Cath Kidston wallpaper w/ Princess Alexandra of Kent and Munstead Wood roses.
When we were in the process of buying our home, we were both laboring under the misapprehension that the kind of “remodeling” that would need to be done to the interiors was some paint and the tearing up some old carpeting. We’ve watched/read enough home improvement shows/blogs that we should have known better.
This is what the bedroom looked like on the day of our walk-thru back in March. These are the furnishings of the previous tenant. She was gracious enough to allow us to take photos back with us since we lived 6 states away and this was our only time to see the house. She also had a pet pooch named “Madison” which is our daughter’s name, so we took that as a good sign this house was meant for us!
Anyways, bla, bla, bla, insert long story here about our big wake up call, and let’s get to the bedroom reno, which is really still a WIP. Really, the whole house needs work but we started with the bedroom because it filled me with the most terror. This is due to the fact that there was a giant hole in the ceiling leading to the attic which we dubbed “the murder door” and, no joke, often had spiders crawling out of it and landing on our bed. Have I completely creeped you out yet? When I say that I used to sleep with the covers pulled completely over my head, that’s no exaggeration. The walls were wallpapered (there is so much more to this story about the wallpaper in this home but I’ll save that for another post), and the floors had this old, disgustingly dirty low-pile indoor/outdoor (?) type carpet that our cats made worse by puking on it. It’s like they hated it, too, but of course that wasn’t helping.
First up was removing/re-drywalling the murder door–terrible photos, sorry–and then we ripped up the carpet, which was so much fun, har har, but felt liberating to see it get the heck out of there.
Next was the wallpaper. We hemmed and hawed over this one but decided to re-wallaper the top half of the walls and use wainscoting on the bottom. Since I loved the Cath wallpaper we used in our old bathroom (see photo at top), and the price was right, we went with the same pattern in the ivory. Initially, I was going to use the Cath rosebud pattern, but we changed our minds and that’s why you see a little piece sticking out the bottom!
The flooring went in next. This was another one of those should we or shouldn’t we decisions in that of course we wanted more of a hardwood, like oak, but in the end we realized our budget wouldn’t allow it. Since this bedroom is only 144 square feet, and most of it was going to be taken up with the bed and hardly walked on, we went with a softer and less expensive white pine plank flooring. I would never use soft pine in a room that gets a lot of foot traffic, but we got away with it here and it was a good flooring to go with for our very first install. I’m pretty proud of us with this one!
Finally, the wainscoting. Towards the end, we were playing a game to see how quickly we could install the boards because it can get tedious. I used the nail gun for the first time in my life and oh, the power! Haha! The white paint is actually just the primer, which I haven’t gotten around to painting over yet. It kind of looks whitewashed, like a beach cottage, so it doesn’t really bother me.
Here’s our room in how it looks now. The ceiling is almost complete-just needs another coat of paint-and as you can see, we purchased and installed a new light fixture as well as installing new outlets. The curtains were hung, and yes, I know I’m breaking the rules for curtain-hanging in that they’re too close to the molding, but the walls are right on the other side so that’s as far as we could stretch the rods and I needed the hem to be above the floor because we have cats and a dog! (Anyone who has pets understands what I’m talking about.) The molding isn’t finished, of course, we still need the corner pieces, the chair rail, and some baseboard…and we are still on the hunt for a nice headboard and bedside lamps. Honestly, with all the stuff that needs to get done in the other rooms this will probably be how it looks for a while. What do you think? Better than spiders and creepy carpet?
OMG – how much work you had to do on this horrible bedroom. Creepy spiders!! I love how you made this such a cozy place, and the kitties are obviously loving it too. You guys are doing a great job!! (And I totally understand how much work, when it didn’t look like it at first.)
Oh my gosh, I know you KNOW all the work that is involved…ack!
We still see the occasional spider, but nothing out of the ordinary now. Nothing so Halloween-like!
This looks so much fresher, doesn’t it? Does your other half like the rosie wallpaper? I want to put up some panelling, but I’ve been a little nervous. This may be just the inspiration I need!
Hi Jane! The paneling was easier than I thought it would be. We purchased the tongue and groove beadboard from Home Depot and used liquid nails as well as finishing nails to install. It covered a multitude of sins on those old walls, too. 😉 As for the rose paper, my husband said he really likes it, but I think he liked best that it was 1/3 the cost of other papers we were looking at! We think that if we had done floor to ceiling, it would have been too much flower-power but just on the top half makes the tiny room feel cozy. Good luck with your paneling!
How fresh and pretty! It looks like a lovely room to sit in, with the windows open and springtime wafting in from outdoors. (Cozy for other seasons, too.) Did you install the flooring yourself? If so, how’d that go? I’m getting ready to redo a kitchen floor. I LOVE the wainscoting and am considering doing something similar for my bedroom (there’s already, inexplicably, chair rail molding installed). Did you know they make a wallpaper “wainscoting” that supposedly comes out looking pretty good? Might try that, too. Hope you’ve been enjoying rainy NC this week.
It’s been a little too much rain this week, but I really shouldn’t complain because we needed it. Yes we did the flooring ourselves. Actually, Jesse did most of the work, but I helped out and also did the poly finish when it was done. It was a learning curve, for sure, and we found that using wide-plank boards actually made it a bit more difficult as there wasn’t a lot of margin for error. We’re getting ready to do the floors in the office/studio and this time we’re going with a different kind of wood. As for the wainscoting, yeah I saw that wallpaper stuff but we really liked the idea of using natural wood and figured since it’s a small space we could splurge a bit. I’ll tell ya, you won’t regret putting in the wainscoting if that’s something you like. It was a bit of work but it really has made all the difference! 🙂
Wow! You have done an amazing job at transforming that bedroom! It is so lovely. And of course, I am tickled that the kitties are happy with it too!
Thank you Jamie! The kitties were basically locked out of that room for the week or so we took to work on it, so when they were finally let back in they wouldn’t leave. 😉
Wow – you guys rocked this – it looks amazing! The wainscoting looks really sharp. Thanks for posting about Princess Alexandra of Kent! I’ve been going back and forth about adding this rose for next year – could you share your thoughts on that rose? How tall/wide does it grow for you? It looks and sounds amazing, wondering if it’s all it claims to be? Thanks for your time and have a great week!
Thanks Cole! 😀 It’s so much nicer to sleep in a room that isn’t terrifying, haha!
Yes, you need to add PAofK. I promise you won’t regret it. Like pretty much every other Austin I know, she will be even happier if you spoil her a bit. As a matter of fact, I’ve grown this rose in both a large container and the ground and found the container worked out better since I gave those so much more attention/better soil/fertilizing, etc. But seriously, the most perfectly formed blooms in such a wonderful shade of raspberry pink!
Oh, ps: I’ve only ever had a season or two with PAofK (because of the move) but she got about 2-3′ wide in that time. If you end up getting this rose, let me know what you think!
I love your bedroom! So beautiful and fresh! The curtains are lovely hung high, that is the new thing now anyway and I think it looks fantastic! Are they the grey panels from the shabby chic line? I have been wanting to purchase those ever since they cam out. I just don’t have a room for them. Apparently tacking rooms on to the house just so I can buy curtains and have a place to hang then is “crazy talk”! lol
You have such a great eye! Yes, these curtains are the Shabby Chic line which we purchased from Target. However, the curtains I really wanted were these, but besides having to sell a limb to get them, they wouldn’t have worked with my husband who has a severe dust allergy. Needed something I could easily toss in the wash. I think these are pretty nice, though, especially for the price! I think they also come in pink?
Yes, they come in a lovely light pink, not too baby pink but a soft pink if that makes sense. They have the pink in panels and balloon shades i have both in my daughters room although i did try to steal them for my room and they just didn’t work quite right. YET anyway. 🙂
I was debating the pink, actually. But then I remembered some decorating advice I read once that said when in doubt, choose the colors you wear. I never wear pink but my whole closet is grey. 😉 They’re pretty amazing quality for being so inexpensive! I’ll bet they look lovely in your daughter’s room. 🙂
Just lovely! Of course I like it because it’s just what we did in our little powder room right off the entry that everyone sees as they walk in the house. Wainscoting, a little higher than usual, the big cabbage rose wallpaper and wood floor. It’s even better in a bedroom. In reference to one commenter, EVERYONE needs Princess Alexandra of Kent. Mine was new this year, in the ground, and grew and bloomed like crazy. It is still putting on new growth. After feeding with alfalfa, bone & blood meal, cottonseed meal, phosphorus, and epsom salts, I gave it a good layer of compost. Such big, gorgeous blooms. It’s a bit rag tag looking now, because the deer have been chewing on it, but I expect it to come back better than ever next spring. Deer fencing is going up this fall. Hallelujah!!
Haha well great minds think alike!! What wallpaper did you go with if I may ask? And yes, everyone needs PAofKent. 😉 Hooray for deer fencing!
I cannot find the name or manufacturer of my wallpaper, so I put it on Pinterest just for you. I didn’t know any other way. 🙂 It’s splashy, but, it has been up about 10 years and I still love it. The wainscoting doesn’t look so glaringly white in person. Your wallpaper is more refined and probably has more staying power. I’m crazy about those gorgeous doors and door knobs. You have a treasure if all your doors are like that. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/194780752611284330/ and
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/194780752611284324/.
Oh my gosh! Yes! I love that. Gorgeous, gorgeous. Loving that hurricane lamp, too. I’m haunted by the pair of antique hurricane lamps I didn’t buy on Craig’s List and since then I’ve been hunting for something similar. It’s so hard to find ones that aren’t really awful, and yours is a beauty. Is that antique lace in those frames? I was thinking of doing something along those lines with some pieces I have. Thank you for sharing those links and inspiration! 😀
Oh, the doors…yes those are all through the house and honestly, they were pretty much the selling point for me. It was easier to overlook all the bad stuff with those already in place! 😉
Those doors add so much character! It would cost a fortune to put doors like that in the whole house. As for the framed lace .. those are antique bridal hankies. And, the lamp .. my boyfriend bought that for me at Disneyland when I was a teenager. (A LONG time ago.) I married the guy! 🙂 I hope you will keep us posted on your house projects. It’s looking really pretty already.
Thank you Andrea, I will! And your husband has great taste, he’s a keeper. 😉 Love your style!
Your bedroom looks really great, Laurie! Love the changes you made. I’d never be able to hang wallpaper in my house. My husband abhors it. It’s a combination of having once worked for a wallpaper company (which was a nightmare) and also moving into a house that had ugly wallpaper in every room… Ah well, I can live vicariously. 🙂
Ah shucks that’s too bad he hates wallpaper….but I can understand it. When wallpaper is bad, it’s really bad. My husband wasn’t too sure about wallpaper, either, but back at our old house I put up some papers from the 1930’s which were gorgeous and I think he started to warm up to them. 🙂