Monday Motivation: Organizing The Bedroom

So far this year we've organized the entrance, kitchen, and bathrooms.  Now we're ready to work on the bedroom. 

It's the first thing we look at in the morning and the last thing we see when before we close our eyes to sleep.  What we should be looking at is something like this. . .

But, in reality, this is what it usually looks like. . .

                                                                                                                                         

Most of the time, when I'm called in to help stage a home, I encounter an overstuffed master bedroom.  What I mean by overstuffed is too much furniture, too many clothes, and too many items that don't belong in a bedroom.

A lot of people, including myself, tend to put stuff in the bedroom that doesn't belong because we don't know what else to do with it. It becomes a staging area for projects, laundry, exercise equipment, and "stuff". 

So how do we get from ransacked to restful?  I thought you'd never ask!  Here are some questions to ask yourself:

1.  What do I want this room to feel like?  Restful retreat, romantic getaway (TMI), or an inspired haven?

2.  What pieces of furniture could be gotten rid of?  Bookshelves, dressers, chairs, exercise equipment?

3.  What items end up in your bedroom that don't belong there?  Toys, paperwork, laundry?

4.  Are there any repairs that need to be made?  Loose handles, broken curtain rods, stuck door?

5.  What activities will take place in the bedroom?  Reading, bill paying, television watching?

 
Color has a lot of responsibility in setting the tone of the bedroom.  Do you want calm and relaxing?  Pick solid colors in soothing blues, greens, and creams.

Desiring a romantic feel?  Choose a monochromatic style in either light or dark tones.  Light colors are more spa-like and darker tones are more lounge-like.

When deciding to weed through furniture:  less is better.  The above photo shows a furniture showroom.  It is a look that you don't want to copy for your home.  

I'm dealing with this situation right now in my own bedroom.  Hubs and I bought our furniture when we lived in a larger house.  We love our furniture and spent over 2 years picking out the pieces.  My solution, when I have more energy, is to recess a dresser into an unused space next to our chimney.  With a bit of trim work, the piece will fit nicely.

The master bedroom tends to collect "stuff".  We're never quite sure how the "stuff" ends up there, but after awhile, we don't even see it anymore.  I've seen a lot of bedrooms that looked more like storage units than bedrooms. 

Got stuff?  Here's a quick method to declutter:
      1.  Get 3 boxes and a black garbage bag.
      2.  Starting near the door, pick up items and make an immediate decision about the item.  Items that stay in the room go into box #1.  Items that belong somewhere else in the house go in box #2.  Items to be donated go into box #3.  Garbage goes into the garbage bag.
     3.  Continue around the room (even under the bed).
     4.  Only what is in box #1 can stay in the room.

A lot of my clients regret not making repairs to their rooms sooner.  I think most of us overestimate how long repairs will take and we just don't want to take the time.  I always carry my bag of quick fixes and a small tool box when I work and that way we can take care of small repairs when we find them.

Have you decided what activities will take place in your bedroom?  Paying bills?  Then you'll probably want a small desk or file cabinet in the room.  In my previous home, I used a 2 drawer file cabinet as a bedside table.  I topped it with a round piece of wood, covered with a table cloth, and no one was the wiser.

If you want to read in bed, you'll need proper lighting and a place to keep your reading material.  A bedside table that has drawers or shelves would be needed. 

So, take a gander around your bedroom with fresh eyes.  Have you been overlooking some things?  Next week we'll be looking at storage solutions and ideas.