Do you ever put things off because you know it’s going to be quite hard work and think it’s going to be a massive job and take ages? Me too!! We had lived in our house for over six years before we decided to be brave enough to revamp our bedroom.

As you can see from the estate agent photo (imagine a different bed but you should get the idea) the room had built in wardrobes, which were kind of ok but not the best bedroom storage.

We took up the pink carpet almost as soon as we had the keys, as it just wasn’t our bag and we quickly replaced this throughout the whole house with laminate flooring. The wall paper in the bedroom was fairly neutral and nice and light and the curtains were ok too so it was liveable for a while – but we were definitely looking to update the bedroom.

Unless you are a complete minimalist, I am sure that you will have a lot of clothes, bags, shoes and other items that need to be stored in a bedroom. We needed a solution as to how we could store everything neatly in our bedroom. I was steadily getting more and more frustrated that we could not accommodate all of our clothes, shoes and other bits and pieces in any sort of order in the bedroom. The fitted wardrobes had tiny drawers inside and it just wasn’t working for us. I also didn’t like the fact that as soon as you opened the bedroom door you were just face to face with the bed. My vision initially was to move the bed so that the head was at the other end of the room and then purchase some free standing furniture to position at the end near the door. Bearing in mind that space is really limited in the bedroom (the measurements are only about 10’ by 12’) we had to consider really carefully to try and make the most of the space that we had available. Most importantly I just wanted to create a bedroom that would feel calm and clutter-free.

Last year we stayed in a beautiful little cottage in Ingleton in the Lake District and I absolutely fell in the love with the stunning oak furniture in the bedroom. It was so beautiful and I thought that if we could have something similar in our room it would have that same country feel. So off we popped to see what was available. We realised that we should be able to accommodate a triple wardrobe and a chest of drawers and hoped that would be ample for our needs. However on returning home from a few different stores and measuring the room accurately it became apparent that if you put just these two items of furniture in the room we would not even be able to squeeze through the door. The oak furniture was absolutely beautiful though and had our bedroom been larger it would have created such a lovely country themed room.

We contemplated and researched and decided to head to Ikea to explore their storage solutions. Now my former experience of Ikea bedroom furniture was literally Malm chests of drawers. I had no idea that you could design your own wardrobes and incorporate shoe racks, pull out drawers, baskets and jewellery display shelves – yes that really is a thing!! There was a choice of some beautiful and simple looking storage that really made my heart happy!

Honestly have a look at the choice available!

Of course as well as choosing new furniture there was the task of redecorating too, I found a beautiful design of wallpaper with silver trees and birds, with a hint of glitter and sparkle. The background was white so it would be perfect to brighten and open up a small room.

We also made the decision to take up the laminate flooring and replace it with carpet instead. We chose a heathered carpet as I prefer the look of a carpet that has slightly different shades of the same colour, this is easier to keep it looking clean too. I know the laminate was an expensive mistake but because it was only laid up to the fitted wardrobes, once these were removed there was a gap with no flooring. We also put a cream wooden blind up and got rid of the curtains.

Once we had cleaned, prepped, painted and wallpapered and got the carpet laid, our lovely Ikea wardrobe arrived a few days later and once we had put it together I was able to actually organise my clothes in the wardrobe. I feel really privileged for the first time in my life to be able to organise my clothes in a way in which I can find what I am looking for easily, without having to rummage!

Oh and – as a bonus – we picked up a dressing table with a drawer from Ikea too. So all my make up, skin care and hair styling accessories are now hidden away in this perfect bedroom storage solution.

We also bought some beautiful crystal effect cupboard door and drawer knobs from Dunelm. They are very pretty and sparkly and fit with the theme, we easily changed the knobs on the built in cupboard in the bedroom and they look gorgeous. Have a look at them, they look like crystal and are stunning and make such a difference.

I love our bedroom now, it feels so pretty and calming and it’s just a really lovely space in our house. The only thing I need to do is to choose a new duvet set, I’m thinking a pure white cotton bedding set will look stunning!

My tips for a quick bedroom update:

• Either paint the walls in a different colour or wallpaper. You could try wallpaper on just one wall if you like a feature wall. If the room is quite small and dark, why not experiment with light coloured walls to try and brighten the room a little. Dark coloured walls will give the room a feeling of luxury but keep the furniture or bedding light coloured in this case or the room will feel too dark and maybe depressing.
• Change the curtains or blinds, this can make a huge difference to the feel of your bedroom. Blackout blinds or curtains are a brilliant idea, especially for during the summer when the sun can rise before 5 o’clock in the morning. Not many of us want to get up that early unless we really have to.
• Simply swapping the duvet colour and sheets to a different colour scheme can adjust the feel of the room.
• A simple swap that can have a major impact is by changing the door handles, drawer knobs or cupboard door handles, these changes won’t cost very much so are a brilliant update on a budget. We added crystal effect knobs for the built in cupboard to replace the dated gold coloured ones that were there before.
• What flooring is best for a bedroom? Hard surface flooring is perfect for those with allergies but if you want a luxurious feel, a sumptuous carpet is your friend here. It also softens the feel of the room and saves people downstairs having to listen to you walk across the room.
• Storage – is your bedroom cluttered? Why not buy some pretty baskets or similar to pop all those accessories in.
• Furniture – replacing the furniture can work out quite expensive so if that is not within your budget at the moment, you could have fun and upcycle what you already have. There are some brilliant paints around that you can paint onto MDF or wooden furniture and make them look like new. We did this with our Ikea bedside tables and also the Ikea furniture in the spare room. You can read about how we created a pretty guest bedroom Here
• Add a mirror or two for a pop of light, this will also make the room feel bigger than it is by reflecting the space.
• Change the light fitting or add a couple of bedside lamps for a touch of hotel chic.
• You would be surprised how much difference it can make to a room just by moving the furniture around a little, this is difficult in a small room but can give a bedroom a completely different feel.
• Add a vase and some beautiful fresh – or artificial flowers.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this, do let me know if you have any other tips to transform a room.