Bedroom... cool to cosy

This is a room I've never could fall in love with. It's small for a start so to add wardrobes etc into it would consume it. Colin gets the built in wardrobe that's a part of the house design, imagine the size of a very small hot press. With his low maintenance uniform of plain tee and jeans it's plenty for him along with a chest of drawers 😜 in a household of 4 girls (Lily included) we don't have room for any high maintenance males.

We knocked through the eves in the box room, previous to our decorating spree it was Annie's bedroom. The room is so small so we moved Annie in with Bella just before Christmas (best decision but more on that again).

My wardrobes are the length of the bedroom (remember it's small in my defence) so it leaves our bedroom free just for the bed and two little side tables.

It's important to me that the bedroom is cosy, fuss free and tidy. Life is hectic enough and when I come home I want simple, clean and minimal. A stark contrast to my day to day and a perfect place to whine down and get a good night sleep.

Before we decorated the bedroom the walls were white, carpet was grey and I had mix match furniture and a little dressing table as Annie was still in her nursery. It felt a little bland.

I wanted to add colours, add deep tones and contrasts but still keep it fuss free so decided that the interest had to come from the walls and flooring as there wasn't the space for lots of furniture.

As we were putting most of our money into our bathroom, ensuite and the girls new room, I wanted our room to be given a freshen up whilst on a budget.

I had been pinning lots of bedroom ideas and realised a lot of what I liked had a dark wooden floor. Not something I previously thought I would go for and also totally different from the very pale colours throughout the house. This was my favourite look and I wanted to create something similar on a budget.

Image courtesy of Pinterest.

To add a real dark wooden floor to the bedroom would have been too expensive. I know it would be an investment but as much as we have settled in the house for the next few years I don't know what will come after that so I started to look for alternative options.

I looked at engineered wood which is more expensive than laminate but cheaper than a real wooden floor and one day when I picked Bella up from school I took a walk around Carpetright. I was really impressed by some of their Laminates and sent a few pictures to Colin who immediately said he loved the dark wood and the idea of something so different in the house. The flooring we choose was a Classic Bakersfield chestnut Laminate and I'm so impressed I hope to go for the grey version in Bella and Annie's room in the summer.

I got a visit and quotation booked in and the follow up call to see what I thought fell on a busy day (I make quick decisions under P) and hey presto.... I ordered the dark wooden floor and remembered about it as I sat down for a cuppa at 9pm and broke the news to Colin. A few jokes later about what would be getting laid in the bedroom and the initial silence was broken. I shouldn't say this but sometimes even I feel sorry for that man.

We both loved the wooden floor (it's a good job) but I have to admit when it first went down it was very different and hard to get used to but it was against white and tired looking walls. I almost chickened out of going for the dark wall but Jenny from Jenny Bond interiors give me so much fab advice. One piece that I really loved was if you paint a small box white or if you paint it black it's still a small box, you need to go with it and add interest.

Rice basket pom-pom plant pot from here

I added the things I loved, totally different looks and mixed them together.... dark wood, grey, patterns, dark green and blush pink were the highlights and we found exactly the perfect green to go for. I went thinking of Little Green paint and came away with Zoffany Huntsman Green and I LOVE it!!

The furniture we had didn't work well with the new dark wood floor and the budget didn't allow for the Oliver Bonas tables I loved. When I found this Ikea hack on Jill's Instagram page and that the tables were only £25 each from Ikea and £5 on Marble Vinyl. I couldn't wait to try and they would be a perfect budget option until I can afford to invest in the ones I really want. I planned to spray the bottom gold but then thought this worked pretty well.

Rice plant basket from here

A large rug was added, a house plant from Ikea (the Swedish say a plant in the bedroom is calming, use this line next time you want the husband to go to Ikea with you. You're welcome) and new light which I choose the height of and now Colin gets to walk in to everyday and empty any tensions he's had building up to that point 😂 (allll about the stress relief)

I do love this room now, it feels warmer and more welcoming, with a little more detail added.

Next up... the bathroom.

Anna xx