A Decorating Update
I've realised that I'm big on saying what I'm up to in the house - 'doing this to this room, and that to that room' and yet my follow up posts have been few and far between. That's because almost without exception, things ALWAYS take longer than I want them to because life gets in the way. SO annoying.
But believe me when I say that I am also ALWAYS chipping away and working on one or usually many of the elements of the things I've said I'm doing to bring them together, and today I wanted to give you a little update of where I'm at with the Living Room, the Tweeenage Dream Room, and our Master Bedroom, which are very much on their way to being ready to show you (well maybe with the exception of the master bedroom), having been given complete overhauls.
I love that word, 'Master', it makes it sound like it's so much more grand than any other room, but in my case, well, it's just another room, but I find it kind of amusing to use. One day I'll have a Master Suite. Yes, you heard me.
Okay. First up is the living room. You can see my original thoughts on the transformation and moodboard here. I've been working on this since last summer. I painted it, then everything ground to a halt over the summer holidays. Then I decided that we needed built-in cupboards and shelves in the alcoves as we just weren't using the space as efficiently as we could - why not take advantage of the high ceilings to get some more display and storage space?
So that happened and totally transformed the room - it feels more grand now and a bit more traditional, which I was a little unsure of at first, but I now absolutely love it. In fact, I'm waiting for my electrician to come and install the amazing satin brass lights that I've bought for the tops of said shelving, which will not only stop it looking too traditional because they're a contemporary design, but will complete the lighting layers in a room I've always struggled with, in getting the lighting just right.
Last weekend the new blinds went up, which were also transformational (more about that in my reveal post), and the last piece in the puzzle is to get two new prints up onto the monochrome gallery wall.
I'm pretty damn pleased with how this room is turning out. And the colour? Well I couldn't be happier with it - bordering on evangelical. Sorry.
It's so close to being done, and then I'll be shouting from the rooftops for you to come and see it, and with some trepidation I might add, because this image of what it used to look like has been phenomenally popular, having appeared on Apartment Therapy, Brit + Co, Refinery 29 and Abigail Ahern to name but a few, and bringing so much traffic to my blog. So there's definitely a bit of 'oh my god, what if they hate it' going on in my head. But hey, it's my house, right?
Moving on to Edie's Tweenage Dream bedroom. You can see my original post with moodboard right here. That's been a super popular post, because it's a look I would happily put in a grown up bedroom too, and the blue is to die for. Definitely not just for kids.
I painted it months ago, took down all her art, and shelving, and then everything stopped because I needed to sell her high-sleeper bed before we could go any further. Trying to sell her bed just before Christmas was not one of my smartest ideas, so I re-listed it for sale a few weeks ago and it sold pretty much straight away. That meant we could move her old bed that Baxter has been using back into her room, and order some bunk beds for Baxter's room.
With her original bed reinstated, I've also changed her light shade, moved all her furniture around, had a massive de-clutter, and her room is completely transformed. She absolutely loves it, which makes me very happy.
There are a few finishing touches to do and we're there - the art needs to be hung, she needs a noticeboard which is a purchase plus DIY, and I need to take a trip to Ikea to buy a full length free-standing mirror. Oh, I need to make her roman blind too.
Last but not least, is the Master Bedroom. If you follow me on Instagram you may know that even though I felt I wanted a light colour in the living room, that I decided to go super dark in the bedroom. It just felt right, and was a bit of a major decision, because it wasn't just the walls, it was the doors of the built-in wardrobe that I wanted to paint too. So I did. And I love it.
I've also replaced the light fitting with the oversized Sinnerlig bamboo pendant from the Ilse Crawford for Ikea collection which looks fantastic.
I've kind of stalled there though. Partly due to lack of time, and part of it is because I don't like our bed frame (I never have - it was a pre-me purchase of my husband's), and now that the walls are dark, the cream metal frame sticks out like a sore thumb. I did know this would happen, and had planned to paint it, but as it's metal, it really needs to be sprayed which means dismantling it and taking it outside, and it's not appropriate weather. To be honest, I can't be bothered putting so much effort into something I don't even like, so I don't know where I'm going with it right now. I have thought about various DIY ways of hiding it - but everything involves spending money on something I'd rather replace. So I'm a bit stumped, and may just have to put up with it until I can find the funds to replace the frame.
So there you go, a little (okay, long-winded) update on what's been happening decorating wise, within the walls of this house over the last few months. I feel like I'm getting to the point where I'm happy with most rooms for the first time in a LONG time, and that feels pretty good!
But believe me when I say that I am also ALWAYS chipping away and working on one or usually many of the elements of the things I've said I'm doing to bring them together, and today I wanted to give you a little update of where I'm at with the Living Room, the Tweeenage Dream Room, and our Master Bedroom, which are very much on their way to being ready to show you (well maybe with the exception of the master bedroom), having been given complete overhauls.
I love that word, 'Master', it makes it sound like it's so much more grand than any other room, but in my case, well, it's just another room, but I find it kind of amusing to use. One day I'll have a Master Suite. Yes, you heard me.
Okay. First up is the living room. You can see my original thoughts on the transformation and moodboard here. I've been working on this since last summer. I painted it, then everything ground to a halt over the summer holidays. Then I decided that we needed built-in cupboards and shelves in the alcoves as we just weren't using the space as efficiently as we could - why not take advantage of the high ceilings to get some more display and storage space?
So that happened and totally transformed the room - it feels more grand now and a bit more traditional, which I was a little unsure of at first, but I now absolutely love it. In fact, I'm waiting for my electrician to come and install the amazing satin brass lights that I've bought for the tops of said shelving, which will not only stop it looking too traditional because they're a contemporary design, but will complete the lighting layers in a room I've always struggled with, in getting the lighting just right.
Last weekend the new blinds went up, which were also transformational (more about that in my reveal post), and the last piece in the puzzle is to get two new prints up onto the monochrome gallery wall.
I'm pretty damn pleased with how this room is turning out. And the colour? Well I couldn't be happier with it - bordering on evangelical. Sorry.
Moving on to Edie's Tweenage Dream bedroom. You can see my original post with moodboard right here. That's been a super popular post, because it's a look I would happily put in a grown up bedroom too, and the blue is to die for. Definitely not just for kids.
I painted it months ago, took down all her art, and shelving, and then everything stopped because I needed to sell her high-sleeper bed before we could go any further. Trying to sell her bed just before Christmas was not one of my smartest ideas, so I re-listed it for sale a few weeks ago and it sold pretty much straight away. That meant we could move her old bed that Baxter has been using back into her room, and order some bunk beds for Baxter's room.
With her original bed reinstated, I've also changed her light shade, moved all her furniture around, had a massive de-clutter, and her room is completely transformed. She absolutely loves it, which makes me very happy.
There are a few finishing touches to do and we're there - the art needs to be hung, she needs a noticeboard which is a purchase plus DIY, and I need to take a trip to Ikea to buy a full length free-standing mirror. Oh, I need to make her roman blind too.
Last but not least, is the Master Bedroom. If you follow me on Instagram you may know that even though I felt I wanted a light colour in the living room, that I decided to go super dark in the bedroom. It just felt right, and was a bit of a major decision, because it wasn't just the walls, it was the doors of the built-in wardrobe that I wanted to paint too. So I did. And I love it.
I've also replaced the light fitting with the oversized Sinnerlig bamboo pendant from the Ilse Crawford for Ikea collection which looks fantastic.
I've kind of stalled there though. Partly due to lack of time, and part of it is because I don't like our bed frame (I never have - it was a pre-me purchase of my husband's), and now that the walls are dark, the cream metal frame sticks out like a sore thumb. I did know this would happen, and had planned to paint it, but as it's metal, it really needs to be sprayed which means dismantling it and taking it outside, and it's not appropriate weather. To be honest, I can't be bothered putting so much effort into something I don't even like, so I don't know where I'm going with it right now. I have thought about various DIY ways of hiding it - but everything involves spending money on something I'd rather replace. So I'm a bit stumped, and may just have to put up with it until I can find the funds to replace the frame.
So there you go, a little (okay, long-winded) update on what's been happening decorating wise, within the walls of this house over the last few months. I feel like I'm getting to the point where I'm happy with most rooms for the first time in a LONG time, and that feels pretty good!