of the beige was covered up in Snowbound by Sherwin Williams. But against all that freshness, our old bedding began to look tired, dusty, and obnoxiously blue.
In Between
I normally take my time with design decisions, and start by building inspiration boards on Pinterest. But with my due date approaching, my disdain for our bedroom growing, and a sudden need to surround myself with neutrals that I *think* was inspired by the initial purchase of this bedframe, I pretty much threw planning out the window and started scouring Amazon and Target like a crazy person. Within two-ish days, an entirely new bedroom set was on its way to Maui from various parts of the country...and I’ve gotta say, I’m IN LOVE with how it turned out. It’s the black and white bohemian bedroom of my pregnancy-induced dreams. You know you've made the right decor choices when making the bed feels like a treat and not a chore.
Throw blanket: Local find at TJ Maxx—similar here | Lumbar pillow: Target | Glider: Secondhand score—similar here | Diaper caddy | Gold table: Hand-me-down—similar here | Curtains: Target and vintage (AKA 5+ years old) Crate & Barrel
A LITTLE BACKSTORY
(and then more pics of our black and white bohemian bedroom with a tropical twist!)
Since moving to Maui in 2018, we had been renting a tiny house that was less than 400 square feet in size. When we found out we were expecting in February, and then the first wave of pandemic stay-at-home orders hit a month later, I literally could feel the walls closing in around us. With a good attitude and some creativity, could we have pulled off raising a baby AND working from home in such a tiny space? Sure. But we were ready to put down roots. While we never imagined that we would buy our first home in Hawaii ($$!), we truly have found the best community in the world out here and knew we wanted to stick around for a long, long time. Getting pregnant gave us a reason to put seven years of savings into something permanent, and so the house hunting began!
From a layout perspective, we knew that our condo would be pretty perfect for us from the first time we looked at it on Redfin. The decor and color scheme, however? Another story. Completely.
Our house actually came furnished, which ended up being a blessing because we were able to sell most of the pieces which gave us enough wiggle room to do some light, albeit badly-needed renovation work. Our condo complex was built in the 80s and, at the time of purchase, our unit still had the popcorn ceiling to prove it. The walls were also 50 shades of poorly-applied beige throughout, with the exception of a couple moments of glaring hospital white and one sad blue bathroom.
While we’d love to do some major reno work some day, like gutting both bathrooms and reworking our kitchen, it’s just not in the budget right now (#TheBabyIsComing). So for the time being we have poured our effort (and money) into more affordable cosmetic and design updates that still have made a big impact...at least in my opinion!
Over the next few posts, I’m excited to share how we’ve transformed our space on a budget through smart shopping and a truckload of DIY design/build projects. On that note, let’s dive back into the master bedroom transformation by first taking a look at the hallway that leads up to it!
The Hallway: After
Okay, “after” is used loosely here as I’m still planning to hang a gallery wall in this hallway. But I’m still so happy with how far this little hallway has come, and how well it sets the tone for our master bedroom!
Updates we made:
- Fresh paint for walls and trim (Snowbound by SW) + popcorn ceiling scraped
- Replaced lighting with more modern fixtures sourced locally at Lowe’s—similar here
- New black and cream runner from Target—similar here
- Original look-for-less artwork inspired by this set from Target
As far as the artwork is concerned, $80 really isn’t bad for a set of two larger prints, but I couldn’t justify it since I knew that I could do something similar. After sitting my pregnant body down in the middle of the framing aisle of Target and agonizing over my decision for a good 30 minutes (for real), I ended up buying two of these frames, which were a bit larger than the print set size, at a total cost of $40. Call me lazy, cheap or both but, instead of buying canvas or art paper, I just flipped over the placeholder poster that came with the frames and painted my own variation of tropical fronds in a similar loose and sketchy style.
I originally thought I’d be putting these pieces on either side of our bed, but ultimately, I decided to do something a little more personal in our room and ended up framing pictures from a lifestyle surfing session Taylor and I did with our friend Isaac at Isaac Haaland Studios. With the addition of a couple of 12x16 mats, the prints fit perfectly inside these (cheap!) blonde wood frames from Target. I love the way they complement our floating bedside tables, which we selected in order to conserve floor space in our room now that a bassinet will be joining us in the near future.
Another fun DIY: this faux terracotta vase, which I filled with pampas grass a la Amazon. (Seriously, what can you NOT order on Amazon.)
Mats | Floating Bedside Tables | Pampas Grass
If you’ve spent any time on Instagram during quarantine then you’ve likely already been introduced to the #TrashToTerracotta hashtag, but just in case you were as late to arrive on the scene as me...this is pretty much the best and easiest DIY ever. Combine acrylic or interior-grade paint (I purchased a few sample sizes from Lowe’s that cost less than $4 each) with a little bit of baking powder, throw a few coats on any thrift store find, and you’ve got a super on-trend vase that’s just begging to be stuffed with pampas and ‘grammed.
For the record, if you order this pampas grass, I recommend letting it sit outside in the sun for a few hours and then fluffing by hand + spraying with a little hairspray. Mine were a little compressed when they arrived, but they’ve continued to open up ever since I brought them inside. I’m super happy with this little detail!
Now, let’s take a moment for this rug.
As a professional writer, I try to avoid “basic” lingo. But y’all, this rug. THIS. RUG. It is everything I hoped it would be when I wiped my bleary eyes and entered my credit card at midnight...and then some. The texture. The color. The tassels. It’s the black and white bohemian area rug of my dreams, and the best news is that since it’s actually more of a cream/natural/offwhite tone, I don’t worry about messing it up or getting it dirty. I ordered the 6x9 size to help keep our black metal bed frame from sliding around, and I just love how it anchors the room. To give it extra cushion, we put some carpet padding underneath—a cheap (and honestly much comfier) alternative to a rug pad that you can find at any Lowe’s or Home Depot.
Well, that officially exceeds my planned word count by at least 1,000...but it is what it is. After renting for 7 years, this is the first time Taylor and I have had the freedom to do whatever we want to our home, and I’ve found so much joy in selecting each and every detail. If you’ve made it this far, thanks for hanging in there! I hope you like our beige to blue to black and white bohemian paradise of a master bedroom makeover as much as I do, and that you’ll stay tuned for more design on a dime -type posts coming soon...or at least as soon as Baby K allows. :)
