This day I love.......: room

Spring is in the air and with it the desire to clean and unclutter. The house begins to be filled with the warmer spring air and the house is seen in a new light. A desire to update, or simply refresh is felt and we begin searching for the latest trends.

I’ve been looking around the internet to see what modern room themes could work for my home and whether it’s the latest industrial kitchen chic, or even the luxurious range of TV beds, it looks like there’s lots of fun to be had.

Keeping it minimal

With the imminent arrival of Thing 3, I have been trying to have a bit of a declutter. Tidying each room and donating to charity unused items. A third child means more clothes, toys and baby items and so space is at a premium. I have tried to keep the nursery as clutter free as possible and make best use of the space available.

Making a statement

One of the big things about modern interiors is the way that they’re not afraid to make a big statement through a particular piece of furniture or aesthetic motif. For example, this bedroom uses just a few bold items such as a bright red bedside table and a striking contemporary painting to provide bursts of colour against the cool and classy decor. There are, of course, few better ways to make a statement than by investing in a modernist piece of furniture. It could be a striking bedside cabinet or a fun globe chair, and also there are cheap TV beds available at the Bedstar website that are the perfect example of how modernist furniture can be seriously luxurious, as well as stylish and chic.

Futuristic themes

Implementing technology in a thoughtful manner is another way to give your decor a modern revamp. Whilst I hate endless cables and power adaptors trailing over our living room, by narrowing down all of the clutter into a few multipurpose devices, it can suddenly make our homes feel a little more modern.

I would love a new kitchen but it is a little out of our budget at the moment, I do love this modern kitchen that features industrial touches such as shiny metallics that are nicely contrasted to the retro mint green lamps.

Whether it’s a nice and bright new colour scheme, or even an extravagant new TV bed, there’s much that can be done to give our homes that extra special modern touch!

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When I told my husband I wanted to wallpaper all the walls in the front room he was not too keen on the idea. He was worried the room would look too dated and too dark. His other concern was finding a paper that was good quality so that it covered the rough walls underneath. The previous owners had left the walls in our house in a real mess, and to paint them would have involved finding someone to plaster them.

As it happened the chimney became damaged in the high winds recently causing rain water to leak down the chimney and damage all the ceilings underneath, the whole ceiling needed plastering and the chimney repairing. After finding a local tradesman on myjobquote.co.uk we had the repair work carried out and could begin decorating.

I chose a wallpaper from Graham and Brown which had a subtle shimmer pattern to it. The pattern keeps in theme with the rest of the house, but my husband was still unsure how it would look having all the walls, except around the fireplace, wallpapered. The Wallpaper is such that the pattern appears in the light, but when the room is in shade the paper appears plain, as if the walls have been painted. This is fantastic as we have given the room a new lease of life and by choosing a subtle pattern create a new feel to the room dependant on the time of day. To compliment the wallpaper we painted the fireplace in Dimity from Farrow and Ball. Whilst this is the same colour as the walls in the nursery the colour of the paint looks much more silver, perhaps this is due to the silver in the paper reflecting.

The wallpaper choice also meant that thanks to the pattern it can be used for a feature wall. To do this we painted the walls in silver feather from Johnstones paint, the almost white colour of the paint helps to bring out the pattern on the paper more than the same paper in the front room. This then creates more of a feature of the wallpaper in our bedroom.

The use of wallpaper in a room can give it a different meaning dependant on what it is teamed up with. Whilst the paper is the same in both our bedroom and the front room, the feel is very different. Our bedroom is much more relaxing and whilst the front room also feels relaxing it has a warming and calming property to it. I simply love how you can create a different feel to a room using the same materials but in a different way.

This post has been something I have wanted to write for a while. I have included some links I think maybe of use.

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We are very lucky that when we found out we were expecting Thing3 that we had enough bedrooms. It did mean that I had to give up my office, but this has now been relocated. My office walls were decorated recently in Graham and Brown wallpaper and it was decided that rather than removing the paper we would instead paint over the top to brighten up the room.

I wanted to keep the nursery neutral as we do not know if Thing3 is male or female and I settled on Ammonite and Dimpse, from Farrow and Ball, for the walls. These colours both have soft natural hints to them and as this is a little room I thought it would be perfect for adding in light. Dimpse has a subtle grey tone to it and Ammonite has more a natural fossil colour. I felt the two would compliment each other really well.

I was really pleased that the paint covered the walls well and only needed one coat. Farrow and Ball paint has a real luxurious touch to it, which you can see when you paint. I wanted to ensure a good coverage over the wallpaper and therefore Farrow and Ball was the paint of choice. In certain lights the walls change colour slightly, with the feature wall becoming darker and the other walls becoming closer to white and then sometimes grey. I think it depends on the light from the window and if in natural light or artificial light. I love these subtle changes to the room. The room feels really warm and welcoming, and the natural tones on the walls add a calming effect to the room.

The carpet in the room was the original black carpet from when we moved in. This has been in need of replacing for some time and converting the space into a nursery seemed the optimum moment to do so. I settled for a hardwood floor, as it is much easier to keep clean, plus it is then in keeping with the rest of the house. Once the flooring had been laid it was a case of adding in the furniture.

The room has a fitted wardrobe, so all that was needed was a cot and chest of drawers. The drawers I already had, and the cot we painted from a second had cot which I bought online. I made sure it met all current safety standards and had the required stamps before purchasing. It looks brand new and I am so pleased with it.

There was originally a sofa in my office and I decided to keep this in the nursery for night feeds. We all love superheroes in our house and I thought this, along with Dr Seuss would be perfect for the theme for the nursery. I came across a batman cushion online and knew the second I saw it that it had to be in the nursery.

I had had a canvas shopping bag which the handles broke from Cosatto and by sticking velcro in the top I converted it to a cushion cover. Perfect for the nursery. The sofa has been used to create a reading corner. We have a real love for books and reading in our house and we are hoping Thing3 develops this same love. As this is only a small room I purchased a tidy books book case in white to help display all the wonderful books for Thing3. The girls both have tidy book cases which I have also purchased for them and they take up very little floor space, along with giving easy access to the books.

The girls have their scan pictures displayed on the walls in their bedrooms, and I found the hanging frame in Asda in the sale. It is the perfect size for adding scan pictures to.

The reading corner is finished with my beautiful wooden print from Imprify, which of course is of the girls in their superhero costumes.

I would love a superhero themed rug and blind to go in the nursery but have not yet managed to find one, but these can be added once Thing3 arrives.

I really love the nursery and the way the room has transformed from my office to a room filled with love ready for Thing3 arrival.

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We have been saving for some time to replace the flooring in my eldest daughter bedroom and the room that is going to be the nursery. When we moved the flooring was carpet one was black, which we could never get clean and the other cream but it was covered in stains. We struggled for some time as to what to put down, hard wood flooring like the rest of the house or replace all of upstairs with the same carpet. Eventually we decided upon hardwood flooring

Flooring does not come cheap. Whether you are going for carpet or tiles, or another option and to be honest, hardwood floors are no different.. Real hardwood floors shouldn't break the bank, a quick google search can list some affordable sellers, such as Ted Todd hardwood flooring.

For us personally hardwood flooring looks fantastic. The colour of the wood and the sheen of the surface make hardwood flooring the most aesthetically pleasing option on the market. They just do not appear as stained or dirty as carpet can. If you want style over substance, hardwood is a great choice.

Unlike the majority of flooring options, hardwood floors are easy to clean. After all, they don’t have thick pieces of fabric that trap dust and dirt and, they don’t stain as easy because the surface is a lot smoother and harder to grip. At the end of the day, all you need to clean a hardwood floor is a spot of detergent and a mop. In fact, warm soapy water will be enough for most hardwood floors.

Hardwood floors also cannot trap dust and bacteria like a carpet. A carpet can easily play host to a variety of different bugs and viruses that can repopulate the house. At the very least, a dirtier carpet can affect the air quality in your house, which can be hazardous to your health. With my eldest daughter suffering with eczema we wanted to ensure her skin was given the best chance it could be given in order to stay eczema free.

The house suddenly feels a lot cleaner now we have removed the old carpets and replaced with hardwood floors. I love how our house is becoming our home, with our personality.

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I decided to combine this weeks update and things for Thing 3 post as it all seems to fit together. This week has been an emotional week as I was advised by physio to stop running. I saw the physio at 23+1 for the pain I have had in my abdomen. The extreme pain when walking has been getting worse and physio was in many ways needed.

My physio has diagnosed a 3.5cm distasis recti and hip displacement. On top of this I have also torn and done damage to my lower abdominal muscles. This week has been focusing on doing my exercises in order to prevent and further damage and try to make every day tasks like walking less painful.

I am not allowed to lift anything. Lifting s bowl of cereal hurts. I cannot do the ironing or vacuuming and some simple tasks like putting on shoes really hurts. However I am determined to keep going and am doing everything my physio had advised. My husband has been great at helping with housework and my Mum has been a superstar too. I do feel really frustrated and guilty because they are such simple tasks and pregnancy should not be an illness or an excuse to not do things. Unfortunately for me the damage to my muscles is saying otherwise.

Thing 3 gave me a scare mid way through the week after having a very quiet day, but soon made up for it with some strong kicks. I am loving all the wiggles and kicks and they seem to be getting stronger every day. I am looking forward to hearing Thing 3 heart heart at the 24 week appointment with the midwife.

One of my friends has very kindly given me some baby clothes for Thing 3 which I am incredibly grateful for as I had given away all of the girls things. This week also saw the paint arrive for the nursery. I have gone for neutral colours as I do not know the gender and also chosen paint from Farrow and Ball. I wanted good quality paint that I knew would withstand daily life with a baby and farrow and ball met this criteria. I shall be writing up nursery ideas in a few weeks and sharing with you the finished nursery. I am currently looking at flooring and blinds and then it is a case of putting it all together.

As the pregnancy progress I am also making decisions towards birthing plans and how I will feed Thing 3. I am hoping to share my decision as soon as I have made one. Whatever I decide I know that Tommee Tippee have a range of products to help me and my work with then as a mumbasador helpfully will continue with Thing 3.

To celebrate my partnership with Tommee Tippee I am giving away a box of 20 breast milk storage pouches. The pouches fit most brands of pumps so you can express directly into them, meaning no more spilt milk. A single pouch can be used to express, warm the ouch directly and then feed direct from the pouch. All you need to do to be in with a chance is follow the instructions on the widget this also shows full terms and conditions. Giveaway closes midnight GMT on 18th December 2015.

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My youngest is waking up more frequently in the night and I think part of it is to do with her bed. She is in a very beautiful toddler bed, but I often hear a large bang just before she wakes up as she catches herself on the side of her bed. She wants me to sit in bed with her, but I cannot fit in the toddler bed. The decision was therefore made to get a new full sized single bed

We had seen a beautiful bed from Noa and Nani and knew immediately that it was the one for my daughter. Her room was one of the first in the house to be decorated. I wanted the room to reflect her personality. Whilst she shows some feminine traits, she prefers mud and mess. Her bedroom is the smallest room and it needed to be kept light, the furniture is therefore white. Her walls are painted with paint from the Nursery Paint company in 'His Sunday Best and a feature wall in 'Dolly's frock'. This great mix of paints keeps the room feminine and matches her personality.

Her bedroom has space for her to play, space to relax and space to read. She adores reading and we purchased a tidy books book case for her so she can easily access her books.

Her Noa and Nani bed arrived and I began to assemble. It was easy to put together by myself and had clear instructions. I was rather proud of my achievement and impressed that I had managed by myself.

The Astrid sleigh bed is simply beautiful from all angles. The head board and foot board have subtle curves which give the Astrid a real sense of elegance. Astrid is a great height making it easy for a 2 year old to climb into, and giving great storage options underneath. The design of the Astrid is one which should last my daughter for some time to come.

My youngest daughters bedroom has been transformed from a toddler room into a little girls bedroom. It is now a room which we can add to as she grows up and her beautiful Noa and Nani bed takes pride of place

The Noa and Nani Astrid sleigh bed was sent to us for a review. All words and opinions are my own

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