Lodge Bedroom

Transforming the Makeover Room

Below are the steps guest designer Andrea Hawkins used to turn a colorful but disjointed bohemian bedroom into a warm and inviting retreat:

• Left the walls painted a soft light green, which evoke an outdoorsy feel compatible with the lodge style.
  
• Created a focal point headboard using a $9 sheet of plywood covered with twig placemats, woven straw placemats in the center, and edged with bamboo. A shelf and twig brackets above the headboard provide a perfect display area for kitschy accessories from a thrift store.
  
• Placed a metal sconce above the shelf and adorned it with grapevines for a rustic look.
  
• Created window coverings by using a twig table runner as a valance. A red bandana print fabric was spray-glued to a roller shade beneath the valance.
  
• Used a variety of smaller area rugs scattered around the room. These include a braided rug, a rag rug, a Berber rug printed with a flag theme and cotton rugs. The look is layered and casual.
  
• Made a duvet cover from white flannel with a red grid pattern. A blue denim comforter and plaid fleece throw were layered over this at the foot of the bed.
  
• Added three layers of throw pillows to the bed: plaid back pillows, wool kilim pillows next, and finally horizontal pillows that had Western antique vegetable crate labels applied to the front.
  
• Placed a tractor red console table with twig legs on one wall to balance the tall headboard. Accessories include a metal lamp with an Adirondack shade, some pine cones, a bowl of decorative balls, a planter with ivy, a watering can, a wooden building, and a wooden boat birdhouse.
  
• Painted a five-drawer chest black to use as a bedside table. Added a lamp whose base was covered with a plaid fabric and had a crinkled paper shade, a tree-bark picture frame, a vintage license plate address book, a silk potted geranium and silk bird.
  
• Placed a primitive, slatted wood top table to use as a bedside table on the other side of the bed.
  
• Added a lamp that was surrounded with three carved wood flag plaques attached together and topped with a white shade. Other accessories include a hand-carved dog and a chalkboard with an Americana lighthouse picture.
  
• Made a bedside table clock by inserting a clock face into a primitive birdhouse.
  
• Placed an oak coat rack in the corner and accessorized with a plaid shirt and a tin pocket filled with ivy.
  
• Placed a red painted wood bench with rush seat at the foot of the bed. Several throws and a kilim pillow were arranged casually across it.

The Bottom Line

To see where the savings are, take a look at this direct cost comparison of some Inspiration Room items and the creatively comparable ones used in the Makeover Room:

Bed and bedding, $7,122/ Headboard and bedding, $370

Red bench of faux bamboo, $980 / Rush seat wood bench, $149

Accessorized console table, $1,860/ Accessories and console, $215

$500 Challenge

If you want to create the lodge look for your bedroom but have a limited budget, designer Andrea Hawkins suggests spending money on the two most important elements in the room: the headboard and layers of fabrics. The headboard is the room’s focal point and can be made inexpensively. The fabrics – layered throws, multiple pillows, window treatments – can often be recycled from other rooms in your home to save even more money.

frame, sconce, kilim pillow, rag rug - IKEA
willow balls, lamp - Pier 1
chest, lamp - Urban Ore Salvage
twig place mats, straw basket weave place mats, red and white striped rug - Cost Plus World Market
pillows, blackboard, brown tin hanging basket - Ross Stores
denim comforter - Marshalls
plaid fleece blanket, throw, lamp shade - Target
valance - Crate & Barrel
red, green and blue braided rug - Home Depot