Let’s take a moment to talk about fads. They’re not necessarily a bad thing… sure, they’re not the “safe” way to redecorate, but you just have to be prepared to change up your decor when the ‘fad goes bad’. For me I love hopping on the ‘trend wagon’ because it allows me to explore new ideas and designs! In the past I loved grey, then grey and plum purple, then grey and orange, then it was Adriatic Sea Blue and white with chrome accents… you get the gist. Right now I’m all about those tropical vibes with matte black accents and a hint of gold to finish it off – perfection. I’m going to tell you exactly what you need to know to make any bedroom makeover easy and stress free… and hey, if you want your own tropical paradise, pay close attention!
How to find your inspiration:
I moved into a new home June 2016 and fiiiinally finished my master bedroom. I toyed with a few design ideas but none of them sat right with me until I decided tropical was the way to go. Tip: Unless you know going into your home exactly what you want your bedroom to look like, there’s no rush to jump into a style – take your time, do your research and explore your options – you will know it’s right when you see it. That tip applies to the whole house in general, too. Instagram and Houzz are two really great ways to see what kind of home trends are out there to help you narrow down what you like and what you’re looking for.
Where to start:
My room was white. White white white. White walls, white trim, white baseboards, white ceiling and walnut hardwood floors. I knew I needed to make a BOLD statement so I decided to wallpaper the wall my headboard sat against and the first wall you see when you walk into the room (that’s a general rule of thumb when you decide to wallpaper). Knowing I wanted tropical vibes I visited a couple local stores that carry a wide-selection of wallpaper in general, including Bella Casa Design centre and also explored Etsy to see what my options were. Etsy was great because I could use different key-words like “palm leaf wallpaper” and/or “tropical wallaper” to refine my search. Being someone who changes my mind fairly quickly I knew I couldn’t go with a print that was “too tropical” for fear of getting tired of it too quickly! Alas, I found Annet Weelink’s gorgeous paper and the rest is history.
What’s Next:
Once the wall paper was up it was all about accessorizing. I found two spots in my room that had blaring white space that needed to be filled – STAT. We had a custom live-edge barn door already in-the-works from a local carpenter, Chris Camp, but needed to bring in more greenery to accent our beautiful wallpaper! I hung two hexagon planters with macrame cords in the corner near my barn door to fill some of the white space.
To fill the other white wall I created a mini gallery wall. I found a really cute metal “Paradise” made by Umbra at The Tin Box in Canmore. It was rose gold… but I didn’t see that as a problem. Hello spray paint! I painted it black to tie in the other black accents I have in my room: bedside lamps, the barn door track and hardware, and wrought iron poles for my lights in my bathroom.
The ‘other’ details:
What takes yours room from great to FAB are those “little” details. I found super cute tropical prints on Etsy at myXOprint and a flamingo from StrawberrySigns. I chose a pink flamingo to tie in the pink that was brought in from flowers in the wallpaper. I framed one in a white frame and tacked the other two on a white floating shelf from IKEA (both white to “camouflage” them with the wall so they weren’t too bold). The other two I hung using gold paper clips and earrings. Yes, earrings. I didn’t have cute tacks, but I did have cute studs – it does the trick and looks suuuper cute!! I finished it up with extra accessories like a succulent in a black pot and a candle in a black vessel with a gold lid. To finish off the look I planted my sansecieria Zeylanica plant in a neutral modern white planter from Design within Reach!
To cap it all off I ordered a monstera leaf toss cushion for my bed straight from Honolulu on ManaHiCo’s Etsy shop!! My husband Marc and I are obsessed with Hawaii so we thought this was a perfect and meaningful addition to our new space! We absolutely adore our new bedroom and we hope you do too… or at least gave you a little inspiration to create your own tropical paradise!
G.S. Studios 