{the fourth wall : a bungalow master closet}

do you realize that big things have been happening at the bungalow and i have been keeping them all to myself? not sure if you know, but b & i have been spending all of our nights in what will soon be the guest bedroom while we finish the master.

let's have a recap, shall we?

you remember the bungalow master bedroom before: dark & cavernous + plywood windows + popcorn paint. then we got ahold of those low flying ceilings added some serious height + windows + beadboard + glossy oxford white paint & can lights & a ceiling fan, all looking to our goal to create a light and airy sleeping space.

but have you noticed that there is one wall that has never been featured in any a photo...yes, yes, the wall facing the windows. though you can see the smallest sliver of it in this photo, oh and in this one as well. anyway, said wall is all part of what used to be the closet debacle/dilemma but is soon to be a creative and functional solution. before i explain, an inspiration photo:

so below is the fourth wall revealed in a before photo. it at some point used to [attempt to] function as a long, narrow closet.

and apparently with sliding mirrored doors. lovely. so the debacle/dilemma comes from the fact that yes, this is/was the only clothes closet in the master. and this wall --aside from being the one that faces the marsh view/reason we purchased this house-- is really the only wall long enough to support a bed and night stands. case in point: window wall, entrance wall (by the way, if you're wondering about that closet & why we don't use it for clothes, it's because it is tiny, narrow, and serves as more of an attic storage space), and wall with bathroom door. so really, after brainstorming & sketching, scroll down to see what we came up with...

enter built-in headboard/wall. (also note - the door pictured below houses the water heater.) the plan is to have our bed in front of the closet. and to have curtains (thinking muslin or a neutral cotton duck fabric to hang from the molding above the closet to the floor and to span from wall to wall (including covering up the door where the water heater is currently).

a few more inspiration photos to see what i mean...

also, as in the first below photo, we have electricity running in our wall headboard, so you can bet we'll soon have our very own built in lights.

am also thinking about wallpapering wall headboard. b has expressed quite the aversion to me taking such a step, but i can promise him it won't be too grandmotherly or too feminine. but this floral below is pretty fun...

finally, here's another wall example...and though this one is obviously on a larger scale than our room, it still demonstrates how a shorter wall can be used to create cozy nooks even in larger rooms.

annnd a few more views of our wall headboard.

we installed shelves in the closet to take advantage of every inch of space despite the sloping ceiling. oh and i just noticed that you can get a decent glance into the other closet i mentioned above. (we took the door off because it is going to interfere with the carpet installation--yes we are getting carpet in here. tomorrow, actually. and before you judge me for putting carpet over hardwood floors, take a second look at the enormous crater of a 2x4 that snakes right through the middle. supposedly there used to be a few walls breaking up this room. so until we decide to fix the floors ourselves, carpet it is!)

here's a detail behind the wall headboard & of the shelf installation. you can see now there is a partition in the middle of the wall, which actually works out geniously in creating a his & hers closet space. aside from organization, the partition also serves to support the wall headboard so it doesn't just topple over and allows electricity to run through the middle of it so you'll never see the wires (there are outlets on the inside of the wall facing the shelf on both sides)

don't my vintage hat boxes fit nicely on the shelf. still have to paint in the bedroom obviously. thinking to keep on with our light grey. plan is to also run the grey into the closet, including those black metal brackets, so you won't even notice them ultimately. and finally we'll be hanging beautiful copper piping (thanks ev) under the shelves to serve as the bar for our hanging clothes. *ta da*

alright, as always, there's more to come. would love to hear your thoughts and also any ideas for maximizing our space.

{images not taken by yours truly are via: desire to inspire, design fragment, shannon fricke, and domino}