Better late than never hey? I get asked about our bedroom renovations often, so thought I would create this post to cover any questions that I get asked. I think it is one of the rooms we are most proud of because of the DIY tasks that we turned our hand to in this project. We (basically my husband) did everything from restoring the floors to built in alcove wardrobes. We took some décor gambles and pushed ourselves out of our interior comfort zone but I think it paid off. It really does feel like a touch of luxury and is our escape from the chaos that is reno life! Here’s how we did it.

The master bedroom began much like the rest of the rooms in the house, thick with wallpaper and poor wall condition underneath. However this time we had the added treat of, what can only be described as the ugliest fireplace I have ever seen. It took alot of prep work and the chasing into the walls for the wall lights was incredibly messy, but as soon as we were plastered (the walls, not me and Aaron on this occasion) it started to look like a room and I began thinking about decor.

The Panelling was a total last minute decsion. I saw something similar on Pinterest the day before we began decorating, showed my husband and we went to get the parts for it that evening. We had never done any panelling before but were pleasently surprised how easy, cheap and effective it was. You can see the full details of how we did the panelling on my DIY panelling blog post here. In true renovation swings and roundabouts style, the flooring was a labour of love and a real learning curve. It took alot of work and mess but was totally worth it. I love the ease of real wood floors and the fact that they are original to the house means that they add great character to the room. Again you can find a full guide to restoring original floorboards here. When it came to the fireplace I was a bit stumped. After hours and hours of trawling the internet I couldn’t find a single 1930’s tiled fireplace makeover for inspiration! I hate removing original features so i suggested to my husand that we try painting it, we decided it was worth a try and got a pot of cheap, one coat kitchen tile paint. This didnt leave us with the desired look…. or anywhere near in fact. When we were painting the panelling in Valspar wood and metal paint we decided to give it a try on the fireplace and it worked brilliantly. We added some heavily patterned tiles from fired earth and it completely transformed the look.

Once all of the painting and decor was done we moved onto wardrobes. We had space either side of the alcoves which seemed a bit wasted and wanted something built in instead of freestanding. Notoriously expensive, we just didnt have the budget to pay someone to do it. My husand decided to turn his hand to it and give it a go…..There was alot of swearing, wasted cuts of wood and trips to and from shops to get materials. The frame was the most tricky thing to get right. We purchased the doors from Ikea, an absolute bargain at just £35 per door! We then primed and painted the wardrobes to match the panelling. The handles were from Ebay and were super cheap but great quality for the price. I really recomend shopping around once you have your eye on any interior item because 9/10 times I find exactly what I want, cheaper elsewhere.

As always my advice to anyone is to give doing it yourself a go. You have nothing to loose by trying, we are absolutley closing our eyes and hoping for the best with alot of tascs in this renovation, however working so hard to create the small luxuries makes us love them all the more. It was my time to shine…when it came to furnishing the bedroom, I knew that I wanted it to feel like total grown up luxury. I based all the decor around the fireplace which had quickly become my favourite feature of the hosue…. who would have thought it! I took the art deco/boutique hotel vibes and ran with it. Luxurious fabrics, deco patterns in a mix of greys and gold, have made for the perfect adult retreat. I have tried my best to list where products we used were from below, but should you have any questions or want any further detail then please feel free to pop a comment below.

SHOP OUR STYLE

• Wall paint- Valspar colour match to Farrow and Ball purbeck stone
• Panelling and wardobe paint- Valspar match to Downpipe, wood and metal.
• Wall and ceiling lights- Dar lighting purchased at Castlegate Lights online.
• All wood (panelling and Wardrobes) B&Q
• Bedding, throw and decorative cushions- Matalan home.
• Blinds- Blinds2go Wooden blinds in arctic white
• Gold Shadow box- Next
• Faux Cheese plant and planter- Matalan home
• Wardrobe innards and doors- Ikea
• Fireplace tiles- Fired earth
• Side table- TK maxx

Chynna xxx