BEFORE AND AFTER: A Master Bedroom Gets A Sophisticated, Colorful Makeover

This master bedroom and bath design all started with one simple piece of inspiration, a treasured piece of fabric.

My client had some yards of Schumacher's Chiang Mai Dragon fabric in her favorite colorway, saved for several years. It turned out to be the perfect springboard for our design, as I mentioned in my previous post about their bathroom.

This is a former client of mine, several years ago we remodeled their kitchen, family room, dining, room, well, we just about gutted the main part of their house. We took down the walls in this 50's ranch style home and opened things up for a more spacious look and up to date lifestyle.

I didn't get pics of that project at the time, there was just too much going on, but I hope to get those someday soon as we may be touching a few more items in those spaces in the future. :-) We've currently just added in some new furniture pieces and I can't wait to get the last ones installed.

Here are a few of my instagram shots of the new sectional sofa, pillows and rug we installed recently, in their living room. We did the wood blinds and reupholstered that fab chair in our previous go round. It's all coming together!

Living room with red, white, and blue color scheme | Designer- Carla Aston

This client loves color, most especially, reds and blues. They have lived all over the world and have objects and treasures from far and wide, like the bench from Indonesia at the foot of their bed. 

I wanted to hint at their diverse and colorful background but bring a sense of sophistication to this space, making it a calm retreat that would bring them a more organized life in this ranch style home that they love.

Remodel of the master bedroom and bath

One of the biggest priorities was to gut the bathroom. I shared that design in this post, and as I mentioned there, when we opened up that space, we knew we needed to add closets to the bedroom. 

As with many small ranch style homes, they had high, wide windows and the one over the bed basically stayed closed with wood blinds, most of the time. We discussed just closing in that window with a solid wall and opening up the one that faced the back of the house with a French door slider to gain more light and access the back yard. 

Before Remodel - bed wall with high window

Before remodel with high long window facing back yard - to be replaced with French door slider

This turned out to be a great idea for construction, if nothing else! The space was sealed off from the rest of the house and the contractors entered the job site from the new door openings in the back yard, so that was really a bonus benefit.

French door slider installed on back wall replacing high window

We reused their existing bed, one of the nightstands, and the bench at the foot of the bed. The rest was new.

Master Bedroom Design Features

• Wall of cabinetry - This wall of storage replaced two small closets they had in the space. I created an onlay pattern on the doors because I wanted to hint at a chinoiserie style and didn't want them to appear too boring.
• New French doors - This brought in some more light in this room and that verticality of the opening looks more current and up to date.
• New bedding - The simple matelasse cream bedding provided a nice base for the colorful, patterned pillows and fabrics.
• New cushion and pillows - These all coordinated using the homeowner's one iconic fabric. We selected all the others to work with it. Love the little Ralph Lauren stripe on the bench cushion.
• Navy grasscloth - We found just the right shade of navy to tie into our inspiration fabric and love that you can see the woven texture pronounced on the walls. It provides a soft richness that paint just cannot.
• Navy drapery panels - I just wanted to continue the wall color onto the drapery, so that when closed, the color was continuous across the wall. With black out lining, it makes for a cozy room with the navy enveloping you all around.
• SW Repose Gray - This soft gray color was used on the cabinetry, mouldings and ceiling. I didn't want a white, it would have been too glaring and contrasting. I didn't want to repeat the navy either, because I wanted to cabinetry to be noticed and contribute to the design aesthetic of the space. The soft gray is just a light neutral that works really well.
• Wall mount, adjustable lamps at the bedside. This is such a luxurious boutique hotel-like feature. These lamps keep the nightstands free for other items.
• New ceiling fan - We chose a close to the ceiling mounting, as the ceiling heights are around 8'. I like the bronze finish in this instance. It works with the four poster bed and gives it a bit of a tropical feel. You know we have to have our ceiling fans in Texas. :-)

Master Bedroom Reveal

Master bedroom with navy grasscloth and Chiang Mai Dragon fabric pillows | four poster bed | Designer- Carla Aston, Photographer- Tori Aston  #grasscloth #fourposterbed

Red, white, and blue pillows with Chiang Mai Dragon fabric in bedroom makeover | Designer- Carla Aston, Photographer- Tori Aston  #grasscloth #fourposterbed #chiangmai #chinoiserie

Bedroom with navy grasscloth w cream matelasse bedding and wall mount swing arm lamps over nightstand | Designer- Carla Aston, Photographer- Tori Aston  #grasscloth #fourposterbed

Bedroom makeover with navy grasscloth and colorful pillows with Chiang Mai Dragon fabric | Designer- Carla Aston, Photographer- Tori Aston #grasscloth #fourposterbed

Cabinetry Details in Chinoiserie style | Carla Aston - Designer, Tori Aston - Photographer | #customcabinetry #chinoiserie

Master bedroom with navy grasscloth, four poster bed, and matelasse bedding | Designer- Carla Aston, Photographer- Tori Aston #grasscloth #fourposterbed

Master Bedroom with closet in wall of custom cabinetry with Chinoiserie onlay design | Designer- Carla Aston, Photographer- Tori Aston #grasscloth #customcabinetry #chinoiserie

Master bedroom closet in cabinetry | Designer- Carla Aston, Photographer- Tori Aston #wardrobecloset #customcabinetry #closet

Teak bench at end of bed with pillows in Chiang Mai Dragon fabric | Designer- Carla Aston, Photographer- Tori Aston #chiangmai #pillows #teakbench

Drapery details with navy grasscloth | Designer: Carla Aston, Photographer: Tori Aston #drapery #windowtreatment

Here's the before and after of the bathroom remodel for this bedroom.