Before & After: Mid-Century Meets California Cool Master Bedroom

It's reveal day, y'all! Some pretty awesome local clients of mine recently finished up their new master bedroom, and now that it's done, they were kind enough to let me share it with you! Since I focus on e-design, and my clients are so often not local, it's a joy when I get the chance to actually visit someone's home in person and see how my design for their space came together in real life. 

I can't say enough great things about these clients. Working with them to make their master bedroom a stylish sanctuary was so fun! They're a family of five who moved to Philadelphia several years ago from New York City, and are busy working and raising three incredible kiddos, so designing a bedroom was pretty low on their priority list. In addition to his full time job, the husband, JT, also writes a pretty fantastic personal finance blog called Just Making Cents. Go check it out, read some of his words of wisdom, and say hello!  

When my clients decided it was finally time to give their bedroom a makeover toward the end of last year, they enlisted Mix & Match's services to help. They have an incredible sense of style and knew the general direction that they wanted their bedroom to go, but they found they didn't enjoy the actual design process and wanted guidance (and accountability) to make sure it would turn out the way they envisioned. E-design was just the right amount of hand-holding they needed to finally #getitdone. 

These clients love mid-century and modern pieces, but they've also got a little bit of a California cool vibe going on (he grew up there, so it makes sense!), so we wanted to incorporate that in as well. The pieces they requested to keep were their upholstered bed from West Elm* and the oversized wave canvas above the bed. I was definitely on board with that! They also had a desire to add an open closet system since their older Philadelphia row house didn't have any closets and they were storing most of their clothes in other rooms. I loved that idea - just wait until you see how it turned out; it'll make you want to put one in your own bedroom!

So let's get to the good stuff - the before and after!

BEFORE:

Here's the final design plan we came up with for the side of the room with the bed. The open closet system would be installed on the wall opposite the bed where the dresser is in the photo above.

Once my clients had the design plan and shopping list in hand, they took it and ran with it, and put their own spin on it as the design made its way from screen to real life. Here's how it's looking today!

AFTER:

Looking much better than the before photos, right? We made a few simple changes that made a world of difference - new bedside tables, plug-in wall sconces, a rug, bedding, and roman shades. All of these items were really affordable as well! You can "shop the look" at the end of the post.

Let's get to that open closet system, shall we? Photos first, then I'll talk about how we designed it!

IKEA ELVARLI OPEN CLOSET SYSTEM:

Really cool, right?!

After comparing several options for open closet systems, we landed on the new ELVARLI system from IKEA. Specifically, we customized the post unit combination to create an incredibly functional closet that has tons of space for hanging and folded clothes, shoes and accessories. As you see in the photos, they've still got plenty of room to grow. I didn't edit down or remove anything for the shoot - this is 100% all their stuff displayed how they use it every day! The ELVARLI system is very sleek, customizable and extremely functional. I would definitely recommend it if you're in the market for something similar.

When designing the closet system, I sketched out several diagrams of different arrangements for my clients to choose from, and they made the final decision based on their needs. Once that shopping list was finalized, they headed to IKEA to purchase everything, and installed it themselves (no small feat!). For those curious about cost, this arrangement came to just over $1,000 - not bad for huge custom closet.

Overall, this makeover was very affordable - all in, the total was under $2,500. Each change we made had a big impact on ramping up the style and function of the room, and most importantly, my clients are thrilled with how their bedroom turned out! That, of course, makes me really happy as a designer.

But don't just take my word for it. JT wrote a really kind and thoughtful review about the whole process, and he said I could share it with y'all here on the blog. I love hearing about how the e-design process went from the client's perspective, and I think you will too!

"Here are my thoughts on their services:

Ease of Use: I filled out a questionnaire that asked questions about style and color preferences. I measured my room and made a simple floor plan. Then I took a picture of my room and emailed it to them. A few days later, they emailed me back with a few ideas. You do have to measure your own room, but overall pretty easy.

Responsiveness: If I had a question, I got a response within 24 hours. Overall, very responsive.

Design: I have a very large picture that's the centerpiece of my room. They had to find a design that worked with the picture and some of my existing furniture. I'm also very picky. Most ideas I liked. Some I wanted other options, which is to be expected and why I was happy with the responsiveness. Overall, they nailed it fairly quickly.

Value: It cost $300. While not exactly loose change, I find myself really enjoying my room and hanging out there more often. The happiness I get from my new room is hard to value, but definitely more than $300. Overall, very affordable.

Things to know: This is not a do-it-for-me service but a design-it-for-me service, so you need to be prepared to put in a little work, like measuring your room, shopping for the furniture, and assembling.

Overall, I think it's a fantastic service for the price if you're willing to put in a little work. If you've ever watched the pros on HGTV and thought, "hey, I can do that" and actually tried, you know how hard it actually is to design a beautiful space. The magic in Mix & Match is that it does the hard part and lets you do the easy part. Basically, my room looks like I spent many thousands designing it but it only cost me $300. I'll definitely use their services again!" - JT

There you have it! If you've been thinking about tackling a decorating project in your home, e-design may be a great fit. Hit me up on my contact page, or email me at chaney@mixandmatchdesign.com to get started! 

SOURCES (SHOP THE LOOK):

Upholstered bedframe || Upholstered headboard || Bedside tables || Geometric rug || Eyeball plug-in sconces || Gray sheets (similar) || White duvet cover (similar) || Shams || Roman shades (similar) || ELVARLI closet system

*Denotes that affiliate links were used in this post. When you purchase through one of these links, Mix & Match Design Company earns a small commission at no cost to you (i.e. no markup). Thanks for your support!