It’s taken me forever to write this post. Like everything with this flat, I do a project, love it and then take some pictures and don’t love it anymore. All I see is the peeling radiator and old fittings.

I actually put an offer in on a house recently and it’s all going ahead, eek! I’ll expand on it all in some separate posts but through the process I’m really appreciating what it means to be a homeowner - the responsibility of having to get things fixed but also the freedom of being able to do it up how you like. Don’t like the textured ceiling? Get it skimmed. Rusting radiator? Replace it! So, while I’m not going to be able to draw from a big old money pot just yet it’s nice to know that room by room I’ll be fixing up my own place to my preferences.

The Before pics.

When I first moved into this flat in 2019 I chose the room at the back as mine. I’m not sure why now because it was under the flat upstairs kitchen and it was north facing and dark. Perhaps it was because the boiler was in the front room. But what I found was I withered like a plant without light - with the living area in the basement and my room being in the darkest spot in the house I just wasn’t getting any good light. So I moved into the front room sometime last year.

The Mid Pics

It wasn't until painted over the white did I realise what a mistake it was in a south facing room. Looking back at the photos it looks quite clinical. It was time to cosy it up and soften it so I went for a deep beige. I feel like I’ve learned a lot about paint colours since I made that decision too and if I was to paint it again I’d go for a green/blue undertoned beige. I kept the black wall and painted the rest of the room in Elk Antler by Valspar.

Around this time I also added some fittings to the cupboard in the room to make it more of a organised space for my clothes. I did a massive clear out and managed to make hundreds of pounds on Vinted which funded a bit of the makeover costs and a couple of really nice, versatile clothing pieces that are lifelong garments.

A few months ago in a flash of energy (and knowing it would be a hellish summer again if I left it black), I painted the black wall in my bedroom with this paint. I really loved the paint but the colour wasn't quite right - I had already taken a bit of a risk going for a warmer colour in a south facing bedroom and I really should have taken into account the red undertones of the paint. The minute I started painting I knew it wasn't going to be right but I carried on regardless! I was in and there’s always that chance that it will look good once finished, right?

But no, it wasn't right for the room. It just so happened that I had done some photography work with Rox aka Our Neutral Ground around the same time and Rustoleum offered to send me a tin of her paint collaboration with them. After much deliberation I went for Fired Clay.

The minute I opened the tin I knew this was going to be the colour for the wall. It was creamy and had the browner, more neutral vibe that I’d been looking for. While the first coat dried, I went ahead and painted some of the furniture black with some left over furniture paint I had which really made a different to tidy everything up and make it seem cohesive.

I removed a shelf from the double shelves I had put up to make it feel less busy and painted the remaining shelf the same colour as the walls and moved the spare shelf to the feature wall as I’d always felt the picture I had had above the bed just felt a bit out on a limb.

Turning my attention to the window coverings, with a bright 24 hour street lamp directly outside, I needed to come up with a plan. I’d had some cheap IKEA blackout curtains in there so used some of the Vinted money to buy a black out blind. I was so excited when it came but when I fitted it I realised light still seeped in around the edge so used some edging timber that was in the freebie bin at my local wood store to create a frame. I caulked in around the edges and painted it all the same Elk Antler and it worked a treat.

The IKEA Alex unit I use as a dressing table was going for free at my coworking space and while I don’t love it I decided to keep it because it works perfectly in the space and is so damn handy. So it got a lick of flat matt black paint.

I finished the makeover with some handles that were in a bargain bin at B&Q and then some baskets from H&M for laundry, to hold my hair styling brushes and I love the lidded box to store my hairdryer and straighteners so it hides unsightly wires.

Finally, I used a resin tray from Dunelm to keep my skincare tidy and finished off with a pebble shaped mirror. The very last thing to finally say it was done was framing up a couple of my own prints - Suffolk is where my soul feels most at peace so opted for a few scenes from a stay there.