Tag Archives: small master bedroom

Mera’s House: Plans For a New Master Bedroom

Our guest room is the one room I didn’t share in the Design*Sponge tour, and there’s a reason for that.  It’s dingy and stuffed with furniture, and long overdue for a little revitalizing.  You may remember that I posted a while back about whether to claim this upstairs bedroom as our own, or to move downstairs into the big room.  The votes came in overwhelmingly in favor of the downstairs room, but we decided on a gradual plan: we’ll make the upstairs room ours for now, and in 7 or 8 years we’ll move down to what is now the playroom.  As part of the plan we’re having a closet built in the playroom that can be used as a home office (having it upstairs didn’t really work for us) that can later be easily converted into a normal closet.  For the foreseeable future we want to be upstairs close to Opal’s room, but as she approaches teenager-dom a little space will probably be welcome, and we’ll move downstairs.

The driving force behind the move to this room from our current bedroom is closet potential.  There is already a small closet in the guest room, which Chester uses because the little closets in our bedroom are full to the gills of my clothes.

Red House West || Master Bedroom

BTDubs, in photos this room always looks yellow, but in reality it is a sweet and mellow peach.

Closet potential is the main impetus for moving to the guest room, and it also has the allure of being bigger than our current bedroom.  That said, the room is not without dilemmas.

Red House West || Master Bedroom Red House West || New Master BedroomRed House West || Master BedroomRed House West || Master Bedroom

The room is definitely dreary, but I think it has a lot of promise.  With so many nooks and crannies, it’s tough to tell from the photos what the shape of the room is so here is a floor plan showing the existing layout:
Red House West || Master Bedroom

The plan is to build a closet that will accommodate both of our clothes in the long eave where Chester’s closet currently is.  The main difficulty is that the ceilings are sloped at a 45 degree angle, meaning that the “walls” are only a little over 3 feet high.  The extreme slope limits our closet design options (there’s no way to have full-height hanging, for example.  My dresses will remain exiled in the hall closet).  Here is my recent effort at sketching out a closet plan:

Red House West || Master Bedroom

Red House West || Master Bedroom

Red House West || Master Bedroom

Because the window at the end of the eave provides much needed light in the room, we won’t have a closet door.  I’m hoping to hang a portiere or textile of some sort across the opening below ceiling height so that we still get the light in the room.  The curtain will probably most often be open, but I’d like the option to close the closet off from view when things get messy.

I want this room to feel pulled together but still lively, grown-up but still eclectic, cozy but also a little luxurious.  Here are some bedrooms that I’m drawing on for inspiration:

See any themes?  White walls, colorful rugs, upholstered headboards, and antique touches.  Looking at these really helps me see how it’s going to come together.

Here is the to-do list:

-Replace the window behind the bed with one in the same style that opens and closes easily;

-Repair drywall and paint everything white, including wood paneling (I think having everything all one color will work best given the profusion of angles and low ceiling);

-Rip up carpet and refinish/patch existing fir floors;

-New light fixtures;

-Design and build closet in eave.

I also really really want to put a skylight into the sloped ceiling above the bed (we wouldn’t have to get up to watch the Perseid meteor shower, which is the only way I’m ever going to see it!) but our contractor has strongly advised against it because of ice damming.  #Alaskaproblems.

I’m really looking forward to having a closet plan finalized so I can start thinking about the fun stuff, like what fantastic textile to use as a closet door.  If you have thoughts about how to design a functional closet with seriously sloped ceilings, this is my earnest plea: please share your ideas in the comments!  I need all the help I can get!