Home Tour: Emma’s Bedroom

Welcome to Emma’s bedroom, a personal retreat designed to feel bright and open without losing its warmth. White walls and wood floors create a calm backdrop for vintage finds, meaningful artwork, and cozy brown and gold accents.

Table of Contents

How Emma’s bedroom changed

There isn’t a true “before” photo of the main bedroom. It was the first room Emma painted, before moving furniture into the house. Since many other updates would have to wait, a fresh coat of white paint helped the space feel more personal from the beginning.

The bedroom next door, where Emma’s niece lived for the first year and a half of homeownership, had the same paint color and carpet. Its earlier appearance offers a glimpse of how the rooms looked before the changes. When comparing room photos, look at the finishes as well as the furniture: a paint refresh can make a space feel more like home even before larger renovations begin.

Key updates that made the room feel larger

One of the biggest changes was removing the old, dark tan carpet, which had stains from the previous homeowner. The room now has wood floors. The popcorn ceiling was also scraped, as it was in the living room and kitchen, making the bedroom feel more spacious.

Over the bed, a large vintage American flag adds color and character. Emma’s dad helped build the wooden bed frame, which works as a simple backdrop for changing the display whenever desired. Beside the bed, framed pieces include the couple’s marriage license, a cross-stitch wedding gift featuring a Kanye quote from their wedding invitations, and other small works of art.

Practical takeaway: If you want a bedroom to feel more open, consider how the floor and ceiling finishes affect the room’s overall impression. Keep any renovation plans appropriate to the condition of the home and the materials involved.

Warm details and a wallpaper accent

The goal for this room was different from the living room and kitchen: it needed to feel brighter and more open, but still cozy. Mostly white walls and wood floors provide a neutral foundation, while the rest of the decor leans toward brown and other warm tones.

A wallpapered wall adds a noticeable pattern and a touch of gold without overwhelming the rest of the room. Using a patterned finish on one wall is a useful way to introduce color and texture while keeping the other surfaces simple. A vintage wicker chair, hanging lanterns, dressers, and small decorative objects add variety to the space.

Decor and source notes

The room includes a duvet cover, throw pillows, a DIY bed frame, a vintage American flag, wooden wall art, a lamp, dressers, a wicker chair, hanging lanterns, side tables, crystal and small white vases, profile illustrations by Oana Befort, DIY tree-stump side tables, an antler jewelry display gifted by Kinsey, another DIY jewelry display, a cowhide rug, and wallpaper. The wall paint color is Dove White (7002-7).

When planning a similar room, choose a few personal pieces to make the space feel individual, then use a restrained color palette to help those items stand out. Emma’s bedroom shows how thoughtful finishes and meaningful decor can work together to create a comfortable retreat.