Welcome back to the blog, Hi! I’m Jennylyn creator of Fusion Mineral Paint and in this post, I tackle the Nautical room in our family cottage. In this series, I take the outdated cottage rooms, and bring them to life with paint and colour! In this blog post, I’m going to take this room…

And transform it into this!

Your bedroom should be your place to go relax and unwind. A nautical theme does just that with its laid-back look combined with soothing colours and natural materials. How could we not use the nautical theme, being so close to the water it was almost inevitable. Nautical themed bedrooms are a great way to bring together the casual feel of the lakeside with calming colours and nautical materials. In this makeover we show how adding just a few elements can create such special effect in any room! Follow along and watch this complete makeover. From dreary pine room to a Nautical Oasis bedroom in our Cottage series makeover.

THE NAUTICAL ROOM

This small 10’ X 11’ bedroom was dark and dreary. There was only a tiny window which had coverings that made the room feel small and outdated. This room originally had two beds in it, loads of furniture and lots of decor on the walls.

The furniture wasn’t the style that I was going for so I sold it to a fellow furniture refinisher. They even came to the cottage to remove it and pick it up! Check out places like Kijiji or Facebook marketplace to sell, or find furniture that you can upcycle and paint. A more budget-friendly option would be to keep the existing furniture and paint it a new look.

CHOOSING COLOURS FOR THE COTTAGE

When choosing colours for a space, inspiration is key! A theme can be very helpful in guiding your colour selection. For this room in the cottage makeover series, I chose a Nautical theme. The ceiling already had this amazing millwork painted in white. I took this as inspiration and went with adding a dark feature wall. You can learn more about how I chose this theme here!

When you have a small space, painting all of it dark can make it feel small. By creating a feature wall and painting the rest light you’re able to achieve balance and light. Typically a Nautical theme has whites and blues, sometimes a little lighter softer turquoise blues and white washes. For the feature wall I wanted to go bold. I painted it our deepest blue, Midnight Blue, it’s your classic nautical dark blue.

For the rest of the walls, I decided to go with a whitewash to keep the space bright. Getting this look is quick and easy. You can find our whitewash tutorial here!  (I’m an experienced painter so for me I can easily achieve this look. However, a tip is you can tape off each board and paint each one at a time to achieve an even whitewashed look.)

COTTAGE SERIES MAKEOVER: THE NAUTICAL ROOM

For small spaces lightening the flooring will make it feel brighter and larger. The flooring was dark and didn’t match the rest of the flooring in the house. I replaced it with a beautiful White Oak instead.

It’s incredibly durable, perfect for lots of foot traffic for our guests in this room. It’s amazing how lightening up the floor really brightens up the entire space. Luckily, we had the budget for this in our cottage makeover series. But, if replacing your flooring isn’t within your budget, you can always paint it, or lay down carpet to brighten up the space.

RUSTIC COTTAGE STYLE

Stain is a beautiful way to accent and highlight wood and it makes it feel so cottage like. 

I didn’t want to overwhelm the room by painting all of the furniture. So, I decided to pull inspiration from the paddles and stain the bedroom furniture to tie it all together. 

For the furniture style in the room, I decided to go with a rustic style bed frame and end tables. The diagonal wood detailing on the headboard looks like a barn door. Since there is only one closet in the entire cottage, having as much extra storage is key. The bedframe and headboard were custom crafted with pull out drawers, great for storing extra blankets.  If you’re custom ordering furniture, you can ask them not to deliver it unfinished. This can save money and you can paint it exactly how you want without worrying about prep!

HEADBOARD MAKEOVER

 I used our Stain and Finishing Oil in Cappucino for the headboard and the tops of the side tables. It’s a one step stain and finish all in one. Very user friendly to apply and extremely durable. Perfect for those coffee cups sitting next to the bedside on those crisp summer mornings. Watch the full tutorial here!

Rustic Cottage Makeover Headboard tutorial

TWO TONED BEDSIDE MAKEOVER

The rustic stained wood side tables were the perfect addition to this room. They really pull in the stain look and bringing the woodsy outdoors inside. I custom designed these to have an open shelf to display books or blankets and kept just one drawer at the top for personal items. I added stained the top and painted the rest an off white in Toasted Coconut Milk Paint. The look of an off white against stained wood is the perfect contrast.

COTTAGE BEDSIDE TABLE MAKEOVER

NAUTICAL THEMED DECOR

When thinking of accents and decor that are on theme, think of what would typically be around. I had my eye on these painted paddles for the cottage and this was the perfect place to add them! 

This is an easy DIY that can be done with your kids in an afternoon. All you need is a bit of painter’s tape and some testers of your favourite Fusion Mineral Paint colours. You can get creative and custom-create any design. For these paddles, I chose pastel colours with a traditional stain.

Adding the decor accents is where you really get to have fun! Hunting for the perfect finds at local thrift shops or boutiques is gratifying in its own way. I found these unique buoys at a local store handcrafted in ceramic with rope to hang them. They do a great job tying in the dark blue from the wall with surrounding colours. I grabbed three of them to really fill the wall and space.

A little live edge wood table for added surface area and decor in the nautical room is perfect for holding cottage-vibe decor.

I love these little additions to a room, they complement the whole look and bring together the overall style. Anytime I get the chance I pull in natural materials. From the wicker baskets to the wood side tables and the ceramic on the walls. It gives an organic natural feel to this nautical theme chosen for the cottage makeover. 

The right bedding can really bring the look of the room together. Choosing the right designed linens can go a long way to making a statement. The blue ticking bedding is a classic look for a nautical theme. I love how it looks against the headboard and dark Midnight Blue wall. 

Accessorising with pillows is one of the easiest ways to add style to your decor. This is where you get to play with patterns, shapes and styles. Feel free to mix and match. Helpful hint – your pillows don’t need to match, the more eclectic, the more designer it will feel. One ticking stripe, one buffalo check and one solid really help to balance each other out. I even added a jute textured edge pillow to add character. This ties in the ropes from the room decor and the underlying brown stain in the furniture and decor accents. This feels like a cosy cottage retreat. 

Lighting

Lighting should never be overlooked, even the smallest changes can make a big impact. Not only can it add a luxe design and decor element, it is also incredibly functional for the space. I’m a big fan of wall sconces as an option for mood lighting. It keeps the top of your bedside table decluttered and adds a beautiful element to your walls.

These wall sconces (pictured above) are actually simple plugins. This means you don’t need to hire an electrician to install them. Just plug and go! We specifically chose this style in our cottage makeover because we didn’t want to tear into the beautiful shiplap walls to run electrical wires. This solution was both economical and easy. You can barely even notice the cord, it just tucks away nicely behind the bedside table. We hooked the lights up to a Philips Hue hub, meaning that we can control the lights from our phone and set timers. Great for when we’re not at the cottage, it can still look like someone is home.

I love the afternoon sun hitting the bed, it brightens up the whole room! But sometimes privacy is necessary. To add privacy without compromising on style, we replaced the drab curtains with custom fitted blinds. This minimises the clutter around the window but can block out the sunlight and provide privacy when needed.

THE NAUTICAL ROOM COTTAGE ESCAPE

This room is the quintessential nautical cottage escape. Rustic and cosy with comfortable furnishings. We gathered a little collection of antiques and artifacts that pay homage to the sea and the history of the area. Dark wood and traditional Nautical Decor colours of white and blue are complemented with softer pastel colours.

To create your own Nautical Oasis choose a colour palette that is soothing and calm. Colours that reflect the water and sky bring a serene mood to a room. You could go with lighter pastel greens or blues for the walls and accents. Think boating! Include rope, wood, paddles and oars, metal cleats and anchor designs and even incorporate sailcloth. Turn your cottage decorating into an adventure designed to make you smile.

The Nautical Room Reveal

We hope you loved our Nautical Room makeover! Be sure to stay tuned for next week’s cottage makeover series… Jennylyn will tackle the Kids’ room!