Manor house guest bedroom redesign and colour scheme
Interior design does not have to mean throwing out everything and starting from scratch. I am a great believer in that with a creative approach you achieve magic results and rooms can be transformed more holistically. It is lighter on the envirnoment and the pocket too.
I live in an old country Manor house which needs some updating, we are working on the gardens, outbuildings and interior, it is an evolving project. Here I share with you how I have updated a guest bedroom featured in Living North Magazine and my blog post on ways in which you can use creativity during Lock down. Hopefully we will all be able to start having guests to stay soon, we will want to give them the best welcome ever!
The guest bedroom before we started, it was dark and felt heavy.
In this guest bedroom I used existing furniture which I inherited and lighting but removed dark patterned curtains which were blocking light, the windows are relatively small so I wanted to make sure as much light was able to come through as possible. The wardrobe near the windows also absorbed the light, it was kept but by repositioning it the room felt lighter. The door to the room jarred with the bed so was taken off and adjusted to open towards the wall giving a better flow.
Work in progress, preparation is key!
My vision was to create a calm and inviting feeling in this room where guests can relax, read a book or gaze out of the windows at the garden, fields and sheep, put there feet up and listen to the birds outside and feel at home.
The colour was a major starting point and I wanted it to work with some of the existing items in the room. I chose a light blue/grey green shade in an Eco Distemper paint from Lakeland Paints based in Lancashire in Meander for the walls which acted as a backdrop to the overall colour scheme. Saving money elsewhere in the project and painting it ourselves it allowed me to choose to use a non toxic Eco paint which is more expensive but the benefits are that it lets the historic walls breath and is also better for your lungs in a bedroom.
Layering textures and textiles in the form of a sheepskin rug and a hand embroidered quilt added depth and comfort to the room. Fresh bed linen is a must along with pillows and duvets.
Nightwear aliceandastrid.com
Existing lamp stands were revamped with paint and new lampshades from Laura Ashley in mismatched pastel shades. A vintage hand stitched Durham quilt which had been tucked away in a chest rediscovered and brought back to life worked perfectly in the room bringing some warmth into the scheme, a white or patterned quilt could have worked too.
Accessorising the bed with homemade cushions I made from vintage fabric which had been curtains teamed up some simple ticking fabric which was also use to recover a freshly painted Lloyd loom chest. I added artwork found in a vintage store in Portabello market, London along with classic bound books, pretty vases, bookends and a leather hat box from a local shop The Red House in Bedale, North Yorkshire, all at very little cost. I love to pick seasonal flowers from the garden to welcome guests.
Curtains still to finish will be floor length to add a feeling of height to the room in a light linen hung from a simple narrow wrought iron pole which I will commission from a local maker.
Colour palette- inspiration - Astrid Blake
Are you looking for help in redesigning a room, unsure how to integrate existing furniture into a new scheme or how to work with colours? I can work with you in bringing your creative project to life and elevating your vision, drop me an email, I'd love to hear about your project, contact me to arrange a free 20 min initial consultation.
