When we first moved into our home ten years ago, the previous owners had kindly left behind various items that they knew wouldn’t suit their new pad: blinds, curtains, light fittings. We had every intention of replacing said items in time, but with three children of 6, 4 and 2, we were thankful for anything that made the second move in 18 months, that little bit easier.
You know what’s coming next don’t you? Ten years later and we were still drawing those same old bedroom curtains every night – the sill-length (apparently a total no-no these days) lilac ones with a frill at the top. The ones I wasn’t keen on from day one but would happily ‘make do’ with. That’s what happens when you have children isn’t it? Our own wants/needs get put to the back-burner, in favour of sorting out children’s bedrooms, the garden and a space to play in downstairs.
Our bedroom was last decorated about five years ago, when my lovely dad papered a feature wall (another no-no these days – who knew?) and my husband constructed some fitted wardrobes with his own fair hands. But since then it’s been thoroughly neglected and was crying out for a little update. If nothing else, those curtains needed to finally get their comeuppance!
Creating a Pinterest Board.
When planning a room makeover, my first step is always to create a mood board on Pinterest. Usually I post some ideas I’ve already had, then search on Pinterest for other items and looks that take my fancy. I research what colours are fashionable these days and have a little play around.
Pinterest is a great place to store ideas that you can go back to again and again, adding to and ruling out certain colour choices/designs as you go.
Picking a Theme.
From there, I usually pick some sort of theme and this time I knew that I wanted a tranquil hotel room: somewhere we can retreat to when the teenage hormones get too much; a little haven of calm, if you like.
To me that means luxurious bed linen, comfy throws, an abundance of cushions (however many I can get away with!) and simple accessories.
Deciding on Colours.
A Pinterest board is a great aid when choosing colours. I usually start with three colours that look good together, then decide what will work on the walls and what to keep for accessories.
The Dulux Visualiser app is a great tool for this – you can pick the specific shade that you are thinking of and hold your smart phone or tablet camera up in the room, to see what it would actually look like. Obviously the shade isn’t exact but it certainly gave us a good idea. I then bought just two match pots, painted them onto pieces of A4 paper and stuck them around the room so that we could see it in different lights.
The colour we eventually plumped for, is Overtly Olive by Dulux. Although a much darker colour than I would normally go for, it certainly creates that cosy feel that hotel bedrooms often have. Green also has the reputation of being very calming and quite by coincidence, it seems to be the ‘in’ colour this year!
The two accent colours I chose were blush pink and charcoal grey; mainly because I wanted a pink bedroom but couldn’t push my husband quite that far out of his comfort zone!
Sourcing Furniture.
To try and re-create a hotel bedroom, I knew that the bed would play a vital role (the clue is in the word, right?). We’ve always had wooden headboards in the past but there’s something deeply luxurious about a padded headboard and I knew that this was the way I wanted to go.
We decided to keep quite a few bits of existing furniture which meant that I had more money to spend on a few additional pieces. I think it’s worth looking around your room with fresh eyes once in a while: which ‘nooks’ could be used differently? Are there any bits of furniture that would look better elsewhere? Is it time for a little shift around?
There is one corner in our bedroom that has been the home to an old toy box, ever since I can remember. My dad made it about 16 years ago and purely because we couldn’t bear to part with it, we have been using it as a linen chest for the past 5 years!
I didn’t want to admit it, but it was time for this item to be re-housed (only onto the landing, don’t panic!). Once clear, I could totally visualise a ladder shelf in the empty space and it really does fit perfectly.
Choosing Accessories.
The first accessories that I sourced, were the ‘Be still, My soul’ pictures on the wall above the bed. I spotted them on Pinterest (told you it’s a handy little tool) ages ago and bookmarked them for future reference. It actually took a while to find something that wasn’t just a printable, but eventually I turned to Etsy and bought the frames from my ‘go to’ source for cheap frames – Desenio.
It’s good to choose one focal point and base all the other accessories around it. With these prints being so simple, that was the key to the rest. If you want to introduce a metal, it’s wise go with either gold, copper or chrome, not a mix of them all. In this case, I went for chrome. I wanted a mirror and the only space left, definitely lent itself to a round one, so I searched around on the old worldwide web for the best deals. This one is from John Lewis and at £50.00 I’m really pleased with it.
If you’re at all interested in interiors or social media, you will know that right now, the big ‘must have’ in every bedroom/living room/kitchen/play room, is greenery. That can be in the form of huge leafy plants or succulents; preferably real ones but fake will work too. I think they make a great addition to any room, bringing it to life and giving it a more homely feel.
I always remember my mum saying ‘never keep a plant in your bedroom, it will starve you of oxygen’. Yeah well I’m almost 46 now so reckon I can do what I like! I bought three of these cute little succulents from Tesco at £2 each (including the pot) – definitely my biggest bargain of the room.
Leave a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
8 COMMENTS
Caro | The Twinkle Diaries
7 years agoHahaha!!! That bit about the plants had me laughing to myself!!! Starve you of oxygen?! Ohmylife — your mum sounds like she comes from the same school of thought as mine!! That’s EXACTLY something that my mum would say!!!
Wow Suzanne, what a gorgeous transformation. I love it. Especially that gorgeous olive green. So nice to see something a little different to dove grey; and I love how it sits with the blush pink of the cushions!! Fab — thanks for sharing 🙂 Cx #HomeEtc
Suzanne W
7 years ago AUTHORThe old wives tales that we succumbed to eh?! So funny. I actually believed every bit of it! Thanks for you lovely words ?
Sarah MumofThree World
7 years agoIt looks amazing. I love how you put so much thought into everything. What a good idea to move the paint colour around the room to see it in different lights.
I’m useless at visualising things,, but luckily my husband is pretty good at ideas, so all the interior design in our house is his work!
Suzanne W
7 years ago AUTHORYour husband?! Wow. I think visualising something is key actually. I don’t think I’ll tire of this decor for a good while so it’s worth investing time and money in it.
Lins @ Boo & Maddie
7 years agoIt looks so beautiful, I love that shade on the walls. But I also know how you feel when you plan to do something and the years roll on without it happening. Better late than never though, it looks fab Xx #HomeEtc
Suzanne W
7 years ago AUTHORIt’s amazing how quickly time flies isn’t it? It’s done now and won’t be done again for another 10 years so good job we like it! Thanks for the compliments. x
Anne Marie
7 years agoIt’s funny, how couple of months can easily become couple of years when you have kids, right? Time just flies by. But your bedroom was definitely worth waiting for. It feels very calm and inviting 🙂 #HomeEtc
Pamela
7 years agoWorth the wait. Your room is beautiful. Thank you for linking up with #bloggershomes x