Finally! After months of anticipation, i finally have my room completed, as you may have noticed from my last post(!); lick of paint and all. So, i told you two or three months ago that i was going to paint my room and with that i did a bit of redecorating and bought new decor so i thought i'd share that with you. If any of you have ever bought carpets before, you'll know that they're pretty pricey and i, unfortunately, don't have the money to drop on getting myself a new carpet yet. So, that has stayed the same which i'm not terribly happy with but i also can't afford a new one so i'll deal with it until i really do need a new one, as it's still in relatively good condition. Fortunately, however, it's orange with little yellow squares so at least it still kind of matches and my beautiful new rug sort of links everything together so it'll do for now! So, onto the room tour.
My bed is my new work station, as i got rid of my desk because honestly my room isn't all that big and a desk takes up a hell of a lot of room. So i took the opportunity to get myself some more storage, and transfer my work station to my bed. You have to remember that this is currently my go between room as it's my room in my parents' house, so i have my room at university and in a couple of years i'll hopefully be in my own place. I think when i have my own place i'd like a desk for make up application and working at, but until then i'm working with the space i've got. I think i'd like to work on making my bed a little more work friendly, like getting something for my laptop to rest of rather than my duvet as it can make my laptop very hot. Apart from all that, i love keeping my bed very cute, kitsch, girly and bright. I love having things bright and positive where i sleep and work, because it can often really pull me out of a funk. Floral bedsheets are my absolute favourite, and this set is a new one that i chose to go a little more with my new yellow walls. The rest of my sets are all floral too but lack yellow, which i really don't mind as yellow is a great neutral, so i thought i'd buy this set to celebrate having fab new walls.
Now, as for curtains these where a long time coming. I searched high and low for ready made curtain that had yellow in them but could i find any? Could i heck. I scoured the net for something that i liked, ordered sample after sample and finally came across this lovely set. They're honestly just a perfect match for my new walls, and i love the gorgeous print. I actually really love the clashing florals, so it doesn't bother me at all they're right next to my duvet. I finally found this pair here for a really great price and after ordering a sample, i knew it was to be.
My favourite things to decorate are the surfaces in my room. I hate clutter, so as long as everything has a place i don't mind there being a lot on show. I love things to look homely, well travelled and quirky so i love cute decorative items as well as pretty storage. What i love about my storage tops is that they're a cute mismatch of pretty boxes, pretty containers, candles and decorate items i've collected over the years that pretty much represent me.
Here you'll find a gorgeous glass apothocary style jar that i picked up in my local Dunelm for about £3, and i've been so tempted to get another one as i just adore it. Not only is it great storage but it's also the aesthetic i like to go for. They're great for storing boring, mundane items and making them pretty, for example this one actually houses all my day to day pills like vitamins, etc.
At university i store my jewellery between a beautiful, decorative cake stand and a cute sewing box that i use as a jewellery box. I keep my most worn pieces on the cake stand and everything else in the sewing box but at home i wanted something compact but can grow with me and also for when i finish and come back home from university next year. I'd heard of stackers before but never really taken much notice, but once i'd looked into them i knew they were perfect for what i was after. The great thing about them is that they slot together so they can grow to be as tall as you like, just keep adding new pieces on. There are so many different types of sections, i have one that has little holes for small necklaces and rings in the middle with a flip top lid to top it off, then a middle section that houses some more sections for smaller pieces and at the bottom i have just a large open section for larger necklaces. And atop all of this i have my beautiful Thomas Sabo.
Other bits & bobs that you can find on atop my surfaces is a collection of pretty boxes, the current ones i'm use are a mix of Paperchase and Amazon. I just think they're great for storage, and hiding things that you don't really want on show but in a fun way. I also like to collect different shaped and sized boxes to create a pretty higgledy piggledy vibe, with different shapes and levels.
Something else you'll find a plethora of in my rooms is candles. I cannot get enough of these. I think they create a romantic, relaxing atmosphere even when they're not lit. I also love getting a selection of colours, and i have to admit that i'm not the type to pick a candle just for the colour. I'm a scent kind of gal, so if i like a scent and the colour doesn't match my room i'm sure to still pick it up. I actually really like all the mismatching colours, i think it's just a little more fun and not so serious. If you can't tell already, i'll never be the kind to have white walls and all white furniture with no nick-nacks and nothing out of place.
I picked up the gorgeous, silver decorative lantern probably five four plus years ago in Evolution. I've always been an avid interior fanatic and always ended up picking up pretty nick-nacks. I picked this up from the Cambridge branch and it kind of reminds me of a great time in my life, with Summers spent in Cambridge with my friends. As for the teacup, this is a gorgeous Cath Kidston number i nabbed from an outlet, two or so years ago, for next to nothing. I had intended it for tea drinking but i couldn't bring myself too, it was just too pretty. So it was banished to my bedroom for all eternity to stay a pretty teacup. Honestly, i just love the aesthetic of it and if i had the space i'd probably collect more and put them to use in other ways. Currently it's acting as a cute reed diffuser holder.
The K and the A are pretty new purchases that i bought specifically for my new room doo, from Ark online. My lovely friend Izzi actually bought me a cute pink K for Christmas last year and i just loved how it looked in my room, at uni, that i wanted to replicate it in my room at home. It's just a little part of me, you know, my initials.
The cute Star fairy lights are just a short sting of them, and they're battery powered. I have two of them and they kind of float around my room as i'm not sure where exactly i want them yet. They're great for accompanying me on late night blogging sessions (like now).
At the end of my bed, i have a very tall and narrow set of drawers that houses my TV on top, that i rarely use now and it's very unattractive but when i've finished university my little flat screen i have with me in Southampton is going to sit there. Next to that, i have a little space and it's filled with my cute, fairly new oil burner that currently is burning my favourite Yankee Candle tart in Wild Passionfruit. Next to that i just have a tea light to get some more light up there and behind those is my orchid, that's looking a little bare at the moment, as well as my little spotted jug that i use to water said orchid. One of my most favourite things in my room is my bright red Roberts Radio that i've had for a good five years or so. It's just gorgeous and i love it, unfortunately i don't have the space to have fully on display at the moment, but this will be with me forever and it will eventually end up in my own house on display somewhere.
This is what sits above all that, on the wall. This is another special piece to me because it was drawn especially for me by, Disney Artist, Paul Banwer about five or so years ago. It's just beautiful and it matches so nicely with my room now.
On the opposite wall, above my bed is another special picture. This is my final school photo, from year 13 during Sixth Form. It's the fun photo we were allowed to take, after the obligatory formal ones. It just holds so, so many memories because school was such a great time.
I used to have a really awesome, tacky, glittery, silver clock in the shape of a heart on my wall that i insisted my dad bought me on a Cornwall holiday. I really did love that clock but i thought it about time for something new, and as i was doing my room and going for a different feel it was the right time. I picked this super fun clock from John Lewis in Milton Keynes on a trip to find me a birthday present, and for that it was an unsuccessful trip but i did pick up this. I love that it's different and bold, while still being subtle and matching in with my scheme - if that's even possible?
Below that, on the wall just to the right i have two little masks that i picked up in Venice on a really ace school trip. These just bring back so, so many memories, in fact it actually makes my heart warm and gives my stomach butterflies just writing about it. I love that. I love that my room has quirky pieces that i've picked up here and there and that remind me of special times in my life. I really do love that. I also really love that this is predominantly blue, because i love blue and yellow together if you haven't already noticed (Jewellery box?).
Something else that's pretty special to me is this beautiful BLUE glass ball that was given to me by the lovely friends i made at my previous job. It's actually called a friendship ball, and:
"Friendship balls are known by many other names including fairy balls, witch balls, spiritual balls, ornamental balls and kugel balls. Originally made at the end of A shift from left over glass, friendship balls are given to friends and family as a token of friendship and good luck."
So this is very special to me, and reminds of my time there, good and bad, but mainly of the lovely, lovely people i met there that eventually became my friends. It originally came on a purple ribbon that i didn't like with my colour scheme, so i bought some bright yellow ribbon from John Lewis and attached it myself also making it a bit longer. I think this matches much better and really brings out the beautiful colours in the glass ball.
On the opposite side of the room is what acts as my bedside table. I love this piece because i bought it very recently, unlike the rest of my furniture so it's not completely matching but it works perfectly with everything. I also love having extra space on a bedside, and bonus storage underneath.
Hung from the ceiling on the other side of my room, also, is this gorgeous multi coloured heart string which i absolutely adore. I honestly don't even remember how long ago i got this, but i'm pretty sure it was a gift from a friend. I just love the colour it adds, and i don't know why but i love hanging things from my ceiling. I think in the same way i really like differing levels on my surfaces, i really like the change it brings.
On my wall is a fab picture from Dunelm, not too long ago that really matches my wall colour nicely. It really wasn't a bad price but i just loved the phrase that i probably would have spent a bit more on it. This is something that i often forget to do, sadly, so i thought that by putting it somewhere i could i see it would remind me to think in that way more often.
If you haven't noticed by now, i really love glass jars. I think they look so pretty especially, like i said before, in different heights and shapes and sizes. On my bedside table i have a large jar for cotton pads, a medium jar for cotton buds and i picked up this cute Honeydukes jar from the Warner Bros. Studio Tour - The Making of Harry Potter on my birthday and it was originally filled with lemon sherbets. Now, it's full of hair clips, grips and bands. The little cream box houses spare hair grips and is actually pretty empty, but again i just like the height difference and use of shape. I don't really like things to be too perfect, i like my room to be a little quirky.
My little white clock is a really cheap one from Amazon. I used to have a larger, silver one but it was a plug in so there was only so many places i could keep it. However, this one is battery powered so i can have it anywhere. I love that it's white too because the underlying colour in my room is white, with my furniture being white too. Behind that is another cute, star shaped tea light holder because i like to have candles everywhere.
I love my lamp. Previously, i had a curly silver lamp that was a touch lamp, so you only had to touch the stem of the lamp and it'd turn on but if you have those lamps for too long, they become static and turn on and off by themselves. So, i got rid of that but i wanted something similar and cute so my parents actually bought this for me while i was university, and i love it. It's very classic and i actually prefer the gunmetal silver stem to the bright mirror silver.
I also really like cute little containers and nick nacks in my room, and just inside my door i have this cute wicker set of drawers just for more storage. On top i keep this cute, green, starry, glass bowl that used to be one of my favourite candles from Sainsburys that smelt like pine and Christmas trees. I used it up, and then cleaned out the wicks and the thin layer of wax at the bottom, and voila! I have myself a key bowl. I really like how cute and home made it looks, and it meant i didn't need to buy myself one too.
Behind that lives my nail polish collection. At home i only really brought my Summer colours, so half of my collection is still at university but here i keep my Models' Own polishes in the larger, cream box underneath because that's the brand i own most of and on top in the cute, L'occitane, wicker basket that used to a gift set houses all the other brands which is mainly Essie, OPI, a little ORLY and a little Butter London.
Just inside, and behind my door is also the home of my tripod for easy access.
Above that, and slightly behind my door is my pin board. This is been with me for a very long time. It's done a lot of changing; from being completely covered in school work, and memories to being totally bare and now it's just got a couple memories on it and a couple things i want to remember. My two favourite memories on here is the one on the far left, which is a a headband that i made myself at Glastonbury in 2010, that's covered in flowers, and butterflies, wheat, and ribbon, with a ribbon tail at the back. The other is on the far right which is my life-size venetian mask that i bought on the same trip to Venice i talked about earlier.
This is what lives on the other side of my room, to my bed. It's my built in wardrobes, and what used to be book shelves but now just storage shelves.
On the top shelf i keep all my favourite books, the ones i love to read the most or some that are classics. At the front i have my favourite Roald Dahl books, next a couple of ones that i've been gifted, then my favourite Cecelia Ahern's, Holes, a few more Roald Dahl, then some of my favourite children's books like The Jolly Postman and The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and at the back i keep some cook books, Alexander Mcqueen and my Blue Peter Annual signed by all the presenters when i was a runner up in a writing competition.
On the end of the shelf i keep this little guy. Stitch is one of my favourite Disney characters, and i was also bought this one by a friend for my 21st. He watches over all the goings on in my room.
Next two down are my cosmetic shelves. The highest houses my make up storage and perfume collection, and below is my day to day skincare, haircare and any other products i use on a daily, or so, basis. My storage make up storage drawers are from Homebase and were kind of pricey but i was after something exactly like this and it meant i didn't have to pay for postage. My make up brushes are hidden behind my storage, at the back of my perfume collection kept in a sundae glass from Sainsburys. I do have quite a few perfumes, but i just love how bottles look on a dressing table and i love so many scents. My favourites are my Marc Jacobs collection, but i also have a Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, Next, Zara and Victoria Secret.
The little baskets i keep products below in are from Ebay, i believe, and i think they're just awesome for storage. On show i've got some Batiste XXL, my aqueous cream for my eczema, hairspray, nail varnish remover, Aussie Leave-In Conditioner, Nads, Lee Stafford Purple Shampoo, and back ups of all my skincare routine.
Last, but not least, on the bottom three we've got two sort of bits & bobs shelves and the bottom houses my DVDs and my hairdryers, and there is no other home for him.
At the top, you can see my Emma Bridgewater biscuit tin that holds all of the rest of my medication. Does that make me sound like i'm super ill or something? I assure you, i'm not. I've also got a glass bowl from Dunelm homing all of my really chunky, pretty necklaces that are nice to display - like the chunky pearls i got for my 18th birthday. Next to that is the box of bottoms my friends Izzi and Izzi bought me for my 21st, awaiting some sort of great project. On top is my Laduree box i picked up in Paris on my first university trip, and then my pen pot which is actually a tea light holder from Dunelm, again. Also on this shelf is my Chinese pin cushion, my letter writing set and a glass water bottle from Lincolnshire my Grandad gave to me and it's nice to have a little piece of him here with me. I actually think it's really cool, and eventually i'd like to have on show somewhere whenever i get my own place.
Below that is actually pretty much just unused boxes, except for the large, colourful one is home to lots of yummy goodness. I keep sweet treats in here, but i actually rarely go in here anymore. The glass sphere bowl, is from Paperchase a very long time a go and hod lots of buttons and pins that have nowhere else to go.
And right at the bottom are DVDs.
On my wardrobe, i keep my scarf collection. They're just wrapped around a hanger that has a bottom bar, with my H&M fur collar draped over the top. I think they're pretty and nice to have on show. Mainly they're from H&M, but there's one from Primark and one from Ebay too.
Like i said right at the beginning, i can't afford to change my carpet so to offset the orange and to sort of bring my walls and carpet together, i bought myself a rug. I honestly love this rug, and i picked up on sale from Dunelm, which happens to be one of my favourite interior stores. I actually would have liked something a little larger but this seems to be the standard size of rug and the next up is too big, so i went for this beauty. The pile on this rug is amazing, it's so thick and snuggly, i really love it. I wanted to make my room feel more homely, which is another reason i went for a rug, so i decided i wanted to make my floor a little more of a space to use too, especially as the rug is so darn comfortable. So, i popped two of my favourite cushions on the floor with my rug, against my bed to use when i want to sit on my rug. The one on the left is homemade with the pillow and fabric both from Dunelm and the one on the right is one i bought from a Past Times outlet store.
Again, i wanted to make my room more homely and cosy, so i made my window sill another surface to use. Before i've always just kept decorative things on it, so this time i decided to mix it up. At the end i have my Pot of Dreams from Clinton Cards, an empty photo frame that matches that, my beautiful Tinkerbell that my parents bought me for my 21st birthday, my tin jug that i use to house flowers and then up next to where i sit, i have my tissue box and a coaster. This just means that this space doesn't come redundant and i can use it too.
This is my beautiful lampshade. I can't remember where the heck i got it, but if i were to throw i guess i would think John Lewis. I hate lampshades that don't let any light out, so this is perfect.
So, there we have it. My room tour. I've worked pretty hard on my room, getting it how i like it so i thought it'd be nice to share it all with you. Let me know what you think, and what would you do?
K|xo
