We’ve mentioned our top floor bedroom a few times in past posts. It’s been well over ten years since it was last decorated so a spruce up has been long overdue. We thought we’d share a few photos of progress to date.

We love this room. It’s our retreat of choice in the evening – particularly dark, cold winter evenings when we light the stove, watch TV, listen to music or work on the computer – all from the comfort of bed!

We like the structural ‘bones’ of the space with its exposed stone wall and original, wide floorboards.

It was a great opportunity to introduce some darker colours into our home décor which we’ve intended to do for many years! These shades have a real sense of atmosphere and drama – particularly on said dark winter evenings with fires, candles and fairy lights flickering away.

They look good by daylight too – contrasting very well with warm natural shades of wood and wicker – and providing a great backdrop for artwork.

The bed is a very important occupant of this space, so we decided on a complete re-vamp. We exchanged a very old, squeaky frame for a new powder-coated metal one; the fabulous people at Tweak supplied us with an amazingly comfortable luxury mattress that we recently reviewed. And last, but certainly not least, some lovely black cotton satin bedding – bought locally (at generous mates’ rates) from good friend, Shaun who owns Rochdale-based textile company FabTrad. They’re wholesale suppliers to some major retailers, but also sell on eBay.

It’s hard to put our finger on the exact look of our top floor bedroom. We wanted to furnish it with interesting objects and specimens from nature (in a Victorian gentleman’s study kind of way).

So you’ll find shells, coral, fossils, skulls and the like…

…favourite antique finds too – that form interesting little vignettes on tabletops and walls.

We also dotted the room with brass, gold, copper and pewter (desperately trying not to overdo it and ending up with a pub snug style). We do love these flashes of metallic though – they give the room a real lift and look fabulous when light catches them.

It’s still work in progress, but we’re getting there. We hope that you approve!