About three months ago I started redesigning our bedroom from scratch. Everything was going, apart from a chair, a light fitting and a rug. There was nothing wrong with the room, I just never really liked it. Bit boring for me and i’ve been wanting to do something more bold for ages.
If you’ve been following the bedroom saga, you might have heard me mention one or two times that we couldn’t find a bed. For ages. Then we did. One from Maisons Du Monde, a French company. One which we had to wait for nine weeks for it to be made and shipped across the English Channel. During which time we slept on the floor and counted down the nights until we could climb back into a bed, rather than roll onto a mattress.
After some faffing with the shipping company who changed the delivery slot three times in two days, the bed and bedside table finally arrived and were delivered to my bedroom by two polite French men. To say I was excited is an understatement.
Both pieces of furniture are solid oak so were of considerable weight. The bedside came pre-assembled, so it just needed unpacking. The bed needed building, which was already booked in with my OH for that evening. Only six hours to wait. Eeee!
Nice init? The Portobello bedside table in solid oak for £139. I’ve just checked online and as of now there is one left in stock. So if you like it, better be quick.
Must be a European thing, but the bed frame doesn’t come with slats, so we picked some up from Ikea the weekend it was due to arrive. 
These ones to be precise.
Six hours later, on the dot, OH arrived home from work. We ate a quick dinner and he got straight into building the frame. We were both so looking forward to having a bed again. 45 minutes later it was done and we were ready to put the slats down……………………………………………………
“Where is the mid-beam?”
“Doesn’t it have the little notches to link the slats onto?”
“Eh?”
Panic ensued. I was nearly crying by this point as it dawned on me that we needed these:
Slatted Bed Base
Not
Slats
**Runs to Ikea site, sees if there are any in stock.**
No. Anywhere else? NO. It’s an online jobby. Delivery in one week. FFS.
Cue tears… whilst online ordering. OH went back upstairs to unbuild the bed. We rolled back onto our mattress and went to sleep in a right huff.
One week later, the slatted bases arrived on time. I built them that afternoon, sorted the bedroom out and did some of my styling nonsense.
Finally the room was finished. All the furniture was in, the lighting was fitted, artwork had arrived and been hung. That night we had a bed. And we bloody love it.
The Portobello oak bed is £499 plus shipping, which I know sounds expensive, well it is. But it’s such a classic design and just won’t date. The quality of the wood is excellent and the clean lines mean it’s going to last us a very long time in both form and function.
I couldn’t find any other furniture company doing a mid-century style bed in a EU King Size. Nobody. I’m so glad I kept on with the search and found the Portobello range at Maisons Du Monde. The wardrobes are gorgeous too. In fact it all is.
The rest of the bedroom just feels right now there’s a bed taking centre stage. More artwork by Ruben Ireland hangs by the Ikea Ekenaset chair, one of the three pieces that stayed from the original room.
The bedside table next to its French buddy and the Ogilvy wall light from Made.com.
More about the original mid-century drawers here.
It’s been such a hard room to photograph as it’s not capturing the wall colour at all. Valspars’s Midtown Magic is a blue based teal. Not a flat blue. There’s plenty of green in which I can’t seem to make appear. In fact above, it looks almost indigo. Bonkers.
There might be a new rug added at some point, but for now, the idea of spending any more money on this room is not on the Christmas list. For this year anyway.
I really hope you like the new design peeps? I would love to hear your thoughts on this room makeover.
What do you think?
This is a room with personality. Great job!
A resounding success I’d say. That chair with the sheepskin looks so inviting. Just the place to curl up with a book. x
Oh wow. I absolutely love it! It looks so cosy and inviting. So glad you held out for the furniture you wanted and that you found it eventually. I love what you’ve done with the Plumen bulb. I have it in copper but haven’t hung it as it seemed such a shame to cut the cord really short. Never occurred to me to knot it up like that. I might have to copy you. Enjoy sleeping in your new bed! You deserve it!
Yes do! My mum looked at me funny when she saw how i’d hung it. I love it like that. Reminds me of Mr Messy 🙂
I really love it – that wall colour (even if it’s not photographing true) just makes everything pop! And can I just say your taste in artwork is OUTSTANDING. I love all of it. I need to up my game with regards to artwork, I can never afford the stuff I really love – I’d love to know if you have a favourite place to shop? xx
Thank you so much Kimberly. That’s amazing feedback. Am so glad you like it. It’s been Society6 and Art.co.uk, and a direct purchase from the artist for the main piece above the bed. All completely affordable. You can read about the art over at these previous posts but they’re by Ruben Ireland, Alex Garant and Angelique Houtkamp. You would love all of their work i’m sure. I am an art whore! 🙂 xx http://blog.making-spaces.net/2015/12/03/the-right-side-of-the-bed/ http://blog.making-spaces.net/2015/10/21/ode-to-tretchikoff/
Ya know, I always forget to look at Society6!! Such a mug. I am currently PINNING ALL THE THINGS. Thank you my dear!! xx
Cool bedroom, particularly love the lighting and colour combinations. Small thing but where was the small white plant holder from? X
Thank you 🙂 You mean the little one on the left hand bedside? That was from Netto about 6 months ago, it’s a blush colour IRL and cost me £1. Brilliant http://blog.making-spaces.net/2015/07/09/my-best-bargain-summer-finds/
Absolutely LOVE what you’ve done to this room. I have a maisons du monde headboard which I adore! Great stuff!!
Thank you very much Jill! Such lovely furniture isn’t it? Really pleased I took the plunge and decided to order from there 🙂
Hi Karen
We purchased the bed and I came across your blog as we have encountered the same issue. We ordered the euro mattress, checked idea for slat base, but they told us we should have a mid beam along with the base, but it doesn’t look like the bed is set for a mid beam?
Did you simply set the Base on the areas on the frame?
Hi Amanda, yes we purchased two of these http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/20278718/#/70278344 which fit snug inside the frame. We don’t have a mid beam and it’s very secure. No problems as of yet…
I fell in love with the bed when I saw it on Maison Du Monde but I didn’t really dare to order it. Reviews on their site were mixed and well.. it’s quite a lot of money to see what will happen. But it looks truly gorgeous!! Thanks to your blogpost I think I’m ready to take the shot. Thanks a million and I love love love your bedroom!
Oooh good. I’m glad it’s helped. Still love it. I was genuinely surprised with how good the quality was and i’m v. particular indeed. Just don’t get caught out with the slatted base like we did!
Hi Karen!
Hope its okay that Im asking you as Maisons Du Monde finally have the bed in stock again and.. we’re gonna buy it <3
But I'm a bit worried about the Bed Base, they don't have those Slatten at Ikea Germany (anymore). So would it be possible to have two bed bases in? So we have two 80×200 instead of once 160×200? Or would you still miss the middle beam? I have no idea how these work..
Hi Karen! Your post made me laugh out loud, because i just went through the same trouble. I am actually trying to find online the slatted bed base to go with the bed. Can you tell me where you bought yours? dont seem to be able to find anything like that…
thanks!
It’s a nightmare isn’t it!? They really should put that on the site. We got ordered them from Ikea as you can’t buy them in store. Search for slatted bed base and you’ll find em. Good luck!!
Wow what a stunning bedroom! So harmonious and well brought together, and I love the dark and dramatic walls! xx Lotte
Love your wardrobe. Where did you purchase it?
I have similar coloured walls and flooring. Just hoping to tie it altogether with some nice pieces of furniture now.
It’s the Ledger wardrobe from MADE 🙂
It amazes me about every photo the same blue wall looks a different shade or color of blue I like it
Thanks for this, super tip about the slatted base.
With the IKEA base that you found.. do you know if it’s the ‘Standard Double’ base (Length: 189 cm, Width: 135 cm) that fits the Portobello, or the ‘Standard King’ base- ( Length: 199 cm, Width: 150 cm) which seems a little closer to the Portobello bed dimensions ?
thank you !
Maison Du Monde only do EU sizes, not UK, so make sure you get the EU equivalent from Ikea for the base.
I’m not sure how I just came across this blog just now but some of the things you’ve done are simply amazing and I’ll get my wife tomorrow to read through it with me.
Could you tell us what the blue/teal colour is that you used for your master bedroom?
Many thanks and looking forward to more 🙂
Thanks Joost 🙂 The colour is in the blog post, it’s Valspar UK’s Midtown Magic.
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Love the room.
How is the Portobello bed holding up four years later?
Looks great, but I am afraid to buy due to quality concerns about Maisons du Monde furniture.
No problems whatsoever. The bed and bedside are great quality – really happy with them!
Hi Karen!
So glad to have found your blog. I’m about to order this bed but have the same never as @ricky74 due to reading terrible reviews of Maisons du Monde.
So, a year and a bit on since their question; how’s it holding up?
Thanks,
Kirsty
It’s great. We’re still happy with it!
Super lovely! I just bought the bed recommended by you! No French men, though 😅 I have to ask about that burgundy lamp! Where did you get it? It’s beautiful!!
Ah it’s a vintage Anglepoise lamp. Try eBay! 🙂