Before and After: Redesigning a Small Bedroom in Maritime Style

Julie Carlson has a small guest bedroom in her cottage in Wellesley (USA, Massachusetts). No one had lived there for a long time, and the room was not livable — it needed urgent updates to the finish and new furniture.

What did the bedroom look like before the renovation? What changed?

Julie’s colleague Justin Hend helped her choose the color palette. He is skilled in working with colors. The walls were painted a soft bluish-green shade called “river fog.” People say it resembles the color of water in Cape Cod Bay nearby.

The ceiling and doors were painted white to make the interior look lighter and airier. The floor planks were left as they were — in good condition. In such cases, it's enough to restore the floor and coat it with varnish.

To make the interior even more reminiscent of the sea and vacation, it was filled with bright sunny details: a jute rug was laid on the floor (Julie’s cat Yo-Yo loves sleeping here), and yellow pillows were thrown onto the bed.

One more small detail reminding of the sea — a seashell hung above the bed. It's great when you have the chance to go to the beach and get a decorative item for your interior completely free of charge.

Since the room is quite small, a headboard-less bed was chosen so it wouldn’t look too bulky. Instead, paintings in frames were hung above the bed — with these, the interior immediately became cozier.

The niche with a mini-wardrobe was painted yellow to add some warmth to the cool color palette.

Julie decided not to buy new items for the bedroom decor. The rocking chair was found at a flea market, and the vintage dresser came with the house. Julie herself repainted the dresser white.

Photo source: remodelista.com/