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Bedrooms Expert Tips

Spare bedrooms: for taking decorating risks and having some fun!

By Louise Reeves

A few months ago, I moved into a house with a very interesting little spare room in the form of a converted garage. The room was good for a few reasons; the previous owners had installed floorboards and tongue-and-groove built-in wardrobes, the windows were super cute, it’s on ground level and gets plenty of light.

lu room 1

To serve the purpose of a spare room it was totally fine in its original condition, it’s one of those rooms that would barely ever get used unless guests came to stay. Really all it needed was a few pieces of furniture and we’d be set. But where oh where is the fun in that? I saw this as a great opportunity to try out some risky ideas I’d been toying with for months, the kind of ideas that would be a little too scary for most clients, but really exciting to test in a risk-free environment.

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Interiors Addict

Your tips for a great home office?

You may remember about six months ago I finally finished Operation Spare Room, where I transformed my UGLY Chinese laundry/dumping ground/excuse for a spare room into a tranquil oasis, ready to welcome a multitude of guests from the UK. In quick succession we entertained Dad and his girlfriend, my friend Rachel, and then my friends Kavi and Steve (the Poms all come between October and January). It’s a small room but it did the job and many declared it the comfiest bed they’d ever slept in (thanks, MicroCloud mattress topper, thoroughly recommended).

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Renting

From hatred to love in one weekend: My spare room transformation

I know, I know, the title of this post sounds terribly melodramatic, but it’s a true reflection. I really HATED our spare room until the weekend. It upset me because it’s too small, too narrow, has built-ins I don’t really need but can’t remove (renting), a view of the house next-door and no redeeming features whatsoever. We have lived in our apartment almost a year and the spare room has been the bane of my life, particularly as I’m uber house proud, love socialising and having friends to stay. BUT… look what happened!

When Freedom offered me a $500 voucher to fix a problem in my home and blog about the experience, it was glaringly obvious that I had to give the spare room a go, especially as my dad is due to arrive from the UK in a fortnight. And look what I have managed to create. Can this really be that room that made me want to cry (I think it was hormones) because it was so ugly and useless?

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Interiors Addict

Sunday Snippets: the best of the week in interiors

Is it really that time again?! I ran the City 2 Surf in Sydney this morning (anyone else?) and this comes to you from the couch where my legs and I are currently in a world of pain! Anyway, back to this week’s best bits…

  • Jaclyn Carlson from Life InStyle gave us a roundup of last weekend’s Melbourne trade fair where neon was all the rage. See the pix here.
  • At a time where everyone’s saying print is dead (trust me, as a journalist for the day job, I hear this all the time) it was great to see magazines like Belle and Luxury Home Design show huge circulation increases in the latest readership figures.
  • Speaking of magazines, Inside Out founding editor Karen McCartney has joined the team at online homewares store Temple & Webster as editorial consultant. Not to mention the first issue of Inside Out came out since Claire Bradley replaced Richard Waller as editor, and it was a cracker in my opinion.
  • I shared the top three bathroom trend predictions.
  • I started a new regular feature called Folded Corners and kicked off with telling you what I’m coveting from the latest issue of Real Living magazine.
  • Homewares store Whiteport published an interview with me on their blog where I talked about how I juggle blogging with my job as editor of a business magazine. You can read it here.
  • These sustainable and very beautiful lamps were popular with readers.
  • I had a good whinge about my spare room and how spare rooms in general are so often awkward and under-utilised spaces. You’ll be pleased to hear I made a start on transforming mine this weekend with a lick of fresh white paint. How’s your spare room looking?!
  • On Etsy Tuesday I shared some cute nursery artwork inspired by Mid Century furniture.
I have a real treat for you tomorrow with a beautiful apartment project by Melbourne interior designer Christopher Elliott. In the meantime, check out the last project he shared with us here.
I hope you all have a great week!