My Dream Introvert Space with West Elm Uk and Blogtacular

The deadline is Midnight tonight. It is currently 10:20pm as I sit down to write this! Ever the last minute queen, but better last minute than not at all! What am I going on about? Well, excitement people! If you didn't know already, I am off to Blogtacular again, Saturday 10th June. Less than one week away! Excuse all the exclamation marks but I just cannot contain my jubilation at attending again for my second time! I pityingly only wrote one blog post about my time last year which you can read about here: http://www.justcreativejulia.co.uk/blog/the-future-of-creativity-my-takeaways-from-blogtacular-2016

Last year, one of the collaborators and sponsors, Sudo, held a cash giveaway competition. I remember filling out the entry form, thinking 'I never win anything. Can't see I'll win this'. And whaddya know, I did! I was so surprised! But the whole event was just such a blessed time. Put a bunch of creatives together and watch the sparks fly! Anyway, the point of this post, is that there is another giveaway this year. Run by West Elm, where the Friday Night partay is happening (ticket holders only, no gatecrashers please!). The prize is £2k of West Elm gorgeousness to furnish a dream makeover for one room in your home.

To enter, you simply have to write a blog post. So here I am! We actually moved to our current place in June 2015. Only within the last few months has a lttle bit of floor been revealed as we have slowly started emptying out the junk. It was pretty much floor to ceiling in boxes! The reason for the back log was that we needed to get the loft boarded out to have somewhere to shift them to. We didn't have the dosh to spend to pay someone to do it. So it has also been lack of time to get the job done ourselves.

Excuse the poor lighting, this is the problem leaving things until last minute. Taking photos in artificial light at 10pm at night! That and the fact that it's just a single bulb in this room. It is a bit neglected! And see what I mean about wall to wall boxes!

We haven't even got any curtains up! What you can see here is just a white sheet hung over the old wooden curtain rail the previous owners left behind! And some rather worse for wear Ikea wardrobes (dare I mention such a name amongst a shop so up market as West Elm?!) So I am most excited to be delving in and planning this big makeover!

The next dilemma is one that has caused a bit of heartache here in the Mallard household. I desperately want a second child but hubby desperately doesn't! It is true what they say that your urge for more children is like a light that will stay switched on until your urges are satisfied. That when you're done, you'll know. As simply as the light switching off. This piece of advice was actually given from a fellow Blogtacular attendee, Adele, of www.nestanddressed.co.uk. At the time I was so unsure on this decision. To the point I was anxious I'd make the wrong one!

My husband and I have talked and talked and we are both so stubborn that neither of us are giving in yet! We have put the decision on hold until Christmas and will see where we are then. The best compromise for both of us would be adopting. That way, although I don't get to birth another, it would fulfil my desire for more. And for the hubby, it would cut out those exhausting baby years. (He is 42 and just wants to get back some 'me time').

If it isn't going to be a child's room, then of course I would deck it out for my craft room. So, in light of the big decision, I'm going to choose furniture that will be useful for a child's room and a craft room!

I am a bit of a perfectionist so I thought I'd get a bit technical and do a plan of the room. There's no point choosing furniture without measuring! To then find out later that it won't fit! As is true to my airy fairy creative nature, I am pretty rubbish at the technical stuff! So I had to enlist the hubby to re-educate me in terms of scale and ratios. He kindly measured the room and explained what a ratio of 4:1 meant. (Every 4cm on the plan is 1m in real life!). And it looks like this:

It is the half bedroom, box room! Pretty small huh?! Next, I used the expertise learnt from the Interior Design Masterclass I went on in May last year. With the Great Interior Design Challenge presenters, Daniel Hopwood and Sophie Robinson. You can read more about my experience in this blog post: http://www.justcreativejulia.co.uk/blog/interior-design-masterclass-with-sophie-robinson-and-daniel-hopwood

The very good bit of advice came from Daniel. Which was to cut out the pieces of furniture so you can move them around your plan. Rather than having to draw and rub out a million times! This was a very handy tip. With the room being so small, it's quite limited. So I did have to move things around a few times before settling on the final layout.

So this was what I came up with! The bits on the right are the pieces I rejected or simply didn't fit! The more I got into it, the desperate urges to have another child were getting drowned by the excitement of my very own room! All for me! Kind of like my very own introvert space to hide away in! Craft, chill, write, ponder. Ah, sigh. I think I may just enjoy this room for me for now and just adopt a few years down the line. We shall see!

So I opted for a bed, a desk and a shelving unit. I figured I could put a tv on the wall next to the boiler. And with the bed pushed against the wall, it could double up as a sofa. In which you could watch Netflix etc from the laptop placed on the desk. All angles covered! The old wardrobes would have to stay in here. I have so many clothes, I currently fill about 3 wardrobes dotted around the house! 1 in every bedroom including my three year old's room! I plan to upcycle these Ikea ones by filling in the perspex panels with some pretty fabric. (I'm imagining attaching the pretty fabric to some foam padding and slotting it into the panels).

1. Top picture is the Upholstered sleigh bed. £999 for a Double. http://www.westelm.co.uk/upholstered-sleigh-bed-set-h918
2. Bottom left picture is the Industrial Modular 84cm Open and Closed Storage unit. £899. http://www.westelm.co.uk/rustic-modular-32-open-closed-storage-h965
3. Bottom right picture is the Linden Mid-Century wall desk. £799. http://www.westelm.co.uk/all-office-furniture-we-uk

I think it was pretty obvious I would blow the budget! So if I win, I'll have to whittle my choices down! As I'd love some curtains and a few accessories! My favourite curtains are the Dusty Blush Cotton Lustre Velvet with blackout curtain. They look thick and luxurious! When I moved into my first home, my parents went all out in treating me to do it all up. Including some plush chocolate brown curtains from an independent interior designer. These dusty pink curtains remind me of that luxury! £99. http://www.westelm.co.uk/luster-velvet-curtain-dusty-blush-t1802?quantity=1&attribute_1=213%20cm

I also really love these light and airy curtains, the Trellis Clipped Jacquard in Belgian Flax Ivory. £39.20 http://www.westelm.co.uk/trellis-ogee-jacquard-curtains-belgian-flax-ivory-t3614?quantity=1&attribute_1=213cm

So beautiful! I don't quite know what the colour scheme will be in this room so the pretty gold pattern on these will look stylish against any background!

I've just double checked the plan and I think I could just about squeeze in a small side table such as the Audrey bedside table. £399 http://www.westelm.co.uk/geo-lacquered-nightstand-h2031

I really love the textured, honeycomb effect and they've styled it next to the Sleigh bed I'd already picked out! Do you know, if I don't win this competition, I may just have to get a loan out or beg our parents for a loan/handout so I can still get all this stuff! I'm the sort of person that is good with money and can budget/save etc. But I also really enjoy spending!

Lighting, I really love the Capiz Orb Ceiling lamps. £209 for a medium one http://www.westelm.co.uk/capiz-orb-pendants-w872?quantity=1&attribute_1=Medium

Again, sheer elegance! The honeycomb pattern will tie in really well with the texture on the Audrey bedside table. So the end result would hang together a bit like this:

Grey and dusky pink is always a winning combo! Then the textures of the bedside table and the ceiling lamp. Finished off with the warm tones of walnut and mango wood for the desk and shelving unit. A stylish, elegant, beautiful extravaganza! Lastly, I would have to add a few abstract cushions for a bit of quirky! And this Rauschenberg® Caryatid Cavalcade Abstract Cushion Cover - Multi is perfect! I would line them up on the bed along the back wall to double it up as a sofa. As previously mentioned. £39 http://www.westelm.co.uk/rauschenberg-cavalcade-abstract-pillow-cover-multi-t3714

And that's pretty much it! So what do you think of my choices? Please do get in touch with your thoughts. This isn't a sponsored post but it is of course a competition entry. So if I win, it'll be a £2k West Elm makeover. The winner will be announced at Blogtacular on Saturday 10th June. I will post the winner's entry on my social media.

Photo Credits

All photos of furniture, lighting, curtains etc are taken from the West Elm website.