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While we’ve lived in our house for almost six(!!!) years now, for five of those we were renting. When we decided to buy the house last year a part of me was a bit like ‘Ugh, but it’s not exciting, it doesn’t feel new.’ But then I looked around and realised, while we’ve been renting for five years we’ve never actually decorated. We didn’t want to spend money putting a mark on something that wasn’t actually ours. And for that I’m really glad, because it means that now it is, we can really put our own stamp on it. We began with a bedroom makeover.
Our Bedroom Makeover
The room that had always been the most neglected was definitely the bedroom. We had ratty old mismatched curtains, a really bad layout and we went five years without even having a lampshade! We decided it made sense to attempt a bedroom makeover first. After all, your bedroom is where you spend most of your time and ours desperately needed a bit of TLC.
A Farrow and Ball Feature Wall
I knew what I wanted from the get-go – a dark blue feature wall – and thankfully Tom was totally on board too. Tom picked the colour (Farrow & Ball Hague Blue) and we spent a while thinking about how best to lay the room out. The layout before was terrible, and now that we’ve switched things around it’s made such a difference.
One of the difficulties we faced as part of our bedroom makeover was dealing with the size of the room and what we wanted to fill it with. I always wanted matching bedside tables either side of the bed but we knew we’d be quite limited on size. We trawled the internet for hours (literally, we were so sick of it by the end) looking for some tables that looked nice and fit the space we needed them to. In the end, after I stumbled across a DIY bedside table hack on Pinterest, Tom decided to have a go at making some. And a bit of wood, some hairpin legs and a spot of paint later, look how pretty they turned out!
Updating our Bed and Mattress
We switched out our bed for a new one too. My previous metal Ikea bed (that I think everyone and their mother had at one point) had served me well but just wouldn’t work going forward. We opted for a bed with no bottom board (is that what they’re called?!) to give us the illusion of more space and to allow Tom’s ridiculously long legs the chance to stretch out. We chose one with built-in storage too, which has been a total life-saver as it keeps everything neatly tucked away and not spilling out everywhere, like mine used to.
I also got a new mattress*, after I discovered our previous one was quite literally falling apart. We were incredibly lucky to be gifted one from Simba, and honestly it’s changed our lives. Our bed now feels like a cloud – so comfy – and has improved our sleep so much. They came and took the old mattress away when they delivered the new one too, which was a huge help. I know these mattresses aren’t cheap, but I definitely think it’s worth investing in one if you can afford to – you spend a lot of time asleep, after all!
Storage Solutions
In terms of a wardrobe, we chose the PAX system from Ikea and I can’t recommend it enough. The wardrobe in our bedroom is Tom’s but I will go into more detail about the system when I share my dressing room makeover with you all, as I used the same system in there too. We knew we had a little gap in the corner that we needed to fill and I wanted somewhere to do my makeup, so we bought a ladder desk from Argos and it was just-about the perfect fit (with some ingenious joinery skills from Tom). I absolutely love this little corner now. It’s a great spot to do my makeup as well as storing some of my favourite books, Tom’s vintage camera etc.
Finishing Touches
Myself and Tom made some DIY bedside lights which we’re both super proud of (I actually wired the one on my side up – I know, I know!) and added dimmer switches which are so nice when it comes to getting all cosy in bed at night. The bulbs are really warm so it’s almost like candlelight. We’d wanted lights like this forever, and they save space on our tables too. Another thing we’d wanted forever was a picture ledge and some prints. The prints are from Desenio – we picked them up when they had a 20% off code (which they seem to have a lot!) and I’m so pleased with them.
Overall I am totally in love with our bedroom makeover; we’ve completely transformed the space. Getting rid of our curtains and adding blinds has really opened the room up and the light we get in there now is gorgeous. It’s a really calming, tranquil space and it’s exactly what I wanted in a bedroom. I couldn’t be happier with it!
Links to products:
Prints: Desenio
Picture ledge: IKEA
Bedding: Matalan
Pink cord cushions: Asda
Moon cushion: Oliver Bonas
Bee trinket tray: Sass & Belle
Watering can and fake ivy: IKEA
Ampersand: Primark (old)
Rose gold mirror: Boots
Rose gold makeup brush pot: Sainsburys
Marble makeup brush pot: Matalan (old)
Velvet stool: B&M