In Search of Inspiration

For about 6 months now I have been wanting to do something with my master bedroom. It's ok as it is, but it's very blah.

 In my ideal world I would be able to start again from scratch and indulge my every passing whim with new furniture, curtains, carpet, rugs, wall paper, lighting and even change the shape of the room. In reality however, there are constraints on what can be done.

 Firstly, I will need to keep most of the furniture that is in here. I have neither the money nor the inclination to change everything, but in my fantasy this is always the ideal as it often seems harder to work a new scheme around existing items than it is to just start again. The only things which will in all likelihood go are the small bookcase and the bureau. These were put in here as cast-offs from other rooms and have done service variously as bedside tables and holder of clothes, but they don't really function well enough to justify keeping them. They are here only until new homes or replacements are found. The cot will also go in due course as my daughter now sleeps in the nursery and it just acts as a convenient place to let her play while I go about my housewifely duties.

The second big constraint is the fact that we rent. We have a very lovely landlord (I have to say this, but it is also true) who has allowed us to make some fairly big changes to the flat so far, including laying new flooring and changing fixtures and fittings in the bathroom and soon new lighting as well. But, we moved in to this flat nearly three and a half years ago and the intention was to be here for five, so while I am happy to be involved in changing things which are integral to the flat and add to it's rent-ability after we leave, I'm less willing to sink my money into something which is just to our tastes and will need to be changed for a new tenant, at this point in time.

So, with these points in mind (working with what I have, keeping the cost down and not making changes which  either can't be changed back easily or can't come with us when we move on) I need to come up with a design/plan for this room.

The starting points for me are that I want it to be restful, light and simple. I'm not a huge fan of clutter, but I like to have things around which are beautiful/meaningful to me. It's a fine balancing act sometimes!
I like the colours blue, aqua, grey and green. I like small bursts of clean colour, but otherwise I prefer my colours a little more muted. I find them more restful.

I love cushions - but my husband definitely does not. So unless I want to find a mountain of cushions and throws on the floor each night when I go to bed I need to keep the bed dressing simple.

Although I want it to be restful, I would also like to have something in here which has a bit of impact. Maybe wallpaper or pictures. I need something on the wall with the bed to balance out the very large map of Paris we have on the facing wall.

So any way, I have rambled enough and shown you pictures of a very boring room, if anyone is still awake and reading here are some prettier pictures I have found on the web to help me get a little bit more inspired.

Here

Lovely, light and airy.

 Here

Cosy corner with chair.

 Here

Gorgeous Chandelier.

 Here

Calm retreat.

 Here

Sumptuous white bedding.

If anyone has suggestions for what I might do, or wants to share their own woes of brightening up a dull room in their home (whether rented or not) I'd love to hear about them.

Coco Blue