BEDROOM INSPIRATION FROM COOMBE LODGE

I had the pleasure of staying in the beautiful Coombe Lodge in Blagdon to celebrate good friends wedding recently and I was totally blown away by the architecture of the building as well as their elegant choices for interior design.

I am a big fan of contemporary design and Coombe Lodge is a great example of a place where old meets new. The rooms in the venue have been beautifully restored, featuring high ceilings and big bay windows. They have kept the original fireplaces in the bedrooms but also introduced a bit of glamour by having art deco furniture on display. There are ipod docking stations in each bedroom and all the plug sockets have been carefully selected in contemporary chrome. The bedroom furniture is dark wood and works incredibly well with the off white walls. I love the fact they did not use wall paper in this particular bedroom. I prefer the simple, cream walls that look relaxing and peaceful.

The flooring in the bedroom is solid oak and the colour matches the extra wide skirting. It’s an interesting choice that the skirting boards do not match with the colour of the walls but it can be risky. In this space it works very well because first of all, the ceiling is high, but also the walls and the skirting are strong contrasting colours. The fact that the skirting is extra wide makes the ceiling appear even higher and more impressive.

However, my favourite feature in this bedroom is definitely the en-suite bathroom. It is quite possibly the most stunning bathroom I have ever seen! It is a 1930s art deco bathroom tiled with hand cut Italian tiles. The colours are very strong and vibrant. The art deco side table fits in with the theme very well. There is also a large mirror at the end of the bathroom which makes the room appear even bigger. The free standing bath in the middle is pure luxury (although perhaps not the most practical choice in residential homes). Also, in order to master this ‘look’, you need to have plenty of space. Otherwise, the bathroom will look even smaller and too busy.

My husband wasn’t as crazy about the bathroom as I so I doubt I will be able to talk him into having something similar in our house.. But, you never know! I feel it has so much personality and is definitely not boring! Often people keep their bathrooms very neutral looking, even though they are one of the biggest selling points for buyers. It is a space where you can add a bit of personality to an otherwise simple and minimalistic house. They had also chosen to expose all the pipework and I found it fitted very well with the whole feel of this building.

The art deco side table looks very stylish in the colourful bathroom and I am actually thinking of getting something similar for our hall (although I haven’t quite found the right one yet…)

The biggest benefit of this bedroom is probably the large bay window that allows plenty of natural light to flow in. When you combine that with high ceilings the effect is stunning. Sometimes I wish we had chosen a Victorian property that would allow us to have something similar but there are many other reasons why I am glad that we didn’t in the end.

Here’s a picture of a free standing bath (this was actually taken in one of the other guest bedrooms). Isn’t it stunning?! I love the feet and the effect against the wood floor. How refreshing that they didn’t have a carpet in the bedroom as the flooring really brings out the furniture in the room.
  

Oh, and the view from the room wasn’t bad either 🙂

There are a few points I’d like to take with me and perhaps implement in our current house (or any future house I may live in).

• Extra wide skirting boards (assuming you have the high ceiling to match it)
• Having a feature door frame (different colour from the walls)
• Mosaic bathroom (I really love this but it might be tricky to get husband to agree on this one..)
• Plants in the bedroom (I haven’t got any real ones at the moment but I will definitely get some now!)
• Art deco furniture (We actually need one for the hall but I haven’t found the right one yet….)
• Statement doors (Our current ones match the colour of the walls but if I was to change them, I think I might go for something darker for both the door and the frame. I might even consider getting them in a different material, textured rather than matt, for the extra effect)

I certainly enjoyed my stay in this fabulous venue and you can visit their official website CoombeLodge.Co.Uk for more information!