Exactly two months have passed since we moved into our new home, and finally, our primary bedroom has transitioned from a chaotic “dumping ground of things to unpack” to a truly comfortable and personalized sanctuary. This journey hasn’t been without its challenges, but seeing the space evolve into the light-filled haven we envisioned has been incredibly rewarding. Below, we’ll walk you through where things stand today, highlight the thoughtful design choices we’ve made, and give you a glimpse into our future plans for this crucial space – even if some of those visions are still in the realm of “bad Photoshop” dreams.
From Living Room to Primary Retreat: A Strategic Transformation
For those who followed our initial Florida house tour, you might recall that this bright and airy space was originally designated as a living room. However, with another, much larger living area upstairs featuring an expansive deck, we quickly realized our family would benefit more from sharing that grand space. This insight, coupled with our desire to sleep on the same level as our children, solidified our decision: this downstairs room was destined to become our primary bedroom. It was a strategic choice that offered several key advantages, most notably a natural layout that could accommodate both a much-needed closet and a future en-suite bathroom. The transformation primarily involved some clever structural adjustments: closing off a large existing doorway and adding a more private entrance through a smaller opening beside it.
To truly appreciate the transformation, let’s take another look at the “after” – a testament to our vision taking shape:
One surprising fact about this house when we first moved in was the scarcity of private spaces. Only our daughter’s room and a single bathroom had doors that could be closed. So, having a proper primary bedroom with a functioning door, not to mention adding a door to our son’s room, feels like a significant and welcome improvement. It’s incredibly satisfying to see this room evolve into the light-filled, cozy retreat we pictured during that initial rainy day walk-through back in February. What makes this transformation even more special is that the majority of the furnishings and decor are cherished items we already owned, giving the space an instant sense of familiarity and personal history.
Curating Comfort: Furniture & Design Elements
Our primary bedroom transformation has been thoughtfully curated, integrating existing beloved pieces with carefully selected new additions to create a harmonious and functional space. The most significant new purchases for this room include the plush area rug, the elegant bed frame, and the luxurious curtains. While these elements provide a solid foundation, some design projects are still on the horizon. We’re planning to build a proper headboard – a skill we’re already honing as we construct similar pieces for our kids’ rooms. Once the headboard is in place, the charming mirror currently situated above the bed will likely find a new home, ensuring that we don’t have two round mirrors in such close proximity indefinitely. This iterative process of decorating allows the room to evolve organically, reflecting our taste and practical needs as we settle in.
Embracing Light & Ensuring Privacy: The Perfect Curtains
One of the most captivating features of this bedroom is the expansive wall of glass doors situated directly across from the bed. These doors flood the room with an abundance of natural light, offering a truly uplifting atmosphere. However, this beautiful feature also presented a pressing need for both privacy and effective light blocking. Covering these large openings became an immediate priority. To illustrate the initial state, imagine waking up on our first morning here, gazing out at our gorgeous blue pod, but with no light control whatsoever. This image captures the room before we managed to retrieve our temporary “curtains” – a collection of packing blankets – from that pod outside.
While we still resort to tacking up packing blankets in the three windows of the room each night (as we impatiently await the arrival of our custom shades), we’re thrilled to have installed blackout curtains on all the glass doors. These curtains are a game-changer, effectively keeping out the morning sun and providing much-needed privacy. We discussed our detailed selection process for these curtains in this podcast episode, but the essence of our choice was leveraging a Memorial Day sale to acquire high-quality, blackout-lined curtain panels in an “Ivory” shade. While the official color name is Ivory, we find that “talc” or “light sand” better describes their nuanced hue. Given that our walls are a crisp Sherwin-Williams Pure White, we opted for these slightly warmer curtains to create a layered look, preventing the room from feeling too stark with white-on-white tones.
For hanging, we selected elegant brass curtain rods complemented by matching rings. A clever trick we employed: once the fabric had relaxed after hanging, we moved the clips from the very top of the curtain panels down about an inch to the discrete nylon loops on the back. This simple adjustment ensures the clips are less visible, contributing to a cleaner, more tailored look.
To span the extensive wall of glass doors, our “super long” curtain rod is actually a clever assembly of three separate rods. We meticulously butted them up against one another and hung them with the help of a laser level, creating the seamless illusion of a single, continuous rod. This technique allows for grander window treatments without the expense or logistical challenges of custom-length hardware.
Envisioning an Outdoor Retreat: The Private Courtyard
Remember that “bad Photoshop” I mentioned? Well, here’s a rough visual representation of one of our most exciting future plans: the creation of a private courtyard just outside our bedroom doors. We envision adding a privacy fence to enclose the adjacent yard space, carving out a secluded little patio area perfect for evening relaxation. Picture a charming outdoor seating arrangement, perhaps with a fire pit, where Sherry and I can unwind after the kids are in bed. We’re even contemplating growing some type of flowering vine along the fence using this clever DIY trellis trick, adding a touch of natural beauty and fragrance. You can find more of our inspiration for this private outdoor oasis in this detailed post, where we’ve gathered ideas that capture the serene, intimate ambiance we hope to achieve.
Of course, the fence won’t necessarily be that exact design or color – this is merely a conceptual “bad Photoshop” to convey the general idea. The goal is to create a nestled, more private atmosphere in that outdoor area. Who knows, perhaps a DIY water feature could even be in our future plans! It’s somewhat difficult to visualize the outdoor space from the interior photos, but this picture, taken from outside at dusk, beautifully showcases the stairs leading down to the yard directly from our bedroom. We’ve already strung up some charming string lights, which offer a delightful view from bed. However, beyond that, there isn’t much compelling reason to venture out and truly enjoy the space… yet. But that will change.
Future Additions: Ensuite & Smart Storage Solutions
The fourth set of double doors in the room, located on Sherry’s side of the bed, marks the future site of our en-suite bathroom. This will involve incorporating a portion of the existing side porch space. Interestingly, sharing a single bathroom amongst us has proven far less inconvenient than we initially anticipated, which has gracefully nudged the en-suite project a bit further down our priority list. We debated whether to even purchase curtains for these doors, knowing that this configuration won’t be permanent (eventually, it might just be a single frosted glass door leading to the bathroom, which wouldn’t require curtains). However, we simply couldn’t endure living with packing blanket curtains indefinitely! Plus, we foresee these curtains finding a new purpose in the detached guest room we plan to add much later on, making them a worthwhile investment.
I must also highlight another fantastic acquisition for the room: a second one of these beautiful wood-tiled dressers, which we are creatively repurposing as nightstands. We bought the first one seven years ago, and by some interior design miracle, West Elm still carries the exact same model! We had a slight concern that after all this time, there might be subtle differences in wood tone or hardware length. To our delight, the new dresser arrived looking absolutely identical to our cherished seven-year-old piece. This happy accident not only provided us with much-needed clothing storage while we await a proper closet solution, but it also perfectly aligns with Sherry’s deep affection for anything featuring inlay details.
Speaking of inlay, we’re keeping that theme vibrantly alive and well in here with this fabulous secondhand dresser. This piece, which used to reside in the “pink house” and remains Sherry’s most beloved Facebook Marketplace find to date, adds character and practical storage to the room. Our new rug from West Elm has also been a fantastic addition, especially appreciated by a certain furry family member who enjoys a soft surface for lounging. We sought a rug that was subtle in both color and pattern, and this one exceeded our expectations. While it appears predominantly pink in its website photos, in person, it reveals a beautiful blend of neutral tan and gray tones, with delightful hints of lavender that truly surprised us in the best possible way.
For this room, an 8×10′ rug proved to be the perfect size – a noticeable difference from the expansive 12×15′ rug we had in our previous bedroom. This new rug beautifully anchors the bed area, providing a soft landing for our feet when we step out of bed. Or, if you happen to be Burger, it’s the ideal launchpad for a 60-mph dash at the sound of someone pouring cereal.
The Other Side: A Fireplace & A Future Closet Solution
Now that you’ve seen the more “put together” side of the room, let’s turn our attention to the other wall – the fireplace side – which still has quite a journey ahead. Currently, it’s a wonderfully eclectic collection of objects: an old Ikea filing cabinet, a sleek air purifier, a comically small end table from Target (a relic from years past), and a solitary HomeGoods lamp throwing the entire visual balance into question. It’s important to remember that these are also the windows that still endure the nightly ritual of tacked-up packing blankets. When compared to the serene view from our glass doors, it really highlights how far this side still needs to come!
Ultimately, we envision sophisticated, symmetrical built-in storage flanking the fireplace – a design choice that will be essential for smart living in this smaller house. But for now, this is our reality. At least it’s a vast improvement from just a few weeks ago!
As mentioned, our window shades are on order, and once the natural gas company connects the service line to our tankless water heater, we’ll be converting the fireplace to gas logs. We’ll likely construct a new mantle and thoughtfully consider the furniture arrangement in front of the fireplace. For now, I like to describe our current fireplace tableau as “a potted plant enjoying a good book whilst relaxing on a fur rug in front of a roaring fern.” It sounds like the setup for a truly compelling romance novel, doesn’t it?
Before you ask about the exact woven leather stools, they’re a Target score from years ago, and we desperately wish they’d bring them back – they look at least five times more expensive than their original $60 sale price! However, they do offer these $99 counter stool versions, which are a great alternative.
Solving the “Weird Corner”: An Innovative Closet Solution
The other corner of the room is where things get even more unconventional, presenting a truly odd, not-quite-square angle. Due to the wall sloping outwards, there’s an unusually large amount of unused floor space concentrated in just this one area. Adding to the challenge, this was the only viable location for our minisplit AC/heater installation. But fear not, we have an exciting plan brewing to tackle this peculiar zone. Hear us out on this one:
While our initial thought was to add a closet next to the bathroom in the unused side porch area, we’ve had a breakthrough. What if we actually enclosed this “weird corner” to create the closet? This brilliant idea accomplishes several objectives: (1) it helps square off the corner, making it look far less wonky, (2) it brilliantly utilizes that awkward, extra floor space that would otherwise go to waste, and (3) it provides us with a much-needed closet without having to compromise the footprint of the future bathroom at all. My accompanying Photoshop sketch is admittedly very rough – it doesn’t even have a door! – but it gives you a clear visual of what we mean. This solution even seems to make more logical sense of the existing window placement in that corner.
Instead of a traditional, fully enclosed closet, we’re envisioning something more akin to the inspiration image below. This would feature a drywalled side wall, but with two lattice doors at the front. This design offers crucial functionality: it allows the minisplit to freely vent air into the room while simultaneously adding beautiful texture, tons of storage function, and gracefully filling that awkward bare space. While it wouldn’t be the largest closet in the world, we’ve always embraced a minimalist approach to clothing. Currently, all our hanging garments comfortably fit in our son’s less-than-28-inch-wide closet, and everything else finds a home in our dressers.
This inspiration picture particularly resonates with us for its beautiful wood tone and the elegant, thick framing at the top – elements we are definitely drawn to for our own project. It’s not a fully solidified plan yet, but we are incredibly excited to explore this idea. It promises to make that challenging corner far more aesthetically pleasing and significantly more storage-friendly. For now, we’re simply thrilled with how much our primary bedroom has evolved in these last two months. And speaking of storage, you’d be amazed at how much you can neatly tuck away under a wood bed frame like this – it’s truly a hidden gem!
Now, if only our custom window shades would arrive, banishing those temporary packing blanket curtains forever, we’d truly be over the moon with our primary bedroom’s progress!
P.S. To follow along with our entire renovation journey for this house, you can explore every single update we’ve made right here in this FL House archive.
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