Friday, March 07, 2008

Master Bedroom--Before and After

After I mentioned yesterday that I'm not quite ready to share "before" and "after" pictures, I realized that I never did post any from last year's big push to get our house ready to list! I just don't enjoy selecting, editing and uploading photos as much as I enjoy writing, I guess.

But I did TAKE some, so I might as well show 'em!

We'll start with this "before" shot of one end of the master bedroom. I took it for some blogging challenge on home organization (which I got too busy to enter), but that's why this is the worst possible "before" picture!



See that screen behind my desk? It's hiding my husband's side of the closet. We removed the door to his side, since he could never shut it anyway, and created an area where he could keep his suitcases, which he was using all the time for traveling, the coat tree on which he hung his "can wear again" shirts, his perpetual pile of items to take to the cleaners, his running gear, and I don't remember what all. I don't know where it all went, either, but thank heavens he's not traveling as much and can store his suitcases in the attic between trips now!



There's the closet door back on--and closed! You can see that my bookshelf on which I kept all my homeschool curriculum is gone (to the garage, actually) and the curriculum itself is all boxed up, except for what I'm using this year. But I miss being able to consult some of my books!



I have a different lamp on my desk now. And my big project this weekend...is to make my desk look like this picture again. Right now it looks worse than that "before" picture at the top!

I should mention that the room color and the blinds were not my choice. It was that way when we moved in and we just never changed it. They are nice quality Levelor blinds. The color screams "80's" to me, but it's not as bad as if they were in a living room, since it is kind of a bedroom appropriate color. (And my mauve 80's halogen lamp matches so nicely!) Tell me the walls and blinds are just fine? Especially if every other room in the house has been updated? This is the only room in the house we haven't painted. Or give it to me straight...



And this is the other end of the room--no "before" shot because it basically looks the same, minus the stacks of books that used to be next to our beds on each side. I moved that lamp in the previous picture over here in place of the gooseneck one. I've packed up the two items that are underneath that chest too. Wish I could remove the chest--it would certainly help make the room look bigger--but it's holding up the footboard! That headboard and footboard have been in my family for generations, and the sideboards are too short to accomodate a modern-sized mattress.

Well, that took longer than I thought...so will wrap up for now and post some more later.

Don't forget to give me your opinion...!

3 comments:

Heather said...

Keeping in mind that this is just my opinion, and that opinions are like armpits... I would change either the blinds or the wall color. Blinds are more expensive than paint, but they are easier to change. With the walls and the blinds both mauve, it's a little too much "awesome 80's." I hear that butter cream is the best color to paint walls if you're trying to sell the house. If your windows are a common window size, you could always just pick out blinds that you really like, and simply tell the buyer that the blinds are coming with you. That way, your room makes a better impression and you spend money on blinds that you get to use again in your new house. I know it's hard to tell from pictures, but your room appears to be long and narrow. If there is a way to perhaps make your room look wider, I would think that it would probably also help sell your house. Current market trends seem to indicate that master baths, master bedrooms, and kitchens are the big draws for home buyers now. Since the housing market is currently a buyer's market, you might have to cater more to a potential buyer than you really want to. Of course, if your house has nice property to accompany it and it's in a good school system, you can get away with doing less to your house. The fact that your house has a basement will probably be a good selling point. Make sure that the stairways are well-lit and appear sturdy. People can be iffy about the idea of having to go up and down stairs all the time, but if the stairs seem cheery, it will make the stairs seem like they're not a big deal. Don't forget to check out the light switches and cabinet pulls when you go through the house. Those are proven to be (relatively) inexpensive things that you can change that can make the house seem more updated and won't take a lot of work to change. Hope this helps!

At A Hen's Pace said...

Heather--

Thanks so much for all the advice! Yeah, we've painted sooooo much of the house butter cream or variations thereof...that I'm hoping the pale pink in the master BR is okay, for variety. I've thought about just replacing the blinds with inexpensive ones.

Yep, we've replaced light switches, cabinet pulls and light fixtures throughout the house--done all the little things we can think of! Unfortunately, our master BR and bath are nothing special, but we do have a nice property and an excellent school system going for us.

Pricing it right, we hope...and the rest is in God's hands!

--Jeanne

Brea in Texas said...

I don't think it's awful, but I would probably paint it if it were me. Here's praying it sells really fast!!

~Brea

ps-my minimalist alter ego probably would just take out all the furniture, leave the mattress on the floor, and paint the whole thing gray or something. She's not much fun like that. :)