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Writer's pictureLauren Figueroa

Slanty Ceilings, Dormers, & Bonus Rooms, Oh My! New House Tour Part 2


Ya'll, I LOVE our bedroom.


It's cozy. It's functional. It's a really good size.


And what's funny is that, when I first saw the house, I didn't picture this being our bedroom. It had been set up as sort of a guest room / bonus room, and it honestly kind of felt like an attic (see below photo from the listing pics!).





The ceilings are slanted and pretty low, especially at the edges, and it would require some crafty space planning to make it feel comfortable. I actually smacked my head REAL darn hard on the inside of the dormer the day we walked through it. Like, so hard I fell over. It was rough...ha!



BEDROOM PHOTO FROM LISTING




But, as I started to think about how we'd use this space, I got more and more excited about it being our bedroom. One of the main perks to making this our bedroom is the little attached bonus room in the back. My guess is that this is was intended to be a nursery, but who knows.


This is also the only bedroom that has a closet it (aside from my office, which was listed as a bedroom, but doesn't actually have a door, and isn't in prime bedroom location), so I felt like it made the most sense functionally.





The first thing we did was paint the yellow walls a warm white. I went with Benjamin Moore Simply White, which is just a tad warmer than the Pearly White we used in the bathroom/hall/living room.





I designed the bonus room as sort of a "dressing room", with my in-season clothing on cute, exposed racks, and a dresser for things like socks, t-shirts, undies. The actual closet is within the bonus room, and this is where Larry's hanging clothes live, along with my off-season clothing and things like luggage, sweatshirts, and low-use items.


Since our bathroom isn't attached to our room and doesn't offer a ton of storage, I set up a desk—the very first piece of furniture I ever purchased for myself!—in the dressing room with a little mirror above to act as a makeup vanity. This is where I get ready in the morning, do my hair/makeup, paint nails, etc.





While the bedroom ceiling isn't very high, the footprint of the room is actually wayyy bigger than our last house. We have TONS space on either side of the bed, which was always an issue at the Madison house (so much so that only one of us could have a legitimate night stand).


Plus, because we have our dresser in the bonus room, we don't have to take any floor space up in the main area with storage pieces.





We put the loveseat from our old guest room in our bedroom, mainly for Ruby to sleep on, and created a little sitting area with a side table and side chair. I also LOVE to have plants in every space, so I created a little plant corner over by the dormer.


The sofa and plants are positioned in such a way that they help you avoid hitting your head on the dormer or ceiling (so far so good!).





I also added a floor length mirror leaned against the wall, which I use every. single. day. At our last house, I had always wanted to put a tall mirror in our room or bathroom, but there just wasn't space for it, so I always found myself walking over to the guest room to check my outfits. Mirrors for the win, ya'll!!


Initially, I was a little worried that this room wouldn't get enough light to make it feel comfortable as our primary space (if you remember, we had HUGE windows in our bedroom at Madison).


But, because the few windows in this space are west and south facing, it's actually a great amount of light all day long. Plus, the room is mainly used for sleeping, so it's not imperative that it gets a ton of sunlight during the day.




The duvet cover is from Target, the coverlet, pillow, and arch lamps were finds from Homegoods, and the artworks behind the nightstands are by Chris Cox.


The nightstands are vintage, snagged from a great yard sale when we lived in Heritage Hill GR, along with the vintage book shelf to the right of the bed. I hung a mirror over the bookshelf, which reflects light from the windows in the dressing room and brightens up the space.





As for the bed, we went the first 14 months without a bed frame at all (in fact, I've never actually had a REAL bed frame in my adult life!!).


While I don't mind the minimal look of this at all, functionally, with the ceilings, it doesn't work very well in our room: the slant starts juuust low enough that when you sit up in bed, your head leans forward (LOL), but if you pull the bed away from the wall, well, your pillows fall down...GRRRrrr.


SO, I decided we needed a bed frame—


In fact, our bed frame was delivered just a week after Alyssa photographed the space! DANG IT! I was able to find a lower profile bed frame/headboard (this one is discontinued or else I'd link it - SORRY!!), and since it's one large piece, we were able to pull it away from the wall a tad, giving our heads juuuust a bit more leeway so as to keep the head bonks to a minimum.





I also updated the smaller arch lamps with a larger shaded lamp, which give off a much softer light. We were also having to adjust the arch lamps so the bulbs weren't blasting us in the face, so these are a really nice update for a bedroom.


Also, since we pulled the furniture away from the wall, I thought something taller and wider would make the gap behind the pieces less obvious.


Eventually I may replace the rug with something vintage (this one was from our living room at Madison, and while I love the colors and patterns, it's pretty thin and starting to warp), or maybe something cozy and fuzzy. You know me and my vintage rug addiction...sorry not sorry.






 


Work with Lauren Figueroa Interior Design


LFID is a full-service interior design firm serving West and Southeast Michigan known especially for our Designed in a Day service.


We work with clients from Detroit to Novi to Clarkston, and Grand Rapids to Holland to Traverse City—and anywhere in between! We pride ourselves on creating bespoke, people-centered spaces—because after all, people are what this life is all about!


If you have a project on the horizon, get started by telling us about your vision here, and you can view past projects here. Thanks for stopping by!







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