It started with a rug … my new bedroom

Posted on Fri, 4 May 2018 by midcenturyjo


It was time for a change. Don’t get me wrong. I loved my old bedroom. One of the very first things I wanted to do when we moved into our new old house 7 years ago was to paint at least one room black and it was my bedroom that turned to the dark side. Unfortunately impending renovations mean that my spacious bedroom is about to be chopped in half to make way for an upstairs bathroom. Yay! Much smaller bedroom. Boo! What to do? Why move across the landing and convert my office into my new bedroom. Quite a change as the new room is white. What to do? Where to start? Well I started with a rug.

It was as if the design gods were smiling the day the Unique Rug Store came into my life via email a few weeks ago with an offer to review their extensive range of handmade rugs.ย Think Turkish and Persian rugs, kilims, vintage, distressed, over dyed and patchwork. They are a small local producer trying to keep a traditional craft alive. Their rugs are fashioned from original handmade and organically dyed wool and cotton blend vintage Turkish rugs. The edges are hand sewn and they are responsible for the shaving, bleaching, colorization, over dying and drying of the reworked carpets. The exciting news for me here in Australia is that they ship worldwide. Yes everywhere. Think of it … thousands of rugs and worldwide shipping. I was in heaven but how was I to choose? Luckily the website was easy to navigate and soon I had narrowed it down to a handful of rugs. This is the beauty that was the genesis of my new bedroom design.

It’s a beige over dyed vintage rug. The Unique Rug Store takes Turkish carpets at least 40-50 years of age which then undergo a unique process of colour neutralisation before being over-dyed in an exciting new colour. The result is a mix of traditional Turkish carpet design fused with a contemporary vintage style with each rug unique in size and colour.

I wanted a bright neutral colour scheme, white walls, natural wood floors, caramel leathers. The room faces east and morning sun streams in. After years of sleeping in a black as night bedroom I was ready to celebrate the light. With my new rug laid before the fireplace (ooh can’t wait to light a fire when the weather cools) it was time to shop my house for what I needed to furnish the room. I did mention we have major kitchen and bathroom renovations in the pipeline didn’t I? Money is painfully tight. With my new vintage rug as the hero of the room I pulled together what I could, bought a few pieces I didn’t have like sheers for the windows and some new sheets (that’s all I had to buy believe me) and slapped some paint on old boards to create large art pieces for the walls. And yes I’m an art dilettante. I create paintings to match my colour scheme.

Luckily I am blessed with a large room with two huge windows and french doors onto a verandah. With my Unique Rug Store rug looking so good on the floor I thought it would be a shame to cover it up with furniture. I dragged in an 80’s glass and marble coffee table I had used in the sitting area of my old bedroom and paired it with two Robert Dunlop Tanderra chairs from the mid 70s.ย  The glass top and the wide open legs of the chairs allow the carpet to shine through. I love it. The depression era chair in the corner I found in a secondhand store covered in layer after layer of homemade upholstery. I stripped it back to its bare bones and love its primitive honesty. An Eero Aarnio Parabel side table, found on eBay years ago and more than likely a reproduction despite the seller’s protestations that it wasn’t, sits beside. On the mantel is a piece I painted in a hurry for the spot. Something abstract to contrast with the 150 year old fireplace. On the other side is an old homemade workshop cupboard topped with various retro pieces and a mirror I picked up in the 90s at a local artisan market. I stole the bead chandelier from my dining room. Which reminds me I have to find something for there now. Bugger!

At the other end of the room is our bed, simply dressed in white. Above is a painting of mine that started off as another abstract but somehow evolved into a floral. Weird. I’m not that sort of girl. It still needs a frame but considering I pulled together this room in a week I think you can cut me some slack on an unframed artwork. The screen is a student piece from my design school days. Not my design unfortunately.

So there you have it. My transformation from dark to light, from old bedroom to new and the rug that set the scene for it all. A big thank you to Unique Rug Store for my fabulous new vintage over dyed rug. I love it.

P.S. The hemp over dyed kilim runner at the foot of my bed is also from the Unique Rug Store. It’s actually for my new bathroom whenever it is built. But you’ll get to see more of it when I reveal the new bathroom in all its black glory. What? You didn’t expect me to leave the dark side completely did you?

P.P.S. Want to see what my old bedroom looked like? And this room before the transformation? Here are couple of pictures for you.

… and a little later

The office before it became the bedroom …

 

 

Axie says:

Et tu, Jo? ๐Ÿ™‚ Actually, I love the new look! And that carpet-wow. Flooring is the starting point of design and inspiration I think. Can’t wait to see the winter fireplace pics.
Great artwork, too- Well done!

midcenturyjo says:

Thanks Axie. I can’t wait for that winter fireplace either ๐Ÿ™‚

Suzanne Melton says:

What a great story!

Please tell me you found a great place for the Art Deco vanity/mirror.

P.S. Where are the two rounds, “Sin” and “Fig” from?

midcenturyjo says:

Yes the Art Deco vanity will eventually go into the bathroom we are planning to build in the old stables at the back of the house. It’s a big room and I’m hoping for a roll top bath with a chandelier and I thought the vanity against one wall with a Mongolian lamb (faux) covered dressing table stool, one of those curly metal 50s ones. The โ€œSinโ€ and โ€œFigโ€ were cut from an old bus roll I had (Fig Tree Pocket and Sinnamon Park).

Suzanne Melton says:

Cannot wait to see what you do with the bathroom!

midcenturyjo says:

Neither can I Suzanne! We have had one hold up after another. Should have been finished by now and we haven’t even started ๐Ÿ™

Anne says:

YIng and Yang. Love them both, in a great old gold rush house.

midcenturyjo says:

Thanks Anne. I’m so lucky I found my old house. It’s like we were meant for each other.

Annie says:

Wow. It’s stunning. I was going to ask where you got the art work above the fire place but it’s your own creation!!. I LOVE how you ‘shopped’ in your own home. I might try and do the same!. And having a fire and a balcony off your bedroom, what luxuries. Anyway, ramble aside I love your aesthetic. It’s a fabulous space.

midcenturyjo says:

Thanks Annie. I often shop my own home with great success. Sometimes I worry though if that means I’m a hoarder and have way too much stuff ๐Ÿ˜›

Josie says:

So serene. I like how you used what you had or made it.

midcenturyjo says:

Thanks Josie. I would have liked to splurge out on some new pieces of furniture or a killer lamp but weโ€™re a bit cash strapped at the moment with impending renovations.

Josie says:

If I shopped my house and moved it all into the bedroom then all the other rooms would be empty ๐Ÿ˜ƒ

Heather Giannandrea says:

Lovely job, but what purpose does the screen serve? It seems like if you moved it to another room you would have space here to enjoy the window and/or have a bigger headboard and bedside table. That’s the practical side of me talking, I guess! ๐Ÿ™‚

midcenturyjo says:

Thanks Heather ๐Ÿ˜œ The screen actually hides a very large and very ugly broadband internet box that was placed there on the internal wall (Government will only go to closest/easiest position in the house to the outside fibres.) Also means that the router is there. For the moment the screen is covering it. It It also gives some privacy for the bed as this is the one spot that has a direct line of sight from a neighbour. Still looking for a better and not overly expensive solution seeing that we have thousands tied up in the upcoming renovations ๐Ÿ˜ƒ

Heather Giannandrea says:

Ahh, well, that all makes sense then. Enjoy your new bedroom!

Susann says:

I LOVE your new bedroom Jo! And I would grab so many things if I could. lol
Love the glas table and the Eero Aarnio Parabel side table. Didn’t know before and now I NEED one too!!!

midcenturyjo says:

Thanks Susann ๐Ÿ˜ƒ If you think you like the Parabel side table youโ€™re going to love it In dining table size. Iโ€™ve always covered one in that size covered in books in the centre of s room.

T.L. Keegan says:

Hi. I love this post. The multi-coloured rug by the fireplace … may I ask where you got that from? That is divine?

midcenturyjo says:

I bought it from a rug dealer at a market here in Australia about 25 years ago.

Terry Wolfe says:

Your bedroom looks amazing and I love that color of the rug. I am changing the interior of my bedroom. I would love to add a rug in my bedroom just like the above one. Thanks!

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