Weekend Project: Bedroom Seating Alcove

This weekend I’ve been hard at work making some updates to the bedroom, to make it look more like a room where grown-ups live and less like a racquetball court.  Top of my agenda was filling up the alcove by the window and making it into a cozy nook for hubby and I to sit, read, and relax.  Just by way of reminder, here’s the big old empty space I started with:

Eeks.  Having this alcove with nothing in it was no fun at all.  But I’m a Libra, so it took me a looooooooong time to decide on furniture.  I knew I wanted something that would go with my planned purple walls (which are on the agenda for late this fall, or possibly January).  Here’s what I decided on:

In case you’re curious, we’ve got:

• Couch: Henry Sofa from West Elm (color: Dove Grey performance velvet)
• Throw pillows: Pottery Barn
• Coffee table: Ethan Allen (Tango collection; color: Graphite)
• Nesting end tables: Ethan Allen (Tango collection; Color: Graphite)
• Lamp: Ikea
• Bookshelf: Ballard Designs (Librarie Bookshelf, black)

Decorative elements (always subject to change at a whim):

• Teapot and teacups: Pottery Barn (Emma classic dinnerware, color: white)
• Vases (on coffee table): Pearl Grant Richman’s (boutique in my hometown – these were a wedding gift)
• Dried flowers: lavender bouquets from L’Occitaine en Provence
• Books (on coffee table): LOUVRE and MARIAGE FRERES FRENCH TEA, both available on Amazon and at bookstores
• Vase (on bookshelf, pictured in earlier shot): vintage wine bottle I swiped from my grandmother’s attic
• Lantern (on bookshelf, pictured in earlier shot): Ikea
• Books (on bookshelf, pictured in earlier shot): Modern Library Classics series, available on Amazon and at bookstores
• Art (above couch): wedding photos by Denis Nally in Pottery Barn frames
• Art (above bookshelf): oil paintings by Lane Palmisano, a local northern Virginia artist, in custom frames

Not too bad, I’d say!  I’m very happy with the way that the alcove is turning out.  It’s not done yet.  Still left to do: paint the walls (some shade of purple – I’m still deciding); hang curtains (filmy white ones, from oil-rubbed bronze curtain rods); find something to go in the corner between the bookshelf and the window (maybe an antique birdcage or large lantern?); hang frame gallery over couch (the wedding photos are a stand-in – they’re destined to go elsewhere in the house, probably the living room – I’ve got a few Etsy purchases waiting to go up along with some of my own travel photos and possibly some typographic art).  And of course I’ll continue revising the bookshelf and table styling whenever I get the urge.  I’ll keep you posted as it comes together!