master bedroom 2019.

Two years ago today we were neck-deep in our master bedroom addition.

We were preparing for a church New Member’s class and I was shedding tears because there was a giant hole in our living room wall, our front yard was a mud pit, and there was a good possibility that the roofers would not be finished in time for us to welcome 25 people into our home.

Well, guess what. We survived that season and that New Member’s class.

I’ve learned so much since then.

I’ve learned that a brand new toilet and crisp white subway tile still get dirty in the regular disgusting ways that any bathroom gets dirty, and must be scrubbed. I’ve learned that that even walls painted in my favorite Intellectual Gray will attract scuff marks, and that the grout needs to be replaced periodically along the back of our leathered Italian marble sink counter.

I’ve learned that pretty new bedroom furniture and cascading house plants cannot fix my heart’s inclination toward discontentment.

And at the same time, I’ve discovered that having 450 square feet of extra space for a family of six is truly life-changing.

Investing in a master bedroom haven was worthwhile.

I guess part of growing up is learning to hold these truths in tandem: That stuff doesn’t make us happy. But stuff is a gift from God, and it’s okay to enjoy it, to be deeply thankful for it.

Our master bedroom/closet/bathroom has been an endless source of blessing for our family.

The home addition process was stressful and expensive, but it was worth it. Those four months of chaos are a distant memory.  The weekend of the New Members class (which found David and I scurrying around the perimeter of our house thirty minutes before people arrived, desperately trying to locate rusty nails), is now just a funny story.

But each morning I get to wake up and throw open the blinds and curl on my bed with a cup of coffee and enjoy the peace of a quiet, bright space.

So I show you these photos, not because your space needs to look like ours, but because with whatever you’ve been given, or whatever your decorating style is, creating a peaceful, tidy, inspiring room where you can sleep and read and daydream can bring joy and rest.

I waited thirteen years to have such a space. I saved up money and made little changes over time.

And every single week I try to honor the sacrifice of those changes by fighting the battle against clutter and dust bunnies. Not to keep it perfect, but to keep it welcoming. I recognize that part of being a good steward is not just buying pretty things or making a house bigger, but choosing to be diligent to care for those things and this space we’ve been given.

If you’re married, creating a bedroom haven: even if it’s tiny and dark and quirky for now, can honor your marriage relationship. This is your particular, special place and your husband’s. Why not work to keep it inviting and restful, as a way to serve you both?

Other parts of the house can get messy: your bedroom should be a haven from all that.

David and I enjoy at-home dates, where we retreat to our room after dinner and catch up on the week with mugs of hot peppermint tea or a glass of wine, candles, and music. And we both see the room as a retreat, where we encourage one other to “disappear” alone with a book or Netflix show if stress levels are high and the house is noisy.

Our room is a way we actively serve one another.

The two big kids and I cuddle on the bed many weeknights after the littles go down, to read from our current chapter book.

The addition still adds some great hide-and-seek spaces for the kids.

And all six of us have been known to be in the master bathroom at the same time, for various reasons, and Noah loves few things more than squeezing behind the ottoman in our walk-in closet and transforming it into his personal hide-out.

This gift has never gotten old.