Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I'm a newby on Houzz, so I hope I'm following the correct protocol!

I love that you made the shams and duvet. The headboard is so great too. With a history even. I've learned through the years, any gift from a loved one is important. Through the course of time you can move it. Larger shades would probably look more balanced. I have tried so many side tables and rarely liked any. I just visited a relative and she is an amazing decorator. Whimsy is important. Decorate with what you love.
She lives on the beach and the guest room was adorned appropriately. Surf board sheet. The chest was brightly painted orange wicker. Looked great.
You have a great start.

Thanks Beth! I do think orange looks great with grey- as do mint, turquoise and yellow. I just need everything to pull together because it just looks so unfinished.

I love the hand made personal touch in your room. The bedding looks fabulous.

If you like the artwork in your room, I'd suggest you take a color out of the painting for the touches. You can even have colored lampshades. Pink would be awesome. I also love yellow with gray.

Thank you @auntthelma! This is the artwork. It was a gift from my first boss who was a well reputed artist. I told her I liked this image as we were going through her catalogue and she printed and framed it for me for my college graduation. So it's pretty special.

There are many wonderful furniture style dog crates available now. Here's one of the more unusual ones.

I also have this artwork on the opposite facing wall. It's a quilt wall hanging I made with the Paris metro map hand embroidered as the quilting. Both pieces have a lot of color to draw from.

area rug?

more art

new lamps

bench at end of bed?

pop of citron, yellow, blue

curtains?

can we see the rest of the room?

the problem with the writing is it looks off center.....

Sorry for the disorganization. There are a couple of catch-all areas that I would like to come up with solutions for. There is also the hideous wire shelving that is sort of my sewing storage area as a temporary solution. I am thinking about adding a trunk or something at the foot of the bed to help with that issue.

It's a pretty big master bedroom. I'm so tired of looking at it. I'm so frustrated and embarrassed for people to see it in the state it's in now.

Carly, I love what you've done so far. I don't think you need too much color here. It's restful the way it is.

I would replace the lamps altogether rather than just the shades. Those look like buffet lamps.

How large is the dog crate? Some kind of table that would sit over top of it might work. Those tables that double as dog crates are great, but the ones I've seen are very expensive.

I stand corrected. They can be had for around $100 or less.

That's really cool how you plugged in my photo, downbytheriver! I definitely like a lot of those options! I prefer stand-up lamps as opposed to gooseneck ones, but I like the blue glass base ones a lot!

That one looks a bit small for that particular doggie.

Groveraxle I really want to do something very much like what you posted. I almost thought it would be cool to build something to house her existing crate that looks nice but I could still slip her other crate out if needed.... Of course everything I conceptualize becomes a project instead of buying as is... haha

But projects are such fun.

I found this nightstand on etsy for only $89 (if you happen to be in Easton, PA). If you happen to be anywhere else, I'll bet you can find something similar on craigslist and paint it yourself.

I'd look for articulating task lamps for the bedside tables.

I see you prefer standard lamps, but consider how useful articulating lamps are when you are reading in bed and your partner wants to sleep.

These "Photographer's lighting" lamps from pottery barn are kinda cool.