If you follow me on Instagram you will know that we’ve been making a few changes to our house. The project we started in February has almost been completed. I say almost as there are a couple of small things left to get but right now they’re not essential. But I can’t tell you how happy I am with the space.
As someone who spends a lot of time at home under normal circumstances (let alone in lockdown), with the girls and with working at home I really wanted the space to feel calm but uniquely us. Full of colour and full of character. As much as I would love a pristine show home I have two gorgeous girls and a husband who are *not the tidiest* haha. So storage and the house being a space to play, dance and have fun in was so important to us. If you scroll down you can see the “before” photographs. I can’t quite believe the difference!
We broke the space up into a few sections. Our living space is one big room. We have no separate dining room or space for a play room so it had to serve so many functions. The main space is our living area. We have a big corner sofa that creates a divide between the “rooms”. I wanted the space to feel calm. Somewhere to relax but simple and could be played in too. I went for brightly coloured cushions to break up the dark sofa. And the rainbow wall hanging? I have been eyeing it up for ages and right now, when rainbows are a sign of hope it felt like the right time to have it! The rug makes the room a little more cosy and works so well with the floorboards. Before the room was covered in an off black carpet and it made the room feel so drab. The floorboards brighten up the place so much!
The quirky little shelf above the door is one of my favourites. We painted it in a mint green chalk paint and then styled it with a plant, watering can, our wedding candle, books and the cute little acrylic lemon print from Posterlounge. It’s so nice to have something a little different but bringing together the colourful elements from the rest of the room.
On the shelf I have gorgeous prints from Posterlounge. There are so many options to pick from. It took me a good while deciding on the right prints, sizes and styles (framed, acrylic, wooden etc). Posterlounge also ship across Europe which is great for whoever you are in Europe. I love the colours and textures we have. The big “C’est la vie” print works so perfectly with the smaller swear print (hopefully the girls don’t work out what she’s doing haha) and the pink print. The pink print is actually printed onto wood. It’s so lovely and adds a unique touch that I hadn’t seen before, I feel like it brings all the textures and colours together nicely.
We went for storage when it came to the TV unit. It’s full of books and toys but I love how they can be packed away at the end of the day. It also hides games consoles behind the basket.
The other half room had to be divided into two sections: a play area and dining area. Along the wall we have a storage locker that holds all the craft things, board games and general bits and bobs. On top is styled to look pretty but also practical with the wooden house, building blocks, books and toy ice cream. The blue floral print also works perfectly with the colours. It was essential that anything on this storage unit was child friendly because the girls like to touch everything haha! I feel like it was a nice compromise on pretty and practical!
Above the dining table is my absolute favorite print. A big canvas of Frida from Posterlounge. It’s the first thing that draws your eye when you walk in but with it being white it makes the space feel big too. The girls love it, as they have books about Frida so they know who it is. Although Norah is convinced it’s her? Hahah.
We also painted the fireplace to make it lighter and feel fresh. On the fireplace is a wooden floral print with works perfectly, a wooden nude print too and then the pink quote in the frame. I love how all three tie together nicely. I need to get a few dried flowers to sit in the vases, although I filled the pink one with bluebells from the garden.
The other side of this section is a play corner. Wall decals made it feel like a separate little space. The girls toy kitchen, the unit holding character toys and the old fashioned doll house full of barbies and dolls give the girls plenty of space to play with their toys. The wicker basket holds dressing up clothes too. The windowsill holds some more books (in rainbow colours) and a large wooden crate that will eventually hold more crafts and pencils.
And there you have it. From a drab rundown looking room. Stripped of woodchip (mainly), stripped of old carpet, brightened up to make a lovely space to live, play and even work in. I’m so happy with how it’s looking now. It makes me grin when it’s all tidy and I can sit down at the end of the day! It’s been a real labour of love, doing things as and when we had time. But I think it’s there. The before photos show it all. So what do you think?
