Home tour – boho bedroom makeover

The husband jokes that I am turning into some kind of bohemian earth mama…  I’m ok with that.  Our bedroom turned from basic and minimal (although looking at these ‘before’ pics I am more inclined to say sparse and completely void of character) into a sanctuary.  You know when you go stay in a hotel and you wonder why your bedroom at home can’t be just as calming and pretty?  Turns out it can.  Scroll down for the details and some ‘before’ pics…

It would be fair to say we started with a blank canvas – white walls, cream carpet, white Ikea units, etc.  I wanted to create a feature wall and pored over the Farrow & Ball colours for a looooong time before eventually going super dark with Studio Green, actually their trend colour for the year, and painting a broken line with the roller around eye level.  The colour is so, I’m not sure how best to describe it, maybe deep?  Like a cool, thick, green in the daylight and almost blackish by night, perfectly matt – I’m super happy with how it turned out.  And these terracotta swallows I stumbled across in a little Portugese boutique, Casa Cubista, just swoop above and below the line beautifully.

I had some job convincing the husband that ‘pink’ bedding was the way to go but last night, unprovoked, he even said to me, ‘You know, I really like the colour of the bedding, it’s not really pink.’  Well, sorry dude, it is.  But the washed linen is so muted that, apparently if you dress it up right, you can even get it past the man in your life – green and pink is one of my favourite colour combinations and against this wall it’s far from feminine.  I got this set from La Redoute (30% off right now) and it is honestly the softest, most beautiful linen to sleep on and, now this is a major bonus for me, it actually looks better if you don’t iron it – the dream.

The printed cushions are a selection from my beloved bluebellgray and this one, Cactus, is definitely a new favourite, kind of a sneak peek too launching later this month, and I love it next to that giant monster plant.  I searched hard for the perfect rocker (thinking about middle of the night baby moments) and found this rattan one at La Redoute which I adore – it’s simple and natural with the bamboo and fits with the whole feel of the room so well.

Next up, transforming those units.  Enter Superfront.  A genius little company specifically designed to take your plain Ikea units to the next level with beautiful legs and handles.  I’m in.  The cocoa brass trunk handles were a winner for me and, because the screws are the perfect depth for Ikea pieces, they were literally a doddle to drill and screw in place (ok, I’ll confess, my Dad did the drilling but he said it was a doddle).

   

We can hold Pinterest responsible for the hours I lost online shopping for a huge round, gold edged mirror.  Let me save you the bother.  This one, from Laura Ashley, is the biggest and most affordable one out there.  It took a month to arrive but it was so worth the wait.  That’s one metre round of perfect mirror.

The finishing touches are always those bits and pieces that take time – I have been picking up pots and baskets on trips to TK Maxx…  for months.  The rattan woven wall art I also found at Laura Ashley (it’s on sale too now) and I gotta say I’m pretty tempted to get the smaller size as well and have a pair…  The aloe vera is from Next and, shhh, don’t judge me but, it’s faux.  I am truly terrible at keeping plants alive so this little guy was made for me and, honestly, with the natural rubbery look of a succulent, you really cannot tell.  The gorgeous flowers came courtesy of Mud Urban Flowers, a gorgeous Glasgow company with such a great concept – a daily, seasonal bouquet delivered to your door in a cute carrier from £19.  I am seriously tempted to subscribe…

And a couple of final bits…  The bedside lights are from, wait for it, B&Q.  Thirty quid each my friends – don’t think I need to say any more about that.  The bohemian headboard kinda happened by accident – I ordered this rug from Next and when I laid it out on the bed (for a flatlay, as you do) I realised the width was spot on so I tried it, and it worked, so it stayed.  And last but by no means least, the macrame wallhanging.  The husband got this from Etsy for my Christmas, after a couple of not so subtle hints, and it was probably the starting point for the whole room.

   

So that’s my sanctuary and I truly, truly love it.  In light of the sleepless nights that are no doubt on the horizon, at least they’ll be spent here in our little oasis of calm.

If you would like to see my other home tour posts you can find them here – the budget kitchen makeover is a favourite.