Our new bedroom

Hello! I've been wanting to show you around our new home for a while now so I thought I would start with our bedroom as it's really the only room that's 100% finished. Moving to this house has been such an experience for us and has actually really taught us a lot about what we actually need for our family happiness. I thought moving here that I would 'tolerate' it and make the best of it until things improved, but the biggest surprise for me has been how much I really love it. The house is very small, and storage could be a problem, but I'm actually really enjoying finding ways to make the space work for us. And I have come to realise that a room is just a room;whether it has sash windows or deep skirting or real wood floors, or whether it has artex ceilings, cheap hollow doors and plasticky windows, it feels like a lovely home if it's filled with the people you love and treasures that have meaning to you. So....I do have some 'before' pictures of the house, but the pictures of our bedroom are pretty pointless to show you as you can't see much in them except me looking despondent ;-) . I expect you know the sort of room it was; just a featureless box, with dirty board floors that appeared to have been carpet less for the time the previous occupant lived here, and grubby magnolia walls covered in stains from goodness knows what.  There was also a strong aroma of cat accompanied by large quantities of cat hair stuck to the radiators and floors.  But on a plus side, the room has really great light from two decent sized windows and looks out at a beautiful cherry tree at the front of the house, and distant views of the mountains. And there was a largish built in wardrobe which was brilliant as it's a small room so it was great not to have to find a space for wardrobes. When we moved in we decided to paint the whole place white as it makes it look lovely and clean and fresh and makes every room look bigger and brighter. I also love the way white can look completely different depending on the time of day and the light in the room,or the accent colours that you choose.

A good tip if you have a very small room to try and fit lots of stuff into is to plot the room to scale  on graph paper and do the same with your furniture, then cut out the furniture and try different arrangements on paper....yes I know it's totally nerdy and over the top but it really helps you to decide what to keep and what to get rid of, and how to make the best use of the space. I wanted our bedroom to be calm and serene, so we stuck with white bedding and mostly white furniture, which also helps to add to the feeling of space.

I added a yellow bedspread to our bed which just makes the whole room glow when the evening light streams in. I got it from a friend who was throwing it out....I feel really strongly about up cycling and recycling whenever possible.  Not only do pre loved items have more character in my opinion but it minimises your carbon footprint as a consumer when you do not subscribe to the throwaway attitude people have today. Plus it's easier on your bank account which can't be bad!!!  Here are a few of my favourite items in our bedroom: all are either pre loved or have special significance to me.

This mirror is one of the first items I ever upcycled.  I found it in the back room of a small fabric shop and haggled with the owner to buy it for £3.  It lived in my bathroom in my first ever flat when I left home.  I painted it off white (it was long before chalk paint became popular and my boyfriend, who is now my husband, thought I was nuts 'ruining' a perfectly good mirror!).  I love the shabby chic style and it sort of helped define my taste for the future.

I decorate everywhere with memories of my children and these little shoes belonged to my youngest daughter, I couldn't bring myself to give these away so I keep them in my room and every night and see them and smile thinking of the tiny toes that once filled them.  I love to fill the corners of our home with things that evoke happy memories...I've never been one to go out and buy an ornament just because it matches my room, and to me it's the memories that make it feel like home. 

I absolutely LOVE my dressing table. A lovely friend gave it to me years ago; she bought it at auction for £3.00 as nobody wanted it so they had to get rid, and she painted it.  It's chipped and battered and the mirror is foxed but I love to imagine who might have sat at it in times past when it was new and looked at their reflection in the mirror.  It's also a great bit of extra storage!  Auctions are a great place to pick up a bargain, and seeing the potential in something nobody else wants is so exciting.

I hang this little walnut baby on one of the barley twists, it was a gift from my uncle to my nan when he was a child in Germany and she kept it always. My girls are fascinated by it.  

I use an old chipped teacup and a glass cake plate to store my jewelry, I like to use things for a purpose other than their intended one, I think it's much more interesting and beautiful than an ordinary jewelry box.

And finally, my beloved camphor wood chest.  My grandmother brought it back from Hong Kong where my grandad was stationed in the army and the receipt is still inside. Nan used to keep all her ballgowns in it from her time as a forces wife, and I loved rifling through and trying them on as a child. It still smells of camphor inside.  Above it hangs two prints that belonged to my great grandmother which she got from Germany.  I just love the style of them.  I like to own something that was valued by a loved one in the past, it makes me feel connected to my history. I have loads of precious things that were loved by my my nan and I love to be reminded of her. I'm very fortunate in that.

So that's our bedroom.  It's a real haven and I love it. Hope you like it too! Will post another room soon xxx