Slow Living
The master bedroom had been low on the priority list for years — every other room demanded more. Children rooms needed to be functional and safe. The master bedroom just needed to be a place to sleep. That was the compromise we lived with.
When our youngest left, I finally allowed myself to look at the room properly. I started with the lighting — a pair of bedroom wall sconces at reading height replaced the floor lamps that had flanked the bed, and I added a dimmer to the ceiling fixture.
Then the ceiling fixture itself. After a month with the dimmer I replaced the builder flush-mount with a small chandelier — understated, with simple arms and clean shades. On the dimmer at 15 percent in the evening, it creates a quality of light I have never been able to describe to anyone who has not seen it. Warm and still and slightly ceremonial.
New linen bedding. A jute rug. A single piece of art above the bed — a large-format print of mountain fog. The room is quieter than it has ever been, and we spend more time in it, awake, than we have in years. The bedroom is finally the room we rest in.