Spare room inspiration... even when damp attacks

When we moved into the house in 2008, I did notice a smidgen of damp in the back bedroom. "Must get around to doing something about that," we muttered, adding it to a list of urgent works that included a new path, front door and a large-scale excavation of the back garden make part of it level with the ground floor of the house.

After those exhaustive (and expensive) projects were complete, into the spare room we dumped boxes containing all that stuff that's difficult to part from such as old college newspapers, childhood photos, favourite books, letters and postcards throughout the years, notes from college courses (okay, I was too lazy to begin sorting through 'supply chain management' and 'administrative law'). The possibility of the room looking something like the photo below seemed a more remote possibility.

This back bedroom, notionally titled 'the study', is where a well-made but lonely foosball table sits among the boxes. There has been a few mass-clearing out rampages over the years, but my decision to do a post-grad in primary teaching led to more books, stationery and notes taking residence. We prefer to keep the door to this room closed.

However, avoiding the area has proven costly, as the little bit of damp has now spread in a dramatic fashion, requiring a deal of work that would have been significantly lessened had we tackled it a few years back. So, a big job ahead.

Treating the damp, which may involve rebuilding the chimney contributing to the leak along with repointing it, plus wall treatments, will mean that whatever funds we have to finish the spare room will be minimal. However, I don't want to spend too much on decorating this room, as it may become a bathroom if we decide (funds allowing) to embrace negative equity (see previous post) and build a two-storey extension.

I had spent the past few weeks happily collating images in my Spare Room Inspiration folder on Pinterest (seriously addictive and the reason for less blog posts of late). I'd like muted white or grey walls, blackboards and punches of colour. Here's a selection:

Source: sfgirlbybay.com via Sorcha on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Sorcha on Pinterest

Source: myidealhome.tumblr.com via Sorcha on Pinterest

Source: westelm.com via Sorcha on Pinterest

Source: bodieandfou.blogspot.com via Sorcha on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Sorcha on Pinterest

Source: veronicalovesarchie.com via Sorcha on Pinterest

Going grey: My bedroom makeover

Decorating our bedroom was never top of the priority list when we moved in three years ago. The walls and floorboards (mostly original) were painted an inoffensive cream (with a purple feature wall that was our reference point for the place when house-hunting). Anyway, we plumped for the 'purple wall' property. Temporary wardrobes took residence and two years ago we bought an antique mantle to compliment the original insert. But that was it.

The installation of our new wardrobes, along with the wall lamps purchased many moons ago, last month prompted me to try and *finish* the room. With Himself away on a work trip for a week, I brought in the team at Painter Dublin to help me out. Tomas and Michael did an excellent job and I am really happy with the results. A new wall shelf from Ikea and a bit of tidying has also helped to transform the room.

I've tried to support local and city centre businesses when decorating the house. The paint was bought at MRCB Paints, 12-13 Cornmarket, Dublin 8 (one of the friendliest paint shops in Dublin). The wardrobes are from Bedroom Elegance, 55-56 Upper Dorset Street, Dublin 1. The wall lamps are from Hicken Lighting, 17 Lower Bridge Street, Dublin 8. The ceiling lamp shade was bought for just €8 in the very lively (and Christmassy) Liberties Market, Meath Street, Dublin 8. The rug is from The Carpet Mills, 42-26 Thomas Street, Dublin 8. The antique mantle surround is from the very knowledgeable Brian at Súgán Antiques, Rathmines, Dublin 6. The leaning wall shelves are from The Conran Shop at Arnotts, Henry Street, Dublin 2. The large mirror is from Clery's, O'Connell Street, Dublin 1. The blinds are from Apollo Blinds, Capel Street, Dublin 1, and the bed came from Diamond Living, which unfortunately went into liquidation earlier this year.

P.S. I hate when design magazines say that things were 'sourced' at particular stores. This implies a level of intrepid adventure that doesn't quite match the experience.

Wall paint: Dulux Easycare Washable Matt in Modernism
Floor: Ronseal Diamond Floor Paint in White
Ceiling: Dulux Matt in Brilliant White 
Woodwork and radiator: Dulux Easy Care Satinwood in Brilliant White


Here are the before and after photos. The before photos were taken on a particularly untidy day so as to illustrate the transformation at its best.

BEFORE: The temporary wardrobes resembled a disaster zone.

AFTER: Floor-to-ceiling custom wardrobes from Bedroom Elegance, Dublin 1, make the most of the high (and sloping) ceiling.

BEFORE: Boring cream on the walls and wall lamps which were accidentally installed upside down.  The previous owners had ugly wall lamps installed which we removed upon moving in. However, it took us a long time to get around to replacing them.

AFTER: Grey walls compliment the wall lamps (now hanging the right way up) and shades from  Hicken Lighting, Dublin 8. 

BEFORE: The purple feature wall was painted by the previous owners. I hated it! We added a Victorian mantle to the original inset two years ago but never got round to painting the white inset to match.

AFTER: The grey helps the (much tidier) leaning wall shelves from The Conran Shop stand out. Also gives me a place to store/display design magazines, two Etsy artworks, a jewellery box I got in my teens and tea lights from Meadows and Byrne. The lime green of the tea lights provides a nice punch of colour.

AFTER: Fireplace mantle from Súgán Antiques, Dublin 6.  Mirror had been hanging in the living room and looks a lot better here as the ceiling is higher. I got it for €50 in a Clery's sale. The candlestick holder was my first home decor purchase, I think I was 13 when I got this at a store in Stillorgan.

BEFORE: This lovely Buddha picture from Thailand was let down by its surroundings

AFTER: The grey helps to highlight the picture on the wall. A black Lack shelf from Ikea creates storage for books.

AFTER: This lampshade was just €8 from the Liberty Market on Meath Street, Dublin 8.

AFTER: Mustard rug from The Carpet Mills, Dublin 8, and Eileen Gray-inspired table from a now defunct store in Belfast

AFTER: Three coats of brilliant white floor paint has made the room much brighter

Before and after: My bedroom wardrobes

Creeking, screeching and a sudden crash... the temporary canvas wardrobe just couldn't cope with the weight of clothes. Then another Argos number took its place. Ultimately the ambition was to get fitted wardrobes, as the sloped ceiling, hot press and pipes couldn't be concealed by an IKEA wardrobe, though I would have loved something like...

Black-brown Pax Wardrobe with four doors (€490)

LIGHTS OUT: The panelled four-door Pax wardrobe from ikea.ie

 

Or... the White Pax Wardrobe with Sliding Doors (€485). 

BRANCH OUT: One of the Pax combinations available from ikea.ie

However, the only option for us what to have something custom-made, so as to hide all the pipes and hot press.

Here's what our 'wardrobe' arrangements used to look like:

THE STUFF OF NIGHTMARES: Our previous bedroom storage arrangements

 Note the pipes running across the top left-hand corner and top right-hand corner. The doors to the right cover the hot press. As you can see, the rail in my wardrobe in the middle had long given up the ghost, meaning my clothes were scattered here, there and everywhere.

We went to Bedroom Elegance on Dorset Street, Dublin 1, about two years ago on a fact-finding mission but it wasn't until the likelihood of being crushed by a canvas wardrobe began increasing rapidly that we forced to take action.

Another visit to Bedroom Elegance was required last month to finally decide on a design. A very simple white door with minimal detailing that suits sloped ceiling was chosen, along with 'fridge' handles. I think it looks a bit 1950s, which I like. There was a quick turn-around time, with detailed measurements taken the following week (lasers were involved, important given the uneven old walls) and fitting about a week or two later. Everyone we dealt with from sales to measurements to fitting was very friendly and helpful, excellent customer service.

ALMOST FINISHED: The inside of the wardrobes, with additional shelving to be added

And now we have wardrobes that we're really pleased with and that make the most of the high ceiling.

Now there's just the rest of the room to decorate!