We have at last completed the bedroom and upstairs hallway (well except for the floors, but that’s the case with most of the flat!). So I thought I’d share how it turned out, I’m really pleased with it, it’s a room that makes me smile and I’m glad we’ve been able to bring some personality to a small space without overwhelming it.
There was naturally a very cottage-y feel to this room with its small dimensions, uncentralised window and sloping ceiling which threw me in my initial thought process. It seemed to be insisiting that it required a rustic cottage look and I wasn’t sure if I should go with this and celebrate it, but having moved from town to country and back again I didn’t feel entirely comfortable paying homage to a rustic country look in the heart of urban Tooting.
Having gone with instinct in our small bathroom and painted it black, we partly eschewed conventional design advice which dictates bedrooms should be calm neutral spaces and have instead packed the space with things that interest and excite the mind. My plan for the room was a simple white box complete with white floors and a neutral grey feature wall that would be sprinkled with dashes of texture, textiles, homespun crafts and pieces of Americana to create personality.
The main colour palette for accessories was pastels which took its cue from the cushions I already had. Also I adore the pastel geometrics that have been so in vogue over the last few years. There is something very whimsical about the space, almost playful which really charms me. The rest of our apartment is decidedly grown up with an eclectic twist of humour but this space is unadulteratedly naive and it makes me smile each time I see it.
The textiles in the room are one of the most important things that draw everything together and they were by far the most expensive part. I have had most of the cushions for several years but some are still available online. The geometric pastel cushion was the most expensive at £59 by Ferm Living at Made In Design, the two circus style pastel dot cushions with lion in party hat and performing seal are £36 from the children’s range by Cerise Sur Le Gateau, and the charming American embroidered fox, feathers and ermine are from previously featured design crush Coral & Tusk.
The bedroom is fairly homespun from the old chair sprayed pink to the roman blind made with my mother in law out of an old Ikea fabric, to the elephant in headdress, pompom embroidery hoop, feather arrows, gold atomic hanging, washi tape tray to the painted driftwood shelves with colour popping brackets. I have really enjoyed making all of these simple crafts (more of in another post). I am not much of a crafter and vintage look crafts are something I actively avoid but I think the bedroom is a space in which you can afford to have fun even when you are as craft challenged as I am! I am in love with my kitsch deer from &K Amsterdam, the Knappa light pendant was a steal at £16 from Ikea.
