Music Room Makeover

This Music Room Makeover is hitting all the right notes.  It’s bold.  It’s brassy.  And it’s just a tiny bit mid-century modern inspired.  Now that I’m loving it, I keep asking myself, “Why did it take so long to re-do it?”  Then I remember.  The answer can be summed up simply in the “Before” picture:

You see those red faux leather walls, and the faux panels with countless multi-colored lines and embellished details?  Well, I painted all that by hand twelve years ago.  It took me days of measuring, leveling, and taping, as well as brushing and wiping away messy glaze.  At the time, Tuscan colors were all the rage, and red, in particular, reigned.  I should also say that we were using this room as a home office, so I painted it rather formal to match the regal looking wood desk we used to have with French provincial legs.  I was really proud of my paint work back then.  But styles change, and the office eventually became a music room.  I knew I needed to paint over all that hard work.  I just was in no hurry to do it.

But sometimes all it takes is something to inspire you.  For me, it came when I saw this paint sample.

It was love at first sight.  I knew that deep blue color would look gorgeous with brass accents, and I could just picture a mid-century modern Music Room Makeover.  I wasn’t going to change out any of the instruments or the leather chair, of course, but I knew I could still achieve the look I was going for with some inexpensive changes.

In keeping with the mid-century modern look, I painted the entire room the same color, including the faux wainscoting on the bottom portion of the walls.  Unfortunately, the photos don’t do the color justice.

I continued with that monochromatic scheme when I changed out the curtains.  I found some inexpensive velvet drapes at Ikea. (In case you didn’t know, velvet is very much in again.)  I also swapped out the old, very ornate silver curtain rods, for some simpler polished wood ones.

I sewed a couple of throw pillows from some dinner napkins I bought at Goodwill.  They were 99¢ each, and would tie in perfectly with the brass accents.

For a more personal touch, I wanted to create a gallery wall using pictures of all the musicians in my family.  So, I went to the thrift store and bought lots of picture frames in varying sizes, then spray painted them all black to match.  The two wood frames were too pretty to paint, so I kept them as-is, and instead hand painted some artwork for them on card stock.  This gallery wall is now my favorite thing in the room.  (Be sure to check out the video for tips on how to hang frames without making unnecessary holes in the wall.)

For the other wall, I had my husband build some custom frames for some artwork we recently bought in New Orleans.  It was going to cost about $200 apiece to have them custom matted and framed.  Instead, we spent about $20 in materials to frame them both.

You can check out my tutorial for how to build a basic frame here: http://www.muralsbymarcy.com/watch-now/

Finally, I found three inexpensive frames at Walmart, that are sized perfectly for displaying vinyl.   I thought they’d go great just above the piano.  My husband, my daughter, and I each got to choose an album that represented our musical taste, or a musician that inspires us.  My husband chose Chicago, I chose the Eagles, and my daughter chose Carole King.

In the end, it was the personal touches that really made this Music Room Makeover a success in my book.  I’m singing a happy tune, for sure.

Thanks for checking out my blog.  I hope my Music Room Makeover inspired you to take on a project of your own.