Making the most of small bedrooms
As I mentioned in a recent post, we are in the planning stages of all sorts of house refurbishments as we are about to inherit enough money to get all the fiddly jobs done around the house that we have been meaning to do for ages. First up is the bathroom, but after that we have a small box room that have never really used since Jonnie moved out of it. He moved into Caity’s, bigger room, when she moved out and so since then his old room has become a bit of a dumping ground. So much so that we call it the “indoor garage”.
Not anymore though!
Our plan is to overhaul the bedroom and make it not only a bedroom, but also a room to go and read in, have the sewing machine in there, or for it to be a bolt hole for me with my iPad when Match of Day comes on.
Painting in neutral shades
Currently the room is blue, which whilst that isn’t offensive, it isn’t exactly relaxing. Or the right shade of blue to go with the neutral palette of accessories I have my eye on. By painting it in something like a warm white we give ourselves a blank canvas for adding some splashes of colour with cushions or artwork. Darker walls can make the room feel smaller I think, and with a huge window taking up most of one wall I think by having it painted in lighter shades it will make it feel much bigger than it really is.
Storage
Currently the storage in there is a wardrobe that is falling apart (and has Homer Simpsons all over it) and a wardrobe without a hanging rail (it got lost in a move and we never did find it) so they are both pretty useless and just taking up floor space without giving too much back. If this is going to be a spare bedroom for guests then we need to have a wardrobe they can use, but that can be useable storage for the 360 nights a year it isn’t being slept in by guests. I also think it works well to have shelves, for say books, above the door. It’s dead space up there but a shelf with books on can look great, and mean they aren’t taking up space somewhere else.
Be clever with the bed
It is tempting in a smaller bedroom to only have a single bed, as we currently do. But actually getting a divan bed in a small double from The Sleep Station would make more sense. Not only does it have storage space underneath for all the spare bedding, winter duvets, extra pillows etc, but it is only a few inches wider than the current single. Being able to have room for two people to sleep in the room would make a huge difference to us, especially at Christmas when Caity and Dan end up sleeping on the floor of the home office as the main spare bedroom is being used by our parents.
I have visions of it also being covered in cushions so I can slump down into them, curl up with them, and meditate or catch up on Real Housewives (don’t tell anyone).
Shutters or blinds not curtains
Based on scientific proof, or interior design knowledge, I have always felt that curtains make a small room look smaller, and take up room when open that could be used by something else. Surely in a small room it makes more sense to do away with those and have shutters, or maybe blinds at the window? They only cover the windows and not the wall space either side, leaving more room for a tall shelving unit for CDs / DVDs.
Though am I showing my age? Do people still have piles of DVDs in the age of Netflix and other streaming services?