The color palette chosen for this space features a range of chocolate and pale-blue hues to convey a feeling of old world charm. These shades are also a perfect complement to the homeowners' existing mahogany-finished bedroom furnishings.To further enhance the warm, gracious style of the room, Golden will add plaster rosette ceiling details around the base of a new chandelier; then she'll add depth to the focal wall with an easy yet high-impact paint technique. Crisp, dramatic window treatments will complement the look and integrate the room's large windows with the other design elements.
Since the plaster rosettes and paint treatment involves special techniques that require some extra skill (as well as some extra time), Golden describes the project as "advanced" and rates it a 4 on a difficulty scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the most difficult.
Over the course of two days, the work required a total of about 13 hours, with several tasks having been completed in advance during the prep work phase.
To determine a functional, realistic layout for the space, Golden creates a diagram of the furniture arrangement using room-planning computer software. After setting the room to scale and adding the appropriate architectural elements, she experiments with a variety of placement options until she's arrived at the perfect strategy.
Since this space is long but narrow, Golden "breaks the room in half," dividing it into two separate areas: a sleeping area and a lounging area, both easily accommodated by the room's 15'x22' dimensions. The bed will be placed on the large focal wall, while a loveseat will be "floated" near the center of the room -- with a sofa table behind it.
Note: The loveseat and sofa table define the back boundary of the lounging area, where the homeowners can read, watch TV or just relax. As Golden explains, this set-up not only creates visual interest but also creates a true "master suite."
In order to hit the ground running with your project first thing Saturday morning, it's essential to have all your materials ready to go beforehand -- see Golden's complete list below....
Materials:
Chandelier (a "baby" or small-scale version was selected for this bedroom)
Putty knife
Joint compound
Brushes
Metallic paint
Fabric
Window hardware
Hammer
Tape measure
Level
Rubber gloves
Safety glasses
Towels
During the prep work phase completed earlier in the week, Golden and crew moved all the furniture to the center of the room, then painted the walls a rich, warm cocoa hue. Then, a soft shade of the palest blue was applied to the ceiling for a soothing look that beautifully complements the richness of the walls.
Embossed Ceiling Details
After allowing the walls and ceiling to dry for a full 24 hours, Golden sets to work adding the ceiling rosettes. While affordable, prefabricated ceiling medallions of all shapes and sizes are readily available in home improvement centers (these are usually formed from plastic or resin), Golden has chosen to create an embossed, "bas relief" look with stencils and drywall mud.
Since the chandelier itself will be a defining visual element of the sleeping area, these accents will add aesthetic weight to the fixture, further enhancing its purpose as a distinguishing feature of the room's "boudoir" half.
Steps:
- Working directly around the open socket where the new ceiling fixture will be installed, Golden first uses a carpenter's square to draw straight lines extending out from the center of the opening: front-to-back and side-to-side. These four lines form four 90-degree angles and create a pattern for the stencil.
- Next, Golden measures out an equal distance from the socket center point on all four lines and marks each point to designate the line where each portion/repeat of the pattern will be set.
Note: This measurement will vary depending on the size of the stencil. Be sure to allow a proportionate amount of space between the outer edge of the socket and the inner edge (or starting point) of the stencil design.
- Then, Golden sprays the back of the stencil with adhesive and applies it carefully to the ceiling, using her pre-marked lines and points as guides.
- With the stencil in place, she uses a putty knife to apply an even layer of drywall compound over the stencil, covering the design completely. Golden emphasizes the importance of smoothing the compound sufficiently to create a level surface.
- As soon as the compound is applied, Golden pulls the stencil down immediately to keep the design from drying and cracking. Then she repeats the process for each of the remaining sides.
- Once the compound has dried completely, Golden paints over the entire design with the pale blue ceiling paint to complete the reverse embossed look.
Tip: To achieve a consistently smooth finish over the entire surface of the design, it may be necessary to gently sand any rough or peaked edges after the compound has dried, prior to painting.
- While the design looks great as it is, there's still room for a bit more enhancement, says Golden. To give the details an elegant yet subtle richness, she dry-brushes soft hints of latex metallic paint over the design. After carefully re-fitting the stencil over each section, she dips a dry paintbrush in a small amount of paint, then applies it with light-handed strokes, brushing in one direction. The results are dramatic yet understated.
Expert Tip: When stenciling on a ceiling, the constant need to look directly upward can be very tiring on the neck. Consider using a neck brace to alleviate excess strain on your neck muscles.
What a phenomenal start to this gorgeous bedroom makeover! Next up: the focal wall.
Time elapsed: 4 hours.
