Can you help me make our master bedroom look less tired for house sale??

[OneDayIWillLearn]

we are due to list our house in 4 weeks time but I am feeling despairing about our master bedroom. To be honest it’s the room which sold us the house (it has a bay window and a second window so it is really light) and I think it looks ok in the agents’ photo (first pic attached)……but while we have complete redone every other room, this one kind of got left of the list and now it just depresses me and I think it looks bad. I don’t have much time or budget to improve it now alas but I feel like I need it to be much nicer before we let people in!!

what would you do (any ideas for colours/ patterns etc welcome!)?

• threadbare carpet with underlay near the door worn through
• cat scratched armchair
• bedframe which is meant to be intentionally ‘distressed’ but since we painted the room white just looks dirty
• curtains I bought in a hurry from Dunelm but now I just think are too dark for the room and not sure about the pattern
• Paint peeling off radiator

I’m lacking vision 😬

Def prefer the Morris curtains. I bought voiles from Dunelm if you want to go down that route instead.

I bought this in several colours a few months back, can recommend - I bought sage green, olive, teal colours.

https://www.next.co.uk/style/st218391/871577#871577

Re the floor, I think it would look great with floorboards rather than old carpet but I don’t think you have to go to much trouble or cost to get the look.

I love the dark floorboards. With a good mopping, voile curtains, windows wide open, light cream or sage bedding, the room will feel like an airy retreat.

Aren’t there bits of underlay stuck to the floorboards?

I prefer the Dunelm curtains.

The William Morris curtains,or white voiles,cheap as chips in IKEA. A throw over the end of the bed, don't bother painting it....it's not in the sale . Bin the carpet. Buy new bedding and rug you like enough to use in next place. Tidy up and clean.

The William Morris curtains are too short, short curtains should be about an inch or two below the sill, not resting on it. Use that iron-on hemming stuff and shorten the Dunelm curtains a bit if it bothers you and hang them properly. Freshen the room up with fresh paint, rip up the carpet and clean the floorboards then get a cheap but really big rug from somewhere like IKEA.

They are the right length, I have just hung them over the curtain rail for a photo rather than properly hanging them, but probably didn’t explain that clearly enough!

Ah, well in that case ignore me 😁.either set of curtains are fine then, although I'd ask why you took the W Morris curtains down and replaced them with the Dunelm ones? I know the WM ones are a classic but I personally find them quite fussy and I think they can be tricky to style so they don't look old fashioned, that might be a me problem, I know lots of people like them but at the very least I do think they suit a more maximalist style than you currently seem to have in your bedroom.

I wouldn't invest in a rug.

People can visualize that. Unless it's a rug you can use in your next property, it'll be a waste of money and resources.

Great tips
Let us see the after pics op!

I think the underlay will come off - the grippers will need taking up. I guess the fear is discovering some kind of horrible defect in the floor when it’s too late to put the carpet back!! I think the underlay will disintegrate once I start moving it as it must be 30+ years old

Yes I do think they may be a bit tricky….the room was previously painted a sort of dark cream colour and with the curtains as well it felt quite drab as a colour scheme. They would be better with white walls I think (I have never had them up with the white) but still potentially a bit chintzy. I love Morris patterns in general but I know what you mean, they look good in certain schemes and much less good in others!! When I got them out yesterday my husband was like, what are you doing?? So I think it’ll be easier to stick with the current ones (maybe shortened) or get some light ones cheaply.

Just to go against the grain, I don't like the Morris curtains - they look dated and dowdy to me. (not knocking the Morris vibe in general - just those particular curtains) I still think the colour of your own curtains is really good for that room with all the white.

I like the Dunelm curtains better but I think the length needs sorting so that they hang just below the windowsill in the same way the William Morris curtains do. The William Morris curtains are nice too though !
Are you good at sewing? Should be a straightforward measure, cut the material down and hem job. Otherwise there is the hemming tape but that's inferior imo.
Otherwise, keep the bed cover plain /non-patterned so no clashing with the e curtain pattern. Move the small chest of drawers and get a nice throw + cushion for the arm chair. It's a lovely room and anyone with any sense would see that anyway. Good luck x

Was this a good idea??? I think I’ve got far enough now that I’m not putting it back but wondering if I’ve bitten off more than I can chew 😂

Hmm.

Can you get someone in to refinish the floorboards? It shouldn't be difficult to do one room, other than moving all your stuff.

I don't think it would be fair to prospective buyers to disguise that with a rug.

The colour difference comes out worse in the photo than reality but yes, it is there. My husband has now ripped up the whole thing though so we’re going to have to work with it!

To be honest if we’d done it not thinking of selling I’d probably just be getting a 2mx 3m rug as that fits in the gap and the room would after all have had that originally.

as it is we might get a couple of smaller rugs to put where we walk most and then it will be clear what there is or isn’t on the floor as you will be able to see the line in a few places.

or I might see if I can get someone to re-sand and finish but I think the timescale might be tricky, based on past experience….

I love the floor makes it look far more stylish. And the plants in the last photo prove that a deep green is a nice accent for the bed / cushions against white bed linen and maybe something blue like the curtains would look smart

Either way i really like the bare floorboards.

I know I’m really annoyed we didn’t do it 5 years ago now 😂

I much prefer the floor to the manky carpet. It improves the room hugely. If you are worried about the unevenness you could put a rug down but that might make it look cluttered. I wouldn’t mind seeing a floor like this if I were viewing a house.

Well this is stage 1. I will get a different rug (this is just an old one) but I think the concept works.

going to get a throw for the bed (we don’t have an iron!) and proper throw for the chair as that is just an old duvet cover on there now which I am trying for the colour.

still deciding on curtains….i may shorten them (I can sew) but think I’ll check the windows at the place we’re moving to as I won’t shorten if it means we can’t reuse them. But may also just buy long voile ones as suggested.

also going to repaint or box in radiators and repaint the skirting board and then I think we’ll call it a day.

The William Morris looks to short tbh. And dull. I like the ones you've put up to replace them. They are just at an odd length! They need to fall below the cill just a bit if possible.

Ooops sorry. Didn't read your updates

Omg the cat scratching post armchair

It looks so much better without that old carpet. I was going to suggest putting the armchair in the bay window, which I see you have done. Do you have a little side table you could put in there next to it maybe with a plant on it and some books, to suggest a nice quiet spot to read?
I prefer floor length curtains, but maybe shorten the Dunelm ones a bit in both windows so they match.
Hope this all helps you to selling your house quickly.