One of the things we missed most about our old house (which I have to say isn’t many!) is our old bedroom featuring the beautiful Pearl Lowe, Va Va Frome wallpaper from the Woodchip and Magnolia. You may recall that we had not long redesigned it from scratch before we up and sold. We loved it so much that it would have been tempting to have recreated the same in our thatched cottage by the sea but then I do love to experiment with colour and pattern and our new bedroom deserved to have a chance to shine in a different way.
Romantic Whimsical Nature Inspired Bedroom Makeover – Part 1
The Master Bedroom Space
To be honest, the only thing we disliked about our inherited bedroom was the dated ’80’s decor and ugly mahogany wardrobes and the sink unit. None of which are in character with the property itself.
Our new bedroom has a few extra details that make it special in terms of its age and design.
Balcony…
Forming part of the original cottage’s architecture, we are fortunate to have a balcony of our bedroom and the guest bedroom. Sadly it has been modernised for safety reasons but we imagine it would have been constructed of wood rather than glass and metal.
The balcony is accessed via a single door which allows us to take in the fresh sea air, listen to the birds and the waves of the sea crashing on the beach. We also overlook our beautiful inherited cottage garden. And if you look closely, a glimpse of the sea that is basically a two-minute walk from our rear-drive and back gate.
The balcony also forms part of the loggia below which you may recall is our garden room and one of the first spaces I redesigned and decorated when we moved in.
Sink…
All the bedrooms originally had a sink when it was built. Today 3 out of 4 of the bedrooms still do, including ours. It’s not the only property on our private beach estate to have them either. We viewed another property of around the same era and again, sinks were in all the bedrooms. It could be that many of the original homes here were predominately holiday homes and being so close to the sea was a practical solution.
The downside to our inherited sink unit is that the previous owners had chosen a completely modern looking affair. It really doesn’t go with the architecture, look and feel of our thatched home.
For now, we decided that we will be keeping the sink unit and hopefully change it to something more fitting at a later date. The plan is to upcycle it to help it blend in with our new decor choices.
Wonky Ceilings…
The upper rooms to our cottage also have irregular ceilings and slope in places where the roof is thatched. I like that they add a little bit of character and a reminder of the cottage’s architecture too. Although the teen’s bedroom ceiling has more irregularities than ours.
Interconnecting Door!
One of the unexpected design elements with our bedroom is the connecting door to the next bedroom. Strangely enough, it’s on the original drawings of our cottage. I can only presume that they had his and her bedrooms rather than the single beds that couples used to have back then.
We love these quirky features of our home. We’re also trying to keep as much of the original cottage’s original integrity as possible whilst renovating it. We, therefore, decided to keep the internal door. Oh and partly because I have claimed a part of the guest room as my dressing room. It’s lockable so when we do have guests they/we don’t have to worry about accidentally walking in on each other.
Due to lockdown, getting in trades was impossible. So instead the plan was to up-cycle the wardrobes and sink unit. Although ultimately, when we are able we will replace the sink unit completely to something more fitting.
Romantic Whimsical Nature Inspired Bedroom Makeover – Part 1
Crane Bird – Woodchip and Magnolia Wallpaper Design
Our bedroom was always destined to be adorned with wallpaper from Woodchip and Magnolia. Their designs are truly exquisite and the quality is exceptional. They are also incredibly easy to hang as all their wallpapers are paste the wall. To my utter delight, Nina reached out to offer us the wallpaper for this room as a thank you for all the support I have shown over the past few years. You can read more about this amazing independent wallpaper company here.
I couldn’t resist choosing Woodchip & Magnolia’s Bird Crane in rose pink/cream. Its design is an eccentric, whimsical interpretation of traditional Japanese bird prints, perched in imaginary Bonsai style branches. It’s romantic and dreamy and I love the intricate detail of its design.
Romantic Whimsical Nature Inspired Bedroom Makeover – Part 1 – The Design Concept…
We may live by the sea but the setting of our thatched cottage is pretty much a countryside retreat. The only give-away to our location, apart from the sound of the sea are the seagulls that swoop through the air, proclaiming their authority over the other varieties of birds we have in the area. Including these ducks who visit morning and evening much to my delight.
I’ve pretty much decided that what with my love of biophilic design, the architecture and age of our thatched cottage and it’s beautiful gardens, should be the inspiration behind not only our bedroom but the rest of the rooms that we need to update. I also love the 1920’s era and want our spaces to have a touch of glamour as well as feel relaxing and inviting.
Woodchip and Magnolia’s designs pretty much fit the brief of the above and I’ve already planned the living room, hall and one of the guest bedrooms with their incredible detailed designs.
Bird Crane combines both my love of nature and bird decor. You only have to see my Instagram account to see some of my favoured feathered friends. With our cottage being built around the 1920s, this Bird Crane wallpaper fits the brief when it comes to adding touches of the Orient. It would have been popular back when our cottage was built.
Colour Palette
Woodchip and Magnolia’s Bird Crane wallpaper was to take centre stage as a feature wall in our bedroom. The walls and trim would be given a new lick of paint and the wardrobes and sink were to be upcycled to give them a new lease of life. To be honest, I had considered continuing the cream background of the wallpaper for the remaining walls, but blow me down with a feather or two, when the husband proclaimed that he wanted colour and preferably a shade of green. Of course, it didn’t take much for me to agree. Although to be honest, his reaction when we first opened up the Yeabridge green had him in a state of shock until it was mixed.
I settled on Nancy’s Blushes by Farrow and Ball for the woodwork, wardrobes and radiator and Yeabridge Green for the walls.
They’re both strong colours and not necessarily for the faint hearted but then I wanted our bedroom to feel romantic, uplifting with a dose of glamour thrown in for good measure.
Nancy’s Blushes is a true pink that literally grabs your attention. It looks great when paired with white and soft neutral shades as well as bolder choices. Yeabridge Green, on the other hand, has yellow undertones that work with the creamy background of the Crane Bird wallpaper and reminds me of lush green grass. This colour has derived from an 18th Century Georgian farmhouse in Yeabridge, Somerset and is perfect for period properties like ours.
Lighting…
The lighting to this bedroom requires replacing and as we still have our Barcelona Bedside Lamps from Lime Lace, I found similarly shaped globe fitments that will create a cohesive look and feel to our bedroom space.
Pasadena Wall Light – Next White Orb and Gold Metal Pendant – Pacific Lifestyle
We’ll be keeping our existing bedroom furniture as it’s practically brand new having bought them for our old bedroom.
Romantic Whimsical Nature Inspired Bedroom Makeover – Part 1
Part 2 of our Bedroom The Reveal, is coming soon where I’ll be taking you through step by step how we went about decorating our room and implementing the decor choices I’ve made.
Until next time, thanks as always for stopping by!
Maria xx
PART 2 – THE REVEAL IS NOW LIVE! Click HERE to see how we created our dream bedroom.
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