Bedroom Makeover - French Cottage Look

Well, the sun finally showed its face Friday, I wanted to get the photos completed of my bedroom makeover so I dived in while the going was good. The light wasn't  perfect but without professional equipment or waiting till mid Summer,  I had to make the most of the natural light.  I easily took well over 150 shots (am I a pedantic perfectionist?), thank goodness for digital cameras! Although I have to repeat I am disappointed with the light.

Colours above are not quite true, the fabric for the Roman blind is more beige than grey.

The pair of weathered French shutters are from Yvonne Saunders Antiques.  Because they were only 500m wide I chose to have a space between to create better balance to the Queen size bed. Originally I was going to use an old door behind the bed but the bedroom is not large and I fell in love with the colour of the shutters. The great thing is if decide to change the look of the room, I can simply get the shutters stripped back to the natural wood.

All bed linen is Wallace Cotton the floral quilt and Euro pillows are Paridiso at Wallace Cotton.

The Paradiso quilt creates a cottage look to the room and compliments the shutters perfectly. If I'd wanted to give the illusion of more space, then I'd choose all white bedlinen with a little blue brought in with Euro pillows and scatter pillows. However, I have gone for a cosy, cottage look and Paradiso was perfect. 

I took advantage of the space between the shutters and hung a wall sconce for added interest.  However, I could have left it bare or added a pair of small vertically hung prints. Now looking at this photo it is a little out of kilter so I will have to move it a fraction.

The white seersucker duvet cover and pillowslips in cotton percale are  also Wallace Cotton.

The Roman blinds are beige and white linen.

White seersucker adds texture.

The Lamps are white washed with a natural beige linen shade that tone with the Roman blinds. 

I love the crackled candlestick holder, it reminds me of pretty birds eggs. The pretty cup and saucer are Royal Albert and part of a miss-matched collection of cups and saucers my mother gave me.  I saw a set recently very similar to this and it was $170 for a cup, saucer and plate!! Maybe I should be displaying it behind glass rather than drinking out of it.

These Gardenia heart shaped soaps came in their own little draw string bag. The antique silver sweet dish is a family heirloom and belonged to my grandmother.

These stainless steel tripod tables were originally purchased for my living room, however, they work well as bedside tables. Keeping it simple can sometimes prove best alongside a focal point such as the shutters.

The cross is a recent find in a lovely little shop called Distinctive Linens in St Heliers, Auckland. 

I love the black/grey weathered appearance of the cross, it compliments the shutters beautifully. I feel solid black would have been a little too harsh.

I bought this lovely little box to put beside my bed to drop my earrings in at night. I loved the french writing.  It was only NZ$12 from Romantique a NZ shop full of beautiful accessories and furniture from France.

The Before shot is prior to buying the house, a black and white theme with grey roller blinds. However the white walls and woodwork had a pink undertone which I wanted to do away with so I had the walls repainted 1/4 parchment and  the woodwork Alabaster both Resene colours.  I repositioned my own bed to face the smaller window.  The bedroom is actually wider than it appears in the first photo.




Addendum: March 2012
Since I originally posted my makeover, I have been thrilled to receive a "Rooms award" from Better Homes & Gardens.

It is now 2016 and this room has had a total re-vamp to Hamptons/Caribbean style, see the images and read all about it here