Our Bedroom Makeover | Part 1: The BEFORE

Our bedroom has been in desperate need of a makeover from the very beginning.  When I moved in with Adam, we sold of his Ikea bedroom set and brought in mine.  A bed and 2 dressers that, at the time of purchase, my parents threatened “I had to keep for the rest of my life”  if he was going to spend that kind of money.  I think I took their words a bit too literally.  The makeshift wire shelf over top of a single bar closet system is the bane of my existence.  The amount of wasted space in there is astonishing.  As part of the tornado of clutter I brought into Adam’s life, we purchased an Ikea system in an attempt to contain my wardrobe.  Surprisingly, it was not enough space.  I usually keep a pile of clothing on my side of the bed instead.

Turns out, bringing in these mismatched oversized furniture pieces began my hatred for the room.  Nothing is symmetrical.  Adam’s “nightstand” is a chair with clutter on it.  I don’t even have one, I just open a drawer to the tall dresser and place my phone on it.  We lay in bed to face a mounted tv, that, when we moved in together, my dad insisted “was a necessity if we were to have a successful relationship”.  We’ve used it maybe 4 times total.  We’re lacking storage.  Nothing matches.  We never even open the curtains to let daylight in.  Our bedroom looks like a sad, pet-friendly dorm room.  The worst part?  I moved in 6 years ago.  We have lived like this for over 6 years.

As the housing market in Vancouver has gone bananas, we’ve decided to stay in our 700 square feet and make improvements.  So, following our second apartment flood, which gifted us with beautiful new floors, we have slowly but surely been updating the rest of our space.  It has been such a fun project for me, but when it came to our bedroom, I was stuck.

We saved up some money and enlisted the help of an interior designer.  It has been the best decision we’ve made with our apartment so far.  The amazing team at Amanda Hamilton Interior Design has been such a joy to work with and has left me wondering why we didn’t just ask for help sooner.

Jamie, the first AHID Vancouver based designer, walked into our apartment and understood our aesthetic immediately.  She told us we had a very ‘Abbott Kinney LA vibe” which, after some googling, is a huge compliment and quite spot on.  We’re going for fresh and airy to maximize light in our ground floor apartment.  We like classic but updated furniture pieces and want to bring that bright and slightly beachy feel of the rest of our apartment into the bedroom.  You can check out some of our inspiration here.

Amanda and Jamie have already made some recommendations that we NEVER would have thought of.  Their simple, yet transformative ideas will change everything in terms of the functionality of the space.  They have also been very understanding of our limited budget and have sourced some really great affordable options.  I really cannot say enough great things.

It’s still crazy how long we justified not updating the bedroom “because we only sleep and get ready in there”.  There’s no looking back now, the makeover is in full swing and I cannot even wait to see what kind of magic Jamie and Amanda have come up with for our bedroom!  Stay tuned, the big reveal is happening soon.