You might remember a while ago I wrote about how we were swapping rooms with the kiddos, and that I was spending a LOT of time trying to find as many gender neutral solutions as possible – the whole thing has taken way longer than I thought it would; I can’t find curtains big enough for the window in our price range, we need more storage ideas and I need to paint the bookcase. I honestly thought it would just be a case of shoving it all in there and hoping for the best, but it just didn’t turn out like that!
The littluns moving into the big room mean that we’re now sleeping in the small room, which basically looks like this:
There’s room for a bed, and there’s room for a wardrobe and absolutely nowt else.
On the plus side, a small room that doesn’t really need any decorating means that we can spend a bit more on the lighting – so it looks like I might finally get a pendant light somewhere in the house, yippeeeeee. I’ve been really drawn to bronze and silver industrial style fittings lately, like the shade that comes with the Huna hanging light over at Lampcommerce; it’s noticeable without being too in-your-face – loud patterns are going to be a huge no-no in a room this size!
When we first put the bed in there, my immediate thought was that I hated it; it was cramped, the bed was a nightmare to make as you can’t really walk down either side very easily, and it just seemed really…. small. But then I turned to Pinterest (because, where else?!) and found some amazing articles on Apartment Therapy on small bedrooms which were really inspiring – I want to keep it as calm and simple as possible, with a few vintage or antique things, a botanical print and plenty of plants (our peace Lily is getting a bit lonely!) on the window sill. I found an amazing vintage mandolin at an antiques fair lately that would have been perfect, but it was £58 – a bit out of my (really small) budget!
One of the main problems we’re having is that there’s absolutely no space down either side of the bed for a night stand – mine didn’t really have much on it anyway, so I’m not too fussed, but it does leave us with an issue of what to do about bedside lighting. I’ve always tried to go to bed and read, because it supposedly helps with sleep quality – we try to keep technology out of the bedroom as much as possible but I’m pretty bad at taking my iPhone or the iPad up with me to carry on checking Facebook browsing eBay checking important work emails – so we definitely need some sort of low lighting. A set of shelves isn’t really an option, because I can just imagine getting up for the loo in the night and knocking myself unconscious on them, and the curtains get in the way of having a lamp behind the bed. I think we’re going to go with a wall lamp on either side, which Ali is obviously really happy about as it means yet more drilling!
It’s not all bad though – I’ve gotten used to being in there now, and love how the light falls at the end of the day, and that when you’re lying down you can see the sunset snd the sky – it’s like having a skylight without the hassle of actually installing one!
This is a collaborative post.
It looks lovely! We're thinking of doing the same and your post is very encouraging. It will be perfect with a wall light xxx
I'm terrible for taking my phone to bed too because it takes me a while to wind down but then the phone winds me up! So pointless! We are in desperate need of bedside lighting. I'd much rather take a book to bed.
It's really strange but I love love love small rooms, in fact I love tiny houses – there is something beautiful in the simplicity of it all. Oh and really like your pillowsLaura x
Ooh we thought about doing this and giving felix our room but I was worried I'd feel to claustrophobic. Also we have sooooo much stuff in our room it would be tricky to fit it in a small space. I lie how you've kept in calm and neutral x
Totally random question – where did you get the wire baskets on your wardrobe? I love them! Swapping rooms is such a good solution – I might bear that in mind if we ever have 2 kids 🙂
Hello! They're from IKEA: http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/90222450/ Super cheap 🙂 You can get the whole system or just the baskets – I just bought some more for my fabric and yarn, so good!
You could try those lamps that clip on to bedheads, if you have sockets close by the bed, until you get around to wall lights. Also, how about one of those wallhangings with pouches, on the wall adjacent to the bed, to store book, glasses, phone etc – it wouldn't perhaps meet the clean look you are going for, but it would be a good second to a bedside table.
Oooh, a pouch would be a great idea – and I've got plenty of fabric so I can even make them myself! (Or get cross when it all goes wrong and buy them online, ha!)