When Rosie suggested a ‘pink theme’ for our new bedroom, I originally balked at the idea. Pink? In OUR bedroom? OUR ROOM?!! Not a chance.
But after a few weeks of not-so-subtle lobbying from Rosie and just a dash of self-reflection from me, I eventually came around to the idea.
Call me ‘under the thumb’, but ultimately:
- I’m not averse to the colour…I’ve been known to sport a pink work shirt, pink socks and even the odd pair of pink undies over the years;
- I’d already said no to a pink kitchen (something Rosie’s always dreamt of having);
- She spends a lot more time in our bedroom than I do (with the hours I work, I rarely see it in daylight, so it could be any colour for all I know);
- At 34, married, with two boys, I should be comfortable enough in my sexuality by now not to stress about the prospect of a princess pink boudoir (plus, I have two man sheds, so…); and
- After pushing two quite sizeable babies out of her hoo-ha with no pain relief beyond a couple of paracetamol, frankly, she can have whatever bloody colour bedroom she likes!
Oh, and I’ve been married long enough to know that in a relationship, you sometimes have to give a little to get a little. Happy wife = happy life, and all that.
So with my blessing (and never one to miss an opportunity) Rosie went all out. As you can see from the before and after shots, it’s been quite the transformation (and I must admit, I secretly kinda like it too).
Our new pink bedroom
BEFORE
AFTER
Keep scrolling for the full tour of our new pink bedroom, with little explanations of how we transformed the room on a budget, and links to where you can find some of our favourite things that make this bedroom our own.
As ever, it all started with choosing the right paint colours. Now, Rosie has an amazing sense of style and a keen eye for colour, so naturally she loves everything in the Farrow & Ball range. But to save money, we colour-matched the Farrow & Ball colours using the B&Q Valsar paint mixing service – i.e. the same lovely colours, just half the price.
For the walls she went with one called Strong White, bringing in a big splash of colour with two shades of Farrow & Ball pink for the wooden furniture; repainting our old purple bedside tables in a paint (hilariously) called ‘Nancy’s Blushes’ and giving the existing fitted wardrobes a refresh in ‘Middleton Pink!
For the curtains, Rosie went extra, choosing a bold pink fabric that she bought online all the way from India, which she then got a little local lady to make into plush curtains on the cheap (ish). Two limed oak curtain poles later (second-hand Laura Ashley; a total bargain from Gumtree) and we finally had some privacy from the neighbours, who’s bathroom window just happens to stare straight into our bedroom.
We’ve always loved our bed – the weathered oak Coco bed from Loaf – but our mattress was well past its best…approaching seven years old and decidedly saggy (on my side at least). But after working with online mattress retailer Simba earlier this year, they gifted us their Simba Hybrid Mattress to try out, and OH MY GOD, it’s been life changing.
Rosie likes a soft mattress and I like mine a little more solid, but somehow it’s been squishy enough yet suitably firm to keep us both sleeping like babies (it’s made of 2,500 conical pocket springs with a responsive memory foam topper, which means that it responds individually to each sleeper, so my constant wriggling doesn’t affect Rosie’s side of the bed).
It’s pretty good value too, with a large double mattress starting at £699 – but you can get a massive £75 off if you use my affiliate link! https://simba.mention-me.com/m/ol/sx8bv-you-the-daddy – with the price including free delivery, a 100 night sleep trial and removal of your old mattress (I’d read enough positive reviews of Simba mattresses to know that we would love it, so we got them to take our old one away on day one).
And, with a four month old baby currently going through the dreaded sleep-regression, let me tell you…anything that can help us both get a good night’s sleep is worth its weight in gold, and this mattress has done just that!
As many of you will know, Rosie and I both love a bargain (you can find us most weekends rummaging through the new arrivals at the Revive Shop at Witley Community Recycling Centre). And probably my best find in recent months were our two lampshades on our bedside table, which are usually super expensive but we got them for 50p for the pair!
Meanwhile, the dark wood chest of drawers was also a complete steal, another of Rosie’s eBay finds (she’s a demon when it comes to last second bidding) at £50 from a local family (Rosie graciously let me have it, but I know she only bought it to free up wardrobe space for her clothes!).
So there we have it! I hope you’ve enjoyed having a little nosey around our new pink bedroom – we love it and hope you do too!
Plus, I reckon I’ve earned a good few ‘husband points’ for letting Rosie have her way on this one. Question is; what should I cash them in for? Suggestions welcome.
*We received the Simba mattress for free from the company as a gift – our recommendations though are 100% genuine…it really has been everything it promised to be! If you fancy getting one for yourself, don’t forget you can get £75 off your purchase by using this link:
https://simba.mention-me.com/m/ol/sx8bv-you-the-daddy *
