Design Plans: Master Bedroom and Nursery

This post is sponsored by Valspar paint and all design and images for this master bedroom and nursery are my own.

We’re making plans. All kinds of plans. And with design plans, there are always ideas that make it to the final product and things that get rejected. And when it’s a space of your own, it seems like those design plans are never complete. With that said, we’ve decided to create a new oasis space for us and baby girl. I’ve always had my babies in my room with me for the first few months anyway, and I have made a master bedroom and nursery nook and shared how to make a rental space feel welcoming and cozy in the past. This time, though, in a different space and with the freedom to paint as we wish, I wanted to stay with the light, bright aesthetic and yet add in some moody drama. Maybe being pregnant and with postpartum hormones I’ve just been feeling moody and dramatic, but it’s definitely creeping over into my style.

Today, I figured I’d share the “before” photos and a little of my process, so that maybe you could use the ideas as well! Without further ado, here are the “before” photos of what will be our master bedroom:

Strange window placements, I know (second floor). Low ceilings, strange wood floor coloring (not something we’re planning to change right now) and weird storage-door placement (no, that is not the entrance) are a few things we get to work with in this space. What’s great about it, though, is that even with smaller windows in strange places, there is still a good amount of bright and natural light! Now that you’ve seen this empty shell of a room, let’s get to the inspiration. I decided to pull from elements that I already had in my home and styling elements from my closet. 

You can gather inspiration from anywhere! From a necklace that means so much, a piece of art (the one in the photo above was from a market in NY that Chris and I found while on a stroll for an anniversary weekend, and, again, I loved the bright white and the mix of moody colors), from a blanket… anywhere. As you can see, I’m favoring whites, grays and charcoals, touches of gold, wood, texture and small pops of color.

With what I had in mind, we headed to Lowe’s to check out Valspar, the first complete line of Zero VOC* interior paint, sold exclusively at Lowe’s. Since this paint is going into a space that I’ll be in with my newborn, I was all about finding options for my walls that I knew wouldn’t contain harsh fumes, making it safer for me, while I was pregnant, and for all of us now that she’s here! 

If you’re wondering what VOC even means, they are Volatile Organic Compounds that can negatively impact indoor air quality. They are common in many household items like cleaning products, disinfectants, and, of course, many paint products, and their concentrations are consistently higher indoors since that’s where these items are used. Many of us have been working hard to reduce the amount of these compounds indoors; we usually do it by making natural cleaners or purchasing green products with low VOC* content.

My parents have been in town, so I was able to leave the rest of the kiddos with them and take my time browsing the paint-color selections, which are all available in Valspar Reserve, Zero VOC* and Valspar Signature Zero VOC*! I had my paint swatches chosen and ready to tape to the wall to get a better idea of how each color looks in the space when I noticed the Valspar sample paints were on sale. Basically for less than $1 each, I was able to leave Lowe’s with a jar of each color I was considering so that I could paint a swatch on the wall. What a huge difference it makes, too! I highly recommend testing paints out this way. You get a better view and clearer idea of each color in the changing light, and it makes the decision process much easier. Colors: Chimney Smoke, Cracked Pepper, Ocean Storm, Lincoln Cottage Black

I’m not going to spoil the surprise and tell you what color we went with for this accent wall in our master bedroom, but I’m REALLY excited about it! I’m ready for the deep, moodiness of the wall in contrast to the whites of the rest. Also, I was super impressed with the coverage of just one quick coat. I’m looking at really rich, deep colors, and I wasn’t sure how easily they would coat the wall or how many coats we’d need. Especially with it being Zero VOC*, I was curious as to how it would perform. Thankfully, right on the can of Valspar Reserve Zero VOC*, it says “one coat perfection,” so I think this upgrade is going to be pretty easy with just the one coat—the best of both worlds. There is still coverage quality without the compromise of harsh fumes.

Without giving away the name of the color that we chose for our master bedroom (that will come later in the reveal!), I’ll go ahead and give you the rundown of my plans, which include plenty of items that we already have and a few updated and DIY pieces!

I can’t wait to get to work and get this room finished so we can enjoy it! Stay tuned for the reveal coming soon!