When I’m decorating a room, I’m usually focused on what I can add…for more style, more ambiance, more comfort, more color. But when it came to decorating the master bedroom in our North Carolina home, I found myself constantly taking things away: less accessories, less pillows, less fabrics, less stuff! I was very much craving a room that looked lovely and pulled together, but was exceptionally “fuss free” and a true retreat for us during a period of life that felt busy and full. While I still relied on the same blue and grey bedroom palette that I’ve now used across our last few homes, I scaled it all back to ultimately create the fresh, calm, serene space we were wanting. Let me give you the full tour!

Master bedroom with light grey walls, grey dressers, and navy blue bed with crisp white bedding

Our Master Bedroom | Before & After

This master bedroom is one of the largest we’ve ever had. Measuring 19×12′ feet, it featured shiny pine hardwood floors, three small windows (covered in ugly vertical blinds), a single dated light fixture, and a creamy, yellow-y beige paint on the walls, trim, doors, and ceiling.

Here are a few snapshots from the day we moved in (and you can see the full home “before tour” here: Our Historical 2-Story on Camp Lejeune | An Empty Home Tour)

Master Bedroom in "Watson" 2 Story House on Camp Lejeune
Master Bedroom in "Watson" 2 Story House on Camp Lejeune
Master Bedroom in "Watson" 2 Story House on Camp Lejeune

We actually didn’t do much in this room, but it turned out one of my very favorites all the same. Here are some final “after” shots taken right before we moved out.

Master bedroom with light grey walls, grey dressers, and navy blue bed with crisp white bedding
Grey long dresser against a grey wall in a bedroom
Grey bedroom wall with dark brown hampers and green fern artwork on the walls
Grey bedroom wall with dark desk, green fern artwork, and a master bathroom door open in the corner

I really feel like the story of this room is “less is more.” Let me dive into all the details!

Video Tour

Curious to see this room in “real life”? Here is a short video tour of this blue and grey master bedroom! (Video not loading for you? You can watch it HERE.)

The Area Rug

Before we even moved into this house, I bought the rug for this bedroom (I am crazy weird about putting my feet onto cold, hard floors first thing in the morning). But finding this rug was quite the feat! With our grey dressers, navy bed, and beige walls (at the time), I needed something that brought everything together but in a really understated way. I also needed a rug that was BIG and didn’t cost a fortune.

I think I spent a solid week research rugs, but my efforts were well worth it. This 10×14′ ivory and grey wool rug is, to date, one of my best purchases…ever.

Not only is it thick and comfortable, but the subtle pattern with light shades of white, ivory, grey, and blue accents really set the tone for this entire room transformation. It was both cozy and brightening, adding a lovely dose of texture to the very bland space.

The Walls

Grey Wall Color

While the rug significantly lightened up the floor; without a doubt, the biggest change in this room was the walls. In fact, I can’t believe I almost didn’t paint them! Truth be told, I wasn’t planning on it (it’s a HUGE room); but my girlfriend offered to help, and I had two gallons of On the Rocks by Sherwin Williams bought before I knew it.

I never gush about a paint color, but I have to on this one. I didn’t exactly pick it; it’s one of the “approved” colors by our housing management company (meaning we wouldn’t have to paint it back); but wow, it’s such a lovely color.

It goes on looking light blue but dries to a crisp, cool grey that almost nearly matched our grey dresser and nightstand. Which is so random and quite lucky, considering I hand-mixed that paint color (from different shades of paint I had on hand) for these dressers 10+ years ago.

I very much picked this color because it was approved, but the light grey dressers against the light grey bedroom walls turned out to be stunningly sophisticated and really contributed to the overall “serene” feel of this room.

If you give a mouse a cookie! Sure enough, when we painted the walls grey, the beige trim and doors looked terrible. I really had no choice but to paint all the trim and doors bright white. So while the paint part of this room makeover ended up being more than I originally intended, the crisp grey walls and cool white trim together were totally worth it in the end!

Dark wooden hampers with grey lids against a grey bedroom wall

No where was the difference between our original (yellow-y beige) wall color and bright white trim/doors more evident than this shot into our master bathroom. I ran out of time (and energy) and just couldn’t bring myself to paint our bathroom too. But the yellow-y bathroom next to our gray bedroom bothered me until the day we moved out!

Board & Batten Wall Treatment

When we first moved in, I was fairly certain I was going to wallpaper behind the bed. After all, that is my usual go-to method for transforming our bedrooms relatively quickly. But despite ordering various papers, none of them felt right. They were all too busy, too colorful…too much!

I had long since tucked the idea of a “renter friendly board and batten” project in the back of my mind; and once the walls were painted grey, it felt like the perfect opportunity to try it.

And just like the grey dressers against the grey walls, this tone-on-tone wall treatment turned out to provide a ton of visual interest without feeling busy, cluttered, or…too much!

This project was surprisingly simple (and came back down just as easy!) and definately lent an aire of sophistication, depth, and even permanence to this rental bedroom.

Barely There Decor

Windows

Just like I originally planned on wallpaper, I also originally planned on hanging curtains. But once the feature wall looked so stunning and all my window trim was bright white, I couldn’t bring myself to cover it all up with fabric. So I ditched the long curtains and installed light-blocking roman shades on all the windows instead.

Removing the “clutter” of the vertical blinds and long curtains further enhanced the stripped-back nature of the decor, while the chunky trim and crisp shades helped the window choices look intentional instead of overlooked.

Bedding

We were looooong overdue for fresh bed linens; and I spent much more time than was necessary considering various options. Reluctant to add anything fussy at this point, I ultimately landed back on my “tried and true” combination I use in almost every bedroom makeover I do:

crisp white bedding + patterned sheets + simple throw pillows.

While navy blue pillows against the midnight blue headboard wouldn’t typically be my first choice (usually, I love a good contrast), this monochromatic choice, yet again, provided some layers of texture without the busy-ness a whole heap of pillows usually brings.

Wood Tones

Last but not least, I’d like to highlight one last element that I think helps this room come together so nicely: the wood tones.

Grey bedroom wall with dark desk, green fern artwork, and a master bathroom door open in the corner

With the light walls, light rug, light dressers, white bedding, silver hardware and lamps, this room could have quite easily shifted into too cool, too modern. But the antique wood table as my nightstand, Greg’s secretary desk, the large framed artwork, and even our dark wicker hampers bring some much-needed warmth to the starker hues used across the room.

While I wouldn’t instinctively put grey and wood tones together (cool + warm), I think these elements are exactly what helped this room ultimately feel cohesive and inviting!

Antique wooden table as a bedside table with a grey lamp on top

Tour More of Our NC Rental

Want to explore the other room makeovers from our NC Rental home? Tour the entire home in the following posts:

In the end, this grey and blue master bedroom was a really interesting lesson for me. Sure, I added a rug and a wall treatment; but otherwise, there is precious little “excess” decor in this room. The style, instead, comes from monochromatic layering, and clean, simple choices.

While I love to add things to our rental spaces, this room demonstrates that less really can be more (and still be super stylish!)

Megan in a blue shirt sitting on a white bedspread with blue pillows
See You Soon!
Megan