Monday 3 June 2013

Room for Improvement.

When I recently got the opportunity to get involved with the MoneySupermarket.com Room For Improvement challenge I was excited at the prospect of getting creative and hopefully improving a room or space in our home.  MoneySupermarket are aiming to highlight that home improvements do not have to cost the earth and that a room can be transformed even with an affordable budget.

To prove that you can transform the look and feel of a room or space, making a big difference, with a small budget a Room for Improvement challenge has been created.  MoneySupermarket have challenged bloggers to improve a room or space within their home with a budget of £50.



Bug still loves the colourful bedroom daddy created for him when he was hibernating in my womb and we all love the vibrant under the sea bathroom daddy painted so both those rooms we off limits for this challenge.  Even though I was tempted to attempt to outside a new lease of life and extend our garden with the limited time I had for this challenge I decided it was too big of a challenge with the wild undergrowth a huge problem I would have to tackle first before even thinking about making the garden a more pleasant space.

After much deliberation on what room/area to attempt to improve I decided on re-vamping a space in our bedroom.  In our bedroom there are built-in wardrobes with a dressing table built-in between two wardrobes.  I do not really use this space and definitely do not use as it was intended for, instead it a dumping ground for both Lee and I and always look very cluttered and far from pretty or functional.  As I am trying to make more of an effort with my appearance lately, making time for ‘me’ I thought it would be a great opportunity to make this space mine.  I hoped to make it pretty with items that I love and make it a space I want to use, making it functional too.

The dressing table has until now been a cluttered space where items get randomly left on and it is far from being a pretty, girly space that I want to use.


Above the big mirror there is a light but for many years now it has not been working as I failed to replace the bulb…..shows how long it has been since I used the space as a dressing table that I never bothered to get a new bulb to light up the area.


The first thing I wanted to do was to get a replacement bulb so that the light would work once again, allowing me to use the space and do my make-up at the table instead of use the mirror in the bathroom.  I got a replacement bulb at B&Q for £4.98.


I had sourced a small piece of slate from outside with the intention of having it as a centre piece on the dressing table where I could write inspirational quotes on with chalk.  As the slate was a tad rough around the edges and not the perfect shape when I saw a heart slate for £3.99 while browsing The Range for bits and bobs for the challenge I could not resist it.  I love the big heart slate which rests in the centre of the dressing table….all I need now is to remember to get some chalk and them I can get writing some lovely quotes to write on it.


Being a tad sentimental I could not resist placing a few of my favourite stones and shells collected from meaningful trips to the beach to my own little space in our bedroom.  The centre stone was taken from our local beach on the day Lee proposed to me there and he then later wrote our names on one side and on the other side is the date of his proposal.


One of the first items I bought for this challenge was this mother-of-pearl-esque photo frame which I bought from a charity shop for £1.99.  Being an indecisive person I have not decided on which one of my favourite photos to put in the frame yet but it will most probably be a photo of Bug as he is my world and even though this space is for ‘me’ I want him included in the space as being a mummy to my beautiful boy is the best thing that has ever happened to me and he is my life.


I have always loved the vintage pot that I was left from my late Great-Great-Great Aunty and until now it has been hidden away in storage, so when I started creating a space for ‘me’ I thought it would be the ideal time to showcase its rustic charms.


At another charity shop I found this golden mosaic tiled vase and thought it would bring a touch of colour to the space with its sparkly tiles and for £3.00 I could not leave the shop without it.  The two butterflies are bookmarks that my late Great-Great-Great Aunty had, with great sentimental value I love including them in the space.


To add more colour, a touch of prettiness and beauty I got these gorgeous flowers at Tesco for £3.00.


The jewellery box was bought from a local car-boot sale for £2.00 and the beautiful hand fan was my late Mamgu’s fan (grandmother).


I love this Slate Love Note Photo Frame for £2.99 from The Range.  Again I need to decide what photo to put in the frame, with its love theme I think it will be a photo of the two loves in my life…Bug and his daddy together.


As I love candles I could not create a space for me without having a candle or two.  With its delicate love theme I loved the Rustic Love Candle Holder for £3.99 from The Range.  I got a pack of tea-light candles from B&M for £1.00 ready to light up my re-vamped space with the soft glow of candle light.


I love the inscribed ‘Love’ on the six little hearts that dangle from the frame of the candle holder and love the little jangle noise they create if you move the candle holder.


Another little keepsake from my late Great-Great-Great Aunty that I wanted to get out of storage, a sweet little bottle with ‘Aspahan’ inscribed on it that I think once stored perfume.


With its pretty design I wanted to showcase this flowery nail clipper that is a keepsake from my late Mamgu.


When browsing charity shops I found this adorable little glass angel for 50p and thought it would make a cute little addition to my space.


To add a touch more candle light glow to my space I bought two small crackle glass candle holder from The Range at 99p each, adding a tea-light candle to each little bowl from the pack I purchased at B&M.


Also at The Range I bought two Frosted Candle Holders for £1.29 each, one to hold my make-up brushes and the other to hold my lipsticks, eyeliners and mascara.


I love the sparkly and diamante detail on the frosted glass of the candle holders.


I bought a large crackle glass candle holder at The Range for £1.39 to hold cotton wool.  I wanted to get a small pot for showcasing cotton wool buds but could not find anything suitable in the right style and size but I will keep my eye out for the perfect pot to add to my space.


With its gorgeous design of pretty butterflies I have kept this Jean Paul Gaultier perfume tin long since the perfume has finished and have decided to include it in my space as I love the butterflies.  

 

I also included on top of the perfume tin a small figure of two dancers that came from a jewellery box I had when I was a child, it has sentimental value as it is the only keepsake I have from my late father who I never knew.


Apart from the space not being very inviting and not having a working light putting me off using it as a dressing table I also did not have a chair to sit at the table.  I bought a chair from a family friend who was having a garage sale this past weekend.  I got the chair along with an old but fully functioning Revlon illuminating double sided mirror (positioned snuggly in the corner of my space behind my vase of flowers) for the bargain price of £15 for both items.  To add a touch of comfort and prettiness I bought a ‘Love’ cushion from B&M for £5.99.


With all the items positioned in my new re-vamped space I can now reveal the finished space.


I love my dressing table now it has had a little makeover.  As we rent I could not do a lot more to the space other than add items to make it more appealing and functional and I am pleased with what I have done.  We hope to move in the future and I will be able to recreate my new re-vamped dressing table in our new home, hopefully on a more attractive dressing table.   

Even though some people may consider the space a tad too cluttered still I am a borderline hoarder and simply cannot do minimalist, even though I tried to keep it streamlined and functional the desire to include keepsakes and items I find pretty overrode. 

It may not be the most creative re-vamps or the most shocking transformation, especially compared to some of the other fantastic improvements done by other bloggers for this challenge, but none the less I am I am thrilled with the transformation.  I loved taking part in this challenge and found it surprising how much I could get for under £50, with my total spend totalling £48.39.  

I love my new space and it is now a space I want to use.


*  I was sent £50 by MoneySupermarket.com to take part in their Room for Improvement challenge.  I have also been entered into a competition run by MoneySupermarket.com to win £500 vouchers for B&Q for this post *

No comments:

Post a Comment