When we moved into our house it was really dark and gloomy, the woodwork all needed a lick of paint (the previous people smoked an awful lot – yellow tinged woodwork is not cool!) and the whole place just needed a complete freshen up. We managed to re decorate every single room bar the bathrooms in a week and were over the moon with how different it looked. We painted our bedroom purple because I had previously had a lot of purple accessories so I just kept it the same for ease. 5 years down the line and I really wasn’t feeling the purple anymore and after our recent trip to Greece and our love for the sea we decided to have a re vamp and paint it all white and accessorise with blues.
One of the main things we wanted to change was our bed. We still had my brothers old bed frame which definitely did not represent our style, but that of a 15 year olds room, and after trawling the internet there was nothing that really took our fancy. Not only did we not have much of a budget for this room, we wanted something unique and quirky. When the husband suggested making our bed from scratch I pulled many shocked/confused faces as he can barely fit a shelf straight…. (love you, Joe.) BUT with much research, plan after plan after plan and a lot of patience he ACTUALLY pulled it off!!
We bought the wood for the frame from B&Q and stained it with Jacobean Dark Oak, I didn’t want a warm orange stain, I wanted more of an ash stain but still with a hint of warmth and this was the perfect match. I also loved the idea of a pallet headboard and after a lot of searching on Pinterest I confirmed that what I had in my head was totally doable. To say I was demanding and bossy would be an understatement, but stubbornness pays off and it is EXACTLY what we wanted! The whole thing cost just under £40 and suffice to say that no one will have one the same, and knowing that we built it ourselves is pretty darn satisfying.
I am a sucker for plain white bedding so when I found this Albury Cotton Seersucker bedding from Laura Ashley online I knew I had to have it! Having such luxurious bedding really is a privilege and nothing beats climbing into crisp white linen sheets after a long day. It has a gorgeous trim along the pillowcases that just adds that extra bit of prettiness that just plain bedding doesn’t have. The underside of the bedding hasn’t got the ribbed effect that the top has which is perfect for fidget sleepers like me who get cross with any kind of embellishment or pattern touching their skin!
I also wanted to make some cushions to match our Greek theme and Laura Ashley had the perfect fabrics, I literally squealed with excitement when I found them! I used Leander Stripe Dark Seaspray curtain for an oblong cushion for the centre of the bed. I wanted something with more colour to make it really stand out against the white bedding and walls and I think it looks so cute! Not only is the quality of the fabric really beautiful, the stripes fit perfectly onto this size cushion which wasn’t planned out at all!
I then wanted a couple of square white cushions and add a couple of embellishments or buttons to them to jazz them up a bit. I chose Becall White Curtain Fabric as it had a really distinctive texture to it, which makes it stand out against the cotton bed linen. Buttons make a really dull cushion completely come alive and the wooden buttons from Dunelm Mill were super cheap and match the bed frame really well. I love the rustic look of them and its a great contrast against the white fabric. We added a 2 inch seam for the buttons to sit in which adds a much more professional finish.
Having 3 cushions on a bed, in my opinion, looks really pleasing to the eye. My husband was most confused when I told him they were display cushions and no, he couldn’t lay all over them like a pillow 😉 ‘Is this a show room now?!’ was his reply, which made me quite smug for sure 😉
So for the last cushion we wanted to add some blue into it and I came across a pack of blue buttons in Dunelm Mill (which has a really good haberdashery section FYI!) I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with them but knew I had to buy them. I also got some navy blue bias binding to make an edging around the cushion which I thought would look awesome against the white. I love navy and white together and a lot of the bedroom has different patterns scattered around so I thought it would tie in nicely. We decided on a random scatter of matte buttons in one corner of the cushion which I absolutely LOVE and so pleased with how it turned out! I am in love with this white fabric, it sewed beautifully and the overall finish is so crisp and professional – win win!
I am so excited to start accessorising our room some more. We have bedside tables to upcycle and maybe another little crafty project or two too. So stay tuned for bedroom make over part 2!
*Laura Ashley kindly gifted me the items mentioned in this post for this project we worked on together. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own*
Our life as we see it 