🖼️
The project:
What better way to say Happy Birthday than with the offer of a surprise bedroom makeover!
Our 20 year old niece is living in the former tv room of the family home which was in desperate need of some redecorating to make it the light, breezy ‘warm country’ vibe a bedroom deserves.
The makeover started with a FBMP find - a pair of orange pine bedside tables which became the hero pieces of the room. Paired with new sheer curtains, a jute rug, rattan bedhead, new linen, wall sconces and diy art - we were able to gift her the slumber space of her dreams (on a budget!)
- Materials:
Norton detail sanding sheets (120 and 180 grit)
Makita Orbitol sanding sheets (40, 120 and 240 grit)
Soft head piece for Orbitol sander
Rattan webbing
4 x Lane brass knurled knob handles (I/N 0135446)
Dulux ‘Ceylon Tea’ interior paint sample pot
Bondall ‘Shipwreck Oak’ gel stain
Diggers Paint stripper
Diggers Acetone
M5 10mm screws
Framed thin canvas (3 pack)
3M double sided tape
3M hooks
UniPro Little Ripper 100mm rollers (10mm nap)
Unipro mini roller tray
Selleys sugar soap wipes
3M painters tape
3M dust masks
Rug Connection Bryn Natural Rug (I/N 0671955)
Gingham bedding - for similar try Dreammaker ‘Lola’ washed cotton yarn died gingham bedding
Riva Window Fashion ‘Huntley’ triple pinch pleat Sheer Curtains
Rattan Queen Bed Head - for similar try Maine & Crawford Bebe Wave headboard (I/N 0480313)
- Tools:
Makita Orbitol Sander
Makita Detail Sander
Paint scraper
Makita cordless driver
Trojan Staple Gun
Phillips head screw driver
- Step 1:
Create a mood board! Using her preferred style of ‘warm country’ vibes we sketched up a basic plan for how the bedroom could be transformed, the textures and materials we would use and some early measurements for the space we were working with. Similar to a rental, we had restrictions on drilling holes and painting so everything we sourced had to be renter friendly.
We knew we wanted a hero piece to be the feature of the makeover, and this became our 2 orange pine bedside tables picked up for the budget price of $90 on FBMP.
- Step 2:
Restoring the timber bedsides was easily the most time consuming part of the project. I initially tried paint stripper and acetone to remove the thick orange varnish but found after a few failed attempts that using an 80 grit course sanding pad on the Orbitol sander was more successful. I switched heads for the more detailed parts to get into the grooves.
I then moved to a 120 grit, finishing with a 240 grit to get that silky smooth finish before applying 2 coats of paint wash using Dulux ‘Ceylon Tea’ (1/5 ratio) and finishing with 2 coats of Bondalls Gel Stain in ‘Shipwreck Oak’. The internal recess, including shelf, was painted in 2 coats of straight ‘Ceylon Tea’ for contrast.
The centre VJ panel was knocked out and replaced with rattan webbing - fixed using a staple gun and the feet were unscrewed and knocked off with a hammer and chisel before starting the project.
Brushed brass Lane knurled knobs from Bunnings finished the upcycle with a touch of country charm.
- Step 3:
Reno day! We live 200ks away so we had to do the entire makeover in one day. After a 4:00am alarm, we were set up, caffeinated and ready to go by 6:30am. First up was cleaning and clearing! In all honesty we spent almost 3 hours on this stage. The old curtains were dismantled and binned, the walls, skirting, windows and architraves were scrubbed and the floor vacuumed (multiple times). We removed ALL items from the room to create a blank slate to work with, which is a really important step in helping see past what the room ‘was’ to what it ‘could be’.
Once the space was clean and free of clutter we installed the pinch pleat curtains first, to help set the scene for the makeover and also because I was least confident with the task and wanted more time to puzzle out the challenges. We lost a few screws to the vacuum cleaner along the way but all in all, this was a surprisingly easy process! Curtains are a real game changer in my view, so this gave us a taste for the light, airy transformation we were aiming for.
- Step 4:
Next came the mathematical task of setting out the bedhead, bed, rug, bedside, art and wall sconces. We measured the halfway point between the two walls to help fix our position, and went from there.
In real life, this took approximately 3 hours to get right with some adjustments along the way. A crucial step that can never be rushed in my opinion! We also finished the DIY art pieces (3 x canvases covered with an old linen sheet) with some hand drawn watercolour pieces using the warm tones of the room. We used double sided tape and 3M hooks to hang. With more time, I would knock up some timber frames for the art and stain them with the ‘Shipwreck Oak’ gel stain we used on the bedsides. For a $10 spend though, they did the job and added an organic, imperfect touch to the aesthetic.
- Step 5:
Styling the bed, bedside tables, corner spots and end of bed came next. We sourced these products from FBMP or from items we already owned but for similar swaps, refer to the Materials Used section above.
My vision was to create a sleeping space that would be her sanctuary away from the chaos of life. Rich, warm tones and textures in the bedding, practical and stylish wicker baskets at the base of the bed combined with perfectly placed soft lighting in the battery operated wall sconces was the key to this. A ‘real looking’ faux willow tree was the clincher in bringing the outside in, but this could easily be swapped for a potted olive or fiddle leaf from the Bunnings nursery.
We opted for a neutral coloured dried flower bunch to match the upcycled vase project (bicarb + paint mix brushed on an old op shop vase) and layered books, a ceramic tile, trinket tray and a candle to complete the look.
- Step 6:
Time to light the candles, open the windows and watch the curtains gently fold in the breeze. For our niece, it was a real gift of love. She deserves to have a retreat of her own where she can sink in to the luxurious bedding and feel the sense of spaciousness that a well planned and well executed room makeover can deliver.
A budget conscious, renter friendly whole room refresh with a 10/10 stamp of approval! What more could someone wish for, for their birthday.
Reel highlighting the whole process from start to finish available via the Instagram handle @noosacoastandcountry
