Bedroom Comes to Life With French Country Style

French country takes over a bland master bedroom.

After

All About

Product Ideas

Alecia and John Menzano purchased their house three years ago. They've done a great job decorating it but stopped short at their bedroom. The Design on a Dime team brings a French country style to this lifeless space.

Before

The Dilemma
Designer Kristan Cunningham determines the issues in the room, which include: asymmetrical windows that cover an entire corner of the room, outdated blinds, lack of color, a TV that is currently an unwanted focal point and no definitive style. She then meets with her design team, Spencer Anderson and Dave Sheinkopf, to discuss the challenges of the Menzanos' master bedroom French country design. They decide on a paint color for the walls, think of an inventive way to play down the asymmetrical windows and list the pieces of furniture they'll need in order to complete the design.

The Solution
The Menzanos' master bedroom is turned over to the design team so they can complete their decorating mission — here's how they do it:

The walls are painted a vibrant persimmon color, which immediately adds warmth to the room.

Sheinkopf creates a custom headboard using a raised paneled door and 4x4 posts. He adds caps to the posts for a more finished look. The entire piece is painted a semi-gloss white mixed with a yellow oxide for a buttery color. Sheinkopf creates a weathered look by applying an umber-colored glaze.

Cunningham dresses up the new iron light fixture by embellishing the chandelier shades. She washes over the shades with a sepia-toned watercolor and hot-glues trim to the top and bottom. Next, she mixes gold and black paint together and, using a pencil as her paintbrush, paints a fleur-de-lis pattern onto each shade.

Anderson revives two thrift-store chairs by refinishing the frames with stain and adding new seat covers.

The asymmetrical windows are unified with a wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling curtain.

An armoire is purchased to hide the TV. Cunningham applies a glaze that is a mixture of a one-half quart of glaze and a full quart of paint. When the surface is dry to the touch but still tacky, she lightly wipes away the glaze using a 100 percent cotton cloth. When completely dry, she ages the piece by wiping an umber glaze into the creases.

Additional bedding is combined with the homeowners' existing comforter for more color and texture.

The various accessories like the new light fixture, candle sconces, basket and pottery add to the room's French country feel.

The Cost

Furniture — $407