MY BEDROOM INTERIOR DESIGN | BEFORE & AFTER

Today I want to talk about a special bedroom interior design: my own room in London!

Me and my boyfriend Rick have been sharing a double bedroom in a shared flat (with one other flatmate) for the last 2 years. During this period, Rick studied part-time at SOAS university and worked part-time in a Chinese Travel Agency, and I worked part-time for a few months setting up my own company on the side until finally a year ago I went full-time freelancing. You can see that a freelance and a part-time student cannot afford really expensive accommodation, especially in London. So sharing was the best option and we found a decent flat really close to the Tube station (which for us is a must).

Unfortunately, we had to compromise on the quality of interior finishes. And you all can imagine my struggle having to live with Magnolia painted walls! For those of you who don’t know, Magnolia is a beige colour that most developers use in rented flats in London. I really don’t understand why they don’t just go white, I consider Magnolia the saddest colour in the entire world!

Have a look at it…

Anyway, apart from the colour, our bedroom is big enough for 2 people (about 16.8 sqm) and we managed to fit bed, wardrobe, 2 chests of drawers, a desk, sofa-bed, and two bookcases. It looked quite cramped so I recently did some decluttering and got rid of one bookcase and the small chest of drawers. But I can’t help wondering how the room would look if I could spend as much as I wanted to refurbish it.

Lucky me, being an interior designer I realised I could at least see it. So I decided to make a proper project of the ideal bedroom with renders and to share it with you. Keep reading to see it.

BEDROOM INTERIOR DESIGN I like to say that at A Designer At Heart we don’t just design interiors, we design lifestyles. This means that we start every interior project with user analysis, which helps to get clear on what exactly you need to make space for. Below you can see the list of desires that me and Rick came up with.

And then of course a moodboard, which is a visual representation of the feelings you want the room to inspire.

Finally, I made a new layout configuration with the main goal of making the room more practical and maximise the use of space without it being cramped at the same time.

This project would be suitable for e-design, which means that I could potentially send the drawing pack to the bedroom owners for them to implement the design by themselves. You can have a look at the e-design drawing pack on my portfolio: Flat share bedroom interior design, London.

BEFORE

Here’s a couple of views of the room before.

AFTER

And below you can see (in renders) the final result.

Being the room just a simple box with no architectural interest, I decided to use colour-blocking to highlight the ceiling and create a paint stripe dropdown. This adds interest to the space and by contrast, makes the room feel bigger. If it was all-white, the room would look with no dimensions (and boring, let’s say it!).

I also chose a four-poster bed to visually give some privacy to the sleep/relax area, as opposed to the work/entertainment area which is on the opposite wall.

A comfy Ligne Roset sofa is placed as a bed end and faces the desk, which is integrated into the fitted bespoke wardrobe. This is wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling, painted in the same colours as the walls so that it almost disappears. It’s the most important piece of the room. In fact, it maximises the space, giving enough storage for both of us.

SHOP THE LOOK

Like what you see? You can shop this look, I placed the links below!

PS: this is not an ad, I just really like these pieces.

1. IKEA, PS 2017 – Table lamp, Yellow – £25
2. MAISON DU MONDE, JACKSON – Side table on castors – £172.5
3. MAISON DU MONDE, CELESTE – Off White Pine Four Poster Bed – £574 – *To be painted black*
4. IKEA, ROSKILDE – Rug, flatwoven. In/outdoor green-blue – £65
5. LIGNE ROSET, TOGO – Small settee – £1,881
6. JOHN LEWIS, PATTERNITY – Ritual-Repeat Cushion, Black / White – £30
7. IKEA, HEKTAR – Floor lamp with 3 spots, Dark grey – £49
8. IKEA, HEKTAR – Ceiling track, 3 spots, Dark grey – £25
9. LIGNE ROSET, FELT 2 – Chair – £500
10. IKEA, VITTSJO – Shelving unit, Black-brown/glass – £45
11. VITRA, EAMES ELEPHANT – Small, Poppy red – £77
12. IKEA, MARIUS – Stool, Black – £4
13. WALL PAINT: Farrow & Ball – Dorset Cream 68
14. WALL PAINT: Farrow & Ball – All White 2005