By Elizabeth Yeager Cross
WV Design Team
My mother had a vision in her head of a room with white floors and soft finishes and fabrics in grays and whites. Layering neutrals upon soft neutrals has completely transformed this master suite while staying true to her signature gold metallics
For 32 years, I have lived in complete awe of my mother. Her joy, her faith, her effortless beauty, as well as her passion and talent for making everything she touches absolutely gorgeous.
Over the past year and a half, I have featured her home in some of my articles, including the to-die-for golden cork wallpaper, her out-of-this-world blue powder room and her outdoor living space that would leave you drooling.
Every single time, she has insisted on not using her name and instead giving me all of the credit for the designs, and this time is no different. But, as all mothers know, children don’t always listen, and Mom, if you’re reading this, and I know you are, I apologize, half-heartedly, for making this week’s article all about you.
The original Yeager Design & Interiors, Anita Yeager, holds her youngest grandchild, Ivery Cross
Most people don’t live in their homes for 32 years. At some point, they upgrade, downsize or have to relocate. My mother and father have been fortunate in that when they built their own home all those years ago, they designed their forever home where they would raise their children, entertain loads of family and friends, and most especially, all seven of their grandchildren.
My parents, Anita and Glen, have remodeled and updated their spaces over the years, but the latest project has been my absolute favorite.
I fully credit my mother for my becoming a designer. I was always fascinated by how she could pull a room together in ways that were timeless and classic, not to mention absolutely stunning.
Over the last few months, she began feeling an urge to make some drastic changes to her master suite. She wanted to swap her white carpet for wood flooring, and after many years of my suggesting it, she even surprised me by agreeing to use chalk paint on the dark-wood, wainscoted walls that surround their bed area.
Before, During, and After: the dark wainscoting (left) had its day and my mother wanted to lighten up the room and give the panels a chic upgrade thanks to Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan in Paris Grey with White Wax
Perhaps most stunning of all, she chose to replace their traditional four-post bed with a new one that would become the piece de resistance.
Let’s start from the ground up to describe her new and improved, French-inspired bedroom transformation.
After months of searching, she chose the perfect white-washed wood plank to replace her nearly white, woven carpet. Perhaps the tiny red footprint stains that just wouldn’t scrub out from my own 2-year-old daughter, Ivery, finally pushed her to replace the carpet. Apparently, little girls not only like putting red lipstick on their lips, but also on the bottom of their feet.
Still beautiful, but ready for a change. This bedroom was once filled with dark wood tones and heavy pieces of furniture
The new, hand-scraped wood flooring gave the suite refreshing clean lines that would set the stage for what would come next with the wainscoting.
The intricate wall panels that were once a dark, walnut-stained oak had lost their luster and faded throughout the years. I had always begged my parents to let me paint them, but it wasn’t until I started carrying Chalk Paint by Annie Sloan that she would even consider it.
She decided to paint the walls with a singular coat of Annie’s “Paris Grey” and — to get that dreamy French appearance — finish with the brand new “White Wax.”
Side-by-side, my mother, father and I spent the better part of a weekend and a few odd days painting, waxing and reminiscing. We continually amazed ourselves at the transformation taking place in front of our very own eyes and were taken aback at the lightness and sophistication brought into the room.
As I reflect on this part of the process, I will count those hours of painting and waxing together as some of my favorite memories of my life.
There was a timeline, however, to our getting the wood floors and painting the wainscoting. On Aug. 4, my mother underwent brain surgery in Tennessee to remove a tumor. While we had ordered the new bed, we knew it would arrive later, during her recovery, and we would set it up when it came in.
We almost forgot about the bed altogether after what came next. During her surgery, my mother suffered a stroke and an additional brain bleed that would leave her partially paralyzed on her right side.
After weeks of in-patient rehabilitation in Tennessee, she returned to West Virginia to begin her recuperation in the home she loves and cherishes.
The wood floors she had insisted be finished before August were now an eerie coincidence that would aid her in navigating through the suite following her surgical complications. After just a few days of being back home, I got a call that the new bed was being delivered to our showroom.
What certainly would have been a joyful occasion as we installed this gorgeous bed was now bittersweet as I put it together with my team, while my mother was hard at work in rehabilitation.
Tears flowed from my eyes as I remembered the moment she spotted it with me in a French showroom at High Point Market. She chose it for its traditional lines and beautiful, tufted linen head and footboards and its gold-rubbed accents, but mostly she chose its lower profile.
For years the original four-post frame had made lying in bed and watching TV difficult for my father as well as their grandchildren. This particular new piece looked as if it was made just for the room.
With wainscoting in Annie Sloans Paris Grey, gorgeous new white wash wood flooring, and a to-die-for tufted bed, this bedroom is transformed into a dreamy and romantic French-inspired oasis
Our team stepped back in awe and simply admired my mother’s vision, now fulfilled. It was light, airy and accented with her signature gold metallics. Amid all of the whites and grays, it was warm and romantic.
When she returned home that afternoon, I was long gone, and she was absolutely worn out from a long day of pushing herself to her new limits. We spoke about the bed the following day, and she was so happy to have the room finally done and put back together.
While I know this particular article may not be my typical how-to, I thank you for indulging me and letting me introduce the real designer behind Yeager Design and Interiors.
Life as we know it is hectic, full of ups and downs, things and situations we can’t always predict, but if I were to give you a how-to list, it would be taken from a page in my mother’s life:
1. Fill each day with love and joy.
2. Treat others as you would want to be treated.
3. Buy what you love, and you’ll love it forever.
4. Surround yourself with beauty, whether it be the beauty in your surroundings or simply a beautiful life filled with the ones you love the most.
It’s projects like this very one that give my mother and me bursts of joy, and we are always happy to share them with all of you. I know that one day we will look back at this challenging time in her life as just a chapter in a story full of beauty and love.
I hope that this inspires you, no matter what challenge you are overcoming, to do the same.
– To see more pictures of the projects featured in this article: Yeager Bedroom
– To read the full article: http://www.wvgazettemail.com/article
