a little girls dream…
While these rooms (this was a double room makeover) are small they were actually a pretty large undertaking. The old windows were draughty and let in a lot of cold air. These were pulled out and double glazed in the original timber style, and the external wall was insulated. When it comes to living in a home, warm and dry should be top of the list. While painting can transform a space if you’re doing your home to stay in there’s nothing I recommend more than doing it once, and doing it right.
One of the biggest design choices for this space was only painting the bottom third of the room in colour. This was done for a variety of reasons:
It adds a pop of colour without the pink feeling overwhelming.
It further accentuates the high stud of this home (3.3m ceilings).
It is an easy change if she grows out of it.
The rest of the home has dado running around it, it is a nod to this without physically adding dado to these rooms.
The paint colours I chose are from The Natural Paint Company. Every paint they create is made from natural and renewable resources, and is VOC (volatile organic chemical) free. This is a great choice for a healthy home and a healthy planet. The bottom colour is ‘Tea Party’ and the top is 1/8 ‘Clover Honey’. I’ve written a whole blog post about their paint and why we chose it which you can read here.
The curtains are a double track sheer with blockout in behind from Homemaker. I fell in love with this fabric ‘Secret Garden’ upon first sight. I wanted a sheer as these rooms get full afternoon sun and there isn’t the best view from this side of the house, it nice to be able to pull them across to protect from sun damage and hide the view. It had the element interest I was looking for in a sheer curtain, girly without being juvenile, something timeless and beautiful. The blockout in behind is essential if you want to have your kids go to sleep in summer!
The carpet is by Cavalier Bremworth and is a chunky loop pile ‘Samurai, in Pyua’. While the floors in these rooms were in tip top condition and would have looked stunning sanded back I prefer carpet for bedrooms. Especially children’s bedrooms as kids play on the floor constantly so this is a much more comfortable surface for daily life, not to mention much warmer. I chose wool carpet for a variety of reasons; it’s made in NZ so we’re supporting local farmers, and wool processors. It’s a beautiful natural and sustainable material rather than synthetic (plastic) fibers. The wool breaths and is hypoallergenic and is naturally stain and fire resistant.
I wanted to add elements of whimsy to the space - the feather lights and these small birds which sit upon the curtain rods. It’s the little details that help pull a space together, and set it apart from others. Another thing I love to do it mix the old with the new. This brand new lamp sitting on a very old chair is a classic example of this. Layering different textures, the soft of the curtains, with the hard of the brass and marble create contrast and interest. An old piece of furniture given a new modern makeover, it all adds to the story you’re telling and make a space one of a kind not just like every other show-home.
I’m still in the process of adding art and other furnishings to these rooms - like these coat racks below that I made from the skirting boards that came out of this room - and will add more photos as we get them ‘finished finished’. But I also know that they are a great canvas to evolve as the children living in them do. nuinb
