Retreat’
It was a challenge, but Tracey, 35, converted her spacious garage into a stylish place in which to sleep
I’ve lived in the Newbury area all of my life and love the countryside, so when a converted barn came up for sale, my husband James and I were quick to snap it up,’ says Tracey. ‘I’d always dreamt of living in a barn and this one was just what we wanted. Our bedroom, however, was quite small so we decided to convert the garage and create a gorgeous new master suite.
The build
‘This house was originally a narrow old barn, so we were able to take advantage of this and create a dual-aspect bedroom out of the garage. As we didn’t need planning permission, we contacted a local building company that could complete the project fairly quickly. My only problem was clearing out all our junk! Within four weeks, the garage door was removed and blocked up, new windows were cut out and fitted, and the walls plastered.
Problem solving
The project quickly progressed to the painting stage, but after speaking with a local carpenter we decided to add built-in ceiling-height wardrobes, as the house lacked storage. The result is amazing!
Initially we painted all the walls white and got used to the space for a few months, seeing where the light fell in the room before we chose any paint colours. I knew that I wanted a calming, neutral feel, and James was insistent it wasn’t too girly. Luckily, I'd found some wallpaper that I just knew would be the starting point for the look I wanted to achieve.
Getting to work
Even though the walls were brand new, I still sanded and prepped the area behind the bed so it was ready to wallpaper. I ordered the paper from an artisan designer, and painted the room a matching blue.
For the windows, I chose white slatted blinds as I wanted to keep everything very natural and light. We also gave the wardrobes a lick of brilliant white satinwood paint to ensure they
‘I based the colour scheme around a Print I’d brought from a danish artist – It now takes Pride of Place In the bedroom’
wouldn’t chip or get damaged with constant use. We didn’t have to choose a carpet as the builders fitted a soft, neutral one, which worked well.
Furnishing the room
Once we’d finished painting, it was time to think about additional furniture, so I looked online and found a chest of drawers from Swoon Editions where everything is handcrafted. I went for dark wood, which sits well against the blue. I also picked up an old pair of steps, which I sanded down and painted in a complementary colour – they make perfect bedside tables.
I enjoyed searching for a mixture of bargains and luxury buys to get the style I wanted. There’s nothing more inviting than gorgeous bedlinen and I chose a colour scheme of muted grey tones with hints of pink here and there. Glass and concrete accessories and rustic flowers picked from the garden finish the look. The room now has the natural, calming effect I was after – thankfully, James loves it, too.’