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Knotty Pine Walls in the Master Bedroom: How to Decorate a Unique Space

It’s been a few years since this article was published, but we thought we’d bring it back out of the archives and share it again, for our followers who asked to see photos of knotty pine in some of our rooms! 

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Our master bedroom features vintage knotty pine walls, which is a bit uncommon and can be a challenge when trying to figure out how to decorate the space. If you also have knotty pine walls in your master bedroom, you know all about this challenge first-hand.  It can help to see examples of how others have decorated their knotty pine master bedroom.  So, I thought I would share a few photos of our bedroom with you.

knotty pine walls in the master bedroom

In going about decorating the room, one of the most important issues I learned was that there needs to be a balance of light to offset the darkness of the wood walls.  This can be accomplished easily with a light-colored bedspread and white sheets.

You may be tempted to buy new furnishings and bedding, but I found that I didn't need to.  I went ahead and used the furnishings, bedding and other decor that I already owned. It was just a matter of deciding what to put where in order to create a pleasing and comfortable space. This meant removing some of the darker pillows and bedding that I owned and digging out the lighter bedding from my linen closet.

wood furniture and knotty pine walls

Additionally, painting the ceiling, window and door trim, and the doors a bright white will offset the darkness of the walls. You can add a few other light-colored items around the room -- for example, light-colored pillows and seat cushions on a chair, white picture frames, and a jewelry box painted white. Not everything needs to be white, just a few items interspersed here and there.

knotty pine decorating

I was very concerned when we were contemplating moving into this house, because I wasn't sure how all of our wood furniture would look against the knotty pine walls. We have a mix of pine, cherry, walnut, and other wood furniture pieces throughout our house. I'm rather attached to our furniture. Some of it was built by my father-in-law, while other pieces were gifts or we purchased with great care over the years.  I didn't want to get rid of any of it.  Once we moved the furniture in, I was surprised to discover that the variety of wood pieces doesn't seem to clash with the walls nor with each other.  (This room features mostly light-colored wood furniture; see my article about decorating knotty pine in the living room for examples of a similar space with cherry wood furniture).  I have found that if a few pieces of wood furniture match, it seems to look okay to mix in a different wood grain here and there.  You can then tie it all together by using similar shades of color in the fabrics, ceramics, and painted pieces around the room.  In my master bedroom, for example, the main colors that are used to tie it all together are white and green. Secondary colors are yellow, red and orange.

master bedroom with knotty pine walls

Lamps, wall lighting and natural light from windows keeps the room bright and welcoming.  I have mini-blinds on my windows, and am thinking about adding either sheer curtains or solid white panels for curtains, but I will probably leave the curtains open.  What's nice about adding white curtains is that the long panels left open on either side of your windows will help add more brightness to the room.
One of my next challenges is to add a few more pictures on the walls.  We have many pieces of artwork that we haven't decided what to do with yet.  The artwork will be another blog article that I will feature here soon, so please check back and let me know what you think!

Of course, there are many other ways to decorate a master bedroom with knotty pine walls. I'd love to learn about your ideas, and would love for you to share here.  Thanks for taking a tour of my master bedroom!

This House with Knotty Pine

See many more photos of our house with its wood walls in our e-book, This House with Knotty PineClick to download your copy from the Amazon bookshelf (for reading on iOS, Android, Mac, and PC using the free Kindle app). 

Knotty pine walls e-book

In the book, which you can download and view now, you'll discover how we stumbled upon our unique home. The house was once part of a dairy farm, but it had fallen into disrepair over the years.  Despite the sad state of the house, the solid planks of knotty pine throughout were still in great shape. Included are photos of the renovation plus many more photos of each of the eight rooms decorated. Click to see the book on Amazon.

We invite you to download your copy of the book, which follows our journey as we share what we learned while renovating and decorating a house with its vintage knotty pine walls. See photos of our rooms from start to finish and throughout the seasons.

Comments

  1. So glad to see your post. Most of the posts just showed how to paint over the walls. I have a home that was built in 1960. The knotty pine walls are in the kitchen and the living room. They are a beautiful, dark "red" color. I would never imagine painting over them. The ceilings are 10' tall. A lot of sun comes in and the living room isn't dark at all. I love my house. Yours is very nice, too.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for your comments! I came across the same issue when I was trying to decide how to work with the knotty pine. It's encouraging to see that there is growing appreciation for retaining the look and feel of the wood on the walls. I have found that the wood gives my home a warm and cozy ambiance. Having the light from windows helps to balance this, and it sounds like your home was well-planned with the high ceilings and windows that let in the sunlight. So glad to hear you are keeping your knotty pine, too!

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  2. Carol near Santa Cruz CAApril 10, 2018 at 3:12 PM

    We are buying a home with knotty pine throughout~ it feels like a vacation home to us! I'm so happy to find your site to get some ideas. Some of the ceilings are pine, others are painted a golden yellow. Kinda dated and maybe too dark too. Just like you we have many family pieces made from all kinds of wood. I like the bedspread you have, we will be looking for a handmade quilt I think. I like what you say about adding white here and there to add more light and brightness.

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