We’ve decorated our guest bedroom

We moved into this lovely house last November, and you know what it’s like when you move, you have the intention to have a cosy and fully decorated house within the month. Realistically, it’s more like half a year. It is for us anyway as we own far too much for any normal couple; that being said… we’re not normal!

It was our guest bedroom, however, that took the brunt of the entire move and as our very last priority we’ve only recently completed it to the point where a photo can do it justice. The room itself is fairly small, but a comfy room intended to accommodate friends and family when they stay over…. or our baby Cuthbert! Nathan being the awesome handy-man he is, came up with the genius idea to build a high-rise bed, meaning we would have main concept of the sleeping space but also have plenty of under storage; ideal for any excessive shoe and jacket collection.

This meant that we could completely revamp the look and feel of the room whilst making it a lot calmer and less busy. Previously the room was cramped with two wardrobes, a chest of drawers, and other bits and bobs we neglected. From that, all we kept was the chest of drawers and the jacket rail from the wardrobe that we have re-purposed for under the bed.

The bed

In terms of the material we used for the bed, it was quite basic; it was essentially wood, screws and glue. What was hard to completely nail was the measurement of the bed, which of course was the number one thing we had to agree on as this determined the mattress size as well as how much wood we needed. 

With the room being quite confined, we could only really place the bed in the far left corner and we were then again restricted to how wide it could be because of the window on the back wall. In all honesty, this worked out to our advantage as it set the size of a typical 3/4 bed, and if you haven’t heard of this size before it’s just a tad smaller than a double bed.The next call of action was to build the frame and legs itself. This was straight forward. We used a mitre saw to cut the wood into the right lengths for the frame and repurposed the slats from a futon which we had to take off one by one and re-screw into our frame. We chose to buy a second hand futon we saw online because the wood used for the frames are typically stronger than the wood we bought, and if we wanted stronger wood, it would have cost us around £80 more.  Nathan is seriously amazing at building and has had so much experience with it that.

Next up were the legs. This was a bit of a nightmare- we both disagreed on the height. Nathan wanted them as high as possible so that we could have more space underneath, and that he could walk under comfortably. We ended up going for 210 cm which when we constructed the bed together was just far too high, and ended up having to deconstruct it all again and cut away another 20 cm. Good decision I say. We both climbed in and there was a good space between the bed and ceiling.

You can see the height difference in the first two pictures below:Once the bed itself was constructed, Nathan created some ladders and attached the support beams around the bed. Job done. Voilà! The next job was painting the room and ceiling, and it was a simple case of applying three coats of white paint and a little more over the brown and green high border. We were so happy with the end result and it surprises me every time what a difference paint makes. Crisp and clear- lovely jovely! 

The accessories 

If it’s one thing I love the most, it’s finding accessories to make a room goooooorgeous. I’m completely in love with rooms that are calm and have a natural or even nautical feel to it. As this is a teeny room, key was not to over-accessorise and keep it simple. Numero uno: a shopping trip to Ikea. Here I found the most cutest bedding, perfect for the room, a white set with delicate drawings of flowers playing on the whole natural/nature theme. And of course cat blankets for Cuthbert as he doesn’t need an excuse to cat nap anywhere new. I also found a table lamp which I love as it’s so unusual. Made with a cork bottom, the bulb sits within the cork fitting cased with frosted glass. It’s a dream. This lamp sits on a old chest of drawers I’ve had since I lived at home, again it’s another Ikea purchase. Along with the lamp I bought a large glass bottle, placed an artificial Calla Lily inside and filled it with water. I was inspired by some showroom deco at Ikea, as they had done the same with a rose and only recently did a friend at work, work on a project with silk flowers. Thanks for the inspo Jennie! I ended up buying a bunch of 10 lilies as I think they’re beautiful flowers and there’s loads of amazing crafts I would like to do with them… watch this space! 

I’m also a person that wears a lot of jewellery, and I take this off before bed. Whether it’s my earrings, necklace or bracelets, they all get chucked on the headboard of our bed. As this bed doesn’t have a headboard, the chest of drawers became the perfect location for the most cutest trinket tray, made from a scallop shell! They’re all picked and created by Claire, who owns Woodpecker & Weasel, who do adorable oyster-shell candles, prints and a whole range of lovely vintage goods and jewellery. As silly as this sounds, but with my shell candle, I couldn’t even tell you how lovely it smells because it’s far too pretty to light. We also bought a rope light fitting with an Edison bulb, which hangs ever so lovely in a knot. The bulb itself is quite dim and creates a warm feel to the room because of its sepia glow. It contrasts really well with the table lamp which glows brightly and lights up the room. Opposite the side of the bed, we also have a wooden treasure chest filled with a few more clothes, and creates the perfect perch for Cuthbert to see what is going on outside in the garden. He’s often entertained by the squirrels rummaging around for nuts, birds sat on the fence, the neighbours cats and the occasional fox. It’s a hard life for cats. On the chest, we’ve placed two candle holders decorated with twigs and flowers, purely for the reason that Cuthbert needs enough space to find the right spot to spy on the outdoor creatures.There are still a few things unfinished one mainly being the furnishing around the bed. We’ve bought some curtains that we’re looking to attach around the fitting to hide the shoes and jackets underneath, but as it currently in, I love our guest bedroom and have even spent a few night in it already. 

There’s nothing nicer than seeing the before and after of a room, and feeling really happy with the end result 🙂

If you’re passing by through Leeds and need a place to stay, we have a guestroom up for grabs!

Charlotte xxx