Decorating, Interior Design, Project, Property, Renovation, Wallpaper
comments 22

The William Morris Bedroom – Pre-reveal

It’s been a while since i’ve written about the William Morris project. You can read the last instalment here. Let’s just say, this one has been a slow burner. What was initially going to be one bedroom redesign, quickly turned into a complete renovation of three bedrooms, the landing and staircase. So…. things have taken considerably longer, as i’m sure you’d expect.

Here was the room on my very first visit. Pretty much everything needed to go. Everything apart from the William Morris wallpaper, the beautiful Deco chairs and the antique chest of drawers.

The room was stripped right back to the bare bones. The overpowering built in wardrobes were ripped out, missing coving, dado and picture rails replaced….

Carpet was ripped up and floorboards repaired, sanded and varnished, radiator moved and re-plumbed, switches and sockets rewired. Walls were then re-skimmed ready for the decorator.

We’ve still got a couple of bits left to sort in this room, but I thought you’d like to see where we’re at at the mo.

The floorboards now revived and full of life, provide the perfect flooring for this sympathetically restored bedroom.

Plumbing in the new, colour matched cast iron radiator to the side of the chimney breast was the best thing we did. It’s a super high output rad, so although it looks diddy, the homeowner is v. happy with her new toasty and attractive addition….

…. as is her cat, who apparently now enjoys spending time hiding under the bed.

The antique blanket box which was originally in the living room if I remember correctly, now sits proudly in front of the chimney breast.

It also perfectly disguises the original concrete hearth that’s been left, just incase the homeowner decides to open up the fireplace in the future.

The antique chest of drawers have been moved to this corner, where a mirror and artwork is still to be hung.

The William Morris, Compton wallpaper now wraps around the whole room with Little Greene’s Sage Green adding the perfect Edwardian period colour to the rest of the walls.


We said adios to the old divan bed and headboard and bonjour to the antique brass Starke bed frame from Made.com. A large brass and glass feature light is also on the way which will hang centrally over the bed. I’m super excited to see that up.

A small chest of drawers, pilfered from the dining room now acts as a bedside and storage chest. The perfect bedside lighting is on the way very soon.

The huge built in wardrobes have been replaced with this beautiful antique (Arts & Crafts?) number. Isn’t it a looker? There has been some serious downsizing going on throughout this project. And whilst it’s been difficult for the homeowner to plough through, the difference it’s made to her home so far has been incredible.


New curtains are on the way and hopefully soon as those clocks will be going forward in a few weeks. Cue bright sunny mornings.

So what do you think so far? I know William Morris isn’t for everyone, but for this homeowner this new bedroom is just perfect. So there’s curtains, lighting, mirrors, artwork and bedding left. Once that’s all done, we’ll be ready for the final reveal. Fingers crossed!



22 Comments

  1. Lesley says

    Not really my style. However, fully appreciate the look and I like the way it matches the period of the house I’m presuming? Looks so much nicer with the free standing pieces of antique furniture and new bed. How did you manage to match the wallpaper, when it was only partly wallpapered before?

    • Karen Knox says

      The William Morris, Compton is one of their classic designs and still being sold. Luckily there’s not much of a colour difference between the original that was hung several years ago and the new batch, so it worked out really well.

      • Jessie Aron says

        I love that color scheme for the Compton designso much! Would you mind telling me where you found it?

        • Karen Knox says

          Hi Jessie, I’m afraid the Compton wallpaper is now discontinued in this colour way….

  2. Wrapping that beautiful wallpaper all around the room and topping & tailing it with that glorious green was genius. It looks stunning already and works so nicely with the antique pieces. Beautiful! Can’t wait to see the whole thing complete! (Also, I’m such a sucker for a kitty picture – n’awww! Especially when the cat in question looks a bit like my black cat Pablo.) xx

    • Karen Knox says

      Ha. I know, when he came in I was like “ooh stay there, look to the camera” click click!
      Glad you like it chuck. We’re both really pleased with how it’s turned out. Can’t wait for the ceiling light to come!!xx

  3. Jenny Moss says

    It’s lovely, the green paint is so calming, love the radiator and it’s so nice to see a room that is not all modern or has trendy black accents. Much as I appreciate looking at those rooms too, this is simply beautiful. It makes me want to move in and take tea in one of those chairs.

    • Karen Knox says

      So glad you like it Jenny. Although the cat does provide a bit of a black accent 😉 albeit a portable accent!

  4. William Morris is definitely my cup of tea. Love the vibe of this room. It’s timeless and classic – wonderful ????

  5. Wow, what a gorgeous transformation! I know brown furniture isn’t fashionable at the moment, but it works so well in this room, Looking forward to the final reveal.

    • Karen Knox says

      Well it’s all authentic to the owner, the main reason it works so well. And thank you, can’t wait to finish it all!

  6. floory says

    Lovely recreation of bed room.Looks great with standing antique piece.Great job…

  7. Just lovely! The furnishings are now on point and work beautifully with those fab armchairs.
    (ooh, can I also say – not missing that yellow. No, not even one bit!)

    • Karen Knox says

      Ha. Yes of course you can say that. I’m not missing it either!
      And the armchairs are beautiful aren’t they?

  8. lily says

    Beautiful bedroom designing ideas.. like this post very much.Good jobs!

  9. Anonymous says

    I absolutely love this. I wish we had been more brave in making decisions for our 1883 Toronto worker’s cottage. This will inspire us when we have the energy to begin again.

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