Old English Inspired Bedroom Makeover

Date

I don’t think a room transformation has ever made me so emotional before. My parents asked me to help design a new guest room for their home, which, funny enough, started out as my childhood bedroom. While my parents don’t host guests often, this space is incredibly special because it holds so many family heirloom treasures, including the headboard of the antique rope bed that provided me with my viral peg rail ledges.

old english bedroom

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This actually isn’t the first room makeover we’ve done at my parents’ house! You have to see their vintage modern home office transformation!

flower center piece

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old style chandelier

An Old English Retreat

Even though the room was filled with beautiful marble-topped antique furniture, it still lacked personality. With the addition of a rich moody shade of green, warm wood flooring, and second-hand styling, the room now resembles an Old English Retreat filled with love and family memories.

front view of the old english bed set up

Color Drenching The Room

At approximately 12×14, the room is generously sized, but the wall color did little to maximize the potential of the space. Color drenching is one of my favorite techniques to create the illusion of a larger, grander space, and we’ve used this design trick in multiple rooms of my home. You can read all about Color Drenching and best practices in this post about our Parlour Makeover.

not decorated bedroom

After trying six samples of moody green paint, we chose Ripe Olive from Sherwin-Williams. This stunning shade reads as a true green without pulling unwanted undertones like blues or grays. I immediately added Ripe Olive to my list of Top Moody Paint Colors, and I can’t wait to find a space in my own home to use this beautiful shade!

side view of old english bedroom

New Flooring

This amazing room makeover came together when my favorite flooring brand, Landmark Interiors, reached out to partner again. We added the most beautiful engineered hardwood flooring in our primary bedroom last fall with the help of Landmark Interiors, and I was excited to fulfill my parents’ dream of adding rich wood flooring to their guest room space (along with their own Primary Bedroom!)

empty bedroom

Wondering what type of flooring to choose for YOUR space? Don’t miss our best tips for choosing the perfect flooring!

plant on the side table

We chose Autumn Brown from the City of Oaks collection because it complemented the heirloom furniture and hallway flooring. Pro Tip: Don’t let mismatched flooring trip you up! It’s okay to have different colors and styles as long as the products are complementary.

old cabinet and dark color wall

Wall Moulding

An English-inspired room would never be complete without wall treatments! We added peel-and-stick wall moulding to give depth and dimension to the moody walls. After caulking and painting the moulding to match the walls, it was incredible to see how much larger the room felt!, check out this post where we first added peel-and-stick moulding to our family room!

antique piece

With the moulding caulked and painted to match the walls, it was mind blowing to step back and see how enormous the room felt!

old painting

Want to make a room feel bigger? Don’t miss our 3 Simple Tricks to Make a Room Feel Larger!

Embracing History

This room is a love letter to our family and the heirloom furniture they’ve preserved over the years. We polished up every piece with Howard’s Feed-N-Wax to restore the luster and beauty of the wood. Against the deep green walls, each piece pops with personality!

old style drawer
side cabinet with old style DIY antique mirror

One of the most exciting projects for me was adding antiqued mirrors to the headboard’s oval inlays. This easy DIY project turned out better than I ever imagined! To learn how to age a mirror, check out our Antiqued Mirror Tutorial.

plain bed headboard
blend of color green

My mom’s Lane cedar-lined hope chest also found its perfect place in this space. Initially, we planned to reupholster the top, but after peeling away the blue fabric, we discovered the original brocade upholstery was stunning! We gently cleaned it with OxyClean, then let it dry in the sun to remove dirt and grime.Instead of refinishing the damaged wood, my parents chose to paint it. We selected a ruddy salmon color that pairs beautifully with the moody wall color and the gorgeous area rug. This piece now adds a delightful pop of color and personality to the room!

old style bench with drawers
original paint of bench with drawers

Thrifted Styling

Of course, no makeover would be complete without thrifted finds! The large mirror over the antique dresser was a $14.99 Goodwill find. I spray painted it gold and added Gold Leaf Rub’n Buff for an aged look. It’s now a stunning statement piece that brightens up the room.

DIY antique mirror

All the lamps in the room also came from thrift stores. My favorite is the Grecian marble and brass table lamp on the bedside table, which ties the room together with matching black and gold lampshades.

side table for lamps, painting and books

Final Touches

We added a dramatic “fandelier,” which looks like a beautiful chandelier but has hidden fan blades that appear with the push of a remote. It was the perfect touch of elegance for the room! We also swapped out the curtains for rich velvet drapes in a dark gold tone, mounted high to create the illusion of a larger window. And you will not believe the LOW price point on this beauty!

final look of DIY old english bedroom

The curtain rod was installed right at the ceiling line and mounted about 16 inches from the window frame on each side.

with side chair and side table

All grown up

Transforming this room into a luxurious English retreat was an emotional journey for me. Whether it’s because this was my childhood room or the fact that this space now allows our family treasures to shine, I couldn’t be more proud of the outcome.

old room
modern look

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xoxo, L

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