Beautiful Blue And White Toile Bedroom Makeover

Toile is one of my favorite fabric patterns ever! So when I was decorating my primary bedroom, I decided to go all out with a blue and white toile bedroom makeover just like a Paris hotel room I stayed in a few years ago. It’s such a dreamy, romantic room, I have to talk myself into getting out of bed.

Blue Toile Bedroom Makeover

When I moved into my house, it was a brand-spanking new builder-grade house.

I loved the “new” part (everything worked!) but hated the builder-grade finishes. Which started my quest to makeover every room in my house to make them feel more custom.

One of the first rooms I did was the primary bedroom. Mostly because it didn’t require a lot of money to make it look a lot better.

Keep reading to see where I started, what I ended up with and all the steps I took in between for my blue toile bedroom makeover.

The Inspiration

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My inspiration for this room was a little hotel that I stayed at in Paris (similar to the picture above from betweennapsontheporch.net).

The whole room was done in blue and white toile…walls, curtains, bedding, upholstery…everything!

Since blue is my favorite color, and blue and white looks really good together, it is probably inevitable that I would fall in love with that room.

Builder Grade Bedroom – Before

Before - beige builder grade bedroom

The “before” room was a typical builder-grade primary bedroom…beige paint and carpet, no architectural interest, tall blank walls, and a popcorn ceiling.

It does at least have 2 decent sized windows (even if they don’t have any moldings).

Blue Toile Bedroom Design Ideas

While I loved the all-over toile in Paris, I thought it would be a bit much to live with every day, so I decided to go with a mostly-toile look.

What Paint Color Goes With Toile?

That meant deciding on a paint color for the walls.

After looking at a lot of pictures, I decided that a light periwinkle blue color was the best choice.

Those of you who know me won’t be surprised to hear that I also decided to paint the ceiling…in a pattern…gingham!

Okay, So Where’s The Toile?

Don’t worry, I still have lots of room for toile…on the curtains, the chaise, parts of the walls, pillows and accessories.

Sources

Where can I find the blue paint, toile fabric and wallpaper?

  • You can find the Waverly Charmed Life toile fabric HERE*.
  • And the Waverly Country Life removable toile wallpaper HERE.*
  • If you don’t want to make the curtains yourself, you can buy them ready made HERE*.
  • I bought the blue and white toile sheer fabric on clearance from a local store, so I don’t have a source for it.
  • The paint color I used was Bluish by Valspar (available at Lowe’s).

Step 1 | Paint

My first step was to start painting.

Nothing changes the look and feel of a room like changing the color of the walls and the ceiling.

First, I spray painted all of the walls and the ceiling a periwinkle blue color.

Since I had not moved the furniture in yet, this was by far the easiest and fastest way to get everything painted the same color.

Completed Gingham Ceiling

Then I painted the ceiling with a gingham pattern in shades of blue. (You can find out how to paint a gingham ceiling HERE)

Note: If I was not using a paint sprayer to paint everything the same color, I would have done the ceiling first. That way any accidental drips on the wall get painted over when the wall is painted. (If you’re not sure what order to do your room makeover changes, find out HERE.)

Step 2 | Install Panel Moldings With Toile Wallpaper

Blue and white toile wallpaper inside panel moldings on a light blue wall

I used small trim moldings to create “panels” on the wall.

This is a very inexpensive way to add architectural interest to the room, and very easy to do.

Next I wallpapered the middle of the panels with toile wallpaper.

Find the tutorial on installing your own wallpaper panels HERE.

Step 3 | Add A Wrought Iron Bed

Blue and white striped sheets with a white duvet and toile throw pillows on a wrought iron bed

The next step in my blue toile bedroom makeover was to add the bed.

I went with a wrought iron canopy bed. The wrought iron reminds me of all of the Juliette balconies we saw on Paris apartment buildings. And the canopy feels so romantic.

Blue and white striped sheets, a simple white duvet and a few blue toile throw pillows keep the bed comfortable but simple.

Step 4 | Make Curtains In Blue Toile Fabric

Blue and white toile curtains in a blue bedroom

My mother made the window curtains out of blue and white toile fabric.

These are straight panels that pull all the way across the wall when they are closed. And they stretch all the way from the ceiling to the floor (my favorite way of installing curtains because it makes the windows and the ceiling look taller).

The curtains also draw your attention away from the fact that there aren’t any window moldings.

Jump to the Sources box above to find out where to buy the toile fabric.

Blue and white toile sheers hung from a canopy bed

She also made the panels that hang on all corners of the canopy bed.

These were made from very inexpensive toile sheer fabric (a bit of a pain to sew, but adds a romantic feel to the bed when finished).

Step 5 | Add A Comfortable Place To Sit

Blue and white toile chaise

I love chaises! I think they are the most comfortable piece of furniture for reading or watching TV (or pretty much anything else when you are sitting down).

Unfortunately, it was a little too big for this space, so I ended up swapping it out for a smaller chair.

My cat was disappointed.

A picture of Paris and mini chandelier in a blue and white toile bedroom

Above the chair is a black and white picture of Paris and a pretty mini-chandelier.

This chandelier was supposed to be a hard-wired light fixture.

Since I didn’t want to pay the money for an electrician (and I wasn’t sure I would always want to have a light in that location), I converted it to a plug-in.

To learn how to convert a hardwired light fixture to a plug in pendant, click here to see our step-by-step instructions.

Step 6 | Install Swing-Arm Lamps

Blue and brass swing arm lamp beside the blue toile canopy bed

One of my favorite small bedroom design ideas is to use swing-arm lamps on both sides of the bed instead of table lamps.

They give light at exactly the right spot, can be turned on and off easily from the bed and keep the bedside table open for books. My bedside table always seems to be piled with books!

These ones have a shade that is the same color as the walls so the blend in perfectly with the rest of my room.

Step 7 | Add Some Toile Accessories

Blue and white ginger jars on a console table with a blue and white toile garden stool

Finally, to finish off my blue toile bedroom makeover, I added a bunch of blue and white accessories.

My favorite ginger jars fit right in.

A blue and white garden stool doesn’t take up much room and provides a seat if I need to sit at the table.

The Finished Blue Toile Bedroom Makeover

And here’s the final product…a very relaxing space that reminds me of Paris (one of my favorite cities) every time I go in it.

All the blue and white feels very serene.

And it doesn’t feel at all like the builder-grade bedroom it started out as.

Other Decorating Ideas You Might Like

Questions or comments on our blue toile bedroom makeover?  Tell us in the section below.


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Blue and white toile bedroom ideas

This post was originally published on September 14, 2015 but was updated with new content on June 29, 2023.


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3 Comments

  1. Mary Tatman says:

    Hello beautiful room. We both have very similar tastes. I wanted to do Blue Toile in my bedroom too, but I could never find a bedding set that I was pleased with..so I went with the red toile. Its pretty, but red not as soothing to sleep. I do have a question for you…I have blue toile with plaid in my living room…I consider it a relaxed Williamsburg style…not too traditional, but no ruffles either. I was so excited when I seen the sheers on your bed. I had been looking for them myself. Then I saw your mother made them. I sew too and have made the curtains in my living room. But I have French doors off of it that leads to a bedroom. I was wondering if you would share where you purchased the blue toile sheer fabric that you made them out of? I need to put curtains on the inside of the French doors and this fabric would be perfect. Your new bathroom looks fabulous too. So happy and appreciative of all your hard work.
    Thanks…Mary

    1. Hi Mary…It does sound like we have similar taste 🙂 I actually got very lucky with the blue and white toile sheer fabric. I found it in the clearance bin at one of my local fabric stores (Kim’s fabric in Greer, SC) so I bought the whole roll…that probably won’t help you very much. I know that Waverly used to have a blue and white toile in sheers, but I’m not sure if they are still making it (you might be able to find it on eBay?)

  2. This is still my favorite room–partly because of nostalgia for our awesome Paris experience that it conjures up. Lovely post.