Sunday 15 September 2013

Guest Bedroom Makeover - The Reveal

Finally, the guest bedroom reveal! I am sorry it took so long, the hold up was over a set of wooden blinds that took more than three weeks to arrive and were so badly damaged they were completely useless. The moral of the story is if you purchase over the Internet make sure the supplier either has the product in stock or they manufacture within your country. I thought I was buying from a NZ company that manufactured in Auckland, instead they shipped direct from China (they failed to declare this information). Fortunately after persuasion, they refunded my money, I then had to start all over again. This time I contacted a reputable New Zealand company, Brightshine who manufacture their blinds here in Auckland. They came out to my home, measured, discussed paint colours and 10 days later turned up to fit my perfect blinds. They may have cost a little more than the other company, however they are beautifully made and worth the additional cost. I just want to add, this is not a sponsored post, I wanted to mention Brightshine as there are some "cowboys" out there so to speak, but this company is NOT one of them.

Another company I want to give credit to is Curtainalia  who made the  beige toile and elephant cushion on the bed and supplied some of the furniture and lighting. The owner, Kaye was extremely helpful and went out of her way to select fabrics and furnishing that would work with my colour scheme. I mentioned in my previous post I had fallen in love with the animal print cushion I had seen on line, it was my lucky day as Kaye had a small amount of this fabric available and was able to make the oblong elephant cushion which I think completes the room.


The bedroom was previously my studio, then a storage room for some of my mums furniture. The room has now been given a complete makeover with fresh paint, furniture and accessories. I wanted to create an inviting guest room inspired by Ralph Lauren's style. I also drew a little inspiration from one of the bedrooms in  Interior designer, Andrew Melville's home, I liked his idea of the black tripod side tables and gingham bed linen. 


The room has a slightly odd shape, a small hall/entrance way leads to an open square. The room was reduced in size when the previous owners stole a chunk for a cavernous walk in wardrobe in the neigbouring master bedroom, hence the small hall entrance. Not that I'm complaining as I love my large walk in, however smaller one would have enabled more storage space to be incorporated into this room.


Initial mood board 


I pretty well achieved my wish list with a few budget modifications - I have not yet installed my flooring

Before...
The reveal...
Prints - Picasso line drawings - A little bit overkill, I will be replacing the centre ones
 Homestead flannel sheets -  Spiro bed skirt (stone) - Bungalow duvet cover  (taupe) all Wallace Cotton
 Lamp - Alcamo Interiors - The opera glasses were my grandads. Walls, Resene Eighth Bison Hide

Love my Providence, Rhode Island trunk, it hides a guest's suitcase perfectly. Alabaster, painted cedar blinds from  Brightshine - 63cm extra wide for a shutter look without the cost.
 Toile linen cushions and elephant cushion from Curtainalia & Bel Cuscino
 Lamp & Atlas side table - French Country purchased through Curtainalia & Bel Cuscino  -  linen headboard hand made by myself ....instructions can be found here
The wooden mirror, previously from my living room has a pewter hand painted finish and works with the pewter in the lamps
Of course Poppy had to be in on at least one shot. I plan to balance the end of the bed with a dark throw, I literally ran out of budget :(

I haven't yet installed the flooring, originally I wanted to lay wall to wall sisal but now looking at options such as a chunky textured wool or a bound sisal rug. The other missing item is a gorgeous chocolate faux fur throw that was to go at the end of the bed. Overall I think I achieved the style I was looking for. As the room is in neutral tones, I mixed my patterns from tartan to toile to add interest.  I may possibly add some linen curtains to complete the room but for now I am happy and it's ready for its first guest tomorrow, a friends daughter who is returning from the USA. Last time she wanted to stay the room was full of furniture and the poor girl ended up in a youth hostel in the city, this time she can sleep in luxury.

Next week I will post DIY instructions and images to making the linen headboard. It is really easy, totally cost effective and the results exceeded my expectations. I Googled the topic to death but have come up with my own set of instructions as I found some rather difficult to understand or they were taking shortcuts and not achieving the quality results I was looking for.

I hope the reveal was worth the wait, I would love to hear what you think of the results.


If you missed my previous post about my inspiration coming from Ralph Lauren's style, you can catch up here.








28 comments:

  1. Lee! It's beautiful! Oh my gosh! I'm soooooo behind on everyone's blog posts, and decided to try and peek in on some friends and found this! The colors are so soft and inviting, the bed scrumptious... I love love the color and print on the flannel sheets, and the darling gingham... and that lamp, i must have one or two of them. The elephant pillow does finish it off so nicely... and that trunk is to die for. Great job!

    Cindy

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  2. Hi Cindy, thanks for dropping by, glad you could catch up with this post and glad you love the room. The lamps are both stunning, one the most expensive items in the room but I had to have one. The trunk I saw in an image in a recent NZ House and Garden magazine and trailed all over Auckland trying to find one. Not only did I succeed but got a huge discount on it :)

    Lee

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  3. Oh my, your room is stunning. I love the mix of linens and patterns, so beautiful. The accessories are lovely and I love the Providence trunk. What a fabulous piece. Thanks for letting me know about your room, it is stunning and full of inspiration. Hugs, Marty

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    1. Thanks for stopping by Marty and thank you for the kind comments on the room. I love the Providence trunk too, it was a great find.

      Keep being inspired.

      Lee :)

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  4. It looks fantastic, well done Lee. I love your pattern mix on the bed. It all feels beautifully serene, your friend's daughter is very lucky. x

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    1. Thanks Vic, I think it was worth the wait. I actually had the spotted cushions already and decided they would work well as they were a similar colour to the elephant, it seemed to balance out the bed. I also felt that because it was very much a neutral room, the patterns would add some interest.

      Yes, hoping Emily has a good nights sleep, not quite sure about the blinds blocking out all the light, I am probably going to hang some linen curtains at some stage, give it a "finished" look.

      Lee :)

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  5. Good Morning Lee, My word, what a difference you have made to your guest bedroom, it is really stunning.
    I love how you have used two different side lights in the room, rather than two of the same. The reading light is fabulous... and of course Poppy is just so cute.
    Thank you for your lovely email, I will be replying in the next couple of days.
    Best Wishes
    Daphne

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    1. Thanks Daphne, yes I rather liked using two different lamps, this is the first time I have done this but was inspired by a bedroom where they had mis matched lamps. The more I learn about interior design the more I realise you should follow basic design rules but throw in the unexpected and you have a great room. I think if I had used two different side tables it would not have worked, I used identical side tables. I fell in love with the large reading lamp as soon as I saw it. It is probably a little too large in the base for the table but I just had to have it.

      Lee :)

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  6. Looks great Lee!! Love the transformation. Your friend's daughter is very lucky to be staying there!! For what it's worth - I would look into getting a sisal/hessian rug instead of installing wall to wall sisal flooring. Because the majority of the room is taken up by the bed, you wont see a lot of the flooring. A rug would definitely be cheaper. Plus those natural fibers are so hard to get stains out of, a rug is good because at least if you get a really bad stain you can always flip it over instead of having to replace wall to wall covering!! I know the Cotton Store here in Wellington have a great range of sizes - Olivia x

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    1. Thanks Olivia, I agree with you with regard to the sisal, I have a friend that has it down and she has tried to talk me out of wall to wall as she said it can easily stain if you drop something on it. I can easily get a square cut the size of the room and just use a runner in the entrance. I will try to Google the store you mentioned as they will probably ship up to Auckland.

      Thanks

      Lee :)

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  7. I love how you created a mood board and then made it a reality in your room. I have never planned a room that way, but now I want to. Your finished guest bedroom is beautiful.

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    1. Actually Ellis it is the first time I have planned my mood board and stuck with it, I believe it was the main reason for the success of the room and how happy I feel with it.

      Often people decide to update a room or renovate without planning fully, you may see a cushion or piece of furniture you love and buy it but the overall look of the room becomes disconnected. If you decide your style, create a collage of rooms you like, then make your mood board, the results should can be fabulous.

      If you create a room and want to share it, please contact me :)

      My next projects are my office, hallway and the front exterior of my house, the front of the house I will use Olioboard to try out my ideas. It is free and can be used to create mood boards without having to use photoshop.

      Lee

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  8. Wow, what a difference. The room turned out so nice and cozy. Love the neutral colors, and that basket, really like that too. Thanks for sharing Paula

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    1. Thank you for taking time to leave a comment, it's nice to hear a "Wow" :). I am a bit overkill with neutral in my home, however, it is only a small cottage with small rooms. I find it creates a restful interior that is easy to live with and can easily be updated with a change of cushions or accessories.

      Lee

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  9. LOVE this makeover! Thanks so much for letting me know about it:) Make sure to link up today at my Work it Wednesday party. http://theblissfulbee.com/work-it-wednesday-no-15/

    xo, amy

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    1. Thank you Amy, I was a bit late to link up but have added this post to your link party. You have a lovely blog by the way.

      Lee :)

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  10. Fabulous job on your guest room!! So soft and pretty!! Thanks for sharing it at Work it Wednesday this week. Pinned!!
    ~Krista from the happy housie

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  11. Lee . . .

    it's looking lovely!

    cheers,
    Scot

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    1. Thanks Scott for popping over to take a look, value your comment.

      Lee :)

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  12. Love it!!! Thank you for sharing. You are one of the features today at the Make it Pretty Monday party at The Dedicated House. Pop on over and grab a feature button! Here is the link to this week's party. http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com/2013/09/make-it-pretty-monday-week-68.html Hope to see your prettiness again at the bash! Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse

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  13. Replies
    1. Thank you Carissa, yes wanted a little bit more sophistication to this room.

      Lee :)

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  14. Thanks for stopping by my blog and suggesting the desk lamp! I really like yours and will keep an eye out for one!

    Kelly from www.lifeonbirchst.com

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  15. Beautiful makeover. Love the softness. Just now found you via Tea Cozy Cottage blog. If you haven't changed your line drawings yet, think about keeping all three but moving the outer two in just a bit closer to the center one so that they are about half-way between the center picture and the lamps on the side tables.

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    1. Thanks for your suggestion Judy. I initially only had the two either side so they were centred above the side tables. You are quite right to say they would look better moved in towards the central one now I have three across there. I still possibly may remove the middle one, however if I don't I will most likely take your idea on board...Thanks :)

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Thank you for your time to leave a comment, I ♥ to read your comments and try to reply to them all.