I RENOVATED MY OLD BEDROOM AND LEARNT NEW THINGS

THE PLAN

My bedroom at my parents house is my living space whenever I visit from University, it looks empty and unloved and definitely wasn't my favourite place to relax and unwind. The plan is to create a really chill place where I can write and feel calm. I want to use this room renovation as a chance to learn how to do things for myself, I want to learn how to wallpaper, use tools and anything else that I can from my dad so when I need to decorate later in life I can have confidence in myself to do it rather than relying on someone else - plus I'm a very picky person so it's normally better if I do it myself.

I bought a BEAUTIFUL wallpaper, a light link metallic background with the most beautiful green leaves growing up from the bottom of the paper, by bringing in a lot of green I hope to create a garden/jungle haven in which I can be peaceful. I colour matched the green of the leaves to some paint at my local paint shop and then I was ready to start.

PAINTING

After taping off my skirting board and all the other places I didn't want to get paint on I started painting one wall using the rest of the paint left in my sample pot. When I then opened the new paint and started painting the rest of the walls I noticed there was a slight colour difference between the sample paint and the bigger tin. So after bringing several people over to make sure I wasn't going crazy I headed back to the paint shop and two days later I finally finished all the walls in the right colour.

DECORATORS CAULKING

I'm just throwing this one in here because I learnt to do this and am very proud of how good it looks. I used decorator caulk to seal the skirting boards where they had stared to pull away from the wall, this created a seamless edge and made it look very professional if I do say so myself.

FIREPLACE

Before I wallpapered I wanted to re-paint my fireplace to make the black stand out even more against the light wallpaper. Even though it is a small touch I think it looks so much neater and clean.

WALLPAPERING

My dad showed me how to properly hang wallpaper and helped me a bunch while I was wallpapering my room, he even stayed up until 2.30 in the morning just to help me get it finished. I made it especially difficult for the both of us as I wanted to wallpaper a wall with two alcoves and a fireplace so matching the pattern and getting the wallpaper to curve around the alcoves was particularly tedious. Even though some of it may not be absolutely perfect I am so incredibly happy with the end result because not only does it look amazing, I did it and learnt something new all whilst having a fun time with my dad.

UP-CYCLING FURNITURE

I love up-cycling, seeing something go from 'kind of alright' to being the coolest thing makes me feel very satisfied. The smallest project was adding new knobs to my desk drawers which was really easy but makes the desk look so much prettier. I then painted my desk chair a beautiful pink colour to bring out the pink tone in the wallpaper, again it was a small project that made the chair more interesting and me. I then painted an old bookcase I had in the same pink BUT here's the best part - I found paint glitter which is an extremely fine silver glitter that you can mix in with any type of paint and create a beautiful glittery finish. I used this glitter on the edges of the shelves, the sides of the bookcase and across the top shelf. I am in love with how this looks now, some may think its a bit pre-teen like but I think it embodies my personality perfectly.

SHOPPING

As I said before I only stay at home when I'm not at University and because I have a flat rather than staying in student accommodation I leave the majority of my belongings there. This means my room is pretty empty and I needed some little decorative peices to give a more lived in look. I found bedding that matched my wallpaper creepily well and tried to find artificial plants that didn't look too fake, all the artificial plants looked awful but I can't use real plants in this room as I'm not here to nurture them. I then bought a some candles and some beautiful decorative items from The Old Bakehouse Antiques Centre which just finish the room off perfectly.

THE END RESULT

I couldn't be happier with my new bedroom, it's so relaxing I never want to leave. The whole room has been re-decorated for no more than £150 and that includes 2 litres of paint, 3 rolls of wallpaper, furniture paint, bedding and all the little decor pieces. I still need to find a rug and some artwork to hang up but I have been struggling to find anything I like that is in my price range, if you have any suggestions on where I can find some please let me know! If you're un-inspired by your surroundings it's amazing what a coat of paint and a re-arranging of furniture can do to get you out of your rut!

BUYING SUSTAINABLY - 5 EASY AND AFFORDABLE STEPS/TIPS

I buy a lot of stuff - maybe too much stuff. I love having new things but I hate spending money which are two emotions that rarely work hand in hand. Since I am a student I like to keep on budget but I enjoy shopping and it's so easy to fall into the trap of 'treating yourself' every single weekend, now I have figured out how to 'treat myself' whenever I feel like it and seeing some people on my social medias worrying about spending money, I wanted to share my little hacks and tips to get yourselves them nice things.

I recently was introduced to sustainable fashion and learnt about the detrimental effects that fast fashion has on the planet and the people who make these clothes that we're all buying - I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that I had no idea the effect me buying clothes had on everything else. I want to share the ways I buy sustainably to show how easy it is, when I heard about the idea of sustainable clothing it was daunting to say the least but after reading up about this movement I realised how I could adapt and incorporate it into my shopping habits. These tips are sustainable friendly but I'm still not 100% sustainable yet, probably not even 50% - forgive me please.

CHARITY SHOPS

I live in charity shops, I absolutely love them. I put aside whole days to rummage around all the charity shops where I live and it normally pays off, sometimes you have disappointments and find nothing good but it's always an adventure and you'll see some questionable items which make you laugh. Clothes, shoes, accessories, homeware, furniture - you'll find pretty much everything. Every single handbag I own is from a charity shop and they're all such unique accessories that I've never seen on anyone else. That's my favourite part of second hand, you'll always find something that you've never seen before and may never see again - plus it's super affordable!

When shopping in charity shops you need to have an open mind, something may not look 'trendy' or you may think you won't suit the style but trying to fit pieces you find into your everyday style is part of the fun, and if you don't wear it you can just re-donate it.

Most of my furniture was found at the charity shop too, I furnished my entire flat for less than £400 which is basically unheard of. My favourite, most recent purchase from the charity shop is a cream, ribbed wrap around midi dress from TopShop which still had the tags in it and was only £10! Love it. Sustainable and ethical fashion is key, by re-purposing clothes not only will you save money and look cute but the planet and the people on it will thank you.

UPCYCLING

This little tip comes in conjunction with the charity shop 'hack'. When buying from a charity shop the price is so good that you can afford to make changes and personalise that object, even more affordable if you're up cycling your own old clothes. Wether it's cropping a t-shirt, dying the clothes a different colour, painting furniture, adding new knobs onto drawers - if you mess up there isn't too much disappointment as the original product was so cheap! Most of my tops are cropped mens shirts. It's easy to find tutorials on YouTube about how to up-cycle clothes and furniture so there's not much of an excuse to not do it.

FACEBOOK/GUMTREE/ECT..

Facebook things for sale, Shpock and Gumtree are great, I've used them to sell clothes that I had spent too much money on to justify giving it away to a charity shop. Finding designer or more high-end clothing for sale on these apps and websites is easy and people tend to drop the price after bargaining with them as they want the item gone quickly. Lots of people I've spoken to don't like the idea of buying second hand this way as the items may not be as clean as they could be but that's an easy fix especially if you're buying something for less than half the retail price.

VINTAGE SHOPS

(The Old Bakehouse Antiques Centre - Northampton)

I love vintage and antique shops, there are so many hidden gems and I just love the idea that what I've bought has a story behind it and that I'm continuing that story. I was bought up in an antique filled home and my parents own two antique shops which is dangerous for me as whenever I visit them I buy more stuff that I probably can't fit in my tiny flat. My favourite vintage purchase is a 1960's Parker Knowles arm chair in a beautiful light green velvet fabric that is just the most amazing thing ever. Antique and vintage items are also an investment, you know that you can sell whatever you buy on to someone else as antiques never loose their value. There are so many vintage shops and they're always run by such enthusiastic wonderful people, there are no chain vintage shops so you know the money that you spend is going to someone good. 

CAR BOOT SALES

Best car boot sale story I've heard is a woman finding one of the old costumes belonging to The Supremes for €70 and returning it to Millie Wilson. Insane. That would never happen if fast fashion continues to take over. I won't lie, when I think of a car Boot sale I think of hundreds of people selling their kids old toys, but sometimes you'll find those gems that you fall in love with. I now think of car boot sales more like pop up charity shops, it's a cheap day out where you can wonder through old memories and maybe find something you would've never found elsewhere. You'll find car boot sales everywhere and they happen so often, especially now its summer.

To learn more about sustainable fashion here's a couple links that helped me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXOd4qh3JKk
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL24zxFHJX5pn2eePsCTu6-K9HrKVNopx7
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPM9lhackHw

2AM SINGLE DEBUT - THE ONE 16TH JULY

'2AM' are a soulful, dreamy R&B duo, mixing contemporary soul vocals with ambient guitar tones. Alessandra Curle (vocal) and Mo Eder (guitar) draw inspiration from the likes of Amy Winehouse and Summer Walker as well as Seafret and Mighty Oaks. They bring passion to their music, pouring out experiences of heartbreak, self-doubt and sadness and turning it into beautiful and emotive music. 

'2AM' released their debut single The One on the 16th of July and plan to release much more material very soon. The One features Curle's soft yet immensely powerful vocals, her sound works beautifully alongside Eder's gentle guitar melodies to create a perfect harmony. Her voice is so full of emotion and this pulls me into the words she sings, I can hear the passion and imagine the lessons learned in the experiences the song shares. 

Curle's smooth vocal runs are near perfection yet seem so effortless, the moment I heard her voice the comparison to Jorja Smith was inevitable. The accent that comes through in her singing is comparable to Jorja Smith's - which as a massive fan of her I absolutely love. 

As 2AM's debut single, The One is absolutely perfect, the simplicity of the stand alone acoustic guitar leaves the message conveyed through the song to really shine. It's nice to hear a song that doesn't follow the standard structure off a pop song - this brings more emotional value to the song letting you follow the build up of emotion in the lyrics. Overall, I'm very impressed. 

Follow their social medias and listen to their music here -

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/twoam.uk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twoam.official/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/twoam_official

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-168253895

A WEEK IN SPRING OUTFITS

Spring and Summer in England always leave me struggling to find an outfit that will work throughout my day. The temperature doesn't like to stay consistent, leaving me with the struggle of keeping warm in the mornings and evenings while sweltering in the heat at noon. To combat this struggle I thought I'd share a week in my outfits - these were taken from spring but English summer doesn't seem to be particularly summery yet.

(NewLook bodysuit, Primark skirt, Molly Glitter Dr Martens)

The purpose of this outfit was to try and look at least a little bit like spring had sprung - hence the floral skirt. I love this skirt and have already been wearing it to death, the fit is beautiful and flow-y plus it sits at the perfect length to add a pair of Dr Martens. The bodysuit - even though long sleeved - is a great material to keep you warm but not to overheat when the afternoon sun breaks through the clouds. This is a great outfit to at least feel like it could be summer.

(Charity shop T-Shirt, Lee Cooper Jeans, Nike Air Force 1's)

I haven't been wearing jeans very often at all recently but the light wash and loose fit of this pair I found in a charity shop feel almost perfect for the English weather. There's something about high waisted, cuffed jeans that screams spring to me, even though I did add a lot of black to the outfit, I still think this is relatively spring-esque. I used to be obsessed with cropping oversized mens t shirts that I had found in charity shops, this t-shirt being one of those and even though the cut is awful and choppy I think it emulates my style perfectly - a bit all over the place.  I love my air forces but often I am too scared to wear them for the sole reason that they are so white and perfectly clean - I tend to fall over a lot and ruin nice shoes. 

(Adidas Hoodie, BooHoo Jeans, BooHoo coat, Dr Martens)

Sometimes the evenings get really cold in Summer, and sometimes in the mornings and afternoons too if you're from England. One of my favourite ways to look more put together when I'm just really not feeling it is to add my full length leopard print coat, it makes me feel powerful. On the days where all I do is nothing then realise I have to shop for food or run out somewhere quickly, I don't see the point wasting a nice outfit or getting dressed at all really but just by wearing this coat I feel like I am wearing a proper outfit and not just jeans and the hoodie I slept in last night - but I could be wearing my pyjamas underneath this coat and still feel like a catch. 

(TopShop top, BooHoo trousers, Dr Martens)

A nice colourful outfit for summer, as much as I love feeling summery I will never betray my emo roots of having a wardrobe full of as much black clothing as I can find. These BooHoo trousers are my go to when I don't know what to wear, they're basically 'classy'  joggers made of a thin ribbed material with a belt made of the same fabric - without a doubt the most comfortable item of clothing I own. The black bandeau top is another one of my go to's, I wear it to death. It's so comfortable and easy to wear, just remember to suncream your shoulders (unlike I did). I thought this may be too much black for summer but then again, you can never wear too much black. 

BooHoo bodysuit, BooHoo dress, Dr Martens)

I wish I could've worn this without the black tights but I guess it does mean that I didn't have the chore of shaving my legs. I layered this mesh bodysuit underneath my dress just for something more to shield me from the cold but as I was going to a gig I wasn't too worried about staying warm. I really enjoyed the monochromatic look especially with the spring inspired purple on purple, it made me feel very put together.

So it's not all doom and gloom, the weather may not be fulfilling your summer hopes and dreams but at least you can still look and feel cute.