This day I love.......: design

You may have seen in an earlier post that next year I plan on renovating my youngest daughters bedroom. If you ask her her favourite colour she says rainbow and her favourite things are mermaids, dogs and unicorns, so with these things in mind I want to create her a magical bedroom.

I am currently researching different painting methods. This may sound strange but I am wanting to incorporate a feature rainbow wall for her. I am looking at several different methods including using bubble wrapping to print different colours onto her wall, using bubbles themselves to paint and creating sections within the wall for a more defined rainbow. I am not sure which method to use yet, I like the idea of the bubbles but I am struggling to find a way to make it work.

On this feature wall I also intend to either paint or find a large enough wall sticker of a unicorn, to add a touch of sparkle I would also like to find some glitter to add to the wall. I have started to put together a Pinterest board of my ideas of how I would like the walls to look.

https://pin.it/lpdz5di4vyjsnq

I would like to use pastel colours on the other 3 walls. Maybe using different colours to try and keep with her love for rainbows. I am not sure if I will add glitter though as I want the feature wall to really stand out. Instead I want to decorate with art work that also captures the other things she loves mermaids, and of course dogs.

Looking through the internet I have found some beautiful art work at a very reasonable price for her bedroom wall. Arthaus is an independent and self funded market place that currently showcases the work of over 400 artists. This means there is an enviable collection of art that continuously grows and changes as more artists add their work. The price is also set by the artists themselves so there are plenty of beautiful artwork at very affordable prices. I simply fell in love with this piece and ordered it for her bedroom.

To incorporate mermaid into her bedroom I have decided to look for a blackout blind with a mermaid scale pattern. The wall which the window is on I think I will paint a lighter colour in order to have the blind stand out as art of its own.

I am actually really excited to start this project and know it won't happen quickly as I am not the fastest at painting but I cannot wait for it to unfold and also to see her face once it is complete. I am also hoping to film the transformation so you can see everything come together over on YouTube.

Arthaus have very kindly offered a framed print to one lucky reader of this blog to enter follow the widget below which also contains the full terms and conditions. In addition the code THISDAY20 entitles you to 20% off any print or frame until midnight Monday 3rd December.

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One of the reasons we chose to move into this house was because it gave my husband his much needed space. Having 2 girls he wanted somewhere he could escape to to listen to the football and play computer games. Whilst he is very lucky to have this space, we have encountered several problems with the space, and that is the shape of it.

His ‘man cave’, as it is more commonly known is in the attic. Which means small walls, sloping ceilings and every possible angle you can think of for the walls. Finding storage, such as shelving, to fit in this space has been near impossible. Nearly 4 years since we moved and the majority of my husband's books are still in the moving boxes, because he simply does not have anywhere to put them.

When ContiBoard got in touch with a blogger challenge, I was incredibly excited. I realised that ContiBoard was the answer we had been looking for, especially after I saw this triangular bookcase. I realised that possibilities were endless and the only limitation was my design ability. My mind got busy drawing up plans and working out how to adapt the design to best suit the space and came up with the following

The design would give my husband shelving either side of the projector, and plenty of space for all his books. I must admit that I was a little worried if ContiBoard could handle the weight of the books, but a quick look at past projects of ContiBoard soon put my mind at ease. ContiBoard comes in a variety of colours and we decide that the Nut crunch would be perfect for the space. We wanted something light, as the space can feel quite intimidating with the low ceilings and Nut crunch seemed the perfect choice.

Each ContiBoard comes in packs of 2. As each shelf unit is identical it was easy to work out which packs to order from the site. I simply had to order what I would need for one side, as the other side would automatically be taken care of. I also remembered to add in my edging tape. Delivery is free and was really quick, the delivery guy was also really helpful. All we needed to do now was put the plans into action.

First step was to measure the boards, I had labelled the packs according to the designs to make things easier and so we knew which boards to cut to which size

Then cut the boards to the required size

Once my Dad and Husband had cut all the boards they took everything upstairs into the attic and began assembling

Checking their work as they went

It didn’t take long before they had assembled one complete side and affixed it to the wall

With one side complete all that was left to do was repeat the process for the other side

In the space of one afternoon [they started around 2pm and finished at 6pm] My husband and my Dad had built both units. They started at 2pm as it took them most of the morning to move the boxes out of the way in order to have space to build the units. This is probably quicker than building flat pack furniture and the ContiBoard is of a much higher quality. The design is also unique to the space, meaning it is purpose built so does exactly what my husband needs in the space provided and with no compromises.

ContiBoard was really easy to work with, I watched my Dad cut the boards with ease and would have been able to do so myself had my pregnancy bump not got in the way. Holes in the boards were drilled using an ordinary drill and secured in place using wood screws. No out of the ordinary tools were required and all put together by my Dad and husband, who followed a design that I created.

The only limitation to ContiBoard is your imagination. If you can dream it then it can be created. My husband is impressed with the look and finish, and I am impressed with the quality. It might have taken nearly 4 years for us to find a solution but I am so glad we discovered ContiBoard, as the quality and finish is fantastic and we have a bespoke solution that we designed and built at home.

My husband can finally unpack all those boxes and personalise his space.

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I cannot tell you how happy I am at the minute. It feels like our bedroom makeover has gone on for most of the year, and I guess in many ways it has, At the start of the year we began the design process. Initially wanting a walk in wardrobe and then opting instead for full length wardrobes. We are so happy with this design choice as it gave us much more space. I wrote a post in October which walks you through the room and you can read it here.

For the past few months we have been waiting on paint delivery and decorator availability but finally this week they all came together. We purchased the paint used, except the paint for the wood work and used Wall paper which was left from an earlier project [a post to follow shortly]. I had intended the wallpaper to be used this way and we had just enough with no rolls left over.

One length of the room is the modern black gloss wardrobes. These in themselves are very powerful in the room and draw your attention towards them. However my husband and I felt that the opposite wall needed an extra something to compliment the wardrobes and we decided upon a feature wall.

We created a feature wall using paper from Graham and Brown and the design Spring blossom Mist. We wanted a design that was not too complicated but yet had a special touch to it. We also like paper that changes. By this I mean that it looks different dependant upon the light and where are you stood when you look at it.

I was looking forward to the challenge of wallpapering however the bump prevented me doing so and so we used a decorator. He did comment on the quality of the paper and estimated that it would be around £30 a roll, actually it is £12. The quality of the paper is stunning and the metallic patterns add a real touch of luxury. I love how the wallpaper works with the wardrobe and the blind without over complicating the room. The oak of the furniture really brings out the metallic sections within the paper.

We have kept the ceiling and coving white and chosen Silver Feather from Johnstones for the remaining two walls. Silver feather in daylight looks almost white but at night has a darker silver colour to it. The walls join the wardrobes so the colour needed to be light to offset the black of the wardrobe doors. Too dark and the room would have felt very enclosed. Instead of painting the wood work white we opted for Mesmerise from Johnstones paints. A bright white would have been too contrasting against the grey and silver tones in the room and we have found with two small children in the house show up the dirt far too quickly.

The whole bedroom has a real luxury feel to it, but we managed to achieve this using products without the luxury price tag. Silver, black and grey runs through the room as the theme and all the furniture is oak, The colour of the oak compliments the colour scheme and adds warmth into the room. You can see my design inspirations here

The room has been totally transformed and I love how the room feels different in day light than at night time.

With special thanks to:

Graham and Brown - for providing the wallpaper Spring Blossom Mist

Johnstones Paint - Mesmerise Wood paint and Silver Feather Matt wall paint

JYSK - Silkeborg Super king-size bed, bedside tables and chest drawers

Kilner Joinery - Wardrobes

Web blinds - Roman blinds

Lighting Majestic - table lights

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A few months ago I began redesigning our master bedroom. I touched upon the furnishing ideas in an earlier post which you can read about here. We wanted a modern bedroom but one which was also relaxing. Originally we wanted to split the room so the top half became a walk in wardrobe but after consultation with Kilner bedrooms decided that this would leave a very small master bedroom and so instead opted to install a fitted wardrobe across the full length of the room instead.

This is how the room looked before we started

We designed our wardrobes with an oak interior and gave the outside a modern black mirrored finish. We had full control over the design and installation only took one day. We are so pleased with the overall look and finish and how much storage we have, we also cannot believe the price as it was a lot cheaper than we had been quoted else where.

The rest of our bedroom has been designed around this wardrobes. JYSK kindly sent us a super king size bed and mattress tor review, which you can read about here. I love having a super king size bed and cannot believe how much more space we have. If you have the space I would certainly recommend having a super king size bed! We purchased two memory foam mattress toppers from JYSK as the mattress was a little springy for our taste, and these are fantastic and really made all the difference. The bed is big enough to accommodate all four or us and bump and it's the perfect place to relax on a Sunday morning.

To match our bed we also have a chest of drawers and bedside table from the same range from JYSK. you may have seen on my Instagram feed my assembly of them a few weeks ago. When I look at them I cannot believe that I built them. The instructions were easy to follow and it took me a while as the pieces were heavy to move.

They look the same as the ready assembled solid wood, although all the pieces were solid wood so I can see why. In fact I could not believe how thick some of the pieces were. Really excellent quality at a great price.

To finish off the bedside cabinets we have some beautiful touch lamps from lighting majestic. I have mentioned the lamps in this post, but now they are in place they really have added a touch of luxury to our bedroom. The three light settings are perfect for early morning starts or can be used to light the room fully. The room has really been transformed.

We opted for a Roman blind from Hilary's to finish the room, instead of curtains. We felt this gave a much more cleaner modern look and love how it fits in perfectly. We wanted a subtle pattern rather than a solid colour just to break the room up slightly, and am so pleased with the overall look and feel of the room. Really quick and simple to install with everything we needed provided.

The quality is fantastic and has really added to the luxury feel of the bedroom. Hilary's have even thought of children and safety in their designs and comes supplied with a cord that fastens to the wall. By pulling the chain tight and securely fastening to the wall this way it stops the kids getting tangled in the chain. It is also slightly behind our blind so it is not in an obvious way for the kids to discover and play with.

There is only one more job to do to finish the bedroom and that is to paint the walls. I have chosen a light grey colour for the walls, but our paint has been on order since September. I did want to wait to publish this until everything was completed, but if you keep an eye on Instagram I shall show you the room fully painted.

We really love our master bedroom and feel we have created a touch of luxury on a budget!

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If you have been following my blog, you’ll know my family and I have been in the long, sometimes arduous process of redesigning our home. We’ve found a lot of fantastic ideas, some of which i’ve already written about on ways to restyle it. While researching I found some great ideas on how to redo a bathroom. It might be useful to those of you who are struggling with making your bathroom a more stylish, comfortable place to be.

Follow Thisdayilove's board A dream bathroom on Pinterest.

Buy A New Bath

When you buy a new house, you’re often stuck with the white furniture in the bathroom that came with it. It’s not often that you buy a home where the previous owner has taken the bath with them! But, that doesn’t mean you have to be stuck with their old tub because you can still replace it. Their bath may not suit how you want the room to look, particularly if you are trying to save space. If you are looking to save some room, and make your suite look less cramped, buy a corner bath. These are perfect because they fit snuggly into the room and leave you plenty of space spare for other things. For instance, I always wanted to have a little chair in my bathroom. I think it’s quite a good place to sit and relax, particularly when it’s filled with steam.

Another extra tip is if you have kids, make sure you have a rubber safety mat on the bottom of your tub. This makes it less slippery and avoids accidents.

Upgrade The Shower

If you haven’t been keeping up to date with the latest styles in furniture you won’t know how luxurious showers have become. A shower used to be the poor man's wash choice but now a shower can be just as relaxing as a bath. There are many different designs to choose from including a wet room, for those who have difficulty with accessibility. You can see some of the different designs I’m talking about on http://www.bellabathrooms.co.uk/shower-enclosures.html.

Of course if you are not looking to completely renovate the room, you could just upgrade your shower pump. This will give you a stronger spray of water that will make your morning shower a far more enjoyable experience.

Add Little Accessories

By adding small accessories to the room you can really bring out it’s best features. For instance, I saw an idea online of styling each room in your house with family photos that match the room. So, if your bathroom was blue like the ocean, you could have pictures on the wall from when your family visited the beach. You could also stick shells and pebbles around the pictures.

You could add a long mirror to one of the walls of your bathroom. This makes the space seem bigger and is quite useful when you are trying to look your best in the morning.

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