Cox & Kings Blogger Challenge - The Results

I have been so preoccupied with one thing and another that I forgot to let you know about the outcome of the Blogger Challenge I took part in some weeks ago. I really enjoyed dressing our little upstairs bathroom in an Indian style and Cox & Kings the travel company who organised the challenge, and who themselves offer luxury holiday's in India made for a super challenge that everyone involved enjoyed. To be honest the *winning* of the challenge was somewhat secondary as I had much fun dressing the bathroom up, even though I nearly didn't get it finished in time. Here is a little snapshot of the finished bathroom....

  

Three of my photographs then went on the Cox & Kings facebook page along with the finished makeover's of the other five bloggers taking part and basically the bathroom with the most *likes* over the two weeks won the competition. After a first flury of shout outs and letting people know about the challenge on twitter and facebook, I got swept back into family life, and forgot about the competition for a while. *Like* competitions can be a little hit and miss, and I just didn't have the extra time to do lots of shout outs and if I am honest, felt a little uncomfortable asking people to vote for my bathroom as such. Anyway it was much to my delight when I got an email through the day after the competition had closed that I had indeed won the competition. Everyone's makoevers were lovely so to actually win was very flattering and hand on heart I didn't really expect to....

I am so delighted, and also a little nervous as the prize means I shall be spending three whole nights away from my children, the longest I shall ever have been away from them. Yes I am one of those who wants them tied to my vintage pinny forever!! Anyway am sure I shall overcome this nervousness at leaving them and shall be flying off to Tallinn and if the husband is good, he can come along too as I have two tickets ;) I haven't been abroad for a long, long time and hopefully shall be just what I need and give us some much needed *our time*, to experience the culture of another land and to see if I actually do have the balls to be separated from my children for those 3 short nights.

Since loosing Joshua who was born prematurly in 2005 and Master Popppins having a tricky time of it at birth and the following months after, I have become particularly protective of them and do worry about them when they are not around me. I personally think this a normal thing considering what we have been through, but I have to do it one day and I know we and they shall be fine :)

So, thank you Cox & Kings for giving me this opportunity and more importantly THANK YOU if any of you voted or liked or whatever you want to call it my ickle bathroom. THANK YOU so very much....

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Cox & Kings Blogger Challenge. The Big Reveal....

As you may know Cox & Kings set myself and five other bloggers a makeover challenge. We were each given a budget of £250 to spend and create a room with an Indian theme to it. I have to say it was not a theme I would ordinarily use within my home, and I did almost toy with the idea of spending the money to buy pretty Cath Kidston esque items. However the more I researched the wonderful interiors and colours Indian themes have to offer, the more I realised I wanted to go all out and create that wonderful Indian inspired room. I chose the upstairs dormer bathroom and quickly realised I would have to get cracking to achieve my goal. If you haven't already, you can see my before photographs on this post but here is another little peek....

Pretty bland huh, though a great canvas to work with, and actually the fact that it is a small room I thought I could maybe get away with doing a strong theme in there as such. I appreciated that time may not be on my side as I wanted to do alot some DIY in the bathroom too, and found myself quite stressed as the big reveal date loomed and I had not finished by a long way. I certainly got my hands dirty, although I drafted the husband in with wood cutting, I found myself doing a little grouting, laying flooring, painting and hanging wallpaper as well as all the sourcing of items and working out where the pretty things would go in the room. I am a vibrant person and I certainly wanted my bathroom makeover to be as true a reflection of my personality as possible. Anyway the time has come, and here is my new and hopefully Indian inspired bathroom....

The Buddah ( from home bargains for only £2.49 ) was originally black but as I had a paintbrush in my hand anyway, I gave it a little makeover and I think the left over tiles work so well as pretty jewelled coasters....

 Star was indeed right in her thinking that there would probably be a little ( hot ) pink in there, and I was so inspired by these images when doing my research....

 

When I first started the process for sourcing items for the bathroom, I have to admit I think I spent far too long trying to search out items that were very *me*. As I have mentioned, this particular theme would probably not be a chosen one for my home, and then I thought I would just go for it. I would let the lovely bright colours of India lead me and they would be my inspiration. Being a small bathroom, I was of course quite limited to what I could purchase but once I realised colour would lead my choices, I relaxed alot more. Part of the rules were, you were not allowed to go over budget, or use *given* items however you could use items you already owned or had previously purchased. I was amazed actually how many indian inspired items I had such as these bargain BHS coloured plastic glasses that I used to display face cloths....

As the bathroom was already awaiting some form of DIY makeover, we had already purchased wood for the panelling, basic primer, paint for the woodwork, and grouting/glues etc. It really was a long process doing the DIY part of the challenge and I literally only sorted out doing the pretty things a night or so before the big reveal. Luckily I had many one or two Indian inspired gold chocolate coins to keep me going....

    
     

Once the main DIY had been done, I couldn't wait to put those little trinkets I had searched out in place. I think one of my favourite items is this cute pink Lotus ( flower of India ) soap, with a little baby fairy sleeping in the middle. It smells just gorgeous, and yes surrounded by more chocolate coins....

On March 8th thousands of people across India celebrated Holi, the festival of colour and Holi was my inspiration for the little spice jars with tiny coloured decorative stones in them, a little like the colourful powders that are thrown at one another on Holi day. I also love the bargain  pink charity shop tealight holder ( two for a £1 )

Using some letters from some East Of India block letter's we have around our home and that spell out different words, I was able to display INDIA. Perfect....

Although her name now looks a little peculiar in her room ;) The Mirela wallpaper is a Harlequin design and fits in just perfectly I think, with its gold shimmer and pink tones.  It reminds me very much of a paper doily design and I think very Indian-esque. The lovely display glass bottles ( from Store Twenty One)  were one of my first purchases and I spent ages wondering what to display in them. As it is, I think they look just beautiful as they are, simple and elegant....

I also had a little go at grouting, which yes is a little wobbly but very characterful....

The wooden shelf unit in the corner was originally pink and a bargain from the car boot a while ago, and as I had a paintbrush in my hand....

I adapted one of the bargain Ebay cushion covers  to cover a little storage unit we already had, and keeps all those bathroom essentials in, I just love the pretty colours....

I decided to paint the two end walls in a complimentary pink, and if like me you have only a small space to paint, I would suggest getting a very generous tester tin from the Dulux mixing machine. I took a sample of my wallpaper in and they were able to find me a pretty much exact colour to the pink background, and all for only £2.98 for a 250ml tin. So I purchased 2 tins, and did both small walls, 2 coats, for only £5.36, bargain.

Another of my bargains was this beautiful mini chest of drawers that was made in India. On the label it says "This item is inspired by both traditional and modern sensibilities and handcrafted by artisans in India. Its simplicity and elegance will enhance any space" The drawers are ceramic and handpainted in the most beautiful and vibrant colours. I just adore it....

And I love gazing at it at the end of my bath, all I need to decide is what special trinkets to put in the pretty drawers. A bargain in my eyes at £16.99 from TKMaxx....

It is infact at night when this Indian inspired bathroom truly shines....

And just look at these beautiful Lotus floating lanterns I found, ADORE....

I wanted to purchase items that made a difference in India itself and this little handmade coin purse with a pretty pink tram on it is just the sweetest thing to display on my shelf and hopefully my buying it has perhaps made a little difference....

For me this challenge, which yes has actually been a little stressful, mostly due to one thing or another finding myself playing catch up throughout the process, has also been a journey that I have actually found out what I like, what makes me tick. I didn't want to just give off an Indian-esque feel to the room, I wanted every person who steps in this room, ( however small it is ) to go on their own little journey, a passage to India, to experience and take in the colours, the wonderful scents, the textures around them. Even Mr. P who really isn't into themed rooms quite likes his *reflection time* in there. You can almost shut the door and imagine you are in a whole new world, and that is what I wanted to achieve, fingers crossed I hope you think so too. I searched and found an old ( but in perfect condition ) issue of a trendy Interiors/Fashion/Lifestyle magazine called Wallpaper and its Indian edition, called Reborn In India, where for the best part of a month Wallpaper shifted HQ and set up in Mumbai with one goal. And that goal in Wallpaper's own words was 'to produce as true a portrait as possible of the most eye-popping, synapse-snapping, pulse-pushing place on the planet' I have found so much inspiration for this project within this magazine and it is always to hand near the bath alongside the Indian paisley designed notebook and pencils.... 

And inside the magazine the pages just popped out at me, with images courtesy of Wallpaper ....

I was very inspired also by the beautiful photographs over at An Indian Summer and am hoping its author may take a little peek at my bathroom makeover. It would be so flattering if she thinks I may have indeed captured the essence of an Indian style interior. When it came to the ceiling for my bathroom, I was inspired by these images....

And came up with my own version, with some fabric panels bought from Ikea....

I liked that there were similar textures in the items I used, the little knobbly tea light holders were already mine and loved how they tied in with the Buddha canvas and pink bath mat....   

The floor tiles were from B&Q's value range, at only £3.98 for a pack of six a real bargain, and even more so, as if you bought 3 packs you got one pack free. We needed 24 tiles so was perfect....

I love the Indian mirror and I think is a great compliment to the makeover, along with the pretty B&M bargain rose lights....

I also found a couple of peacock ( the national bird of India ) inspired necklaces that look very pretty draped on the mirror....

So, hopefully I have given you a little taster of my new bathroom and I hope you can sense that I put my heart and soul into this challenge, and although I have have enjoyed doing it, I am quite tired and would love to take the husband away with me, on our first trip abroad, just the two of us, since before we were married. You may already know, but there shall be three of my photographs here along with the other 5 bloggers photographs of their transformed rooms, and voting shall be taking place between 12th-25th March. The blogger's room with the most *likes* shall be deemed the winner and get to go on that lovely weekend break away. So, there we are, feel free to *like* my photographs and hope you enjoyed sharing my little journey with me. I am aware that the room has good decent bones in the sense that if I do feel like I want to change the look in there, with it having a simple classic white suite, white woodwork and ceiling I could easily adapt the look. Receipts have had to be sent off and checked but I have also included a little list of items purchased with my £250 budget if you would like a little read....

1. Tesco ( face cloths, notebook, pencils, handwash ) £11.37

2. B&M ( rose lights, crystals, pink toilet brush/holder, 3x bottles of decorative stones ) £11.35

3. House Decor ( wallpaper ) £34.94

4. B&Q ( pink paint, value floor tiles ) £17.30

5. Ponden Mill ( Buddha canvas ) £8.00 

6. Ebay Items  £54.92 

7. TKmaxx ( mini chest of drawers) £16.99

8. Ikea ( tealight holders, toilet paper holder, towel rail, fabric panels, candle, ) £31.33

9. Charity Shop ( coloured stick, tealight holders ) £2.00

10.Matalan ( pink bath mat, bath sign, spa set ) £15.00

11. Store Twenty One ( 3x rose bottles ) £ 8.97

12. Home Bargains ( Spa brush, puff, back scrub, sitting buddah, mitt ) £6.14  

13. Topps Tiles ( mosaic tiles ) £13.99

14. Argos ( duck board,) £ 12.99       

15. And of course Thorntons for the chocolate coins ( offer for 5 bags ) £3 

( All other items are my own and used as decoration )

Total spend: £248.29

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Bathroom Makeover Challenge Update....

As some of you may know I am taking part in a #ckbloggerchallenge in collaboration with Cox & Kings, a travel company who offer some very luxurious tailor-made holiday's I have to decorate a room in my home in an Indian theme with a budget of £250 and need to have it finished by 9th March. There are five other bloggers taking part, you can see who on my post here and a short little weekend holiday abroad is up for grabs for the room who gains the most *likes* between the 12th-25th March on the Cox & Kings facebook page. Being up against some very talented bloggers, one or two who are even professional interior stylists does nothing for my confidence and certainly puts the pressure on a little. Many rooms in my home, have the Mary Poppins look, flowers a plenty, and as I wanted to really go for it, I thought it would be best to makeover the most neutral, untouched room in my home which is the upstairs dormer bathroom. Indeed there is still decorating to be done in there so I thought it ideal. I must have been very tired when I made this decision as I have really double challenged myself on this one. Now if I had indeed picked a living room, or bedroom I could have purchased beautiful throws and wall hangings, gorgeous Indian-esque sculptures and large dramatic mirrors. As it is, I have about as much scope as it would be working on a postage stamp, and have had to really work hard in choosing some of the items for my spacially challenged room.

Here are some little before photographs....

We had already purchased one or two DIY items, wood, paint etc to finish off the little bathroom (which is situated in-between the two children's attic bedrooms ) and I shall be putting in some new temporary flooring for this challenge as I have seen one which I think  hope shall work quite well within the theme. I shall also  be raising the tounge and groove a little and may draft the husband in for the really difficult bits ;) Mr. Poppins who works in architecture designed our attic conversion and drew up the plans etc and opted for a round window in this bathroom ( he has a thing about round windows, maybe from watching play school as a kid ) and each of the attic bedrooms have one.... 

I can tell you from experience though too, that they are a bu**er to wallpaper around and also finding suitable window treatments has proved very difficult. Though mostly I think a lovely design feature and I love that you can see the twinkling stars when having a night time relaxing bath....

  

Now if this was a competition about who has the shiniest taps....

I shall be doing some wallpapering in there, and am so inspired by my lovely Sister In Law's wallpapered bathroom and think is very pretty....

Of course when it actually came to choosing some wallpaper, I just couldn't make my mind up and wanted to search out ones suitable for bathroom use, here is only a little selection of my *maybe* pile ;) ....

You shall be pleased to know I have actually chosen some, it has arrived safely and a little clue is that it is a Harlequin design. I have purchased all the accessories, budget is pretty much all gone and now I just need to crack on with the DIY and put things in their right place. There is something quite motivational about having a deadline as you really have to make the time and just get on with it. I genuinely know am probably the behind runner in this race, and don't really think I have much hope of my bathroom being the most *liked* I just can't compete with the big room reveals that shall be taking place ( think the other bloggers are doing bedrooms, a living room and study ) though I am so looking forward to seeing the other bloggers rooms and we have been chattering away on twitter and we are all having fun with our challenge. 

And I just fell in love with the Indian style of this notebook and pencil set, perfect for some inspirational writing in the bath perhaps....

Ha ha being the enthusiastic shopper that I am, I have lots more items to share with you, and being me, there shall of course be a hint of pink in one or two of them, I just hope they all squeeze in. My budget hasn't really been spent on large items as I just haven't the space for them, though hopefully the accessories I have purchased shall evoke a lovely Indian interior style. Thanks for accompanying me on this make over journey, I really hope you come back for my next update and as I tell my daughter, it really isn't the winning in life, it is the taking part and joining in that counts. Actually I have come to quite like the fact I chose the little bathroom, and to face and conquer the challenges it has brought me. Hopefully she shall feel very proud graced in all her Indian-esque glory :)

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I Have Been Given A Blogger Challenge....

One thing I enjoy is a challenge, and when Cox & Kings, the travel company who offer luxury holidays challenged myself and five other bloggers to a *changing rooms* style makeover challenge, I certainly wanted to know more and decided to take part. We have a strict set budget of £250 and can utilise this in the way we feel best to come up with an India themed room in our home. I don't know about the other bloggers taking part, but I am finding this a real challenge, and if honest, am having somewhat of a creative block. I know I shall hopefully probably pull it out of the bag somehow, but feel I am certainly the last to leave the starting post. I wanted to be able to shop around and search out some fantastic vintage style/second hand items on the high street, but with the big reveal taking place on the 9th March, time at a premium, and with family life etc, am probably foreseeing much of my budget shall be spent online, and in the comfort of my own home.

I think India themes are lovely, though possibly part of my challenge block is that it is not a theme I would normally choose for one of my own rooms, so almost more of a challenge in a way. Then I have had to think of which room to makeover. At first I thought £250 would go a long way in terms of sourcing items, but actually there have been a couple of ( very nice) items that I liked the look of, and those two alone would have eaten pretty much all my budget in one go. I don't want to leave it too late to start buying, so I must pull my finger out somewhat. I have bought just a teeny, tiny little something though, and luckily has left me with £249 left in the kitty....

Am not totally sure what it is, but thought it had a lovely zingy Indian-esque feel to it, and so my first purchase was made....

And not bad for £1 ( all receipts must be kept and logged )....

Anyway maybe I have indeed just left the starting line up, and the creative juices shall overcome me very soon. We all have to take photographs of our chosen madeover room at the end of the challenge, and then they shall be posted on the Cox & Kings Facebook Page with the winner being the one with the most likes. I aim to update via my blog how I am getting on, though you can also see any updates if you would like to, using the twitter hashtag #ckbloggerchallenge on Twitter. One thing that is spurring little old me on, is that for the winning blogger, a little weekend break away has been offered as the prize, and with Mr. Popps & I in desperate need of some alone time, I am finding this a super incentive. It almost saddens me a little to think the last time we went away, just the two us was years ago, really. I guess I am just too darn attached to those children of mine, but know a special just the two of us break away would do us all, as a family, the world of good.

If you would like to visit the other bloggers taking part also, and what they come up with here they are. A lovely bunch they are too....

CosyHomeBlog.com
Home Gems
The Style PA
bibbity-bob
That's Yummy Mummy!

So, wish me luck, I think I am going to need it. It really would be lovely if you could share this challenge with me, especially on the inspiration front ( ideas welcome) and I can happily inform you my chosen room has now been decided....

The Dorma ( with a challenging round window in it to think about) Bathroom....

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