Our main bedroom at Higlett House is now fully finished. Whilst this room had some good features, for the most part it was a fairly bland space, which we have completely revamped into a luxurious, and calming oasis.
Photography Coast Park Creative
BEFORE
This room had great bones (high ceilings and beautiful old awning windows at the front), but the walls were clad in fibro (asbestos) and as I wanted to make some tweaks to layout etc, we thought it best to have this room (along with the others) stripped of all the asbestos sheeting and start again. This meant we could put in more modern lighting (all new electrical wiring as well), and plasterboard walls.
BEFORE We removed the two smaller windows and placed the built-in bedhead along this wall. The bench seat was also removed, as it took up way too much floor space.
CARPET
I know it might be a little controversial, but I did decide to cover the original hardwood floors with carpet. Why? Our floors were red in colour which isn’t the aesthetic I’m looking for and in winter you can feel cold drafts coming up through the floor (because there’s literally no insulation underneath the floorboards). I wanted all of the bedrooms in this house to have a cosy feel - and in my opinion the best option for that is to have underlay and a soft carpet. I chose ‘Lake Chalice’ in bisque from Carpet Court. It’s a warm beige with little flecks of different colour to create a natural, relaxed look. It’s made from 100% wool, so it’s definitely a more sustainable option being a natural fibre.
Since installing the carpet, we have noticed a big difference in the level of noise that comes through the house from outside. Every morning we would wake to hear crows squawking loudly but now it’s more muffled - to the point I no longer wake from the noise. That’s been an added bonus!
Overall, I couldn’t be happier with our selection, everything from the installation to the service in store has been super friendly and professional. And more importantly the carpet looks and feels amazing.
WALLS + PANELLING
The real wow factor in this room is no doubt that beautiful built-in bedhead. I wanted an interesting profile in here so when I saw Surround By Laminex’s wide Scallop profile (135 size), I knew this would be perfect for the room. I had my builder (Bridgeport Building) build a frame and then clad the front in this profile, along with add a ledge at the top for sitting smaller decor items/art on. I love that the wider profile makes a statement in this room - it’s something a little different to your typical VJ panel. I painted it in a custom soft beige colour from Tint Paint. They can match any colour from any paint brand which is a bonus. I have found the quality of paint to be excellent (nice and thick) and low VOC (so less toxic odours)! All of our walls and ceiling are painted in Tint’s ‘So Fresh and So Clean’ - a nice crisp white that is a true white (no other colour undertones).
I’ve always wanted to have a VJ panel ceiling. It’s something you’ll see quite frequently in mid-century homes, so putting it into this room gives a little nod to its 1960s roots. We used the Classic VJ 100 from Surround By Laminex and painted it in ‘So Fresh and So Clean’ by Tint Paint. It adds so much more character to the room.
BEFORE We changed the position of the door so that we could run the wardrobe cabinetry along this entire wall, and also extend the ensuite into that hallway space.
Wardrobe doors from Customea conceal the ensuite entrance.
WARDROBE
The built in wardrobe was actually a last minute change - I originally planned to have a basic wardrobe with sliding doors. However, when I was planning the ensuite layout, I realised that if I changed the entrance point to the middle I could avoid having the toilet the first thing you see in the room, and also move the toilet so that it was tucked away in the corner. To make this all happen I used the Pax wardrobe system from IKEA and had my builder build these in with a bulkhead and frame around it for a seamless look. They look fantastic and much more affordable than custom joinery. I paid about $1700 all up for the wardrobes, and all of the drawers/shelves etc inside. It’s not the world’s biggest wardrobe, but it’s enough for us.
IKEA’s door fronts don’t go all the way to the floor, so you see all of the baseboard. I didn’t want that and so looked for custom doors that were longer. I came across a company called Customea online, who make custom doors for a variety of different styles of IKEA cabinetry. You can choose from a plain profile, or something more fancy and detailed. You can also have your doors painted by Customea in any Dulux colour of your choosing (along with some timber laminate finishes), or save some money and purchase the raw doors and paint them yourself which is what I did. I painted mine in Tint’s ‘So Fresh and So Clean’ (trim paint) to match the walls and ceiling colour for a seamless look. And I have to say they turned out sensational. The best part? The hidden entry to the ensuite through these doors. Very James Bond!
The hidden entry to the ensuite is concealed by these Customea plain profile doors. Customea end panels were used on either side of the wardrobe and painted in Tint’s ‘So Fresh and So Clean’. We used leftover Classic VJ 100 panels from Surround By Laminex in here to tie in with the bedroom ceiling.
And the cherry on top – these ‘Linear’ brass handles from Lo & Co (pictured above). Brass is the metal of choice throughout this house, so it was the perfect choice, and adds a little touch of glam to the room. There’s this beautiful linear knurled detailing on the handles, that make them a little more special than your average handle.
CURTAINS
In our last house we did plain white sheer curtains, and whilst I still love that all white look, for this home I wanted something a little more creamier. That’s why I chose the Madagascar Sheer Neutral S-Fold curtains from Tuiss Blinds Online. It is a creamy white with little natural coloured flecks throughout. Sheer curtains are great for daytime privacy, but for night time privacy I needed something a little heavier, so I teamed the sheers with the Arcus Snow S-Fold curtains (also from Tuiss Blinds Online) with a light filtering backing. You can get the full blockout lining if you prefer (which is even better for blocking light), however as I live in south east QLD, it gets incredibly humid and I find the blockout lining can go mouldy which is a pain to clean. With this lighter option I think it will be more breathable and hopefully no mould. And then for a triple layer (yes we have gone all out) I’ve added an electric blockout roller blind in Moda White. It comes with a handy remote control which is perfect for this room seeing as the windows go all the way up to the ceiling.
FURNISHINGS + DECOR
I selected furniture to complement the overall colour palette. I found this stunning Mabel bed base in cream from Life Interiors and knew it would work well with the colour of the bedhead (it’s a very close colour match). The legs are also beautiful - the oak and brass look so good! And this style of bed also comes with a set of black and brass legs (so you can switch it up as per your liking).
The ‘Haley’ bedside tables are from Interior Secrets. I thought the round legs were something a little different to what you normally see, and the woven rattan detail on the drawer fronts had me sold!
I re-used a piece of art I had in my last house - I still love this photographic print from Juniper, it’s soft and dreamy. I was actually going to put something else in here, but when I placed this art in here temporarily, I thought wow, this goes so well with the colours, so kept it. Remember, not everything has to be new - totally ok to re-use pieces you love! And then I added an abstract 3D relief artwork I found on etsy (a maker who is based in the Netherlands). I love this piece, it does give me 60s vibes - again that little nod to mid-century design.