Does this look dated?

[Readinggirl]

We've had a new mattress, so decided to clear everything off our ottoman. Our bed & Ottoman very rarely looks this tidy. Does this look dated?

Okay, so looking at your room, you need to zone your bedroom. It's a good size, so I would completely tidy the dressing table area and add a comfortable armchair. The rug is not working. You need a bedspread in a plain colour (nice M&S scalloped one?) as the duvet is a horrible pattern. The red lamps are not working. Keep everything subtle. The Love cushion can go on the armchair (look on Freecycle for an Ikea Ektorp chair). Two large square pillows (forget the other cushions!). Appreciate the blinds have to stay and they will be up anyway. Think sanctuary, rather than harsh colours.

And get rid of the ottoman - it's very ugly. Sorry to be blunt but it's plastic and not conducive to a relaxing space. Think luxury. This is where you go to relax.

Just been to hear Foundation nothing there

I would say it looks very dated sorry OP. The red and idea of 'pops' of colour is v 2000's and the 'love something something' wall sticker is v outdate.

I'd colour drench the room in a nice neutral and add softer touches. I'd get a massive rug, some nice neutral blinds and fix the lighting. Its a lovely big room with lots of potential!

I really like some of the ideas in your pics @whiskacat, which reminded me that we had a bright red range cooker at our last house and we paired it with blue (F&B Oval Room Blue) base cabinets and cream walls/upper cabinets which worked well as a colour combo. To tie it all together we had a fabulous wallpaper in cream, blue and red used as a splash back behind tempered glass 😆

So blue could work with the red. However, I'd still ditch the cushions and ottoman (which do look a bit cheap @Readinggirl, sorry!). Personally, I'd make a loose cover for the ottoman as well as cushion covers, but I love a sewing project and always have a stash of remnants hanging about for that purpose. If you're not handy with a sewing machine, Dunelm or TK Maxx have loads of lovely, inexpensive cushions as well as throws you could drape over the ottoman to improve its appearance.

This looks exactly like my now DH’s share-flat bedroom when we started going out 12 years ago. He actually had that exact ottoman (Ikea?). I always hated the harshness of red with white and the ottoman went away in the loft for a good while but has been repurposed as a toy box in DS’s bedroom and actually looks really lovely. His room is shades of blue with red pops of colour in a sort of nautical theme, and I now feel differently about red as long as it’s softened.

I’d look at adding some soft mid blues (a pp shared some nice mood boards). A new larger rug with some blue and a neutral would look good. Consider a fine pinstripe bedding instead of the round patterns. Simplify the cushions - maybe just two big ones with multiple colours rather than just red. Bigger lamps.

I’d lose the laugh/love signs if they can come down without removing the paint. Maybe a lovely art print or two behind the bed? Something with a red accent.

I was given some advice years ago when I was struggling to make my house more ‘with it’ but I didn’t have the big bucks needed.

Your home only needs to make you happy.

Once you make that your aim, you relax about it and slowly make it that way. Get some things that make you smile and move on from there.

I thought we'd done well with no references to pops of colour. I thought wrong.

Your home only needs to make you happy. Definitely.

Just spotted the sloping ceiling behind the bed, so ignore me on the print there! But the wall with the dressing table could look good with art on it.

I don't know where else the dressing table can go, as we haven't got a long wall, apart from where the bed is, and the wardrobe. Past the dressing table is an opening to the ensuite, therefore, no complete wall.

I couldn't live with the absolute absence of colour in those though. Neutral is just so bland and soulless. So many of the posts on here seem to be about removing personality and making it look Insta perfect instead of a room in a family home.

I agree. The AI ones look anodyne.

Style is so personal - I love our bedroom (the middle sized room as we use the main bedroom as a second living room) and it's perfect to us, but I'm sure wouldn't be to everyone's taste! I also do Insta, but our style certainly isn't anodyne or lacking in personality...imo 🤪

I'm gonna be brave and post a pic, not necessarily as inspiration for @Readinggirl, but to illustrate how a cohesive look can be pulled together on a fairly tight budget.

The curtains were a vintage fabric find online (I made them), ditto the cushions, curtain poles from a charity shop. Duvet cover from Dunelm, throw was an eBay find, bed skirt made by me from an ancient duvet cover. Mismatched lamps - eBay and TK Maxx (shades a splurge in Pooky's sale with 40% off), ceiling light left by previous owner.

The bedside tables were bought in a closing down sale - knocked down more as one was damaged - and I painted them using a sample pot of Little Greene paint. I painted the 'headboard' directly onto the wall using an Edward Bulmer sample pot as the budget wouldn't stretch to a real, upholstered one. All art found at car boots and fleamarkets for pennies, red frame - yep, another sample pot! The only real ££££ item was the rug, purchased with an inheritance 18 years ago.

We keep stuff for ages, because we love it and rarely replace (although I do regularly 'shop my home' and repurpose things), so it ends up being good value for money. Most of our furniture etc is second hand from eBay or auction houses picked up for bargain prices. Even the colour-drenched emulsion in this pic was found on eBay!

Not really sure what we can do with the lighting to be honest. We don't othen user the main light, unless I'm doing my hair when it's dark. Someone mentioned and armchair for relaxing, I do have another room upstairs that I sometimes use for relaxing.

Who is suggesting it needs to be redecorated every six months? The OP asked if her room looked dated. People have mostly said yes, but not to alter anything if it suited her as is.

I don't think it's 'datedness' that is the problem in the room, it's that things are the wrong colours and sizes to work together to make it a pleasant, peaceful space to sleep and relax in.

I'm no good at sewing. Can't put artwork behind bed due to the sloping ceiling.

Well, the OP has 'pops of colour' in her room as it stands. That's part of the problem, as they're pops of bright, wakey wakey-type colour that stick out like smallish individual shouts in a pale room.

The ottoman was actually from Dunelm. I'm looking for larger lamps but can't find what I like yet.

HI OP,
Yes, this room needs an overhaul. Are you able to share any other photos from different angles.

The beside tables look cheap and probably date the room more than anything else. The red box is too small for the space. The bed frame looks like it belongs in a 1980s sitcom. The carpet is standard issue cheap as we can find from the day.

I haven't read all the replies, so not sure what other comments or suggestions have been put forward to you.

I would change the bedside tables and get some bigger lamps.
I would get a colourful quilt/throw.
I would get a big colourful rug that covers as much of the carpet as possible.

What wardrobes/curtains/chairs/other aspects are there in the room?

I'd get on Facebook marketplace and find a new bed frame, and new tables etc.
layer colour and fabrics/textures.

We actually bought the frame in 2003 before getting married.

That doesn’t mean it is in the style of the 2000s I’m afraid. It is the gold metal that is the problem with a bit of Zinsser Bin and black or colourful paint, you can bring both the frame and side tables up to date… or you can paint the wall in deep blue to make the gold look more modern
Have a look at the Houzz app, you can get inspiration from there about how to combine colours and materials 🙂

Thanks, we have our wedding photo there, so works like to keep that to be honest.

I love the AI version, incredible the difference colour and texture makes. I'm totally useless at home decor so love reading and seeing these threads with people's suggestions on

I'm in the process of looking for large lamps, not coming up with what I like at mo.

@Tortephant Why colour? The op clearly struggles with colour and design. Just swapping red for another colour is not sensible really. Nor dark blue walls - guaranteed to date! It’s so much easier to go with neutrals and white and use textures like whicker. Large lamps with textural shades and a chair to add a cody corner would really help. Mirrors also are useful. There isn’t much to be done with the bed: just hide it.