Love Is In The Air

  Love is in the air has been translated by those more educated than me to mean the atmosphere is “ripe for love“.  Married a couple years ago around the Christmas holidays, we woke early in the new year, feeling a little grumpy. Our bedroom was so dark and felt so cluttered!  Too much stuff!

At that time, our room seemed like a cave. It felt cold. It felt like it was hibernating for the Winter. We wanted our bedroom to match our mood – happy go lucky, in love, free. We were happy and we wanted our room to feel fresh and alive as well!

Maybe because of our honeymoon state, we decided right then to paint our bedroom that weekend. We had a few colors in mind and bought some paint samples at Home Depot. We painted four or five shades of teal on all four walls.

I am a firm believer that you should not paint the entire room until you have tested painted some options. Paint a few different shades of your choice on all four walls of the room. Take a look at it in the morning, afternoon, and at night so you get a feel for how the color looks. The color you LOVE on the little paint swatch might look totally different at night or in the morning light.

The next morning, we decided on a light turquoise. It has been written that turquoise helps to open the lines of communication between the heart and the spoken word. It presents as a friendly and happy color enjoying life. Turquoise is the color of communication, self awareness and initiative. It sounded perfect! Click here to read more about the color.

In addition, Aelita Leto, a friend as well as a well-schooled Feng Shui expert, stopped by to give us her opinion. Everyone should have a Feng Shui expert like Aelita in his or her life! I firmly believe I wouldn’t have met my husband had it not been her life-changing advice as I moved into a new cottage four years ago. She really helped open my mind and spirit.  Check out her website – she is a GENIUS!

Aelita loved the direction we were headed with the color.  She suggested we paint my dresser white to make the room feel bigger (it was celery). She wanted matching tables and lamps next to our beds.  She smiled when she saw the wood headboard she convinced me to buy four years ago (she couldn’t believe anyone would ever sleep in a bed without a headboard!). A few more thoughts on decorating in the bedroom using Feng Shui.

We painted the room in a couple of hours. Then it was time for my favorite part: accessorizing. But we didn’t have thousands of dollars to spend on the room.  I spray painted the gold mirror a bright sliver as well as the vintage jewelry box on my dresser, placing it next to the antique mirror. Nate Berkus curtains at Target were on sale! After looking hard for a couple of days, I found the perfect pintuck bedding on West Elm’s website. My mom made the pillows from fabric we bought at one of my favorite stores in Charleston, SC – GDC Home.

Finally, we went to Home Goods. Lori Sheldon introduced me to Home Goods a few years ago and I haven’t turned back! My husband proved his patience once again!  For more than hour, I placed items in the cart as quickly as I pulled them out. “Not that, this.” “Wait, I didn’t see this.” “Do you like this? Never mind, I hate it.” “Why won’t you give me your opinion on this color?”

For his dresser, we finally settled on a mirrored tray, a man’s box for his watch and cufflinks, and a couple of colored bottles. We found two prints of a single flower that matched our bedroom color perfectly! I also bought a red sphere for my dresser for a pop of color. We went home and finished setting up the room.

We loved it!

A few months later I traded out the white dresser for a curvy antique dresser we bought at an estate sale for $25.  Note: we have no TV in our bedroom. Feng Shui teachings show the bedroom is for two things: sleep and sex.

Over the last couple of years, we also added a couple more pictures of us over my dresser.  I love laying in bed and looking at the pictures from our travels all over the US and the world.  I especially love the photo on the far right, in front of Forsyth Park Fountain in Savannah, Ga.  It was in front of that fountain my man told me I was his soul mate and I honestly started to believe we would get married someday.

This past summer we bought the vintage letters L O V E at an antique store and hung them over our bed. It was the perfect finishing touch. I love everything about this room and of course about my husband as well! It still feels like a honeymoon every day!