Room of the Day: Going Moody in the Master Bedroom

When interior designer Lindsay Pennington moved into husband Tim Mosher’s cottage bachelor pad, in the Laurel Canyon area of Los Angeles, “the whole house was a man cave,” she says. Together the couple renovated all of the public spaces, the kitchens, the bathrooms and the kids’ rooms, combining their belongings, buying new things and compromising.

By the time they were done with all of that, Mosher was suffering from renovation fatigue. So Pennington waited until the professional musician and composer left for a Super Bowl gig in New Orleans to redecorate their bedroom with pieces they already had. She changed up the layout, had the walls and ceilings painted and repurposed their furniture before Mosher came home, completing the makeover in just four days.

The bureau on the left was passed down to Mosher through his family; the one on the right was passed down through Pennington’s. Serendipitously, they both have marble tops and are approximately the same height. Though she likes symmetry, Pennington likes to throw it off a bit to keep it from feeling too formulaic.

To change the layout, she placed the bed in front of a fireplace they never used. This is the view from the bedroom door; previously, the bed was across the room and the unused fireplace just kind of served as a hole. “Don’t be afraid to cover up a fireplace you’re not using,” the designer says.

Table lamps: Ralph Lauren, Harbinger


Now this chinoiserie cabinet on a stand is across the room from the bed; it conceals the TV and media equipment. Pennington’s grandmother passed down the artwork to her. A pair of these antique French provincial chairs are upholstered in a light fabric similar to the bed’s upholstery.

Before Pennington started the makeover, the walls were a dingy white. “The paint color was the inspiration for the room,” she says. The dark color works well with the room’s many angles, including the vaulted ceiling and dormers.

As you can see from the light coming in from the Juliet balcony doors, the paint color she chose is very complex. “It’s called Crisp Romaine, and I love the name and the color,” she says. “It’s moody and ambiguously blue, green and gray, and it changes depending upon the lighting and what you place next to it.” The finish is a basic eggshell, which has a subtle sheen to it.

Wall paint: Crisp Romaine, Benjamin Moore


The bed is fully upholstered in a neutral linen with a polished nickel nailhead trim. “This bed makes it easy to change things up without having to completely start over,” Pennington says. For now the bedding consists of a quilted silk coverlet, cotton shams and a velvet bolster.


“It’s great to mix metals; I do it every chance I can,” Pennington says. “These little details are like the jewelry of the room, and they reflect the light.”

Her mix includes polished nickel nailhead trim on the bed, antiqued brass on the frame, matte brass on the table lamp and steel on the vintage reading sconces. “The mix gives you more room for spontaneity when adding new things, family hand-me-downs and vintage finds,” she says.


Small vintage finds are the final touches. She picked up the tall vase in Palm Springs. Its brass lip and base add to the room’s spontaneous mix of metals.

When Mosher arrived home, he was thrilled with the surprise reveal and the way she’d blended things they had each brought into the marriage and the things they had bought together. He was especially surprised and pleased by the new furniture arrangement. Also, they did leave a man cave for Mosher in the home — they turned their garage into a music studio that we’ll share with you as a future Room of the Day.

More: 14 Steps to a Perfectly Polished Bedroom

URL: Room of the Day: Going Moody in the Master Bedroom http://www.decor-ideas.org/cases-view-id-23647.html