Tales of a Tiny Room Refresh
After 4 months of displacement after an unexpected flood, I decided to do a bedroom refresh in October 2021. Fun, you say. Sure. But probably not the best timing with the global supply chain issues and the pandemic. Challenge accepted! The interior design inspo – chic hotel rooms. Something along the lines of the coolness at the ACE in NYC, the grandeur of the Four Seasons in Mexico City or the structural design of the Andaz Tokyo Toranomon Hills in Tokyo. Through all this pandemic time, I have missed the lushness of the comfy beds, the airiness of space and the detailed décor. Could I find furniture and décor that would service this vision without waiting half a year to finally see it put together? I was about to find out.
Bed Frame and Mattress: I started with the largest piece of furniture that would inhabit the tiny room (240 sq ft.). Since the new floor was a deep rich red, I decided that a new wood frame would be too much. I looked for a simple upholstered frame that was not tufted or had rivets. Harder than you can imagine. I managed to find what I was envisioned on Wayfair (Mullican Low Profile Platform Bed by Wade Logan). Here is something similar.
It was within my target price-point and was the height that I was comfortable with. Much to my surprise, my frame arrived early and it sat in my room in pieces until I figured out my mattress situation. Initially, I thought I wanted a hybrid mattress foam plus springs. It wasn’t until I realized that hybrid mattresses are actually less springs than foam, and I, as a side sleeper, needed the support of a traditional mattress. I’m glad I figured this out before going online and purchasing an ill fitting mattress from one of the several boxed mattress companies. I landed on a Serta Perfect Sleeper Elite Mariyah Mattress. Unfortunately, a major flood in my area resulted in even more supply issues, and a miscommunication resulted in my mattress being delivered a week later than the initial date. But nevertheless, the bed situation was checked off my redecorating checklist
.Linen: No matter what furniture/design store I went to, from IKEA to Restoration Hardware, the demand overran supply. And while the allure of shopping online brought great deals, the wait was painfully slow. I managed to reuse a mattress cover, but opted for new sheets. Like the boxed mattresses, I soon realized there were several online companies selling bed linens. After deciphering the shade of gray I wanted, I found pact, Earth’s favorite clothing company. Their Room Service Sateen Sheet Set is Organic Cotton, uses no toxic chemicals and 81% less water, and is made in a Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and Fair-trade Company in India.
Since my duvet cover was white, I wanted to go with a dark gray. I soon realized that I had a habit of putting my bag or other belongings on the edge of the bed and understood why hotel rooms had those decorative blankets across the bottom. I was quickly on the hunt for a blanket for my bed to make it more polished and keep the white duvet clean. Australia’s Seljak Brand offers beautiful closed loop, recycled wool blankets made from deadstock yarn and off cuts from factory floors collected worldwide. I like The Seljak Original with Fringe for its grayish tone, but there are designs available as well.For every blanket sold, the company donates $5 to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.
Lighting: The room does not have overhead lighting and I didn’t want to make the effort of wall sconces. I decided that lamps were the way to go. I kept seeing the same style of Mid-Century Modern Globe lamps available, which were so-so. I really wanted something to bring a lot of light to the room. Something with several globes, not just the 2-3 globes I kept on seeing. Although there is a massive window, it’s also north facing. Through a series of events, I found this Canadian company called GFURN, Offering shipping within a week and a unique pricing structure. They allow customers to “Make An Offer” on any of their products - giving you no reason to shop anywhere else. Happy with the Soili Marble Floor Lamp I purchased, I went ahead and ordered the Tuva Marble Mini Table Lamp as well. (Writers edit: They are both no longer available).
Bedside Table: I knew I wanted one side table to offset a mirror and floor lamp on the other side. While the small room could handle two tables I thought I did not want the risk of overcrowding and feeling claustrophobic. It became a bit of an ongoing saga. My first one arrived a completely different color from the online photo, the replacement arrived broken. Weeks went by and I decided to phone the local stores and see if they had anything in stock – which I could see in person and that I could take home that day. My first West Elm Mitzi Nightstand had some white speckles on it (almost like the foam it was wrapped in was transferred). They exchanged it gladly and sent me on my way. What sold me was there was a small drawer, unlike the previous ones I had purchased and the display photo had a similar lamp to the one purchased from GFURN.
Décor: Décor is the last piece of the puzzle. It takes your room from just a space to a homey, lived in place you feel welcome in. I’m not a huge fan of trinkets but I have bought a few things on my travels that are in my favorite colors of silver and gold. One is a buddha head in silver from Indonesia and the other is a little tiny Aladdin lamp from Dubai. Candles are an easy décor and the French brand Harmonist makes them in two inviting scents. Mine is the Velvet Fire Candle with notes of Clary sage, Saffron and Tonka Bean. The fragrance is charismatic, radiant and sensual, wrapped up in a beautiful white glass container. Going from carpet to all wood flooring is quite a difference.
Besides collecting dust, it can be quite cold in the winter months. I’m toying with adding a small area rug on one side of the bed. Detroit’s sustainable home retailer, Floyd offers The Rug in five colorways, made of responsibly sourced New Zealand wool and Indian cotton. I like the Anthracite to tie in the black, gray, white of the room. I used the Rug Size Guide to determine the 3x5 would be the best size for the bedroom. The best part – shipping is quick (2-9 days!).
Possible additions: It’s now February and I am still missing one final piece for the room. I would like to add an arched floor length mirror at least at 70-80 inches to help hide the cords of the floor lamp and reflect some more light in the room. I don’t want to mount it, so it will just lean against the wall. I’m hesitant to purchase one online because I’m concerned about breakage, yet anything in store still has at least a month waitlist. (Writers Note: I found one at IKEA - wrong shape, right height). I came across the Loftie last week which might be a great addition to the bedside table. It’s tagline, “Break up with your smartphone alarm” resonated with me. The alarm clock has a dimmable display and a nightlight. It’s two-phase alarm, wakes you up gradually. The first phase, gently lulls you out of sleep with soft sounds, automatically fading after 30 seconds. The second phase fully wakes you up 9 minutes later with a continuous, melodic sound.
Finally, I’m thinking of adding a few plants for some greenery in gold raised pots around the floor lamp. I’ll have to see how much room the mirror and the floor lamp will finally take up. After 5 months, the project of the tiny room refresh is finally wrapped.
