Master Bedroom Transformation

What?!  Bedroom...?  Aren't you doing up the kitchen??  Well, yes - but I never did show off the bedroom decoration we did last Summer.

Firstly, I loved all the comments on my post with my kitchen colour inspiration ideas, they were great reading!  Thanks guys.  You can see from my last post that we didn't go quite as bold - we decided to tone it down just a touch.  It's a bit of a lighter version of the inspiration colour - although it looks different in different lights.  Sometimes it looks more blue, and sometimes more turquoise.  Nevertheless, no matter what colour it is looking, it works really well with the kitchen and we love it!

(And Sam - I loved what you said about the number of days I could cross of my calendar when we got rid of the old kitchen - I hadn't even thought of that!!  Although, when I mentioned it to the Lumberjack he didn't think I could count it, as we were replacing it with a new kitchen, so it's not decluttering... hmmm maybe he's right!)

A few finishing touches to be done, then I will hopefully be able to do a full reveal!

In the meantime, this is how the master bedroom looked when we came to view the house (estate agent picture):

An old lady's bedroom!  Although, that retro furniture style is very popular at the moment - maybe we should have tried to get our hands on it!

Well, we had the old electric heaters removed and central heating installed.  We stripped the wallpaper...

I was a bit rubbish at the wallpaper-stripping, so the Lumberjack did most of it.  I stepped in for the painting (and to pose for photos!).

We painted, had new carpet put down, white wooden venetian blinds fitted... and this is how it looks now:

I had a massive tidy-up the other day, so thought I'd take some pictures while it was tidy!  It was in the morning, before I went to work - so the light probably isn't ideal.  The walls are painted in 'duck egg' by Wickes - which isn't actually what I would call duck egg, it's more of a light aqua which is what we wanted.  (Although it looks blueish in these pics - why are some colours so hard to photograph?!)

The main reason I hadn't shown pictures yet was that things like the cushions and lampshades are from my bedroom in my old flat, where I had bright colours.  We just used them temporarily, but haven't decided what to replace them with.  But I just figured I might as well show the room as it is, as it'll probably never be completely finished!

Ikea Hemnes chest of drawers.  (The bedding is very creased - I can't be bothered to iron bedding!)

Crochet heart garland on the mirror - see here

That little shelf is an Ikea picture ledge.  I had what I (modestly) think of as the genius idea of using it as a little perfume shelf!

Genius, I tell you!

The dressing table is Ikea Malm, with an Ikea Ingolf Stool.

Ikea Hemnes bedside tables and a longer version of the Ikea picture ledge above the bed.  (Yes, we've spent a lot of time in Ikea since buying this house!!)

I still need to sort out what's going on the picture ledge - they are just a random selection of items - more work to be done on that...

To the right of the picture above, is the door do the wardrobe (was airing cupboard) which has the hair station on it.  And next to that, not pictured (because it had some of the Lumberjack's junk on it!) is the chest of drawers he painted.

Anyway, that's the bedroom!  It still needs a bit of work - I think it needs manning up a bit really.  Although the Lumberjack doesn't seem to mind the pink!

An Award from Anna!

You may have heard me mention my lovely Swedish friend Anna a few times on this blog.  She is a 'real life' friend I used to work with, who taught me how to crochet!  She is very talented and has a lovely blog here where she posts in Swedish and English.

I don't usually do awards these days, but Anna has awarded me with this one:

And as it is from Anna (thanks!) I will answer the questions!

 

What is your favourite flower?

Tulips - so beautiful and colourful!

 

What do you do on a rainy day?

Crochet/sew/read/watch TV/read blogs and crafty inspiration - and spend as much of it snuggled under my waterlily blanket as possible!

 

Favourite food?

Chocolate and cake (coffee and walnut, carrot, victoria...mmm)!

 

Favourite book?

Hard to pick... there are so many good books, it depends on my mood - I loved the Twilight books; Sophie Kinsella books always make me laugh and are so enjoyable to read; Harry Potter of course; and I'm planning to re-read Pride and Prejudice at some point soon (to be honest, I can't remember the book - I just remember the amazing BBC drama!).  I'm sure I've forgotten some of my favourite books...

 

City or country?

Country (although not that keen on mud!)

 

What new craft would you like to learn?

Good question... I've seen some gorgeous needle felted funky things and would love to be able to make them!

 

What is your favourite holiday?

Christmas!

 

What music do you listen to?

Cheery cheesy music - Country Road, I Would Walk 500 Miles, I'm in the Mood for Dancing - cheese!!!  Oh, and been getting into Kenny Rogers lately, love it!

 

Why did you start your blog?

I started because I discovered craft blogs, and especially became obsessed with the paper-and-string blog which I thought was amazing.  I didn't realise that there was this crafty inspirational world out there, and it was a revelation!  I decided to start my own blog.  I did have ideas of turning it into a craft business and selling the things I made, but I didn't really stick with that and just enjoyed sharing the things I'd made with other interested people.

What do you find most rewarding with blogging?

I love that people are interested in what I've been making and it's always so exciting to get a positive comment!  Everyone is so supportive and encouraging.  I also love the wealth of inspiration and ideas out there.  It's so lovely to see what others are making - it's like a virtual craft group really, everyone sharing ideas and makes. 

What makes you follow a blog?

Usually if I stumble across a blog and like the things they've been making, I'll follow so that I don't miss any more pretty creations and inspiration!

Thanks again Anna.

And here is a sneak peak of a bit of the kitchen for you all...

More on that soon.....!

Declutter: Less 365

As part of my mission to declutter this year, I thought I'd try the Less 365 Project, which I first read about here.

The point is to get rid of one thing every day for a year.  Well... I'm not doing it exactly like that - I'm getting rid of things in fits and starts really.  However, I believe I have stumbled on the key to making this a successful project... the simple print out of a 2014 calendar!  I found mine here, but any will do.

As I get rid of something, I cross a day off on the calendar.  It makes no difference to me what the actual date is I do it - I just cross a day off per item.  If you are anything like me, having this calendar will make all the difference - the other week I found myself wandering around the house, calendar in hand, looking for things to get rid of so I could cross another day off!  (I shouldn't have to look really, the house is awash with clutter!)  It might not work for everyone, but it's a motivator for me - I do like lists, ticking things off, and such related fun!  (The Lumberjack didn't quite get the point of the calendar in all of this.  His view is that if you've got too much junk, just get rid of it - why do you need a calendar?!  Although he recognised that I was clearly delighted every time I could cross a day off!  We all work in different ways...!)

Sometimes you'll find you're behind the actual date and sometimes ahead of it - depending on when you have your manic clear-outs!  I've been held up for the last week or so, as life has become rather hectic around here...

That's the Lumberjack ripping out the kitchen - eeeeek!

We've been having electrics and plastering and what-not done this week, and the installation starts on Monday.  The kitchen arrived yesterday:

The living room has now become a storage area.  As well as other random places that boxes have been squeezed into!

So it's a bit chaotic at the moment.  I am currently hiding in bed typing this - away from the mess!  Everywhere in the house appears to be covered in a fine layer of dust - it's delightful.

This weekend's plan is to get the room painted with a few coats if possible, so that when the kitchen is in, just a final coat is needed to neaten up the knocks and bumps from the installation.  The Lumberjack has to work today, so I plan to get on with that (I'm the painter anyway, he does the messy work and I do the bits that need to look neat!).  I'm just waiting for the final wet patches of plaster to dry out before I get out of bed and get on with it.  (That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!)

I'm just going to get some white on the ceiling and walls to start with.  But we're struggling to decide on the actual wall colour to go for.  I originally thought a neutral like a very pale grey, then changed my mind to duck egg - but we've started to veer down the funky bright colour route!  Perhaps this sort of colour:

Source

Source - this was a Pinterest pin which doesn't seem to go anywhere unfortunately

We're having ivory cupboards, walnut worktops and a low band of lightish grey tiles over the worktop.  (Do walnut and grey go?!  Eeek, hope so!)  It's a small kitchen and not that much of the wall colour will be on show really.  We thought it would be fun to have an injection of brightness, rather than be neutral, but it's a bit scary!  What do you reckon people?  (Be prepared for me to ignore your opinions - I tend to do that.  I'll listen and take them on board, but sometimes my heart just has another idea, and you've gotta follow your heart!)

And of course, It can always be painted over if it looks hideous.

Aahh prettiness (taken just as the chaos was about to start):

Spot the polish can on the floor, ruining the picture - that amuses me.  (Don't be fooled into thinking I was cleaning - things were just being moved around!)

Goodness, this is a long waffley post - anyone would think I was avoiding getting out of bed and doing some painting....