It’s new project time peeps. And i’m back at a property i’ve worked in a couple of times before. Remember these projects?
And this one too…
Both in the same house with the same lovely client and i’m back again, this time for a bedroom/home office re-design. A nice chunky project indeed.
It’s a good sized room at 3.5m x 4.5m, but it needs to work hard as i’ve been given a rather complicated brief. The room needs to fit
- double bed with storage (with space to run around easily)
- double wardrobe (more storage)
- chest of drawers (extra storage)
- large desk with space for two screens and closed storage for files etc.
- space for a TV (meaning this room will have 3 screens to try and make look good. Ack)
It’s fair to say there’s not much staying in this space, so we’ve got a lot to source as well as a lot of remedial work to do before we get to any of the fun stuff. Oh I tell a lie. The desktop computer is staying… and that mint green desk lamp which we’ve used as a starting point for the room’s new colour scheme.
Pistachio Green Ikea FORSA Lamp – Yum
The first step was to get everything ripped out and the walls stripped.
Looks like there had been a damp problem in the past as we uncovered some damp-proof foil wallpaper. Hmmm…. That wasn’t all we uncovered…
How cool is this 60’s (?) wallpaper?
Walls finally stripped, it was time to deal with the disastrous skirting boards which had been removed, replaced and patched up over several decades through various room reincarnations. So instead of “making good”, it was a rip out job and brand new skirting boards fitted instead.
Onto some of the more attractive bits for this project. What’s the vibe going to be?
I’m calling this botanical mid-century meets Africana. This client LOVES her vintage. So much so that whenever i’ve suggested a piece of new furniture, her face turns the colour of these walls. She already has a ton of maps from her very eclectic life history so these will all be framed and grace the walls around the room. Talking of walls…
They will all be wallpapered in Anaglypta’s Wildacre. You all think i’m mental don’t you? But I really like the slight deco references in the design (despite it being released in 1983) and it echoes the homeowners love of all things green and jungle-y, providing the perfect backdrop to all those vintage maps, mid-century furniture and plants. Trust me peeps, it’s gona look s’mazing!
We’ve also sourced and bought some key pieces of furniture from eBay.
The large vintage teak desk bagged for £80 will sit in the left hand alcove with storage units built in above to house office stuff.
And this enormous G-Plan chest of drawers at £220 will take over the right hand alcove. The TV will be popped on top of here. In fact, let me show you the floorplan:
The wardrobe will sit to the right hand side of the bed which isn’t ideal I know as you can’t have a bedside table or lamp, but as this is the guest bedroom and mainly used as a home office, it was the only way to get everything in the room. So we’ll pop a couple of plug in wall lights above the bed for evening illumination.
Nordlux Pop Wall Light
The main ceiling light will be some kind of rattan or wicker to add some texture and tie in with the Africana/botanical vibe. In fact i’ve just this minute honed it down to these two which are perfect.
Eglo Amsfield Vintage Lights
So there you have it. That’s the plan. I’ve got another visit tomorrow where we will be nailing the exact paint colour for the walls and, i’ll no doubt be told the room needs to house a swimming pool too. Fun!
You called me lovely! You did. In public. La la la la. Need a new hashtag #worstclienteverbutlovelywithit
Also now might be the time to mention that you were right all along about most things. See? I can return the compliment.