AGH Lake House: Primary Bedroom

Projects

Feb 28

AGH Lake House: Primary Bedroom Tour

A look into the process of designing our primary bedroom.

Today, we’re excited to show you around the AGH Lake House primary bedroom and talk about all of the details in this space!

We are firm believers that bedrooms should never be an afterthought, and in the AGH Lake House, we really wanted to make this space feel both relaxing and special. Here’s a look into the process of how we created our own little sanctuary:

Our belief is that there is so much beauty in restraint, and this is so applicable when it comes to the bedroom. My approach to minimalism is never more tangible than when designing a bedroom. A bedroom is for sleeping, and the space does not need to accommodate much more than that. When bedrooms are minimal, calm, and relaxing, our sleep is better which has a ripple effect on our lives.

When designing a bedroom, the North Star is always comfort while remaining impactful. When I was designing our bedroom, materiality, finishes, and quality were my top priority to create a comfortable and beautiful space. Everything was selected with scale in mind, as well as functionality and durability. And the details make it super inviting!

The Vestibule

When you walk into the bedroom, you first enter the vestibule with a lowered ceiling detail. The vestibule provides access to our bathroom on the left, closet to the right, and then opens into the main space.

I love the little vignette this vestibule creates and the smaller contrast to the bright, open bedroom. We styled it with a few gold frames of memories from our wedding and a checkered jute area rug.

The Closet

On one side of the vestibule, we have our primary closet. Since living together, Matt and I have always shared a closet, and we’ve gotten pretty good at being efficient in small spaces. This one is the biggest closet space we’ve ever had! Once Bill and Bonnie created the footprint, I designed and installed a custom Elfa closet. I went with a single hanging rod, four shelves underneath for undergarments, sweaters and pants, and a single shelf up-top for off-season storage. We keep our dresses and suits in a closet in our spare bedroom.

The Finishes

The thing I was most excited about in this room was the ceiling detail with vaulted ceilings, exposed beams, and shiplap. It makes the room feel much larger than it is, and adds so much visual detail and interest. I really wanted to draw attention to the ceilings and draw your eye up with a chandelier without competing with or overshadowing the architectural detail, so I selected a dual-layered linen pendant chandelier that added a subtle, textural contrast.

We have always been lovers of white paint, but we wanted to do something a bit warmer in this house, so we went with a creamier white that worked well with the brightly lit space, Greek Villa by Sherwin Williams. The walls are painted in a flat finish, and the ceilings and trim are a satin finish.

The Windows

You may have noticed what we don’t have any window treatments throughout the entire home, and that’s by design. The Lake House is a one-floor bungalow-style cottage that faces south, which provides ample amounts of sunshine throughout most of the day. In addition to that, there’s lots of windows in every room, and we really wanted to take advantage of all the light there was to offer. But most importantly, the perimeter of the property is thickly lined with evergreens, which provides a nice privacy screen and kind of seals the deal on not needing any sort of window treatments!

The Bed

Echoing the woven texture motif throughout the entire house, I decided to go with this woven platform bed, and it turned out so beautiful in here. I love this bed because it doesn’t feel overly masculine or feminine.

I love that even though it’s a color, it’s not too bright. It felt a little risky to go for it, but I’m so glad we did because it set the tone for the entire room.

We went neutral with our bedding: all-white sheets and pillows and a very slightly contrasted natural linen duvet and cover pillows. The linen material adds a great element of texture to make the space look that much cozier. We tied it in with a lumbar pillow to finish things off.

Our bed is almost never perfectly made- I like the messy bed look!

The Furniture

Our primary bedroom had just enough room that we only could fit a bench or a dresser at the of the bed (not both). A dresser was much more functional and I knew I’d be placing a bench in the bathroom nearby, so we went with a Restoration Hardware dresser that gave both of us three large drawers each for sleeping and lounge clothes, and our active and everyday clothes in our closet. I wanted to tie in the dark wood tones from the legs of the bed, while also breaking up some of the light wood we have throughout the space, so we went with a black wood dresser. I love the knobs and wood detail on this piece because they add a different element that feels pretty and almost feminine.

Next, we wanted substantially-sized nightstands with some storage. We landed on a vintage-style nightstand made of a mix of spruce, pine and fir. And the fit was within a half inch on each wall- perfect fit!

If you’re designing a primary bedroom and the space plan is large enough to incorporate a chair, I love to do “a chair moment,” in the corner. This chair is really beautiful, it has this nice swing back, it swivels and it’s so comfortable.

The Details

I selected black terracotta-style table lamps for the space, with two larger ones on the nightstands and a mini on the dresser. I love combination of dark bases and the linen shades on top.

Every space is different, but more often than not we use an 8x10 rug in primary bedrooms. We did the border-bound seagrass rug (found in many other rooms in the Lake House), and it was the perfect way to tie all of the tones, hues, and textures together. The Lake House isn’t a home where I wanted a lot of saturation from rugs. A handful of small vintage area rugs and runners provided the saturation, and beyond that I only wanted natural-colored rugs that provided texture.

On the dresser, we styled a vintage-style artwork piece from Studio McGee x Threshold and layered in some vintage accessories.

If you have wall space after you’ve placed your bed and dresser and nightstands, I always suggest doing a tall leaning mirror. Not only is it a great spot to get ready, but it bounces the light really well and makes the room look larger as a result.

To complete the space, we placed a bird of paradise plant inside a woven, textural basket.