The Farmhouse Project bedroom, Spring 2019 One Room Challenge. Photography by Rikki Snyder.

What do sleep, sex and style have in common?  Well, they’re the three S’s of a fabulous bedroom, but of course!  The first two are a given, but to create style in your bedroom (to make the first two really worth it!) takes a lot of know how from talented and experienced interior designers or, the gumption of a couple design bloggers to step out of their comfort zones.

Featured this week, are five of my favorite bedroom designs (#pillowgoddesspicks) from two Featured Designers (The Farmhouse Project and Casa Vilora Interiors) and three Guest Participants (RMD Designs, A Glass of Bovine, and The Pillow Goddess) of the spring 2019 One Room Challenge. They each share many design features and I love how they mix antiques and classical elements with modern details.   What stands out to me is their use of color and texture throughout the selections  – from wallpaper, textiles, rugs, and window treatments, to pillows, furnishings, and much, much more – which makes each bedroom incredibly unique.

There are many features that make a bedroom spectacular, far too many to discuss in one post. (Plus I’m working on making my posts shorter, for real!). So to start with (as you know I’ll be talking about bedrooms all year long) pay attention to these 3 Pillow Goddess Design Tips to up the style factor in your bedroom with wallpaper, lighting, and detail.

Drama Darling!

Yes, a bedroom needs to feel peaceful and serene to you, and often that’s achieved through muted color palettes.  At least that’s what I always did, that is, until the One Room Challenge. But these five bedrooms chose COLOR!! You’d be amazed how comforting and soothing bold color can be in a bedroom too.

PILLOW GODDESS TIP #1: Remember the walls and ceilings in your bedroom design.

Often designers start out with one feature of a room that inspires and directs their theme.  The Farmhouse Project gents, Shawn and Kris, chose a gorgeous rich teal wallpaper and coordinating teal paint, paired beautifully with lovely antiques.

As they state on their blog: The bedroom makeover’s theme started with the fabulous chinoiserie wallpaper from Graham & Brown. We knew we wanted to incorporate this 18th century Chinese motif into our bedroom and fell in love with their Tori Teal pattern’s interpretation that was hand designed in their studio in England. The design is traditional with an updated moody color palette that worked seamlessly with our historic farmhouse and overall style aesthetic. We incorporated a versatile mix of new and antique furnishings and accents with a beautiful and minimal design approach.

The Farmhouse Project bedroom, Spring 2019 One Room Challenge. Photography by Rikki Snyder.

 

Guest Participant, Alisa of A Glass of Bovino blog, chose to paint her walls, doors, trim and ceiling all one color to envelope her room with a stunning dramatic effect.

As she states on her blog: Since my focus for this transformation was to push my comfort threshold, I took the plunge on a color that I’ve never used in our home before – blue. Specifically,  Farrow and Ball De Nimes in the Modern Emulsion finish.  I decided to use it on the walls, ceiling, trim and doors,  which I love because it makes the whole room flow. 

A Glass of Bovino bedroom, spring 2019 One Room Challenge. Photography courtesy of A Glass of Bovino.

 

A Glass of Bovino bedroom, spring 2019 One Room Challenge. Photography courtesy of A Glass of Bovino.

 

The Pillow Goddess also took her cue from a bold geometric wallpaper by sponsor Kimberly Lewis as a starting point to create her floral on floral-themed blue and white bedroom.

The Pillow Goddess Bold Blue and white bedroom, spring 2019 One Room Challenge. Photography by Gregg Cestaro.

 

The Pillow Goddess Bold Blue & White Bedroom, spring 2019 One Room Challenge. Photography by Gregg Cestaro.

 

PILLOW GODDESS TIP #2 – Dramatic lighting leads the way.

It’s important in a bedroom to have many different sources of lighting.  Lighting for bedside reading, for a desk, or as a statement piece like a chandelier.

Rose Dostal of RMD Designs was inspired by her favorite Currey & Co. gold chandelier to weave accents of gold throughout her bedroom.  And how striking it looks with that black and gold wallpaper behind the bed as a contrast!

As stated on her blog: The Grand Lotus is really one of my favorite light fixtures and the gold metallic finish is just the perfect yellow gold I wanted. There were so many elements that I borrowed from this design. One of them is the yellow hue from the gold and the glam aspect of it and used this as the pop of color. Also, I loved the shape of the individual pointed design ‘petals’ of the fixture. To elevate the design a bit more, a gold wallpaper with a slight texture in subtle gold to highlight the tray ceiling was installed.

 

RMD Designs master bedroom, spring 2019 One Room Challenge. Photography courtesy of Rose Dostal.

 

A Glass of Bovine struck a modern tone against the classical walls of her bedroom with this chandelier by Ellen DeGeneres.  While she also used a more traditional design with fabric shades for the bedside reading lights.

A Glass of Bovino bedroom, spring 2019 One Room Challenge.

 

Veronica Solomon of Casa Vilora Interiors selected a fantastic starburst chandelier to make an impact against the beautiful paneled ceiling.

As stated on her blog: The gorgeous ceiling light fixture is from Hudson Valley. It is called Dunkirk. I chose it because it totally reminds me of fireworks. I went a bit larger because I knew that the room would demand a substantial chandelier. The faceted crystal spheres refracts the light and casts some beautiful shadows in the room. 

Moody Master Bedroom Designed By Veronica Solomon | Casa Vilora Interiors For The One Room Challenge. Photography By Colleen Scott

 

I’d be remiss in not mentioning the incredible Hudson Valley Lighting chandelier in the bedroom designed by The Farmhouse Project!  Please see more images on each of the designers’ blogs.

PILLOW GODDESS TIP #3: Details really do matter.

There are many layers of details that can be added to your bedroom, from luxury bedding to curtains, to fabric shades, antiques, you name it.

What’s most important in styling your bedroom is that each piece you select for your bedroom tells a story about you and what you love. So be sure to incorporate details you love!

Like Veronica Solomon states on her blog: I wanted an eclectic mix, where nothing matched, but they just go together. I find that when I decorate with the things I love, they always come together, because they always have things in common. I don’t overthink my designs, I just “feel” and that guides my selections. Layering patterns and color is very instinctive for me – it comes very naturally, and it really allows me to go bold with my designs.

 

Moody Master Bedroom Designed By Veronica Solomon | Casa Vilora Interiors For The One Room Challenge. Photography By Colleen Scott

 

In a future post I’ll talk more about layering and selecting textiles for bedding and pillows, and next week on the blog “How to style an antique desk with The Lampshade Lady”.

One detail that struck me, was that three of us selected Venetian or Florentine mirrors. Finding a unique modern or antique mirror is the kind of detail that can bring dramatic results to the design of a bedroom. Whenever you can add opportunities to reflect your design choices throughout your bedroom, it immediately makes the room multi-dimensional showing off the layers you’ve created, but from a different viewpoint. I hadn’t realized how effective a detail like a mirror has on a room until I added the Florentine mirror above my mother’s antique desk.

 

The Farmhouse Project bedroom, Spring 2019 One Room Challenge. Photography by Rikki Snyder.

 

A Glass of Bovino bedroom, spring 2019 One Room Challenge.

The Pillow Goddess Bold Blue Bedroom, spring 2019 One Room Challenge. Florentine mirror by sponsor Sparrow Interiors & Gifts. Photography by Gregg Cestaro.

There are so many fantastic design decisions made in each of these five beautiful bedrooms, and obstacles that were overcome, so please be sure to take a look at their entire blogs. You will discover so many wonderful details in these spectacular bedrooms that will inspire you for sure!

• The Farmhouse Project
• A Glass of Bovino
• Casa Vilora Interiors
• RMD Designs
• The Pillow Goddess

Till next time, when I share the story behind styling my antique desk and the lovely fabric shades, please enjoy your weekend and check out more of the Featured Designers and Guest Participant rooms on the One Room Challenge blog.  XO PG

NOTE:  All images are courtesy of the respective designers who participated in the spring 2019 One Room Challenge; opinions my own.