A Fresh New Look

Like I had mentioned before, my husband and I are working on staining our bedroom to a darker finish. Living in an apartment, we live by the apartment buildings rules, which equals no painting of the walls. So, until we get a house, I'm having a great time creating a better decorative look that will transfer beautifully to our first home!

This is the look of our current master bedroom. We are really going for the asian, peaceful feel. The furniture set is an older one with a bamboo design, our comforter set has the minimal floral aspect, we have a Pier 1 paper light, and of course, we have to have a bamboo plant to top it off! (PS - I know the curtains don't quite match, I'll be working on that later!) I'd love to replace our current framed photo over our bed with something like this... ...or this...

But first, we have to stain the bedroom set! If you are interested in this process, here are a few steps that will help you get started:

Head to your local Lowe's or Home Depot and purchase a liquid deglosser. We purchased this one because it's fairly environmentally friendly. But this will get rid of the gloss and prepare the wood for the stain.

I really wanted a darker, more rich color applied to the furniture, and I felt that this dark oak stain would do the trick. Now, when I first applied it, and my husband will attest to this, I was skeptical. It felt lighter than I had hoped, and that it didn't really make a change at all. WAIT until it dries, you will see the difference! Patience is a virtue I'm working on gaining ;) But honestly, two coats really did the trick. I've achieved that great color!

Poor Brody didn't like us working on the outdoor patio without him, though...

So here's the before picture...

...and here's the after!

I think it turned out really well and we're off to finish the rest of the set! After the staining is finished, we will be painting the antique dresser pulls a more silver color to freshen it up a bit. Remember, I enjoy the antique look a lot, but with the pattern on the pulls, I think I will maintain that look with a fresh new silver coat.

Happy staining, blogger friends, and I'll keep you posted on how this project is going!