Master Bedroom Shelf Re-do

It's been awhile since I've shared any house DIY/re-do's. Partly because I haven't been doing too many. Partly because I have before pictures but no after shots. So this afternoon I took advantage of a bit of sun and snapped some after shots of a project I finished up just before Christmas.

There aren't very many rooms in our house that haven't been touched by me and my paintbrush. And our master bedroom had the privilege and honor of being changed twice already! The first time around I was finally warming up to grey being such a popular color in the decorating world, and I was determined to "grey-ify" our bedroom. The walls ended up a medium grey, the tone being matched up to the plain grey duvet cover we purchased from IKEA. I found curtains I loved (at the time). But then there was this wall:

I tried. 

I tried to be frugal. I tried to 'shop my house'. I tried to be creative. I did purchase a couple more frames to work with a frame we received as a wedding present 8 years ago. But no matter how I tried, I couldn't love it. Not the collage. Eventually, not the wall color. And eventually-er, not the room. 

The poor master bedroom. 

And so I painted it. Again. I headed back toward a neutral - a light, light neutral that wasn't grey but wasn't beige either. I found a forest-y green quilt on super clearance at Target and it launched my imaginary "mood board" into light and neutral. Lots of white. And wood (but not the yellow pine category of wood). Simple. 

The original plan for this yellow pine shelf was to paint it. White. But as the room slowly took shape - light walls, light curtains, and so on, I found myself craving something other than green. The ever present battle in my head between loving completely neutral and loving color started up again. (does anyone else out there have this decorating issue?!) And I couldn't do it. I couldn't paint it white. And so it stood. And waited. Patiently, I might add. It waited while I figured out what color it should be. 

As you can see, in the meantime, the shelf became more useful with baskets. And it was adorned with a canvas print I found and loved at Winner's. (what would I do without Winners in a HomeSense-less town?!) Loved and still love, I might add. 

Finally, one day it came to me. Navy. I have a small can of it leftover in the basement, so it wouldn't cost a thing - plus, I like Navy. Blue in general is my favorite color. Navy? Love. (In fact, if I think about it, every single bedroom I've slept in since I was 19 had navy involved in the decorating scheme, until my attempt at grey. Meant to be, right?) 

Away we go. 

Ah. Much better! The leftover paint is from the front door, so it had a bit of gloss to it, but 'tis all good. The corners and edges received a bit of sanding down and roughening up, followed by a Q-tip or 7 of walnut stain over the sanded area. Paint and stain were followed by a couple coats of poly and yeah! Done and loving it.

No more knots. No more yellow wood.

Here's an angle that gives you an expanded wall color view . Look closely in the mirror and you'll see my curtains with the chevron pattern that I was leery about at the store, but now love because once their hung up, they're far less in-your-face chevron. Oh, and you can also see how I made one tiny corner of the bed in case it appeared in the after shots...which it does...and how I ignored the rest of the bed. There you have it. I didn't make my bed this morning. Giving away my secrets...!

There are a few things that need to finished up - kijiji purchased side tables to paint, a lamp to hang and there's some DIY art that's been on the back of my mind for awhile. Once done, expect a full bedroom reveal. In the meantime though, I'm so happy to have this shelf done!

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