Bedroom Shelf Makeover

I am an interior designer. In my head. In real life, I have a really difficult time pulling things together in a way that is both beautiful and a match to my personal style. Thank goodness for the internet, for home magazines, and for inspiration from some of my favorite blogs!  I’m slowly starting to get better.

I’m starting small.  My master bedroom needs a makeover.  Anyone else?  I love my furniture, but my bedding and decor- eh.  I NEED HELP!  Unfortunately, the last thing I need to be spending money on is frivolous things like a new comforter, when we have a new A/C (and more) to pay off!  So, inspired by Nike from Choose to Thrive (seriously, go there and read- you’ll be inspired too!) , I’m trying to “rock what I’ve got” and use things I already own to fill in the ugly space.

On that note, here’s my bedroom shelf before:  Wait- before I post it, I must tell you that yes, I am embarrassed to be posting this picture.  I pretty much stuck this stuff up there when we moved in 7 years ago, and haven’t touched it since.  In that time, styles, and my taste, have changed- meaning, I’ve developed some!  Anyway (cringe) here it is: See what I mean?  Total waste of space. Here it is above my bed. So- I knew I wanted to go with whites and neutrals.  So, the first thing I did was get rid of the silver frame.  We got it for our wedding, so it has sentimental value, but for decor?  Well….. Next, I found a new home for everything else on the shelf.  To replace what was there, I took an empty frame I already had and added some vinyl to the glass. Then I jumped on the Pottery Barn bandwagon and ripped the covers off some old paperbacks.  I tied the bundle with some jute rope and voila! I added some flowers, a white candle, and a burlap rosette I had hanging around my craft room, then spent forever messing around with the arrangement until I came up with this:
  It feels so much better.  It’s romantic, it’s cozy, and it just makes me feel happy looking at it. Total cost $5- for the frame from IKEA.  Everything else I had on hand.

Linking up to the sources of my inspiration: check out the parties!