As you may know, Flea’s recently been away for a week on a school ski trip.
While she was gone, I kept myself busy working on her bedroom. We moved into this house when Flea was two years old, and the yellow walls and Winnie the Pooh trim weren’t really doing it for an almost-ten-year-old.
Flea wanted something a bit more grown-up, ideally with lots of blue and green (her favourite colours).
Here’s what we ended up with:
We kicked off with this Hogwarts wall mural from Wallsauce, which cost around £250 – I can’t even begin to express how much I wish this was in my bedroom. Just gorgeous. The remaining walls are painted in Pointing from Farrow & Ball, which we use throughout the house – it’s a white with just enough warmth to stop it looking uber-clinical. We painted the ceiling and freshened up the woodwork with basic white Dulux paints.
We bought an inexpensive grey curtain (£30) from Ikea, which my Mum adjusted to the right height, and combined it with a curtain pole and crystal-effect finials from Homebase (£45) plus a simple white hold-back (£6) from B&Q.
The most expensive purchase in the room was Flea’s new bed. Previously, she had a high sleeper which was impractical (have you ever tried changing the sheets on those things?). We wanted something smaller with plenty of storage and without one of those stupid pull-out desks that always seem flimsy to me. We found a great option at ASPACE – the Amerigo cabin bed (£995), which is a little higher than a standard bed and offers two generous cupboards and three drawers underneath. ASPACE will assemble the bed for you, which was a bonus.
Over the bed, we strung these brilliant paper lanterns (£4) from Ikea – we bought them in two different colours to create an alternate green/white string of lights. The bedding (£35) is also from Ikea, as is the green square rug (£10) on the floor – Flea likes the idea of getting up and stepping onto ‘grass’ in the mornings!
We replaced Flea’s old nursery wardrobe with this grey Stowford wardrobe from ASPACE (£335), which has two hanging rails and a shelf inside, meaning double the hanging capacity. It’s also quite narrow – which was perfect because we struggled to find a full-height wardrobe that was narrow enough to fit in this alcove.
On top of the wardrobe we have our two Muppets bought on trips to New York, and a Gryffindor banner (£17), which we bought last year on a trip to the Warner Bros Studio Tour.
I went into B&Q to find a curtain hold-back and picked up this nifty storage box set and the angle poise lamp for £10 and £20 respectively. Bargain.
A squishy bean cube for reading on? Check.
Over the bed we put two Ribba shelves from Ikea (£8 each), which hold framed family photos. On the bed, there’s a selection of cushions, all from Ikea, and a star-patterned throw, which I was given as a gift a few years ago.
Over the head of the bed is a gorgeous canvas featuring some of the trips we’ve taken over the past couple of years – it’s from the Creative Canvas Company and cost around £50. You can order these with whatever photos you like, and then choose your canvas size and colour. It’s a lovely way to share lots of images that share a common theme.
We got some gorgeous prints for Flea’s wall to continue the Harry Potter theme – these come from Etsy and cost £30 and £50.
All in all, I’m pretty happy with how the room turned out. Although don’t look too closely or you might spot the six holes I had to polyfilla in after two aborted attempts to put up a curtain rail while suffering from PMS. Word to the wise: just wait five days. It’ll be less frustrating all round, and your decorator will thank you later.
Another top tip – don’t invite a brand round to look around your house two weeks before starting a major makeover. Especially if you’ve cancelled the cleaners in anticipation of aforementioned makeover. Still, the man from Hillarys was very nice about it, all considering and you can see a bit more about our house over on the Hillary’s website, if you fancy a nose about.
As for the bedroom, the most important question has to be, “What did Flea think?” I think she liked it…
Wow Sally it looks amazing. I loved the little clip you put on instagram of her room reveal. So amazing. Love the green and navy together. Can’t beat Hogwarts. I am a huge fan. Looks great!!!
Thanks Jenny, I was SO pleased she liked it – they’re not very good at hiding it if they don’t at that age, are they?
Lovely pictures and fab work, well done! Love, love the bed and ‘green grass’ carpet. Brilliant she likes all you’ve done, this must make it all worth it. You must have been super thrilled to see her joyfull reaction. I’ll keep your tips in mind for the home designing road. #aNoviceMumTwitterFeed
Thanks, I was thrilled with the pics 🙂
Oh wow! How could she not like it?! It’s amazing. Seriously, well done. I would have loved that room when I was younger. I coveting that angle poise lamp. The colour is fab.
Thanks Rachel 🙂
Her room looks ace. I would have loved that room as a ten year old – very grown up but not too grown up. The bed looks so practical yet perfect for her age and love that she wants to step out onto grass! Also glad she made it home from her trip in one piece x
Oh definitely not TOO grown up!
Love the make over. What a great place to wake up, read and spend time just chilling. Looks very calm and magical with the wall. X
To be fair, the fact she has a playroom means we can keep it quite simple – but yes, we’ve tried to keep it calm with lots of stuff hidden away!
I was only wondering yesterday if she’d liked the makeover! It looks fabulous. Big fan of all the additional storage in her bed.
It’s surprisingly hard to find a bed like this, but now its in, it’s perfect.
It’s gorgeous – have you ever considered becoming an interior designer. Any girl of Flea’s age or mine (10) will LOVE this room!
– Lexie | 10 | What Lexie Loves
http://www.whatlexieloves.blogspot.com
Interior designer? hahaha. No. But thanks 🙂
Love it – esp the huge Hogswart wall pic.
Can I say I smirked a little at her exclamation that “Woah, everything’s there” -like you could have possibly lost/damaged it. No way, not ever….honestly. She’s got your number…..lol.
Looks fabulous great job sally
Thanks Becky!
I think she should go away more often. It’s clearly an effective way of renovating your home! She’s clearly delighted. #bestmumever
I’m not sure I agree with your plan…
Bless her, she is so happy! You’ve done a brilliant job, Sally! She is one lucky little girl. Crevette would be so jealous of that room. He is desperate to have some space for himself.
Ah, thanks Mel, I’m pretty happy with it.
Love the wall mural ! It looks fab 🙂 and Flea clearly agrees haha x
Thank goodness for that!
Loovvee. It looks so mature and her reaction was brilliant!
That is an awesome bedroom
Looks great. I wish I could find the time and motivation to give my son’ s room a make over like that
Magical makeover! The concept is lovely! Great job! 🙂
WOW this is amazing, I want that murial on my wall too! 🙂 She is a lucky little lady x
I really would like that mural as well. It is absolutely stunning and I’m a major Harry Potter fan. However, I cannot seem to find it on wallsauce. Please help?
Argh. Looks like it’s been discontinued sorry!