When Haley O'Neill of Haley O'Neill Home began reimagining the bedroom in her 115-year-old home, she could have approached its quirks as problems to solve. Instead, she saw them as part of the room’s story.
Two tiny, almost child-sized closet doors tucked into the dormers and a small window that doesn’t quite align with the others might have been architectural inconveniences, but O'Neill saw them differently. “Rather than trying to disguise those irregularities, I leaned into them and treated them as charming little details you might find in a fairy-tale cottage,” she says.
Her goal was to create a room that felt “enchanting, whimsical and calming,” a vision that came together through a mix of historic inspiration, collected pieces and a dreamy color palette.
Much of the inspiration came from Beauport, the Sleeper-McCann House, a National Historic Landmark and summer home of Henry Davis Sleeper, one of America’s first professional interior designers. O'Neill fell in love with Beauport the first time she saw it and has continued to draw inspiration from Sleeper’s imaginative approach to design. “Henry Davis Sleeper wasn’t afraid to be playful or imaginative, and every room has hidden details,” she says.
For this bedroom, O'Neill looked particularly to Beauport’s Belfry Chamber, which features Zuber chinoiserie wallpaper covered in flowers, branches, birds and butterflies against a vivid celadon-green background. She loved the way the room managed to feel floral without becoming overly feminine. “Although it is undeniably floral, the vivid green keeps it from feeling overly feminine to me,” she says. “I wanted to capture that same balance in my own room.”
That idea carries through in the bedroom’s color palette. The trim is painted in Little Greene’s Ambleside, a lagoon-like green with blue undertones that picks up the leaves in the wallpaper. “It makes the room feel like an enchanted garden at dusk,” O'Neill says. The effect is dreamy and atmospheric, giving the room an almost otherworldly quality.
One of the most meaningful pieces in the room was there from the beginning. The home was purchased as is, and among the many things left behind by the previous owners was a beautifully carved vintage bed frame. It quickly became an anchor for the design and helped set the direction for the rest of the room. Vintage nightstands add to the collected feel, while bedding from Quince keeps the space comfortable and inviting.
Lighting was another opportunity to blend beauty with function. Brass swing-arm sconces from Pooky flank the bed, providing practical reading light while also pressing back against the wall for a softer glow. “Lighting is so important in a bedroom,” O'Neill says.
One of her favorite details is a small but thoughtful one. She placed the light switch above the nightstand, much like you might find in a hotel, so the sconces can be turned off without getting out of bed. And, she says, “I always put bedroom lighting on a dimmer!”
The window treatments from TwoPages Curtains complete the room without competing with the wallpaper or architectural details. The result is a bedroom that feels collected rather than overly designed, rooted in the history of the home while still feeling fresh and livable.
Most importantly, O'Neill allowed the character of the old house to remain part of the story. What could have been awkward architectural details became charming features, proving that sometimes the most memorable rooms are the ones that work with a home’s history rather than trying to erase it.
Sources:
@haleyoneillhome.com
Wallpaper & Paint: Little Greene
Sconces: Pooky
Bedding: Quince
Window Treatments: TwoPages Curtains
Nightstands & Bedframe: vintage