The Making of a Home: Our Vintage Filled Primary Bedroom Reveal
The Making of a Home follows my journey as a first-time homeowner figuring out what it means to create a space that feels like me. From vintage finds and marketplace scores to investment pieces, decorating dilemmas, and the occasional questionable purchase, this series documents the process of turning a modern architect designed house into a collected, lived-in home.
Primary Bedroom mood board and color palette.
I’m putting the final touches on the design of my primary bedroom, and I’m so excited to share this with you! It is my favorite room in the house thus far. Let’s go back to the beginning with just a clean empty slate.
The design brief:
- Use pieces I already have first, and make it work together.
- If buying items, prioritize secondhand.
- Honor the design of the home (ultra modern) without being sterile / cold.
- Calm zen feel wanted.
The Design Brief
I started off with the big pieces I already owned, including the giant Mossant vintage art print, and the Japanese joinery oak bed. This helped me establish my color palette of warm neutrals as a base. I typically embrace a lot of color in my design taste, but this room I decided to go more neutral with the color palette, and really explore texture and shape.
It started to take form, and at one point went too monochrome with warm light neutrals (beige, tan, white), so I added in some cool but muted navy, grey, and charcoal, which worked to contrast the warm tones without going too vibrant with color. This keeps the focus on texture and shape, without turning into a sad beige room.
I’m team: anti matching bedroom sets, so it was important to me that all the big furniture decisions meshed together without matching.
I loved the wildcard of the mirrored Caracole nightstands, a TJ Maxx find, but from a reputable NC based luxury furniture company. Mirrored almost glam nightstands were not part of the orginial plan, but I love how they add a touch of refinement and contrast to the earthy textured lamp, and natural rattan dresser. I also love the balance of clean lines (sofa, nightstands), with ornamentation (vintage console table).
The next design hurdle was filling the space appropriately, without having awkward empty spaces. I am used to a 600 square foot studio in DC, where my queen bed barely fit in a nook. This primary bedroom is large objectively, and huge comparatively to my experiences. I wanted to fill it in a way that was intentional. I’m not a fan of two accent chairs facing the bed, as its unclear what you’d do with these other than stack laundry. I tried out placing my previous studio apartment sofa (now too small for my home) facing away from the bed, and this works! Its now a super comfy place to lounge and read a book, and its also a favorite nap spot of our dog, Sundance.
The hero pieces in this room are the thrifted pieces of course. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but I’m enamored by:
1920s Eastlake console table - estate sale find for $120, came from a convent in Michigan initially
Arts and Crafts style floor lamp - goodwill find for $17
1920s round mirror + hat stand in tiger oak, from a hat store in Greensboro - fbmarketplace find for $75
Mossant art print - thrifted for $100
All together, the vibe is “Elevated Earthy Modernism”, where the focus is on tactile materials, a moody, sophisticated palette, and a "collected" feel that tells a story.
The success of this design lies in three core elements:
Color Harmony: We’ve anchored the room in earthy browns and warm creams, then punctuated that foundation with deep navy and slate grey. These cool tones prevent the warmer, wood-heavy elements from feeling overwhelming.
Texture & Shape: The mix of rough textiles, smooth wood, and the organic curves of the mirror and lighting adds a sculptural quality to the room.
Old Soul: Vintage artwork and unique, storied pieces are what give this bedroom its heart. Incorporating items with history ensures that the space feels intentional and unique.
Bringing it Home: If you’re looking to refresh your own space, try identifying one or two "hero" pieces. Perhaps a vintage mirror or a unique piece of wall art, and then build your palette around it.
Happy designing! xoxo Lauren
Shopping Links
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Serrat White Performance Fabric Sofa by CB2
Duvet cover and pillowcase(s), white beige/stripe
