Bedroom Renovation

Its been 2 years since we moved from our small rented one bedroom flat in London to our very own 3 bedrooms house in the heart of the Cotswold.  Even so we found or dream house, it come with the ex-owner taste. I do respect that everybody have different taste but... When we discover that the ex-owner had a bold and colourful taste and mostly love red bright colour and animal print it surely didn't go hand to hand with my more Bohemian style. But we knew it was only cosmetic and with some good old elbow grease, few hair pulling, bucket of paints and trip after trip to B&Q we would eventually live in our home that reflect us and not someone else 90's home decor. 

Special guest: My cat Pumpkin.

When we first visit our future house the agency sale man was proudly shouting to, whoever wanted to hear, that yet all rooms were a "bit" dated but the master bedroom was actually newly redecorate.  Yes it was perhaps newly decorate but for me the result resemble more as a 70's porn studio than a stylish newly decorated bedroom.  The master bedroom have been freshly decorated with zebra print wallpaper, matching zebra curtain (because why not..?), multi grey stripes carpet, zebra print canvas (you may as well) and on the bed the the ex-owner that left behind (she already moved out before selling her place) was covered with an animal print duvet cover. Hello Safari theme !!! Being who am I had to mention that it was a questionable taste or choice of decor for a master bedroom and certainly the lovely zebra curtain would go along with everything else.  The agency sale person was not impressed and probably though I was, yet again, another "twat from London". He was probably right. 2 years later, I can ensure you the zebra print have been sent to a recycle bin, along with the curtain. The animal print duvet cover went happily to a charity shop along with the grey stripy carpet. All gone to be-reused elsewhere but not in my home.  As I do love a before & after, here how it looks like before (A safari theme in all its glory):
THE BEFORE

  THE IN BETWEEN 

THE INSPIRATION As most of us, when we are looking for inspiration, there is really 2 places to look: Instagram and Pinterest. Even so I was  inspired by many real home budget design Instagramers such as : Linsdrabwellhome, my_british_home, thecraftyfox  and many more my main source  really ( and still is) was Pinterest.  My main inspiration was bohemian based but with few touch of luxury detail like gold such as mirror etc. mix with dark navy colour along with grey, white and a touch of mustard/ rusty tones. My Pinterest inspiration board, which you can find here, kind of look like this at the time :

Now that we had an idea of what we wanted it was time to execute. Walls:
I wanted a dark navy wall but I was not inspired to have the whole bedroom in a dark navy (worrying it would make the room too claustrophobic) I decided for one wall at the back of the bed to give a focus point. The paint chosen was by Dulux but originally we went with a cheaper paint from wicks that was not at all like the sample and turned out to be very chalky, it was a disaster until we paint over with the Dulux paint.  Floor:
My husband and I did not want a carpet at all. We never been fan or carpet and having now a 2 years old toddler we though it would be much easier to have a wooden floor for cleanness and practicality. Originally we wanted to keep the original floor board but unfortunately we discovered that they were badly done and damaged. It would have cost a fortune to replace the wooden floor and because we did not have the budget we decided to go with laminated floor. Choosing a laminated floor was a difficult decision due to the amazing range that most DIY shops offer, from thickness, colours and durability. At the end we went for a sturdy 10 mm thick laminated floor that was built to take on furniture weight, wear and tear. It cost more money but I can already tell it was worth every penny. We went for a light grey wood effect tone to go with my more bohemian style .Also I wanted a change from a more conventional wood colour.  Furniture & Decorations:
When we used to live in furnished rented flat in London we always have rubbish and uncomfortable  beds. Having now our own house we did not want to get a cheap bed.  We went all out by getting a Made.com bed with a large comfortable head rest . It was a dream for many years and I can sure you this king size bed by Made.com is the absolute dream and worth every penny. This is not sponsored but I wish it was. You can find our bed here. As for our chest of draw we decided to go with a simple grey tone chest of draw from Ikea, which you can find here.  My dressing table was the biggest headache of all. I literally spent hours and hours scrolling different web sites and magazine to find a dressing table that look a bit mid-century and bohemian too. And from all places we end up buying it on Amazon Home! A place I will never though buying a piece of furniture one day. The dressing table is no longer available  but is still advertising there at around £150. I absolutely love it . I found it very different to what I seen before and I believe it match my taste and style perfectly. My 3 mirrors are probably one of my favourite decoration it is from a brand called Umbra. Do check their website for unique decoration pieces.

THE AFTER

In no mean our bedroom is finish, the truth its I would like much more print on walls, a large washed Moroccan style rug and other bits and bobs but overall my husband and I are very pleased with the result.   I will probably be doing, in a year or 2, an update but for now we love our bedroom as it is. It make us feel calm and at peace. A far away feeling from the safari theme that use to gave us headache. The cost or renovating this room including new furniture and flooring cost us approximately  £1600. What do you think? Do you have a similar project? Tell me all by commenting below.