Guest Post: Jennifer's 'Sail Away' Bedroom

Today I'd like to introduce a little bit of new blood to the lineup of wonderful guest posters I've had the honor of hosting. Meet Jennifer, author of Fog City Sparkle, owner of a beautiful Victorian home in San Francisco. With a sense of style + sense of humor she runs a lovely blog. I'm sure you'll be more intrigued after you hear from her but suffice to say this isn't just any old plain jane makeover. It has personality - check it out for yourself.




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first off, i'd be remiss if i did not say what an incredible honor it is to be guest posting on mrs. limestone's blog! i found her blog when i first started contemplating buying a historic "fixer-upper" in my hometown (san francisco). like all of you, i am always so inspired by her! i hope you'll all enjoy this quick peek into my home as well.

just to bring you quickly up to speed, my home is an 1880s italianate victorian in the heart of san francisco. while most multi-family homes here were built as flats for multi-generational families, my building is more like the townhouses and row homes you typically see on the east coast (like mrs. limestone's). this means that i have my very own 2-story home, complete with private basement and yard - which is VERY rare in this city. (how lucky am i?!)

unfortunately, though, the house was at some point completely gutted by someone who likely was interested in modernizing.

well, we've been busy working away at putting the shine back on our baby for months, updating our friends on my blog. and recently, after months of teasers, my master bedroom was finally "done enough" to share.

here's what we started with:

so, i searched and searched for a photo with a better angle, but this was the best i could find (see more "befores" here). like the rest of the house, the master bedroom was dingy and painted in a color best described as "baby poop yellow". it was also carpeted and covered in stains. which in turn hid plywood, linoleum, glue and 8-10 layers of paint -- and (miraculously) the original floors.

first we got down to painting (and painting, painting, painting). for this room, i chose "solana beach" from ace hardware - a gorgeous grey-blue. normally my tastes tend to be pretty wild, but i wanted my bedrooms to feel relaxed and serene.

after the painting was done, minus all of the touch ups (will. they. ever. end?!), we could remove the carpets (or "built in drop-cloths" as i liked to refer to them) and restore the floors. here's what we got - yay! wide-plank, old-growth pine (i think - honestly, i am no expert at any of this). *SWOON* (sorry for the bad photo quality - i took it with my phone and was VERY, VERY tired at this point.)


more on that process here and here if you're curious. (including fun photos of the "lee press-on" nails and sunflower seeds we found under the carpets. *gag*.)

and, now, TA-DA! here it is!


the bed (ikea), like in my guest bedroom, is outfitted almost exclusively in white. i like to feel like i'm jumping into a cloud, whether it's bed time or just time for a sun-drenched nap (which happens much more frequently than i should really admit).


i added the silver throw from west elm for a bit of shine (i'm a TOTAL MAGPIE and collect as many sparkly things as i can) and used various white patterned sheets for texture.


and for height and a bit of glamour, i made silk curtains to match the walls. i think it makes the room look almost like it's floating - in a good/ non-drug-induced way! (and here's the 10-step tutorial if you'd like to make some for yourself.)

the nightstands were my grandmother's. i toyed with the idea of painting them but, in the end, i like how they ground the room and bring the floor color up to eye-level. just need to find the right lamp(s) to add. maybe this one?

my dressers are both from ikea. i loved the soft grey finish and the curvy legs. hated the pulls they supplied, so i trotted down to anthro and picked up some "diamond gal" knobs to finish them. love that they manage to look both luxe and organic at the same time. and i placed my grandmother's sewing machine (cleverly disguised as a side table) next to the low one for extra table-top real estate. it makes me smile.


and, because i love color, i painted the insides of my closet doors in "hot lips" (or something like that). you can check out more on project doorway here.


finally, i added all of my favorite jewelry, one great piece of artwork that i picked up at auction...
and that notorious (and polarizing) ship chandelier from zgallerie.

like you've undoubtedly guessed, i love quirky things and wanted one piece that really SAYS SOMETHING in the my bedroom. i think this one says it well -- come on and sing along...