New Rugs + Primary Bedroom Mood Board

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The primary bedroom has new rugs! Plus, see what I’m inspired by for the primary bedroom redesign!

Out of all of the rooms in this house, the primary bedroom has easily been the most neglected. But that’s going to change, and here are some sneak peeks!

When I first bought my house, I thought I would have the room done in no time — I painted it gray, added a few pieces of furniture, and then… I kind of abandoned it for every other project.

Primary bedroom — 2009

But now that K has moved in, we’ve both agreed that this winter is a perfect opportunity to give it some attention. I confess, it’s still not the highest priority (we have other rooms that were started before, such as the guest bedroom and the Murphy bed built-ins, that need to be finished up first). But, we spend a ton of time in here and need to figure out a space that helps us relax after a long day.

High-Contrast Black and White Bedroom Design Inspiration

Click to shop these items for yourself:

black diamond pillow • charcoal Euro pillow shams • black global lumbar pillow • platform bed • wood slab • monstera plant • Moroccan wedding blanket (that’s a budget option, but the real deal is here) • jute rug • Moroccan shag rug • abstract prints • ceiling fan

Change #1: We built a bigger bed

One of the first big changes was building a bigger bed. With Stella joining the UDH and being allowed to sleep in the bed, there was no way we could keep Charlie off anymore, and that meant needing more leg room (I like to spread out and the dogs insist on cuddling up around me, which feels smothering). So, we designed and built our own king-sized floating bed that adds plenty more space, but doesn’t feel too heavy. Plans are coming! My intention is to finish the bed by adding a live edge headboard and wrapping the same species around the base. We’ll need to save up for it, since larger slabs can easily go for $1,000 or more, and finding the right piece will take some time. I’ve been looking online at shops like Berkshire Products on Etsy, but we may also try to source it locally if we can find the right supplier.

Once it was built, I was eager to get it decorated. I pulled out the Moroccan wedding blanket I’ve had tucked away in my closet for years and always wanted as part of my bedroom design. I bought it more than seven years ago from a shop that operates out of Marrakesh (a Morocco-based blogger now turned textile shop!). I saved up for it and have always intended on using it for the primary bedroom; it’s precious to me, so I wasn’t ready to use it until the rest of the room started coming together. Since I first purchased the blanket, there have been a lot of retail stores making knockoff versions (and I’ve linked to a budget-friendly one above). But this one was a vintage investment piece and very heavy. I tried it out on the bed (with Charlie as my model, naturally!) while almost everything else is a placeholder until I find the rest of the room’s furnishings.

The paint color will be getting the axe as well. I do still love the gray (it’s Montpelier Ashlar Gray by Valspar, which looks to be discontinued now), but the room needs something a bit brighter. K is a big fan of changing the walls to white and adding dark trim. I love the idea, since it will allow us to add some heavier blackout curtains and dark gray or black accents (such as the Tricorn Black paint I recently used outside near the fire pit and deck).

Since rugs can get really pricey, Labor Day was my moment to shine this year. Multiple stores had 50, 60, and 70% off sales, so I comparison shopped my way to a bargain (2 rugs for the primary, a new rug for the dining room, and a new rug for the guest bedroom). For the primary bedroom, I picked up an 8×10 jute rug and a smaller 5×7 shag-like rug to go near the foot of the bed.

This was my first experience trying to lay down a natural fiber rug like this. It was a bit smelly (like hay), but that dissipated over the next few days. It was also a little tough to get it to lay flat since 1) the fibers stretch and can quickly be pulled too tight/loose  and 2) the dogs both thought it was a great game to lay ON the rugs as we tried to straighten everything out. Little stinkers.

After laying down the bottom rug, we laid the more decorative black and white rug on top. I absolutely LOVED this rug from the minute I spotted it, but K took some convincing to give it a try. I’m glad he trusted me (with only a little hesitation ?). It’s perfect!

Once he saw it in the room, he was convinced as well. In fact, he comments every day how much he likes the new rugs together in the room. It’s really encouraging, since it’s going to be a learning process to design a room that both of us can be happy with.

As you can see in these photos, we’re in the process of getting new bed linens added, so I’ll have a new update for you when we get them sorted out (and no, I’m not a fan of that blue fitted sheet, but we haven’t bought new king-sized sheets yet). The new rugs have added tons of style and I’m excited to add more!

Other items from the primary bedroom design inspiration board:

Monstera plant (aka “Swiss cheese plant”) — I really want one of these! I hate that I’m a sucker for plant trends, but I don’t care… these are so pretty!

Black and white pillows — most of these are from Target for the sake of accessibility (so you can shop the above links if you like), but I think I may go with one-of-a-kind if I can find the right source.

Abstract paintings — when I asked K what kind of art he wanted, he replied “Parks and Rec-style nude portraits”, meaning these. So, I think I’m going to take the lead on this one. ? He suggested a diptych or triptych to go along the wall closest to his side of the bed (it’s a large blank wall right now). But the problem with diptychs/triptychs is that they can often be tacky, so I’m thinking of taking a page out of the Emily Henderson playbook for pieces that can stand alone. K suggested that I paint a series myself so that they can hang together but also work individually (so probably a series of canvases using the same color palette). Either that, or maybe we’ll get a few black & white engineer print portraits of Charlie and Stella. I think that idea would be cool no matter the room, but with all the black and white I’m already planning for this space, some colorful (but soothing/relaxing) art will be better.

New ceiling fan — for a long time, I wanted a beautiful, oversized light fixture to complete the room. But this room gets hot, and ceiling fans just plain help us sleep better. So I’m going to try to find a stylish ceiling fan that prioritizes comfort rather than style (but hopfeully still not ugly!). This will be tricky to find, since so many are either hideous or expensive, but I’m optimistic.

As for the pups, they seem to be smitten with the new rugs. So you can bet that we Scotchgarded the crap out of it to make sure it stays pristine!

So, that’s it for this bedroom update. More yet to come, but I’m thrilled with the idea of this room finally getting its due!