Aye & Josh’s budget bedroom – Dream Home Makeovers
I love a challenge but when Aye and Josh set me the task to totally transform their master bedroom into a Dream Home Makeover with a budget of £500 and just one weekend to do it in, I just had to rise to it!
SPOILER ALERT, if you haven’t caught up on Dream Home Makeovers on MY5 yet, look away now, and come back for pictures of the reveal and a list of products featured.
My mantra when working to any tight interior budget is “When the cash is tight, go hard on colour!” You can create amazing transformations with paint. For the cost of a tin you get the biggest bang for your buck. But for this show we have to go beyond a simple freshen up. I decided get my inspiration from the current interiors trend for colour blocking. This is where you use around 2- 5 contrasting colours to create bold blocks of colour, in overlapping shapes, that tessellate like a jigsaw all the way around the room. It’s all about cloaking the room in colour, so you take the paint across the walls, wood work, architectural details and the ceiling too.
Before…
While I love the colour, Aye and Josh’s bedroom lacked style
I worked with designer Barbara Ramani who created this sensational three dimensional colour block mural that visually took this space from zero to hero. The whole transformation undertaken with just three tins of paint. Wow!
After…
The colour blocked design wrapped around walls, joinery, furniture and ceiling. Their existing fitted wardrobes, bed, carpet and light fitting remained.
Along with Aye and Josh, we chose three colours in a fashionable lilac, rich emerald and moody navy blue. Josh is a set painter and knows his paint and was very particular about the colour and the quality! The paint from Benjamin Moore is colour mixed so you can get the exact colour you are after, and better still, it is also an all-surface product, so we could use the same tin of paint for walls, woodwork and radiators which made the whole job a lot easier.
We had our carpenter Steve make a couple of floating bedside tables and a trainer tower that could be coated in the colour block colour. And Josh updated an old vintage side board in graphic black and white chevron stripes.
The £500 budget was spent on paint and timber. Walls painted in Green Meadows 2040-20, Wishing Well 1389, Gentleman’s Gray 2062-20, all Benjamin Moore
The key to a successful colour blocking scheme is to go bold with your colour choices and pick three different tones. The lilac was the palest shade, followed bu the bright emerald green and then the dark moody navy cuts through the two brighter colours. Next take the colour over walls, doors, fitted furniture and the ceiling too.
I love how this very modern paint effect wraps around the original victorian door and architrave. This look would work in both period and modern homes.
It’s quite a full on graphic look, so to soften it I added plenty of potted plants, soft fabrics and hand thrown pottery into the mix. While Josh loves bold graphic designs, Aye prefers a softer more boho vibe so the macrame plant hangers (which we made by the way!) and the wicker and tufted textiles bought a softer feel that she prefers.
The old vintage side board gets a whole new look with painted chevron stripes. Mauve sky Painting, Sophie Abbott.
The neutral tones of the wood and wicker also calm down the bold colour. I love using saturated brights but to stop it becoming too ‘play school’ I think timber tones and natural woven textures calm the whole thing down a touch.
Aye loves plants and so we dotted them around the room to soften the bold colour scheme. San Miguel vase; WA Green San Lorenzo vase; Green strØm bowl, Oval white candlestick; Simple green planter, all WA Green.
Aye had a massive declutter and clear out before the makeover which then allowed us to bring in a few well chosen accessories to dress the space. Apartment round wall mirror, Dunelm. Lucite purple and white large pill by Jonathon Adler, WA Green
To complete the new look we splashed out on a new set of wall lights, bed throw and cushions to elevate the bed. This was in addition to the £500 budget. Ogilvy swing arm wall lights, Made.com. Diamond tasselled tufted cushion in black and natural; Connection waffle bedspread in navy, all Dusk
I’ve never been more amazed on how the power of colour and paint has to totally transform a room. If you want to update the look of your home, and even on a budget, my online design school is here to help. And this month I have a fabulous 50% saving on my Ultimate Interiors bundle offering three fantastic courses, all at half the price. Sign up to these courses and you’ll have more than enough guidance and inspiration to get your dream home makeover underway. Find out more here.
PRODUCTS FEATURED
DECORATION
Walls painted in Green Meadows 2040-20, Wishing Well 1389, Gentleman’s Gray 2062-20, all Benjamin Moore
Cabinet painted in Snow white 2122-70 and Black 2132-10, all Benjamin Moore
Bed painted in Green Meadows 2040-20, Wishing Well 1389, Benjamin Moore
BED
Malm bedframe, Ikea
Cambridge duvet cover and pillowcases; Diamond tasselled tufted cushion in black and natural; Connection waffle bedspread in navy, all Dusk
Regency Green velvet cushions, Habitat
Sakamoto throw, WA Green
ACCESSORIES
Stockholm Rug, Ikea
Mauve sky Painting, Sophie Abbott
Ogilvy swing arm wall lights, Made.com
Apartment round wall mirror, Dunelm
Hanging planters made in chandlery rope, GP Barnes
SMALL ACCESSORIES
On sideboard:
San Miguel vase; WA Green San Lorenzo vase; Green strØm bowl, Oval white candlestick; Simple green planter, all WA Green
On shelves:
Small Green zig zag pot; Medium Berry Zig zag pot; Green Strom vase; Glitter vice cannister in purple; Secrets vice cannister; Love vice cannister; Female body candle, all WA Green
On side tables:
Lucite purple and white large pill by Jonathon Adler’ Bottoms up lilac candle, both WA Green
All other items, owned by Aye and Josh.
