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Catherine is a CPA-turned-creative entrepreneur. She is the founder of Beginning in the Middle. an interior designer, photographer, writer, and business schemer.  She loves being cozy at home, miniature everything, and has a not-so-secret dream of living on an island one day.
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Before & After: Pearl Airbnb Primary Suite

Pearl St.

This post is sponsored by Lowe’s.

The master suite at our new #pearlgoesmodern Airbnb is finished and is looking goooooooood!  This space is the most contemporary we’ve gone on any project, ever, and it has been FUN.  Also challenging and tiring (it is a reno, after all), but mostly fun.  We’re excited to show you what we did!

BEFORE

If you missed the before tour of this whole home, you can catch up here.  Here’s a wide angle shot of the space looking from the bedroom into the bathroom.

And here’s the opposite view, from the entrance looking into the bedroom.

Here’s a few more shots of what the space looked like before we gutted it.  The layout was super awkward, and the whole place just felt old.  Not the good kind of old… the grimy kind of old.

AFTER

Our goal for this suite was to make it feel luxe, contemporary and comfortable.  Here’s what it looks like now.  Eeeeeek!

The star of the show in here is the oak slatted headboard, which doubles as a dividing wall between the bedroom and hallway.  Because there wasn’t room for nightstands on both sides of the bed, we designed a wall niche for our guests to store phones, books, etc. while they stay (who says they belong in the shower?).  The gray porcelain tile we installed in the back of the niche is the same tile we used in both bathrooms.

oak slats // LED rope light // black plug-in sconce // gray tile

The wall is a little longer on the left side of the bed than the right, so we installed a modern black plug-in sconce to fill the space and add balance.  The arms rotate from side to side, and the light adjusts up and down.  Because it’s plug-in, no additional wiring was needed — it just mounts to the wall and plugs into a regular outlet.  On the face plate, there’s a switch for each light, so you have the option of turning both on or just one at a time.

faux olive tree // LED rope light // black plug-in sconce // gray tile

Every room needs a little green.  We sourced this 82″ faux olive tree from Lowe’s (the same one we have in the other bedroom in the house).  It’s realistic and the color is a gorgeous earthy green.

We like to keep extra blankets, throws and pillows in each of our Airbnb rentals for our guests, as well as luggage racks (we have had one too many scuffed duvet cover).  We have a lot of natural wood tones and black throughout the home, and love that this rack fits right in.

striped throw // gray basket // luggage rack // sheepskin // engineered hardwood flooring // curtains

We went with an off while jute rug in this bedroom (ours is an 8×10) and placed a sheepskin runner over it for some extra fluff.  This one is much softer than other jute rugs we’ve used in the past, and jute is low maintenance so we won’t have to worry about it getting stained.

jute rug // sheepskin runner

Bryan incorporated hardwired LED rope lights throughout the house for another layer of lighting.  They’re dimmable and feel like art!

We recessed our curtains into the ceiling to conceal hardware and create a clean look.  Because the bed faces the windows, blackout curtains were a must.  We’re loving the contrast that these charcoal velvet panels add to the room.

We hung white cellular shades on the windows in the bedroom and throughout the rest of the house, too.  They’re cordless and let in a soft, filtered light.

It’s hard to believe that this…

Now looks like THIS.

We’re so excited to welcome guests here in a few weeks!

OUR FINDS

Creating spaces that look expensive and well designed and custom doesn’t mean that they have to cost a lot.  We loved working with the Lowe’s team to bring this space to life.  They had almost everything we needed from building materials to decor, and it was all reasonably priced!  Here’s a breakdown of our favorite finds for our master suite.

black plug-in sconce // oak slats // throw blanket // luggage rack // juge rug // sheepskin runner // engineered hardwood flooring // faux olive tree // gray basket // charcoal blackout curtains // gray tile

A peek at the bathroom

Behind the bedroom wall is a hallway, followed by the master bathroom.  It’s still in progress, but we’ll share a little peek…

We’ll be back soon with more.  Stay tuned!

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  1. Katy says:

    DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN Y’ALL! This looks like a trendy NYC hotel. I want to stay here! Heart eyes for days, I love this so much. Using this as inspiration for our own master bedroom! It’s absolutely stunning, congrats.

  2. Miranda says:

    I am love love LOVING these updates! I can’t wait for your listing to go live so I can instantly save it to my faves to plan a vacation with. You have done such an amazing job with the reno. It’s SO luxe and SO unique!

    Something that caught my eye but you didn’t link to in both this post or the guest post, was the bedding. I’m assuming it’s possibly because it is something you either hand on hand, or purchased somewhere other than Lowes? It makes sense considering this is an affiliated post with them. But would you mind sharing? The muted colors are fantastic and they look so high-end while still casual, something I’ve been trying to find for my own master bedroom.

  3. Kathleen says:

    Where is the black side table from? Love it!

  4. Kate Rice says:

    Love your rentals! Getting ready to start my own in PA’s Poconos. Do you have mattress recommendations? Thank you!

  5. Hello! So beautiful! Where did you get the floating vanity in the bathroom. I’ve been looking for weeks for one. Thank you!

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About BEGINNING IN THE MIDDLE

Catherine & Bryan Williamson moved from NYC to Columbus, OH in 2013.  Beginning in the Middle is a journal of the couple's design and renovation projects, real estate investment and Airbnb hosting journey, travel, and other life happenings.

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I grew up in New Jersey and always had a dream of living in New York.  There was something about the energy of the city that drew me inOur journey started unexpectedly in 2012, when we decided to make a big move from New York to Columbus. The glamour of climbing the corporate ladder was wearing off, and we knew that renting an expensive small apartment and dealing with crowded subways everyday was not going to work forever. We wanted to start creating something for ourselves, and although we didn’t know exactly what that something was, we knew NYC wasn’t the place for it.

We decided on Columbus because Bryan grew up here, and we were intrigued by all of the development going on in the downtown area at the time. We drove through many of the neighborhoods and admired the boarded up old houses, most of which were built in the early 1900s, and started dreaming about the things we could do here.

I'm Catherine, and I'm the founder of Beginning in the Middle.

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