On the first day I took possession of this house, in October 2022, Michael marched in with a sledgehammer and decreed that the wall separating the primary bedroom from its crawlspace of a closet must go. In a panty-dropping display of masculinity, he swung and bashed his way through the lathe and plaster. After the wall was down, the air heavy with concrete and plaster particulate, the room would remain untouched for several months.
We lived in the second floor rental unit for several months while we awaited the arrival of our new furnishings for the main floor. As such, this room really came together in a series of spasmatic bursts. First the wall came down, then we had the wallpaper mural installed, then some time later, the nightstands, bedframe, and 18 months after that, Michael built the custom doors for the IKEA PAX wardrobe system and we finally finished.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you buy something through some of the links in this post, you won’t pay a penny more, but we’ll get a small commission, which helps keep the bar stocked.
BEFORE
AFTER
In the process, I made the one soft furnishing selection I went on to regret: a Ruggable rug that was completely the wrong shade of blue-green. I ended up scrapping that rug and replaced it with the lovely Loloi Bonney Rug you see here. While some of the other spaces in the home are certainly higher contrast, I wanted the bedroom to be an oasis of serenity in watery tones to soothe the weary soul at the end of the day.
While the room is small, we’ve done our best to make the most of the space. We added risers under our CB2 bedframe to accommodate some under-bed storage. After Michael tore down the wall and closed in the adjoining linen closet in the hallway to create more storage space for my many clothes, we ventured off to Montreal in a rented cube van to pick up a used IKEA PAX wardrobe.
You might recall that there was a global PAX wardrobe shortage after everyone went renovation crazy during the first two years of the pandemic. Luckily we found what we needed on Facebook Marketplace. I stumbled across a European company that produced custom doors for PAX wardrobes with rattan inlay and fell in love with everything…except the price.
Michael took a look at the inspo picture and uttered his famous last words, “I can make that.” And so, he did. While the custom option from the European company would have cost 600 Euros per door, if it even shipped to Canada, we were able to create all five doors for $600 total.
We chronicled the whole process in this Instagram reel:
We colour-matched the paint for the closet doors to the shade of our Seashell Table Lamps by Luminaire Authentik and selected Willow Grove by Benjamin Moore. We opted for a neutral shade for the rest of the room, Balboa Mist by Benjamin Moore, to maintain the peaceful space we were hoping to curate.
My friend and interior designer, Melanie Neault of Launch Your Space, helped me to find the perfect taupe duvet cover and helped me select the right size of the statement light fixture. I had the Vertigo Nova Pendant Light by Petite Friture pinned on my Home Decor Pinterest board for ages, so I knew I wanted to bring it’s sweeping sunhat aesthetic to my space but was unsure of just how to big to go. Mel helped me to hone in on the Goldilocks size.
SHOP THE ROOM
by Anthropologie
Now that I’m solidly in my mid-thirties, I’ve learned that a bed is a lot more than an aesthetic choice. I have the hip mobility of a 98-year-old and knew that this bedroom makeover was the right time to invest in a new mattress. I heard about Obasan from a friend of mine and decided to schedule a consultation at their showroom in Ottawa. Their showroom gives you a clear sightline into their factory where every mattress is made by hand from 100% certified organic natural materials. Michael and I are very different sleepers. Where he could sleep for a solid 8 hours on operational railway tracks, I require a very specific set of circumstances to sleep a wink. I sleep on my back, he sleeps on his stomach (with total disregard for his spinal health and the folly of youth). An Obasan was the obvious choice because both sides of the bed are tailormade to suit different sleepers – each designed for your body, sleep position and support needs. After a thorough consultation, the Obasan team hand-crafted our mattress so we can both sleep like babies, we also opted for their lightweight comforter and Organic Latex Pillows – which you can get at 20% off using code TASTEANDTIPPLE at checkout.
I finished the bed styling with the Obie Bedspread in Sage and Curtis Mohair Check Throw both from Soho Home. I love the texture these blankets add. For a pop of colour, I pulled in two mustard/chartreuse velvet pillows from Article. The pillows are now sold out but I’ve linked a very similar style from Anthropologie. The small bolster pillow was a $20 for 2 find from HomeSense!
The mural behind the bed was another longstanding wishlist item that I was happy to finally be able to transition from vision board to IRL. To add dimension and a bit of midcentury flare, I picked up a trio of brass seagulls off Etsy which complement the illustrated seagulls in the mural itself.
As the gallery wall is the first thing we see every morning, I wanted to curate a mixture of new and vintage pieces that conveyed a sense of calm. While normally I’m not a proponent of televisions in bedrooms, we don’t have a TV in our main floor living room so we proceeded with the lesser evil and installed a Samsung Frame TV that displays some of my original photography when we’re not Netflix and Chilling.
The nightstands are an affordable selection from Wayfair that incorporated the organic texture of rattan that we then pulled into the closet doors. They are simple, functional spaces that add a bit of warmth with their white oak finish. We’ve pulled in the nightstand wood tone and seashell lamp into the primary bath renovation to help tie the spaces together. The bathroom reno is still ongoing but I can’t wait to share that mind-blowing transformation with you soon.
The asymmetrical floor mirror is great for #ootd posts and its organic shape ties back to the flowing shape of the light fixture.
For finishing touches, I picked up a couple of charming bud vases from Leif Shop in tonal shades of sage. Otherwise, I try to keep the nightstands minimally styled with a simple catchall tray and candle. My five-minute journal is a new ritual I’d adopted in 2025 to practice gratitude and hopefully improve my overall contentment. I’m 21 days in and going strong!
I’d love to know what your favourite part of this refinished space is! Let me know in the comments below.
The light fixture is my favourite piece, though the entire space is absolutely beautiful.