Given that we painted our bedroom almost a year ago, we’re definitely well overdue sharing our “finished” room. But before we get stuck in, here’s a quick reminder of what the room used to look like.
If you’ve been following us for a while, you’ll already know that we’re not ones for big reveals. Things tend to happen much more organically around here – mainly because we never have the budget for a full-on makeover and usually end up adding things over time. For now though, we’re calling this room finished!
We sanded the floors and painted everything. And, when I say everything, I really mean it! We painted the walls, the doors, the radiators, the skirting and even the sockets and light switches – all in the same colour.
We love the colour so much that we definitely got carried away (it’s colour matched Inchyra Blue by Farrow & Ball) and just couldn’t stop ourselves. Painting the light switches and sockets seemed mad and I admit that I wasn’t sure how well they’d hold up but so far there’s not a scratch on them! If you have yucky switches or just fancy something different it’s something I’d definitely recommend.
We obviously still have things we’d like to improve and change but for now, it’ll have to do!
In the long term, the biggest change we’ll be making is adding a door to our (then) walk-in wardrobe but there are also a bunch of smaller things I’d like to do. I’d love a bench at the end of the bed, I’d definitely like some more art and a pretty footstool for the armchair would be good, too.
I still really like our capiz ceiling light but it’s a bit on the small side for the room so that’s something that I’d like to replace in the long run, too. The same also goes for our chest of drawers which I’ve had since I was a student!
It’s seen better days which probably isn’t helped by the fact that it’s moved with me 8 times and although it held up fine for most of those moves, the movers on our Manchester to Berlin journey managed to crack the side.
The colour we opted for is obviously fairly dark. As always, colour choice is totally down to personal preference and we love it but we had a few other reasons for going dark in here, too.
All of our rooms are extremely light with super large windows so this room could take pretty much any colour. The bedroom is also east facing and, whilst it’s nice to have the sun streaming into the bedroom in the mornings, it’s also nice to have the darker colour on the walls which balances some of the brightness.
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As you can see, we have a few new items in here, too. Some of them might even seem familiar as we’d shared them on our guest bedroom mood board. We purchased both the textured rug and the velvet-covered armchair for the guest room but I love them so much that I decided that I’d rather have them in our room!
Another thing we’d like to update is our bedding (admittedly it would have helped if I’d bothered to iron it before taking the pictures!). We usually love plain white sheets because they feel so crisp and clean but I’m open to the idea of something with a bit of pattern. I totally admit that I’m a bit of a bedding snob and there’s nothing I love more than crawling into a clean bed with thick, luxurious bedding.
We already shared our curtain dilemma a while ago. Our ceilings are so high which means that it’s impossible to buy ready-made curtains. Inevitably, having curtains made is super expensive (our quote for the guest bedroom was over 2000 Euros!) and because we’re working to a strict budget, a few of you guys recommended adding a panel to the curtains to make them longer and that’s exactly what we did (when I say “we”, I actually mean my Mum – thanks Mum!).
Because the curtains we have are from Ikea (they’re Blekviva in a cream colour) we were able to purchase another set of them and were able to use the same material to extend them by 45 cm.
There’s obviously a seam where the two are connected but it’s barely visible and if you didn’t know it was there you wouldn’t notice it at all.
Something else that works really well for us is our new DIY copper ladder. It’s great for messy people like us who’s bedroom floor always seems to be covered in clothes. Or at least used to be!
We’ll share a tutorial on how we built the ladder next week but needless to say it was really easy and basically just involved cutting some pipes and sticking them together!
The next thing we’ll be doing in here will be installing the door to our walk-in wardrobe. For now, we’ll be enjoying the room as it is. After all, it’s nice to have a few DIY breaks now and again. The novelty of living in dust and dirt definitely wears off after a while, too!
Here’s where we got what:
- Walls | Inchyra Blue (usually by Farrow & Ball but we tried colour matching for the first time in this room)
- Bed | Tyssedal from Ikea
- Mattress | Foam & latex mattress by Bruno Mattress (gifted)
- Rug | Romo by Urbanara in 200 x 300 cm
- Throw | Christobel White Bedcover by Sheridan
- Bedside Cabinets | Componibili by Kartell (in silver)
- Armchair | Scott from Made.com (in petrol)
- Floor lamp | Delaktig from Ikea
- Cushion | Pieni Unikko by Marimekko
- Copper blanket ladder | see the tutorial on how to make it here!
- Curtains | Blekviva by Ikea (extended because of our high ceilings)
- Capiz lampshade | similar to this capiz lampshade
- Silhouette Art | DIY silhouettes in Bacall picture frames from Habitat
- The Glamour of Manchester print | The Manchester Bee Company (gifted)
- Floating picture frame with fern | we’ll share how we made it next week
- Art Next To Bed | The Heatons Print was a leaving gift from our amazing neighbours and I made the spray-painted trainer during a graffiti tour of Berlin
What do you think of our colour choice? Do you prefer light and airy rooms or are you drawn to the dark side? What do you think makes the perfect bedroom?
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Love this! So much so I am now going to steal the idea of painting a large Victorian room in a strong colour…I was looking at just doing a feature wall but love yours so much think I will paint the lot! Can I ask when you painted skirting, radiators etc did you have to get the paint mixed in the same colour but a different finish (ie satinwood or metal paint) or is it literally all just emulsion?
Thank you so much, Tee! I absolutely love how the room turned out and I’ll definitely try this method again as it really feels modern and calming at the same time. Always use the right paint for the surface – especially when it comes to surfaces that will get a lot of wear and tear and for things like radiators. So basically, yes, you’re completely right. The radiators are painted in radiator paint and the skirting boards in wood paint. I’d never recommend painting anything other than walls in emulsion as it’s almost impossible to create a good and long-lasting finish otherwise (the previous owner painted all doors in emulsion and it drives me mad as they are impossible to keep clean). You can see a post about how we painted our radiator here and even how we painted our sockets and lightswitches here.
Hope that helps and I’d absolutely love to see a picture of your finished room!
Cx
I love this! I’m considering Inchyra Blue for a feature wall in my living room, so beautiful! Out of interest, what brand did you use to do the colour matching? x
It’s such a great colour, isn’t it? We just had it mixed at a local DIY store. We often used Dulux Decorator Centre to have our paint mixed and were always happy with the results.
Cx
It is always a great pleasure watching before and after photos and see the transformation. Like the new color of the bedroom. Stunning work!
Aww, thank you so much! We love the colour, too!
Cx
Gorgeous! I love how the white of the ceiling was dropped down to the top of the wall too, it really makes a difference! Was the ceiling coved originally or did you add a coved crown moulding to achieve the effect? And are the flowers and “stuff” on the ceiling original? They’re beautiful and so ornate! (sorry i’m French and i miss the word for the stuff lol).
Thank you! The ceiling is original and the coving is, too. It’s a typical style element in old Berlin properties and is called a Hohlkehle. We’re really lucky to still have these amazing features – it’s part of the reason we fell in love with this apartment.
CX
I love your bedroom makeover! I have recently painted mine in a similar sort of colour (a grey with blue tones from Crown Paints) and still have a few bits to finish up on. I’m in the attic conversion so fortunately only need little curtains / velux blinds! x
Thank you so much, Lucy! It’s a great colour, isn’t it? I’m happy with our curtain solution and it’s more than adequate for the bedroom. Having said that, I would like some curtains for the living room and guest room so I think we’ll have to get saving! ;)
Cx
Fabulous as always.
I’m glad you’re going to move eventually, as it will be somewhere new for you to decorate! I love watching your progress.
Thank you! I honestly can’t imagine living anywhere that’s finished – what would we do all day? ;)
Cx