I live in a 120 year old victorian. I've tried to keep the decor respectful to the era in terms of style.

The master bedroom is done in a shabby chic/cottage style because I've never had anything like that and loved the look when I saw it in magazines. Well, after living in it for 6 months, I've decided that while I still love the look in magazines, it's not something I want to live in. So, I'm looking for ideas to make the desired changes that won't cost much.

Three of the walls are done in beadboard (real wood beadboard panels). The fourth wall features his and her closets flanking a center built in that holds the flat panel tv and a bookcase. All the woodwork is white. The walls are currently a soft cream.

I want to darken the room considerably. I find it hard to sleep in a room that isn't super dark and one entire wall is windows (facing east none the less) and has a big street light right outside.

It's the front of the house though and I'd rather not simply cover the windows with shades. I have a large antique dressing table with a beautifully shaped ornate mirror sitting in the bay which blocks the main light glare (and provides a nice silhouette from the street view) so I think I can accomplish the darker, cozy feel with the use of a dark wall color.

The question is, do I just paint an opaque color over the beadboard? I've never seen beadboard done in anything other than light shades. Cottage Red is my front runner for color. I was wondering about mixing it with a heavy glaze and dry brushing it on. That would look nice on the beadboard I think, very antique feeling. What about the other wall though that is sheetrock?

I'm going to paint the furniture black (it's currently white) and distress it.