Creating a calm yet bold master suite is no easy task, even for the most straightforward of rooms. Our space posed some unique design challenges. First, it’s a bottom floor suite with a slightly sloped ceiling as part of the room is encroached on from the overhead stairs that lead to the space. In addition, the room has a pesky 8” soffit that wrapped most of the perimeter of two complete walls in the room that couldn’t be removed. The worst part, was that one of the walls had a horrible faux wood treatment that overwhelmed one complete wall. Guys, It was actually flooring. My other half tried to convince me to keep it it was hard pass from me.
With that being said, there were some nice pluses too. The room had a solid recessed lighting system complete with dimmers and the hardwood floors from the rest of the house continued into the master promising a seamless transition and cohesiveness for the entire home. Phew! There was also a good amount of natural light that came in from the backyard that also helped to reflect some of the greenery into the room. As city folk, we are always looking for more light and nature in anyway possible. The yard however, is a project and post best saved for another day.
The soon to be miracle master had sufficient space for a king bed and two side tables. For two grown men, coming from 700 sq. ft. and a Queen bed, we we over the moon to finally have enough room for us to sleep, not fight over the covers, and have a spot for our cavalier king charles spaniel – Echo.
As you can see the room showed plenty of promise and we couldn’t wait to dive in. Needless to say we locked our space plan fairly quickly. The space dictated this rather matter of factly. For my process on this check out our previous post on the matter here. From there we were on to the more challenging decisions. Should we build out the soffit? Do we consider just keeping our Queen bed and maximize floor space, (yes we talked about every option,) Chandelier or no, start with the rug, or bed?
We decided that we needed to start with a bed and rug. I find it best to start with the rug and bed in bedrooms. These pieces you have to get right, and pull from to guide the rest of the space. In the instances where I started with a chair, light fixture, or even statement art I always feel like the end result seems more disjointed than when I select the rug and bed first. Let’s talk about how to do that HERE. Moving on, we then looked at every possible bed type imaginable. Tuft, Wood, Iron, IKEA, Rejuvenation, custom, and four poster etc. We ultimately decided on the talents of Alex @DoormanDesigns. They are a New Orleans based design firm with the talnet and price point us little people can manage. It was love at first sight with the Josephine bed. It was alter time when we realized that the boys over at Doorman could customize our bed to rest safely over the 8” soffit so that we would save almost a foot of walking space at the food of the bed – a high traffic location as it leads to the closet and master bath.
What we knew is that we needed to find a way to utilize the wasted vertical space from the soffit that took up two complete walls of the room. But, one does one do? Add float shelves, cover them with a statement curtain, or even leave them as is? It took some latte’s and late night brainstorms but we finally decided the solve.
Arches, honey. Arches are the new black. I am always drawn to homes with a bit of charm and character – gravitating towards Tudor and Spanish homes. This house was everything we needed on paper but wasn’t shining on architectural detail. As such, we thought what better way to use the soffit than build up some beautiful stucco arches with 8” deep alcoves to style all of my favorite thrifted finds. These were really affordable and completely elevated the master miracle infusing some much needed character without being forced. See the drafts below.
Best flea markets in Orange and SF here:
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Wanted to infuse some character – arches, wanted a pop of whimsy, needed a way to make a statement with the bed that allowed us to change the vibe as the seasons of life changed. It was an investment piece. Curtains were neeeded. mix antique. baroque inspired pieces with modern finishes
Schoolhouse – Pendanty Lights
Brooklinen – Comforter and sheet set
Target – Throw Pillows
Target – Knitted throw blanket
Amazon – Waffle White Quilt
Rugs USA – 8×10 rug
The Shade Store – Ceiling mounted Drapes
Tom London bowls
Pro Tip: Mix old and new. Thrift and Mix
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