Bedroom decor update, and another vote!

Bedroom decor update, and another vote!

• 2.28.2014

Last summer I had a...pillow crisis?... decorating our bedroom with some new pillows. I loved reading your ideas on that post, and have been playing with options since!! But now I've made a bigger change, and it's back to the pillow organization drawing board.

In some ways, it's funny how little our bedroom has changed in 8 months... same DIY headboard, same lamps, same vintage black nightstands (the ones I traded for these green ones), same starburst mirror above the bed. But there are different books on the end tables (we actually switched sides, we do that sometimes) and the big difference is I strayed from my conventional solid color bedding to the fave stripey duvet cover I'm here to talk to you about today.

For a while in the summer we used the lighter grey blanket from that post, but most of the time we use the white woven stripe duvet cover, because I love white bedding and it goes with everything (see it near the bottom of my home tour). Love it. Love white bedding. We also have it in our guest room (also in home tour, and see below) - a great white quilt from Target that I got brand new at Goodwill.

I guess I got a little tired of the white, though, and I pulled out our old West Elm grey and white stripe duvet cover. This thing's a classic (although it always bummed me out a little that it doesn't look like the one in the catalog because I like to use a king size comforter (and cover) on our queen size bed so that it's long enough--so I buy king size and turn them sideways. Sigh.). But anyway, I like the grey and white stripe, and it goes with anything, so I pulled it out again and now I'm wondering if it goes with the princess-ey tufts of the velveteen headboard I made... what do you think? Too preppy?

Anyway, that's not the main dilemma today. Nope, I'm having another pillow crisis, like I discussed in this post, and I'd love to hear your vote on which of these lovely 5 options works for our room! And what to do with the other pillows!!

Changing up the bed with throw pillows

One of my oldest friends taught me to decorate with pillows and accent colors. My mom doesn't change her decor much, so I had never been to a house where you could express changes in season or style by swapping out fabrics, textures, and small pieces of furniture. My older gal pal had a nice, small house and would ask my opinion on new fabrics and pillow forms from JoAnn plus great combinations of vintage Ralph Lauren pillowcases remade to the right sizes, and spray paint colors for thrifted wicker and small wood items. She taught me the ease of DIY decorating in a small space with a small budget! I keep those lessons with me to this day (as you probably know!)!

So when I look at our room, I see the potential for a different look every few months, though when it comes to changing I'm never 100% sure. I throw pillows on the bed in different positions, take a few steps back, squint, and tip my head to the side. I pull more fabrics and pillow covers out of the closet and see how they look with the others. Sometimes I walk back to the office and look through my recent pins for a recent inspiration image I'm trying to remember. But normally the room looks like a bit of a disaster zone, like this.

I have many choices. See some of the pillows, pillow covers, and curtains below - who says curtains are just curtains? I've thought of making pillow covers out of them since they're too short for any of our windows. Playing with colors and patterns...

Master bedroom bedding options...

But I think I've got it narrowed down to 5.

Options 1 and 2 feature the two-sided linen print/shimmer pillows. Option 1 also features these pink patterned ones I sewed. 

Option 2 mixes things up a little and features sideways standard sized pillows. Feels a little more modern, I guess...

Even more modern, Option 3 includes the grey and white stripe pillowcases that are meant to go with the duvet cover. No throw pillows. So bare!!

A little more decorated in Option 4, with some summery colors added in with this bolster and the hot pink pillows I made.

Back to an old favorite with the old white duvet cover for Option 5. The hot pink pillows on top of two standard pillows, plus a round ruched silver one.

Five pretty good options! Which are your faves, with the striped cover instead of a solid? And should I be using the other pillows to jazz up the guest room, while I'm in the business of redecorating with pillows?

Guest room pillow options...

It's really cool how when you have your own space, and a few room to decorate within it (this was the dream of my teens and early 20's, and I'm grateful for it now!), you can move things around and like where they look anywhere. Most of my pillows would work in almost any of the rooms in the house where pillows go! It's nice to update the couch or TV room couch with new ones, too. And those hot pink square pillows I made--ohhhh, I love them, and I love how they look in our guest room as well! What about these options, if I don't use the hot pink ones in the master?

So see the pink pillows in Guest Room Option 1 (I love the colors together! Makes the stacked pillows a little more girly, too.)...

And Guest Room Option 2.

Best bedroom decor choice?

So. To recap.

Master bedroom: options 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. What's your vote? Why?

How do you like to change up pillows and blankets with changing seasons and attitudes?