Help! My new home has a boring bedroom.. How do I fix it?
Hi all!
I've just purchased my first home - a one bedroom apartment in Perth. It's relatively new (12 months old) and i'm very happy with the design and layout of the living areas, but the bedroom is a boring white box by comparison to the rest of the apartment. I have some dollars aside to remodel a bit but I need help coming up with the final design. Unfortunately I've got less experience than most when it comes to interior design - not only is this my first home purchase, it'll also be my first fixed address in over 13 years. I did actually try to reach out to an interior designer but was told the scope was too small, so here I am on Houzz. :)
This is the bedroom as is (excuse the furniture - it isn't mine);
And here's a few shots of the same bedroom without furniture (please note the carpet isn't the same because the following shots are from a different apartment);
And the floorplan with dimensions scribbled in (I added in a bed and a lounge chair to see how the fit would be);
The living areas of the apartment for context;
I've spent weeks coming up with some design ideas but I can't quite bring it all together in a way that i'm confident with. The style i'm aiming for is somewhere in the area of 'scandi-industrial' & the main features i've decided on so far (photos included);
-Concrete render/timber paneling feature wall behind the bedhead, with the concrete render continuing on the wall directly opposite the entry way. Something similar to the following;
-Pendant lights on either side of the bed - as much for space saving as aesthetic, and a hanging plant on the window side of the bed
-I intend to replace the 2.5 meter wide mirrored built-in wardrobe doors with 2/3rds smoked glass and a 1/3 mirrored door (black trim) (Nobody needs that much mirror in the bedroom). I’ll also eventually redo the wardrobe to make better use of the space, and contain a tv (I don’t want to wall mount a TV in the bedroom). Something like this...
-Ceiling fan above bed & a ceiling or wall mount light placed above the lounge chair on wall opposite the entry. I expect that if I keep an industrial style with the ceiling fixtures it can break up the 'white-ness' of the ceiling?
-Eames chair & ottoman - walnut & black leather finish - this chair is a must for me. The rest of the room/furniture will have to match. :)
WHERE I'M STUCK:
1. The carpet is a light grey colour (not quite as blue as it looks in the photos). Can this be made to suit the styling, or do I need to replace it completely? I like the idea of carpet in the bedroom, but I'm happy to consider floorboards or even a polished concrete render (with a rug obviously). Most of the photos i’ve taken inspiration from don’t have carpet, so i’m having a tough time imagining how it would look. I photoshopped up a couple of photos to give me some kind of image with carpet included but it just doesn’t look quite the same. If I do switch out carpet for timber floorboards, do I try to match the timber style in the living areas?
2. What style of timber will best work with the raw concrete finish? Should I match the walnut of the chair and continue the ‘walnut’ in any other timber features used in the room (probably only the bed frame, and maybe the wardrobe interior)?
3. What colour(s) should the remaining walls be painted (either side of the entry door - one is just a blank wall, the other holds the built-in wardrobe)? I thought perhaps a charcoal grey or black, but I honestly have no idea. Remember the ceiling is white so is the contrast too much? I considered just continuing the concrete render but I think that might be a bit too much?
4. What on earth do I do with the bedroom door? Keep it white? Paint it? Replace it (maybe with a similar black steel & smoked glass as the wardrobe)? If I paint it, what colour? Match the wall, or something different?
I’m prepared to be flexible on most design ideas, so if something i’ve suggested can be improved upon i’d love to hear it. The end goal is to have a stylish, ‘masculine’ bedroom that fits with the rest of my apartment. I’d also love to hear any other ideas regarding furnishings, artwork etc if you want to share them – i’m well out of my element here and I can use all the help I can get ;)
Apologies for the long post – I hope that too much information is better than too little. Thanks in advance, i’m looking forward to hearing everyone’s ideas!
Cheers,
Mick
Comments (17)
4 years agoRelated Discussions
Hi friends I need ur help to decorate my new house we buyed recently pl help me :))
Comments (2)If you have some furniture to start with, I would just use the basics for now and live in your home for at least 6 months - 12 is better - and get the feel of the house, the lighting, how the rooms are affected by heat and cold, decide how you are going to live in each room and what your needs will be. This will also help you determine traffic flow, which ultimately affects how your arrange your furniture. It is amazing how many times you can change your mind during this initial period. Most importantly, create your home for YOU, not to impress others, you are the one living in it and happiness comes from the peace and contentment you feel in your surroundings. In the meantime, look through photos on Houzz for ideas, save them in your ideas book for reference and use this to build your decorating....See MoreWhat do you think of my floor plan for my new home?
Comments (73)This floor plan has a single garage, with bedrooms grouped together at the front of the house, the Music Room has been moved to the rear away from the bedrooms as it would make too much noise for those sleeping. It can now be opened up to the family kitchen dining, courtyard and Alfresco and can be used as a play room(/ guest room) giving children great indoor out door play area in view of parents. There's a study with a similar view. A powder room closer to the rear of the house for easy access, The main bathroom is done Japanese style. The master suite has the WIR between the bed and the ensuite, no noise etc when in use to disturb anyone. I have made the passage way extra wide and more like a room which has a linen cupboard, you could certainly make this narrower and add to the bedrooms if you wished, This comes to 204.5 sq m. cheers...See MoreHelp! How do I boost my home's street appeal?
Comments (14)I think the task of transforming homes like these is an exciting challenge! If your budget is not huge then timber trimmings and paint can make a huge difference here. You could paint the brick, or better still clad it with weatherboard to soften the house, but if the budget does not allow the whole house to be clad just do the front and go around the corners by about a meter and then paint the bricks at the sides and back to match. You definitely need a verandah across the front, with the steps centred and going straight down to meet the gate - this will transform the facade and is worth spending the money on. If you dont want to change the windows consider framing them with timber to make them look larger and replace the front door with something nicer, luckily your door is centred with same size windows either side. Id suggest replacing the fence with a picket fence and matching gates to hide the concrete driveway and then screen off the long side driveway and camouflage the overhang with a picket gate to match. Paint choices here are really important, it looks like your neighbours homes are beige or grey? Consider painting the house a classic colour such as dusky blue or sage combined with light trimmings to make yours stand out from the surrounding neutral homes (ive done a couple of quick mock-ups below as examples) You need some plants but your front yard is not large so a single, low height feature tree with mulch or pebbles instead of lawn would look wonderful plus a couple of strategically placed pots. Good luck!...See MoreHow can I fix my wonky plumeria?
Comments (6)Brilliant thankyou oklouise. I have had success with cuttings before but was hoping to leave the tree in this garden, and I am not sure I can straighten the trunk without moving it further out of the garden bed, or having lower branches too close to the pool fence. I was thinking my only option if I want it in that location is to have a leaning base and attempt to prune to make the top look straighter. I haven't been able to find info as to whether you can have an angled lower trunk and get the top to straighten up, but I like your suggestion of using keywords "pruning to encourage lower branches", I'll give that a try....See More- 4 years ago
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pipe shelving and rustic lighting inspiration. beacon does great industrial style lighting.
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browsing on etsy for my own stuff but saw something that made me think of your post. they have cool posters of patents which would suit your industrial vibe and also maps and even one where they print a map of the stars for your birthdate.
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PRO4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago- 3 years ago
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