Wednesday 16 October 2013

The princess and the pea - Room tour!!

So when it comes to sleeping it's safe to say I am worse than the princess and the pea. I need dark, I need quiet and I need comfort. So as I am about half way through finishing off my bedroom I thought I would do a little tour and show you guys what it looks like at the moment... I hope you guys like it and if you have any suggestions please feel free to leave a comment!

So first things first - the view as you walk in my room looks like this...


For those of you who follow me on Instagram (find me at allthingsuniqueuk) this image will look familiar.  I posted it to see what people thought about room tours: tacky or inspirational? The response I got was super positive so here we are! 

I'll go in to each area a little bit more to let you know where I got things from etc but if  I miss anything I'll be happy to answer any questions you have.


So I guess you would call this my dressing table/vanity depending on where you are in the world.  I love this dressing table! It was one of my first DIY projects and is still one of my favourites.  I've had it for about 6 years now so it is starting to wear but the scuffs on the wooden end tables just make them look more vintage and the glass has barely a scratch on it. The end tables were from TKMax and were originally bright yellow and I mean BRIGHT yellow! So I got a pot of dulux gloss in antique white and painted them.  It was surprisingly easy, although if I had the chance to do it again I would tape the handles as they have ended up with a little paint on them and the helpful people at TKMax super glued them in to the screws so I can't even get them off to replace them!  Anyways! The top was custom made by a glazier and it was around £28 which is amazing! I had it toughened for an extra £5 or £10, I can't quite remember, but as I said it's barely scratched so it was worth it.  If you want to do something similar my advice would be to check your yellow pages and phone around for quotes, the smaller local companies are often cheaper and they are so friendly and helpful.  They will probably quote you the minimum thickness for the size but if you want something a bit chunkier just let them know so you are both on the same page.  On a side note I get so frustrated when I see people giving trades people bad reviews when it is clearly their own fault for not communicating properly with the tradesman at the start about what it is they want. So please, please, please remember: if you want it, explain it! If you don't think they understand go speak with others until you find someone you feel happy with.

Enough of my side rant... Back to the point Lisa! 

The mirror (the large one) is from B&Q and it is simply mounted on 2 square blocks of off cut timber so that it protrudes from the wall by about 3cm.  I then used fairy lights (originally with a white cable but they broke) and some cable tacks and pinned the lights down before screwing the mirror on top. I love the way it glows.  It's softer than the Hollywood dresser lighting so if you like super bright lighting for doing your makeup I would recommend a replacing the small makeup mirror with one that has built in lights as well.  

The last few things are the hooks that hold my hair bands (I think I may have a problem!) they are from B&Q (around £4 each), the small mirror is from TKMax (around £18), the stool is from ikea (around £25) and the pillow is homemade (more on that one later).

Moving on to the next portion of my room ...


This is one of my favourite parts of my room but you don't get the real effect until night time and all the candles are lit... But that's ridiculously hard to get on camera! I'll show you a daytime close up in a second but first I'll explain where the main item, the tall boy, came from.  

I had been searching for one of these for about 6 months when I had given up hope of finding one that wasn't over £200 when I stumbled across this in the Argos catalogue...


The 7 drawer tall boy may not look like much but as it is unpainted pine it's super easy to stain or paint to your chosen colour.  Usually the unit is  £89.99 but sd I was looking through the reviews (which are pretty good!) I found a comment or two about buying them at half price. So as I was in no rush I decided to wait around 4 months and got it at half price!  Luckily for you though it happens to be on sale right now!  So if you're interested you can get this unit for only £44.99!

Again I got my trusty paint brush out and painted it in an off white.  I then ordered the crystal handles from pushka knobs available from their shop on ebay for £6 each and ta dah! All done!  I don't expect this piece to end up in our master bedroom when we move but I've already got plans for it to move to another room.

So a close up of the top section looks like this...


I have to say I love my lanterns and the way the top of the unit looks. The lanterns are suspended from hooks that are screwed in to the ceiling.  The chains are all different styles and are available by the meter in the larger B&Qs.  I just used cutters from hobbycraft and little craft rings (like tiny key rings) also from hobbycraft to secure the chains in a loop (you can just make this out on the lantern on the left).  The lanterns are (L-R) from TKMax, my friend Rachel's wedding and TKMax.  The jar isn't actually a lantern but I used garden wire and some pliers and made a make shift handle by wrapping it around the jar top a couple of times and then securing a handle shape. It's been up for over a year so I must have done something right! 

The other items are mainly gifts so I'm not sure where they are from but my adorable little piggy I did buy and he is from Dunelm Mill.

Moving on to the snap happy sections!! These are the parts that still need finishing but they are getting there...  


Most of this section is from ikea... The picture shelves, chair, bedside shelf, lamps (which are definitely going to be changed!), bedding and various photo frames are all from Ikea. Other photo frames are mainly from Tesco, as are the photo books.  All the other frames have been gifts.  The frame clock was also a gift but I do know that it's from urban outfitter.  

I am pretty happy with the layout on the shelves but I am looking to make the frames more in keeping with the room. Now all I need to decide is whether to paint or cover them... Decisions, decisions! 


So as I said before I handmade these pillows (the other one is on the stool) by using left over fabric from upholstering the headboard and some metallic ribbon from Hobbycraft.  The ribbon has wire in the edging which helps keep the shape of the bow.  If you would like to see a tutorial on how to do these just let me know.

The headboard now looks like this...


You don't see much but it's enough to get the jist! Anyway it was originally brown with a tan strip in the middle when I got it from my aunt but I got the fabric from Dunelm Mill, borrowed a staple gun and literally took 10 minutes to cover it.  Super easy, super quick and super cheap in comparison to buying a new one and you get it exactly the colour you want! 

As you can see above the bed is the area that still needs the most work!  

Finding frames to match my layout is not easy but I am slowly getting there and for those I can't get in the right colour I am planning on getting the paint brush out once more! The others spaces are a little more difficult but I think I've come up with a solution... I just need to find the time to do it now!  Hopefully more to come on that soon.

This next picture may not look like much but these were originally just mdf doors I had fitted and with a little dowling, some tacks, paint and some crystal handles from B&Q I turned what looked like cardboard doors into these French inspired lovelies!


So proud of my efforts on these! And for some extra storage for my daily bags I put some more of the hooks I used for my hair bands up next to the wardrobe.

Last but not least is my door area... For most people this would simply be a door!  But I like to use every space available and so this is what I have hidden away out of sight...


It's super practical and the pin boards and white boards help me keep things organised.  As for above the door, this all comes from Ikeas expect the small boxes in the middle which I found in a store on ebay.  I don't keep everyday items in here as I need to ask the BF to reach or use a stool but for those things you only use occasionally and for seasonal items it's perfect!

Well that's it folks! It did take slightly longer than I expected but I hope you enjoyed it!  Remember if you have any comments or suggestions please let me know and for a little sneak peek at my up coming projects make sure to follow me on Instagram and Facebook @ allthingsuniqueuk.

Speak soon,

Love L x











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