So one of my goals for this year for my blog was to be more transparent with you guys. While I know that looking at pretty pictures is something we all love (yep, me too), sometimes it’s difficult to imagine that the people who own these homes we see in all their glory on Pinterest, in magazines or on blogs and websites have areas that are yet to be sorted out or that they feel a bit embarrassed about, right?
I remember how many times I’d shown people our second bedroom before it was turned into my office. It was an UGLY room, basically just storage for lots of crap and the responses were nearly always the same, “Oh my god, I’m so glad you have a space like this in your home too.” “Oh, that’s a relief! I thought I was the only one to have a spare room like this!” And that’s exactly why I’d show it off. Because, while there are plenty of pretty finished parts of my house, we are still normal people with normal budgets and it takes time to tick every single thing off the list.
The truth is, we ALL have little pockets in our home that we’d rather the general public not see. The drawer in the kitchen that seems to breed junk, a closet packed to the rafters that still needs sorting out, an attic or loft space that’s bursting with decorating mistakes of the past (yeah, I’ve got one of those too!). But today, I’m gonna share with you the horrible, shameful wall in my bedroom that I’m always embarrassed about.
Obviously the images shown above areΒ the sides of the bedroom you always see… but have you ever wondered what’s on the opposite wall? I’ve actually shared our ugly wardrobe situationΒ once before on the blog but it was so long ago, I imagine many of you won’t really remember it or wouldn’t have seen it. And since then, it’s gotten worse. Brace yourselves.
Oooh pretty mirror… oh wait… WHAT IS THAT ON THE RIGHT? WHAT THE…? (Also, why is there a baby gate there?) See, I know what you’re thinking. (The answer to the baby gate question is here.)
Now, I don’t know what it is about these old houses built at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century in this country but none of them have closets. We don’t have any storage in our home whatsoever that’s actually purpose built and so what you end up with is either a lot of freestanding storageΒ or you need to carve out areas to get them built in.
Note the hair tie holding the doors shut there. Sexy.
Why I have lived with these horrible wardrobesΒ for so long is actually a two fold issue.
First, I couldn’t initially decideΒ what would be better: freestanding wardrobes or built in wardrobes. The biggest issue with the built ins was the narrow window on the far side of the wall which I didn’t want to block and the fact that on the opposite wall, the doorway is there. This means the wardrobes couldn’t go from wall to wall as they normally would be done and it might just look like a giant bankΒ of doors in the centre of the wall with no natural place for them to start or end. SecondaryΒ to that, whilst custom built insΒ provide more storage than freestanding, we wouldn’t be able take them with us when we moved and when you are talking about thousands of pounds we wouldn’t necessarily recoup when selling, it seemed a bit of a waste of money.
CRINGE CRINGE CRINGE. You have no idea how embarrassed I am sharing these with you.
A couple other things you might be thinking, “Couldn’t Wayne just build something for you?” Yes, probably but waiting for Wayne to build me some wardrobes when he works a full time job plus helping me out on every other area of the house means I’d probably be waiting another 3 years for him to do it. “Couldn’t you just get some Ikea Pax wardrobes and DIY something?” Possibly, but when it came down to it, I didn’t want a huge bank of doors. When we’d originally viewed the house, this is what the previous owners had and I didn’t really like it. I just don’t like how they look and I couldn’t justify spending a lot of money on something that wasn’t great quality that ultimately I’d feel very ‘meh’ about later. “Couldn’t you just paint the ones you have to make them disappear a bit?” Yes, but I didn’t want to spend time and money upcycling something I actually wanted to get rid of. The phrase “rolling shit in glitter” comes to mind.
And that brings me to the second problem – budget. I didn’t have a few grand to spend on built ins especially when I couldn’t decide on a configuration that seemed visually pleasing. So I settled on looking for some goodΒ quality wardrobes instead of built ins. The price would be less than the built ins but I wanted something that was built to last in a style that would work with the rest of the space. However, when I started looking at what was available on the market, for the sizes and styles I liked, I was still looking at well over Β£1000 for something of decent quality (bearing in mindΒ I needed more than one) and even these were few and far between.
I considered vintage wardrobes as well but I couldn’t find ones that had the kind of space requirements I needed and if they did, I couldn’t figure out how to get them up the (narrow) stairs and into the room in one piece. So vintage, unfortunately, was out.
Nothing to see here, folks, move along…
So with all these issues swirling around in my head, the money I did have kept getting prioritised to other areas of the house. This wardrobe situation just kept getting moved down the priority list and kept getting ignored (and I’ll be honest, Wayne really didn’t care seeing as that big 3 door wardrobe is what he had when we moved in together!). As time wore on, I stopped seeing these horrible wardrobes that totally took away from the rest of the room and just pretended they weren’t there.
Until this year, that is. I had three big priorities from my 2016 goals post: I wanted to sort out the dining room (nearly there), I wanted to finally finish the kitchen (making plans on that one) and I wanted to sort out this wardrobe situation once and for all.
I had already decided that built-ins were out and that finding a set of vintage wardrobes were also out. That lead to meΒ keeping my eye out for some nice new wardrobes that didn’t break the bank. This search went on for AGES. Every time those ugly wardrobes made me wince (which was pretty often), I’d go online and check out loads of different options. I’ve considered every finish under the sun but finally decided that due to the size, my best bet would be something that sort of disappeared into the black walls rather than try to make these big huge things some kind of feature in the room. Because I needed a couple of them, I didn’t want them to be the focus when you walked into the space – I wanted the focus to be on the other side of the room – the pretty side!
Finally, I came across the Constance range on Very. The style was perfect – a little bit traditional with nice details without being too ornate or showy, a combination of shelves and drawers, with non-mirrored doors that opened outwards rather than slid across a track.
The price wasn’t too bad either. They were listed atΒ Β£800 for the 3 door wardrobe and Β£600 for the 2 door wardrobe and both in solid oak rather than laminate. At that price, they wereΒ neither too cheap and flimsy nor were theyΒ wildly expensive and the reviews on site were good.
Now, I knew Very often had sales and I didn’t want to pay full price because well, I’m a bit of a cheapskate. So I decided to bide my time and wait to see if they went on sale. Sometimes, they’d be Β£50 off and I’d be tempted but I was sure I could get a better bargain. I was a little scared at some point after I’d been watching these for about 6 months or so that they might be discontinued but I couldn’t bring myself to purchase them at full price.
That was until this weekend as it wasΒ a Bank Holiday here in the UK and every retailer seems to have sales on. And a sale they had. The 3 door wardrobe was reduced from Β£800 to Β£479 and the 2 door was reduced from Β£600 to Β£359. JACKPOT. It was nearly like buying the 3 door and getting the 2 door for free. I jumped and ordered them for delivery next week.
You have no idea how excited I am to finally – after nearly 6 years (cringe cringe cringe) – to check this off my list. I can not WAIT to see the back of these ugly beasts. Yes, we still have ugly carpeting in this room and that still needs to be sorted out but I’ll actually have my storage in here completed! Hurrah!
So get ready for a little before and after soon. Are you shocked I’ve been living with something so ugly for so long? What do you think of my choice? Ever live with something really ugly for far too long because you couldn’t quite find what you were looking for? Go on, fess up!
I think it’s great that you’re showing these images, as we all live with utter crap sometimes, most of us don’t have unlimited funds to get everything we want when we want it. And I love your transparency, thank you for sharing! x
Way to go! You deserve this. Love the wardrobes. Love the honest share…& I can confess, I currently have a heap of clothing outside my closet as I haven’t completed the seasonal swap yet…despite tripping over it… for about a week! Yikes. Ha! Smiles, Kathleen
Dear Kimberly,
As a new house owner in the South of France and a partner living party in the UK I very much enjoy your blog. We have a lot of renovations to do. Because of you I discovered HomeSense. This caused funny situations with a car filled up with stuff moved to France. Thank you for sharing your not so perfect areas in your house. It gives me the courage to move on with ours!
Thanks for sharing this! We all have ugly corners that we live with because we aren’t rich and famous and can’t just order people to make our surroundings perfect. However, that’s what make us LOVE what we end up doing because it takes blood, sweat, tears and hard earned money to get there! You are awesome and love your candor :)
The new ones are beautiful and definitely a bargain. So glad to see that we aren’t the only ones holding doors closed with a hair bobble!
Well I expect they’re mainly for Wayne’s bits as you’ve got that beeeeeyoutiful dressing room dahling. It’s nice to see your ironing board! Well done for coming out with the closet haha!
Still laughing at ‘rolling shit in glitter’. I have never heard that before – it’s brilliant.
I don’t really have any secret shameful corners of my home – right now the entire thing is bloody awful! But that is because we’re in the process of making it nice. We almost finished one room, then filled it with the contents of other rooms and power tools and bits of wood and god knows what else. So even the pretty bit ain’t pretty. But one day…
I absolutely love these wardrobes – classic and will also move with you if you sell and look great anywhere. Also serious bargain. Should have done some shopping this weekend instead of painting the bedroom. Hmm, actually, maybe not. I like that it is starting to feel habitable again! :-) It won’t be finished for a while yet though – I have to build a new built-in wardrobe on one side of the fireplace to match the ones on the other side, which also need some sprucing up because right now they are ugly. Very ugly. Extremely well built though, the kind of solid wood that would cost Β£1,000s these days, so I do appreciate that we have them, and I will appreciate them even more with some moulding and marble pulls! Can’t wait to see the new wardrobes in situ! :D x
haha I always get a good laugh when I read your posts. “nothing to see here folks, move along”.. I actually use the hair tie trick idea too. Our cats discovered how to open the cupboards and get at the food so this keeps them out! The nerve! But yah, back to topic. I feel your misery on the wardrobe front,they are most deffinitely ‘not your style’.You deserve a medal for living with them this long and I admire that you were able to avert your attention from them all this time. Patience is a virtue and one to be rewarded so I cannot wait to see what your reward will be. Something awesome and truly fitting to your style I’ll bet. And I do love your style.
I know the pain. When you own the house or apartment, the job is endless (unless you’re a millionaire:)). I remodeled my kitchen twice in six years. This year I’ve started the third makeover. Hope this time is the final:)
Wardrobes are awesome and what a great deal you’ve made!
Lovely wardrobes! We live in a flat in a converted church and we have the spire just off our living room. It’s a small raised platform (with storage underneath) with a 10ft tall tower and porthole windows. This was what sold the flat to us – the current owners were using it as a study but we were full of big ideas for what we could use this unusual extra room for, the amazing hanging light fitting we could get, etc. Nearly 3 years later, it’s just a dumping ground for pictures we need to hang up, bags of clothes to drop off to the charity shop, somewhere to air washing… We want to turn it into a little reading/whisky drinking snug but can’t decide what sofa/chair combination to get. And the bathroom is more of a priority so that will be the next thing we do – so the spire remains empty :(
I love your transparency! Thank you very much for making us feel normal again :) We all have un-pinworthy areas in our homes – thats ok! It takes time, money and patience. Thanks for sharing! :)
My house has shit storage too and it’s a new build! I feel your pain, I currently have a falling apart canvas monstrosity in my spare room housing most of my husbands clothes while mine is all jammed into the tiniest built in wardrobe that ever existed! I really need to sort it cos I don’t even remember what clothes I have.
Love the wardrobes you picked and I think having them match the walls will really work.
Also, I’m stealing “rolling shit in glitter”, just fyi!
excellent choice! I think they will look great in your room and they have a nice classic design that you won’t grow tired of. Such a great feeling when you finally find exactly what you want and then it goes on sale! Since they blend nicely with the background are you going to style something on top or leave them as unobtrusive as possible?
I know what you mean with storage, ours is about 120 years old, and when we first moved in it used to drive me barmy, it still does. As for that room its our bedroom. I think you always try and make sure that the main area people see first like your living room or kitchen are finished first (or as near as you can get them lol) so our bedroom even now always gets pushed back, because i think “well its only me and Keith that sees it”
I think you are one brave lady to put it out there for everybody to see, if thats how you feel about that particular bit, but the rest of the room is gorgeous ( sorry for gushing but its my favourite room lol) I don’t think it matters how long you live in your home there is always something that needs doing, or something you are not happy about. As for the wardrobes WOW win win with that one. They are going to look stunning, they are beautiful, and a great bargin, i felt giddy right along with you, nice bargin hunting xxx
Hello,
Love your honesty and writing style. You are so fabulous your decor is perfecto! I rely on magic tricks, you know how magicians make you look at a bird or something while they hide a coin in their pocket? When I had a dinner party once, everyone said how gorgeous my house was and so clean! I fooled them all by putting pretty things out like seashells, pic frames, candles silver trays full of food. I said DONT LOOK TOO CLOSELY OR YOU WILL SEE peanut butter fingerprints, cat hairs, dead bugs? spider webs? dirt, dust and grime on walls, furniture and on floors!!!!! No one believed me. Hee hee all people want is good food and to feel welcome. They don’t care if your house is imperfect. the houses I felt most comfy in were full of cool, welcoming people, not picky perfectionists. Rita
Thank you for showing that side of your room! Makes us all feel a bit more normal, haha! There are a lot of cringeworthy areas in my home but I deal with it by looking at the pretty areas and imagining how lovely the rubbish areas will become in time.
Those gorgeous black wardrobes are an amazing find and well done for being patient (even though it was risky!) and getting them at a complete bargain!