Advice needed: a tale of two curtains

In extremely pleased with the new paint colour for my room. My landlady painted it over the weekend after we spent too much time deliberating over the ideal shade of grey.

Above: set against a White bag, you can see the paint we chose.

My problem now is that I’m no longer happy with my curtains. As you can see below, they don’t hang nicely and I’m not sure the colour is ideal either. My only stipulation is that I need black-out quotient- I’ve found it is better for my sleep.

Do you have any suggestions? What if I trimmed them so that they fall just above the headboard? I find that curtains and drapes are an area of interior decorating that I just can’t wrap my head around. Oiy!
As a final hurrah, here’s another shot of my wall, including the straw hat I bought in Morrocco.

Shelving

I’m such a geek – this I know. I also know that most of you will not care that my cupboard is now much better organised, but I’m over the moon. Check it out!

Prior to these White shelves, my cupboard was a mishmash of random objects. I often bought repeat products because I couldn’t see what I already had, and when the bottle of whiskey shattered across the floor a few weeks ago, that was the final straw.

I’ve been eyeing these addendum shelves from ikea for a year now, and was able to pick them up on this most recent trip. Now I can see what I have and good news is that I don’t need to restock any tine soon!

Bedroom Update

The room has taken on a bit of life since I last posted.

Pillows, cacti, books and multiple postcards from London venues

Dresser with Ikea mirror and boxes, painted candle holder, new curtains from La Redoute

 

Lightening up

£4.10 to make it pink.

Still working on the bedroom – which will always be a work in progress, as is every interior in my life. Last weekend S. did a bit of sorting and decided to discard a wrought iron tea-light holder. She offered it to me and at first I didn’t see it fitting in with my room because it was black. I need lighter, more colourful apparatuses in my bedroom space. But on second thought, I decided to hunt down some spray paint (which I found on a fluke as I passed a shop on my walk back from a home visit) and colourfy the candle holder so that it fit into my space. The dresser was missing a little somethin’ something’ anyway – even with the presence of my new Peace Lily.

Here is a photo of the tea-light holder pre-paint application.

Before painting

And here is the Work In Progress as it dried on the balcony (note to self: use more ground covering – spray paint has a wide dispersion berth).

Drying on the balcony

Et voila – la produit finale!

Pillows

A friend of mine was moving house a few years ago and I offered to help stage the home for open houses. Their realtor had given them a book of ideas to easily improve the look of the home and one such suggestion was to use a ‘cloud of pillows’ on the beds. This has stuck with me over the years, not only because it was corny sounding bit also because it was a bit whimsical in it’s own way.

Without further ado, here is my very own cloud of pillows:

“I need this,” says my room.

Last night I got a bit lost looking through ‘affordable art’ as suggested by Design*Sponge. My room is still feeling a bit sparse, and I think it would benefit from another splash of colour. As I browsed through the multitude of limited edition prints, I heard a tiny voice calling out:

“I want that.”

 

Alice, by Katie Kirk (30$)

So I checked out the image and agreed with the walls, or whatever part of my room was speaking to me at that time, that it was, in fact, an image that would add to the overall feel of the room. Good choice, Bedroom.

But little did I know that my bedroom was not yet finished speaking. A few moments later, I heard a slight whispering as I clicked through the gallery on Tiny Showcase; they had a series of field guides created by artists and as I pass the ‘Field Guide to the Stamps of the World’, I again was informed that this image was desperately desired for the left-hand wall of my room.

“Put this on my wall.”

"A Field Guide to the Stamps of the World" Gavin Potenza 21.5" x 29" $10.00

I do like them both, so I may just take the suggestions offered by the inner voice of my room. But in the meantime, I’ll covet these images online and dream up ways to add more colour. Next step – to find some spray paint. Anyone know of a hardware store in London?

Busy in the Bedroom

Saturday involved a trip to IKEA and resulted in a day in the bedroom on Sunday.

Before

And after a few hours fiddling with different furniture arrangements, here is the still-a-work-in-progress ‘after’ shots:

Postcards from various attractions I've visited in London; new temporary curtains; pillow forms (destined for greatness); and a few bottles waiting for jackets.

My new mirror - Ikea.

Closet, now you are nice and organized

Tea cups and sconces in Bermondsey

View from my bedroom window

Last night I moved 2/3 of my UK-based belongings across London and into my new room in Bermondsey. I arrived at the flat’s red door to open arms from Susan and her boyfriend, who helped me carry my carry-on and suitcase (with cracked wheels) into my room.
I’ve been puzzling over how to make this space my own, visiting sites such as Decor8, Design*Sponge, Ikea Family LIVE, and other design sites, as well as pouring over my rediscovered favourites on Flickr. The room really is a blank canvas, as you will see below…

So I have been told I have free-reign over adorning my room, but the rest of the flat is already decorated quite nicely.

 

Photos above: the bathroom (with rainshower head!), the hallway (adorned with art from plays Susan has worked in); above – the lady of the house – sconces surrounding the arch between the living room and dining area. Left – the living room, complete with large-scale map and handmade throw pillows. Below: the fireplace. Origami birds and a giant tea cup – need I say more?