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Update your bedroom with a patterned carpet

Rolling out your own renovation can feel overwhelming, emotional and exhausting. My husband and I have been in a stalemate over our windows for six months now (wood v aluminium v UVPC v will-to-live) and it’s holding up the whole progress of the house. It’s time to get things moving. But we’ve got an epic job on our hands. Replacing windows and laying a new underfloor heating system throughout the ground floor have to happen before we can start with the decorating (you can tell I’m married to a builder, soooo sensible!). But I’ve been stockpiling tins of paint and rolls of wallpaper in readiness, so it will probably all come together in a big flurry at the end, in true TV makeover style!

Rug made by Alternative flooring in liberty flowers of thorpe summer garden. Walls painted Smalt by Little Greene. Dazzling blue bed linen by Secret linen store. Play cushion by Bluebell gray. Zig zag cushion by Punica. Framed limited edition prints by Studio Coverdale. Crescent Lamp from Pooky. Photography by Alun Callender

So I’m thrilled to reveal to you the latest little addition to my house. It’s a new bespoke made rug from one of my favourite retailers, Alternative flooring. I’ve been drooling over their Quirky B patterned carpet collections for ages, trying to decide if I can summon the courage to go for one of their mouth watering jazzily patterned fitted carpets. You have the divine stripes by Margo Selby, digging the geometrics by Ben Pentreath or craving the retro style of Ashley Hicks. But hark! Their brilliant rug service is the perfect solution.

My favourite pink suede tassel heels, old but from Boden. Photography for Sophie Robinson by Alun Callender

I’m obsessed with patterned rugs and I already have to admit to quite a large collection, sourced from the high street as well as some lovely well worn vintage finds. However I often get frustrated trying to find rugs BIG enough. This is my biggest design tip to you thus far- go big with rugs. In the living room they look best if the feet of the sofas and your armchair sit on them as it really pulls the room together, rather than a smaller rug that creates a kind of island in the middle. And in the bedroom I like to go massive too, so you can sit the whole bed on it. This is what I have done here. Because the Make Me A Rug service at Alternative flooring means you can specific the exact size you want you can get something proportionate to the room. It’s not a new idea, it’s what the Victorians did before fitted carpets. They were a clever bunch. I like to make the rug big enough that you have enough ruggage (yes it is a word spellcheck!) either side of the bed to step on out to and enough to make a statement at the end of the bed. You can also opt for a contrasting border with this service which looks particularly smart framing the bed too.

There’s a good reason that pattern carpets are featured in many a pub decor. They hide a multitude of sins so ideal for busy families. And dogs This is Lucy my mini english bull terrier. Photography for Sophie Robinson by Alun Callender

The choice made for my bedroom was this incredible Flowers of Thorpe Summer garden carpet by Liberty Fabrics for Alternative flooring. It really is like walking on a lawn of flowers and it incorporates all my favourite colours which means I can pull in other textiles and artwork that all hang together. You can check out my Pinterest board for the room design inspiration here.

The Liberty fabrics design is like walking on a field of flowers. The design and colour palette is intrinsic to how I decorate the rest on the room. Photography for Sophie Robinson by Alun Callender

It’s made me lust after designing my own range of patterned carpets- wouldn’t that be the ultimate thrill! I don’t think we see nearly enough pattern or colour on our floors but making them into rugs is the winning solution!

All photography by Alun Callender.

(Editors note. This is an impartial review and not paid for advertised content. I did receive the rug free of charge in return for this review)