Three Things I Love About My New Bedroom

I absolutely LOVE everything about my new bedroom but I going to tell you the three things I love most of all. First you must appreciate the obligatory before photo.

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My Wardrobes

The first thing I love about my new bedroom are my wardrobes. Big Hubby and I have been living out of suitcases for five months. Yes, five months! This means that until a couple of weeks ago my clothing choices had been made before Christmas and included two festive jumpers and a Madonna style outfit for a 1980s night.

It wasn’t meant to take this long but we chose to make sure the children had rooms they could settle in first. With this house I’m also trying my best to do things in the right order which meant not getting wardrobes until the walls were decorated and the carpets laid. This all had to wait until the dodgy wiring was sorted out by the marvellous Coulters Electrical. One thing you don’t want in the bedroom is exciting wiring.

But now I have them, my beautiful wardrobes! I have been asking for Ikea vouchers since I lived in our last house so I could get a Pax system that would fulfil our needs. Thanks to my extended family I was able to get just what I wanted, two rails, shelves and drawers (the joy of drawers after living out of a suitcase cannot be underestimated) in a formation that would fit all our clothes. But, having waited so long and well, me being me, I couldn’t just settle for the off the peg and had to do a bit of crafty, DIY, upcycle medalling.

After going slightly overboard with wallpaper samples and with a little help from my followers on Facebook and Instagram I chose Quills by Designers Guild which I bought from Wallpaper Direct in the sale.

My first attempt at sticking it to the doors with wallpaper paste (like all the blogs and YouTube videos suggest) didn’t end well. The paper just lifted off! But it could have been worse, at least it was all still intact.

I used my own DIY knowledge (which I should have done in the first place) and primed the doors, painted the edges dark grey to hide any uneven cutting, then used PVA to stick the paper. At one point I did think I had ruined three perfectly good doors and wasted some fabulous wallpaper but all’s well that ends well. I covered them in a top coat of PVA to make them a little more durable.

Just look at them! They are the last thing I see at night before I go to bed and the first thing I see when I wake up and they make me super happy.

I do shy away from a ‘feature wall’ (I think they look nice but in my opinion they’re over used in low budget makeover shows and in my head always pronounced ‘feeecha waarl’ so it’s totally my prejudice) However, I’m totally on board with a ‘feature wardrobe’. I mean, Kate Moss would have one of those, if she didn’t have a massive dressing room bigger than my bedroom. What I’m saying is that when I wake up I feel a little bit ‘Kate Moss’ and that has to be a good thing style wise.

My Lampshade

My new lampshade was a huge compromise that was always going to happen. You see I fell in love with a Tom Dixon lampshade. When I say ‘fell in love’ I really mean it.

We first met in John Lewis on Oxford Street about two years ago and we been seeing each other ever since. Sometimes it’s a long yearned for date at Heals other times just a stolen moment in the John Lewis at Welwyn Garden City. What became apparent was that I couldn’t sustain the relationship and the £400 price tag would lose me my marriage. I had to find something less needy and after much research did so in Next. What really makes it work was replacing the white plastic pendant fitting with a vintage looking one from Screwfix.This lampshade is not as curvy as the Tom Dixon one but it is absolutely gorgeous and £45.

What I didn’t know until I switched it on is that it throws feather like shadows across the ceiling echoing my gorgeous wallpaper. It also works as a big curved mirror when its off. This was a bit of a shock the first morning. I woke up, saw my wardrobes, felt like Kate Moss, saw my reflection in the lampshade an, oh dear my morning hair is quite shocking! Now I’ve embraced seeing my cave woman look when I open my eyes I quite like it. It helps me remember the dreams that lead to my startling hairstyle which is a good start to the day.

My Dressing Table

This dressing table was my great grandmother’s. I remember playing with it in the back bedroom of my Nanna’s house when I was a child and I loved it then. I would move the side mirrors until I could see multiple reflections of me and then I would dance about. It turns out my Dad and my Auntie did the same when they were little too.

It has been in my sister’s old bedroom for over twenty years and my mum is keen to move it to make way for the cot that she will bring with her when she stays next time (yes she’s bringing a little baby, yes I am an auntie again and yes it is the most marvellous thing ever!) But back to the dressing table.

I quite like a dark wood but the veneer was a bit chipped and it didn’t really go with my new room (although the dimensions were perfect). I started by collecting loads of ideas and made a Vintage Dressing Table Pinterest board then went to the grand dame of paint Annie Sloan.

There was half a tin of Paris Grey in the garage from two previous projects, the French style shelves and decoupage cabinet which still serves as a bedside table for Big H.

I had to thin it out a bit with water because it had been in storage for a while and because I didn’t think it would quite make the two coats I knew I’d need. It just about stretched and after a coat of wax and a buff it looked amazing. My Auntie Diane (who does lots of upcycling too) said “It’s so lovely that you’re binging it back to life.” It really is a little bit of family history and if you angle the mirrors just right you can see the back of your hair in it.

Now, it’s not the mid century look I was planning in this house but I think bedrooms need a bit of old school glamour. Having this dressing table in my room takes me back to dancing in my Nanna’s house when I dry my hair in the morning. I’ve already caught my daughter doing the same thing and maybe one day this will be hers.

Extra Loves

I’m cheating now because there are more than three things I love about my new bedroom. I love my dark blue wallpaper. I’ve never put up wallpaper before so my top tip is to start were the wardrobe will be so you can hide your mistakes. I love my old bed from Feather and Black which I’m hoping will become a family heirloom in the future. I’m relieved that I was able to reuse my old silver curtains and a bedside table as we have a whole house to do and whatever can be reused makes financial and environmental sense. I just love it all.

The whole room was inspired by my husband’s inability to sleep without total darkness and my urge to stay married to him (I can sleep during the day on a rock and my default is to paint every room white) Of course I collected loads of ideas onto my dark moody bedroom board and my vintage dressing table board on Pinterest to help me along the way. I don’t get money from affiliate links etc but if you like this blog then follow me here or on Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest and you’ll be able to see my new projects and what inspires me as I decorate my way though this house.

What’s you’re favourite thing about your bedroom? I’d love to know.