Are any of you fans of Sarah Richardson? If you’re not familiar, she’s a Canadian designer and has had several decorating shows on HGTV. This summer I’ve been watching her makeover her cottage on YouTube.
None of that is really relevant to this post except to explain that she always calls the master bedroom the ‘principle bedroom’ instead. And the feminist in me rather likes that idea. I googled it, and apparently this is a Canadian thing. How about it my Canadian readers, have you always called it the ‘principle bedroom’ too?
Well, today I’m sharing our principle bedroom as we continue the tour of our home.
If you’re new to my blog, you may not know that we totally revamped this room back in the summer of 2017 from the floors on up. We started by hiring some college guys to refinish the floors. I chose to go with a matte finish and I absolutely love how they turned out.
They aren’t perfect, but then again they are over 100 years old so how could they be? Matte finishes are always better at minimizing flaws than shinier ones. The same is true for walls and painted furniture too.
Next up we painted the room in Benjamin Moore’s Edgecomb Gray. I’d seen so many people raving about this color online so I went with it. In hindsight I wish I’d tried a few more colors and found a better choice for my room. This color tends to turn a sort of pinky beige in both early morning and late evening light. It just goes to show that you really can’t pick wall colors based on pictures you’ve seen. You need to get samples and try them on your own walls in your own lighting conditions.
After painting, we added a faux ship lap wall (which is painted in Dutch Boy’s Cotton Blossom) behind the bed with the help of handyman/neighbor Ken.
We modified a full size antique Eastlake style headboard to fit a queen sized bed, and I painted it using Homestead House milk paint in Coal Black.
I also painted a pair of mismatched pieces to use as nightstands, but for them I chose Miss Mustard Seed’s milk paint in Grain Sack.
The bench at the foot of the bed is one of the rare instances when I chose not to paint something.
I used some of my non-collection of vintage advertisement hangers to hang a few of our travel photos on the wall next to the closet.
And in case you are wondering, yes, that is the only closet in the room and it’s pretty small. It just contains my current season’s wardrobe. Mr. Q has a closet in his study for his clothes, and we both use the guest room closet for our off-season clothes. I just moved the summer clothes into the guest room. Yep, it’s that time of year.
I keep my non-hanging clothes in an old jelly cupboard that is also painted in Miss Mustard Seed’s milk paint in Grain Sack. I added a couple of Prima Marketing transfers to the doors.
These are an old design called French Pots III. Unfortunately this design is discontinued. You may be able to find it online, but no promises.
I’ve made a couple of tweaks to this side of the room since we originally finished it. I brought in a companion for Lulu (the black manikin).
Collette, the dress form, has been stripped of her original covering and then dressed back up with another Prima Marketing transfer called Catalogue (sorry, also discontinued).
I also hung the vintage laundry drying rack that I found at a garage sale this summer on the other side of the cupboard.
I find that I’m often adding things to a room, or moving things around from room to room so that a space just keeps evolving. I’ll never be one of those people who decorates and room and then considers it ‘done’, never to be touched again. How about you?
q is for quandie 
I have always loved your bedroom. It is classic. Grain sack is one of my favorite MMS paint colors, it’s such a great neutral – goes with any color. I agree about the pinky tone coming through on your walls. It happens with a lot of the paint colors, it’s weird when you think you have a pretty neutral and then in certain lights you can see that pinkish color. Bummer. I just moved into a 100 year old apartment/shop building and am struggling with tiny closets. I am looking for a wardrobe and in the meantime I need to leave a lot of stuff in boxes. Do you decorate your bedroom for the holidays? I love your current decor!
LikeLike
I decorated our bedroom for the first time last Christmas, you can see it here. Not sure if I’ll do that again this year, or change it up and focus on another room. Stay tuned 😉
LikeLike
Your bedroom looks great!
LikeLike
Thanks Cyndi!
LikeLike
Yes to Sarah Richardson-she is a Canadian treasure. Love the simplicity of colours in your principle bedroom.
LikeLike
You’re giving away your Canadian-ness with your spelling of ‘colours’ 😉
LikeLike
Your bed is wonderful, I am reminded how much I love Eastlake style furniture, the workmanship really speaks to me. I really haven’t been very lucky finding items for sale in my thrifting travels here in southern Maine. I have only three closets in my 150 year old home and the largest was built by appropriating part of one whole wall in the principle bedroom. All three are upstairs, no closets on the first floor. And, just like you, my one bathroom is tiny. I tell people I can sit on the toilet (don’t think about it) and put my right foot in the tub and my left hand in the sink without stretching.When I see some of these modern baths I just dream. Loving your weekly tour.
LikeLike
Oh boy, that is a serious shortage of closets! I do have a front hall closet downstairs, under the staircase. Plus there is a coat closet in the barn wood addition (which is now my dining room). I haven’t actually shared that room on my tour yet because up until last night it was chock full of finished pieces of furniture waiting to be sold. I did sell 6 pieces in the past week though (I know, crazy, right?) so I’m going to take advantage of the clear out and get that room photographed soon. Stay tuned 🙂
LikeLike
I didn’t know about Sarah Richardson, but will be looking her U Tube channel up.
Thanks for that information. Your bedroom looks so nice! I got lucky and found a fur muffler and collar for my dress form as well as a hat. That’s what Martha (what I named my dress form) wears in the fall and winter. In the warmer months she wears only necklaces , mostly old pearl ones and a summer hat.😀
I think you should consider changing what you call Ken. Instead of handy man neighbor Ken, you should call him genius handy man neighbor Ken! 😉 I have said it before, but you have the best neighbor in history! Why aren’t there more Ken’s around? I could keep him busy at my place with projects! Lol
LikeLike
Definitely check out Sarah Richardson. She doesn’t have quite the same vintage vibe that I do, but she does use vintage pieces that have been repainted or reupholstered in many of her rooms. And her summer cottage is to die for.
LikeLike
Oh my goodness I love that bed! I got my new Ballard’s catalog yesterday. Did your duvet cover came from there? I’m considering purchasing it for my principle bedroom. Been a Sarah fan since “Room Service”. Love the shiplap wall and Lulu & Collette.
P.S. I always do a matte finish on floors for that very reason.
LikeLike
Yep, the striped duvet cover and shams came from Ballard. The solid colored linen duvet cover came from Bed, Bath and Beyond I think. The striped ones from Ballard are super heavy, so keep that in mind. If you like heavy bedding you’ll be in heaven, but if like me you tend to need to throw all of the covers off several times a night it can be a bit much. I am loving that matte finish on the floor, if I ever re-do the lower level floors I’ll definitely go matte there as well. It is incredibly forgiving.
LikeLike
A drying rack in the principle bedroom!! Who’d a thunk it?? Girlie, you blow me away! Love it!!! Your room has a lot of character. Kaye
LikeLike
Thanks Kaye!
LikeLike
Love your bedroom. Such inspiration! Sherwin William’s Collonade Gray. Best gray greige there is. But it doesnt look like their color swatch. More gray in every instance I’ve seen. But I’ve never seen it turn pink/purple either.
LikeLike
I am going to write that color down! I googled it and it looks exactly like what I was hoping to get 🙂 Next time.
LikeLike
I have a laundry drying rack just like yours. We hung it in the dining area and opened it up and put chains on it in rows with clips and we hang Christmas cards, invitations, pictures, etc on it. Everyone loves it
LikeLike
What a great re-purpose idea!
LikeLike
I love the hangers!
LikeLike
I always grab the vintage advertising hangers whenever I see them at garage sales or thrift stores. I love them too!
LikeLike
I watch everything “Sarah” that I can find. Love your bed. My grandmother had an Eastlake dresser with 2 jewel boxes, marble top & 2 candle shelves. I wish I had it! I’ve never seen another like it.
And I LOVE your NON-collections! My “stuff” drives my son crazy…and I’ve gotten rid of more than half of it! I lost everything in a fire in 1980 & it’s taken me years to acquire my things.
Love your blog.
LikeLike
I’m sorry to hear about your fire, but glad you’ve reacquired some awesome things!
LikeLike
Miss Lulu and Miss Collette are looking lovely. Love, love your floor and your bed came out beautiful.
LikeLike
Thanks Maureen!
LikeLike
I am a Canadian (born and raised by third generation Canadians) and I have never heard the master bedroom called the principle bedroom. I am a Western Canadian and so I asked my hubby, who was raised in eastern Canada (Ontario) and he said he never heard of it either. I think SR made that up!.
LikeLike
The room is lovely. I love everything about it. 😊
LikeLike
I love Sarah no nonsense approach to decorating. If you don’t love it, get rid of it and make room for something you do love. She has impeccable taste as well and not at all afraid to throw color at you. “principle bedroom” – I love it. I’ve enjoyed looking around your blog.
LikeLike