Week two of my master bedroom one room challenge (ORC) had me hustling to complete at least one visible change to share. That urgency is exactly why I joined this challenge: life keeps interfering with the projects I plan for this room. Birthdays, out-of-town trips, and guests all landed in the same weekend, but when the decorating challenge is on, I find a way to push forward.
Four thrift-store oil paintings had been propped on the bedroom floor for months, so I started there. Laying them out on the floor helped me experiment with composition: two large florals, two water landscapes, and room around them for supporting pieces. Then I walked through the house gathering items that could fill the gaps and create a cohesive gallery wall above the bed.
From around the house I found another landscape and a couple of small round florals, but it still felt incomplete. Not wanting to make a special thrift run—this was meant to be a way to use what I already owned—I turned to my craft stash. I hung three small gold keys on jute with a vintage-jewelry thumbtack, and painted a tiny wood carving, glued it to burlap, and mounted it in an old frame. Those little touches helped balance scale and add texture.
I’m pleased with how the arrangement turned out. I initially worried the pieces didn’t match because some are florals and others are landscapes, but they have a unifying quality: they’re all oil paintings and share similar tones. Photography can play tricks on spacing—the photo makes the layout look slightly asymmetric, though I measured and the spacing is even. Still, I’m debating whether to paint the small wood carving a dark gold so it coordinates better with the round frames and the keys, or if that would cause it to blend too much into the burlap background.
Funny thing: this project took less time than I expected. I spent about 20 minutes hunting for pieces, 10 minutes on craft work, and 10 minutes hanging everything—under an hour from start to finished wall. Clearly I should have tackled it sooner instead of leaving the paintings on the floor for months.
Another small but satisfying update was finding a basket to tuck under the antique sewing machine I use as a side table. The outlet and dangling cords had always bothered me. On a quick stop at a Portland thrift store over the weekend I found a perfectly sized basket for $3.99. I didn’t even measure; I figured if it didn’t fit I could use it elsewhere. Back home, it fit like a dream, but the white color looked out of place.
A quick coat of brown spray paint solved that. The darker color blends much better with the sewing cabinet’s wood and iron. I still noticed a sliver of outlet showing, so I added a vintage wool throw with coral stripes to hide it. The throw also introduced a pop of coral—exactly the accent color I want to incorporate in the room.
We’ll pretend the empty phone jack on the wall isn’t obvious—our landline was disconnected years ago, so the jack is purely decorative. Little details like that are easy to overlook until you start styling a space.
Master Bedroom To-Do List:
- Add a decorative plate wall above the bed in whites, greens, and corals to introduce shape and color.
- Repaint lamp bases to better coordinate with the room’s palette.
- Add texture or stenciling to lamp shades for visual interest.
- Make a decorative pillow in a bold coral graphic fabric for the bed.
Create an art wall with the original thrifted pieces we’ve collected over the years.- Make or buy a new duvet to freshen the bedding.
Find a basket to fit under the antique sewing machine/nightstand.- Add a coral pillow to the chair for color continuity.
- Declutter and style the dresser for a cleaner look.
- Decide whether to purchase bamboo blinds or try cleaning the existing roman shades.
- Address the unused corner lamp—either repaint it, replace it, or remove it.
- Rehang the mirror on the door to improve flow and function.
- Replace the dusty dried flowers with fresh botanicals or a new decorative element.
Week two recap: two tasks completed and eleven to go. It’s motivating to see small changes add up—now I’ve got momentum to carry into the next week.