Going gold (and bamboo!) in the master bedroom

Well hello! We took a day trip to Kings Island last week -- one of our son's favorite places. After riding the coasters with my boy it was my turn. :) Before we got an IKEA locally I would always take a side trip there since it's near the amusement park. 

Now that we have IKEA so close (whoot!) there was no need for that stop, but there's another place I like to stop in when we travel to Cincinnati. The Ballard Designs outlet there is awesome and I always find a great deal. There's also a Frontgate and Grandin Road but those seem to have more outdoor stuff so I don't frequent those as often. 

The Ballard outlet has a ton of stuff and if you're looking for light fixtures, art, rugs or furniture you'll really love it! I always find a light I love. I shared our light over the kitchen table in the last house here. 

This time the lights were 60 percent off, and more than that on some. I found three I LOVED that totaled nearly $900. But I got them all for just over $300. Score! I was so excited when the light I was hoping to find for our master was there. 

I picked out this metal and wood light for our room, but soon realized it was too heavy in here:

And at the same time I felt like it was too small. I wanted something "lighter" but bigger. And the one I eyeing online was there waiting for me. :) 

Here she is! The six-light bamboo chandelier from Ballard -- it has a gold finish and looks like bamboo:

I've mentioned this before I know...but hanging light fixtures is one of my very least favorite DIY projects to tackle. I LOATHE it. Right up there with installing crown molding. 👍

The electrical part of hanging a light is actually the easy part -- takes maybe 30 seconds. Easy peasy. It's getting the hanging parts perfect that's a pain. They have to be just right - screw them in too tight and you'll be smashing the wires. Don't do it enough and the light canopy (at the top) won't fit right against the ceiling. Sometimes they come together more easily than others. Other times...it's two hours of cussing and sweating. 

You can guess what this one was. ;) 

I've already called someone to come hang the other two lights I found. Not doin' it. Anyway! I love love LOVE it in our room!! I'm on a mission to lighten things up in here and it's so lovely:

I was super close to spray painting it black -- because I don't think you can ever go wrong with black and I like how it makes fixtures more substantial. But I'm SO glad I didn't do it. This room needs this lighter tone and there's already plenty of black accents in the room: 

I hope to change out the drapes eventually, but finding light colored, light blocking curtains at this length isn't the easiest. (Oh yeah, and at a good price!) I have to have complete darkness when we sleep so that's non-negotiable. 

So anyway, this light goes a long way to lighten the feel in here!: 

You may notice I moved the bench at the end of the bed out too. It was bugging me -- the modern design just wasn't working in here. I couldn't believe the difference it made when I removed it! 

The funny thing is this light is only six inches wider than our old one! The drum shape that makes it feel bigger:

Our master is large and has ten foot ceilings so going with a larger light works well in here. In general I recommend going bigger than too small with light fixtures. I think a small chandelier is more distracting than a bigger one. 

The gold tone works well with our lamps, the knobs on the night stands and the side table by the chair. Just little touches here and there!: 

The old light is going to be perfect in my husband's office! And yes...a dimmer is coming. This light has two more lights than the old one and even that one was bright. 

Isn't it pretty? I lucked out big time that the very one I was looking for was at the outlet and was such a great price. It's on sale now and I still got this and two others for the current sale price! Nice. I'll be sure to share the others soon! 

Have you ever changed out a light fixture? Do you enjoy it? And if so, are you crazy? 😂 

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Dramatic update in the powder room

I've mentioned before there are a few decorating ideas I'll definitely be repeating from our old house -- and a few I won't. I've always known this project would show up here! I've been planning it on a smaller scale to start.

Many years ago I fell in love with painting the "fifth wall" -- the ceiling. If you go dark it creates drama and if you go light it makes the room feel more open. Light blue in particular makes a room feel taller.

I really love it against white crown molding as you can see in these rooms from our last house:

Boy bathroom makeover

Planked wall bathroom 

Boy airplane room

Back in the day I would go really dark -- you can see what I did in the old dining room here. 😳 I'm not against a dark ceiling anymore, but chocolate brown is no longer my color of choice. ;) 

It's been a few months since I started working on our powder room so I decided it's time to get moving on it again. I've known all along I wanted to paint this ceiling a dark blue to work with the walls. Turns out the color I used in our family room was a close enough match so I just used that. 

Painting ceilings isn't the most fun DIY, but smaller rooms aren't too bad. Probably why I lean towards bathrooms for this project. ;) I started by taping off the crown molding and then painting two coats with a brush around the perimeter of the room: 

You can see more about the peel and stick wallpaper I used (and how to install it) here.

When I do a color on the ceiling I usually paint the bathroom fan as well. They actually take paint quite well. I did three coats on the fan: 

But WHY can't they make cool looking bathroom fans?? The color is called Cyberspace and it's a pretty dark blue with some gray to it. Love this color! 

It's not an exact match but it's close enough cause it was FREE. 😂 The bottom part of the walls will be bright white and will tie in nicely with the trim in the room. It took a couple coats to get the dark color done: 

It's so hard to get pics of this space! 

This color is a satin finish and normally I prefer a flat -- I don't love seeing any shine on a ceiling. I gotta say though, it's not bothering me in here. At least so far. Satin is very low sheen so that helps: 

I may change my mind later -- we'll see. But I'm calling this part done for now! Now it's time to get those dang walls done!! The next time you see this room I'll be done with it. :) 

The dark ceiling looks good during the day but it's sooooo much better at night! It's just lovely. I want this room to feel like a little jewel box and the painted ceiling makes all the difference!

Here are my tips for painting a ceiling: 

• If you can use a thicker nap roller it will make for quicker work. I used a 3/8 inch and it was fine, but the thicker the better (if you have any kind of texture on your ceiling). 
• Typically ceilings are painted in a flat paint, but it just depends on your preference. Flat minimizes any imperfections and sheen highlights texture or issues. But some LOVE a shiny ceiling so it's up to you!
• If you're painting a larger room I recommend using a pole on your roller and this roller cover (affiliate) is awesome -- it prevents the paint from getting all over the room. 
• I don't always think that a dark ceiling makes a room feel smaller, but it will create much more contrast, which can be jarring. It will definitely become a focal point -- it just depends on what you want for the space! 
• Our ceilings are nine feet in this room but I've painted eight foot ceilings in lighter colors. 

As always, do what you want! I think a painted ceiling is a lovely little detail that's not always noticed right away, but always registers as something unique about the space. 

Have you painted a ceiling in your home? What color did you go with? 

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